| 7-Zip |
Free file compression tool. Compatible with all formats. |
Download |
| Active@ KillDisk |
Free tool that wipes disks. Can wipe entire disks at once, unlike Eraser. They also sell a paid version with more erase methods and supports UEFI booting. |
Download |
| AnyBurn |
Free. Allows editing, burning, creating, ripping ISO files. Offers a portable version. |
Download |
| ASSP |
Free anti-spam proxy appliance. It's very complicated and advanced, but does an excellent job at detecting spam. Useful if you host your own mail server, though it's easier to just use Microsoft or Google's email service instead. |
Download |
| Audacity |
Free audio recording/editing program. |
Download |
| Autopsy |
Free. Digital forensics tool. Can analyze a disk or image, and return useful information about how a computer was used. |
Download |
| Autoruns |
Free tool that gives detailed information about Windows startup entries. Excellent for hunting and removing viruses. |
Download |
| Bandizip |
Free program that can open and extract BIN/CUE files. |
Download |
| BitVise SSH Server |
Free SSH/SFTP/SCP server. Runs on Windows. Lots of settings. Be careful about security. |
Download |
| BlueScreenView |
Free tool shows you details about recent BSODs. |
Download |
| Calibre |
Free ebook manager. Very good. Can convert ebook formats. |
Download |
| CamStudio |
Free, easy, small screen recorder. Outputs a video file. |
Download |
| CCleaner |
Free, quick, simple tool that deletes temporary and useless files from known locations on a computer. Also has a built in registry cleaner. |
Download |
| CD Burner XP |
Free. Create or burn ISO files. Burn audio or data CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, or HD-DVD. |
Download |
| CDCheck |
Free, small tool that attempts to recover files off a damaged CD. |
Download |
| Clonezilla |
Free bootable CD that can close disks and partitions. Similar to Partition Wizard but harder to use because it lacks a GUI and doesn't have partition managing features. |
Download |
| Color Cop |
Free tool that identifies any color on your screen. |
Download |
| Comodo Firewall |
Free firewall for Windows. It has been buggy for years, occasionally breaking the internet until it is uninstalled. I prefer Windows Firewall Control now. |
Download |
| CPU-Z |
Free tool that shows technical details about your computer's CPU. |
Download |
| Crystal Disk Mark |
Free benchmark tester for Hard Drives |
Download |
| CSV to VCard |
Free. Converts a CSV file exported from your Outlook contacts into a VCard file that is compatible with importing into the iCloud.com website. |
Download |
| DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) |
Free hard drive wiper. Used when you want to securely erase an entire hard drive before giving it away to strangers. This is an older program, hasn't received any updates in a long time, and shows ads since it was bought out by Blancco. NO LONGER RECOMMENDED. |
Download |
| DBF Viewer Plus |
Free app that lets you view and export DBF files easily. |
Download |
| Desktop Restore |
Saves and Restores desktop icon positions quickly. Useful after RDP changes the resolution and moves all your icons around. |
Download |
| DFT (Drive Fitness Test) |
Free, bootable CD that tests hard drives for problems. No updates for a long time, so I recommend finding a newer alternative. |
Download |
| Display Driver Uninstaller |
Free, this manually removes all traces of NVidia, AMD, Intel display drivers. This sometimes fixes problems like the inability to install an updated driver. |
Download |
| DOC to DOCX Batch Converter |
This is an addon for Microsoft Word (2007,2010,2013). You select a target folder and the addon will find all *.doc files and convert them to the current *.DOCX version silently and quickly. |
Download |
| Driver Backup |
Free tool that backs up drivers easily. Useful when you're about to reinstall Windows and don't want to search for drivers afterwards. |
Download |
| Duplicati |
Free data backup tool. Client-side-only software, uses many kinds of dumb storage. |
Download |
| DVD Flick |
Free DVD encoder that creates video DVDs from any file format. It can generate ISO files and burn DVDs. |
Download |
| Equalizer APO |
Free tool that can customize the audio coming out of your speakers. I use it to globally reduce the volume coming out of my headphones so that I don't have to keep the volume down between 1 and 10 percent all the time. |
Download |
| Eraser |
Free file wiper. Also wipes free space. Used to prevent deleted files from being recovered. Can NOT delete whole disks, just individual files, folders, or free space. |
Download |
| eXtplorer File Manager |
Free. A php file editor that you can upload to your shared hosting server via FTP, then log into the PHP site to quickly edit files on that FTP. |
Download |
| FileZilla |
Free FTP/SFTP/FTPS client. They also have a separate, free FTP server. |
Download |
| Firefox Portable |
Free browser that works in Windows PE (Pre-Installation Environment). |
Download |
| FlacSquisher |
Free. Quickly converts a folder full of FLAC music files to MP3. |
Download |
| Font Matcherator |
Free online tool. You can upload a graphic, highlight the text you want to identify, and the web app will tell you the name of the font. |
Download |
| Git Extensions |
Free. Adds GUI to git, a source control program. |
Download |
| Google Chrome |
Free, fast, secure, full-featured web browser. |
Download |
| Handbrake |
Free. Can make backup copies of some DVDs to your PC as MP4 or MKV files. Does not work with all DVDs. Can also convert existing video files into different formats. |
Download |
| HashTab |
Free. Adds a tab to the File Properties window that shows the hash of the selected file. |
Download |
| Hex Workshop |
Free Hex editor. Useful for editing programs. |
Download |
| HTTrack Website Coper |
Free program that can copy an entire website to your local computer. It seems really slow, but it works. |
Download |
| HWMonitor |
Free tool that displays voltages and temperatures for your CPU, RAM, HDD, MB, etc. |
Download |
| iMazing HEIC Converter |
Free. Very simple tool that does batch converting of Apple's HEIC photo format to JPG files. |
Download |
| ImgBurn |
Free. Create ISO from disc. Burn ISO to disc. Burn files to disc. Create custom ISO from files. |
Download |
| Inkscape |
Free program that can design vector graphics. Useful for making logos, icons, and other simple designs that can scale to large sizes. |
Download |
| KeePass |
Free password organizer. Keeps your passwords securely on your computer. Not cloud-based. |
Download |
| Kodi |
Free. Software to turn your PC into a HTPC. Used to be called XBMC. |
Download |
| LAN Speed Test |
Free for client-only version. Can test speed of writing/reading a file on a remote PC. Useful for testing network speed, but limited by hard drive speed and cache. See also NetIO-GUI. |
Download |
| LastPass |
Free, secure, online password manager tool. Helps you store and remember hundreds of passwords. |
Download |
| LibreOffice |
Free alternative to Microsoft Office. Works great! |
Download |
| Lock Hunter |
Free tool that can help to delete files that are in use. |
Download |
| MakeMKV |
Free. Can make backup copies of any DVD to an MKV file. |
Download |
| Malware Bytes |
Free malware scanner |
Download |
| McAfee Removal Tool |
Free tool from McAfee that helps to manually forcefully remove their software when their normal uninstaller doesn't work. |
Download |
| Memtest86+ |
Free bootable CD that tests RAM. Now, this test is obsolete because Windows has a similar tool built in. |
Download |
| MiniTool Partition Wizard |
Free program that can manage & clone partitions. Boot features and working with Server OS's require Pro version. Can easily migrate HDD to SSD. |
Download |
| MiPony |
Free tool that automates all the repetitive clicks necessary to download files from most common file-sharing websites. Saves lots of time when downloading multiple files. |
Download |
| MobiMover |
Free. Lets you copy music/videos to an iPhone. Basically a replacement for iTunes. Supports MP3 but not FLAC. |
Download |
| MousePos |
Free. A tiny tool that just displays the current coordinates of the mouse cursor on your screen(s). Useful for software development that involves mouse coordinates. |
Download |
| MP3tag |
Free. Helps you edit MP3 file's ID metadata, like title, album, etc in bulk. |
Download |
| mRemoteNG |
Free alternative to the abandoned Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager. Other alternatives include Terminals and the free edition of Devolution's Remote Desktop Manager. |
Download |
| NAPS2 |
Free, easy to use scanning software that can save as PDF with OCR. Much better than the bloatware that comes with scanners. |
Download |
| NetIO-GUI LAN Speed Tester |
Free. Network bandwidth test. Requires running a copy in Server Mode and one in Client Mode. This removes the hard drive speed and cache from the equation, leaving pure LAN speed. |
Download |
| NiNite.com |
Free website that automates the downloading and installation of many common programs. Has paid Pro version that keeps many PCs' software up to date. |
Download |
| Norton Removal Tool |
Free tool from Symantec that helps to manually, forcefully remove their software. |
Download |
| Notepad++ |
Free notepad alternative. Lots of features. |
Download |
| ODIN (Open Disk Imager in a Nutshell) |
Makes full disk images from running computers |
Download |
| ODIR (Outlook Duplicate Item Remover) |
Free tool that removes duplicate emails from Outlook. |
Download |
| Offline Windows Password & Registry Editor |
Free. Bootable CD. Can reset the Windows password by editing the registry where the passwords are stored. Tested Windows 2000 through 8.1, including Server 2012. |
Download |
| OllyDbg |
Free, small, simple, fast disassembler. Useful for debugging and hacking programs. |
Download |
| OpenTFTP |
Free TFTP server software. Useful for hosting firmware files to unbrick routers. |
Download |
| OSFClone |
Free disk imaging tool. Bootable CD/USB. Can clone to dd format and will include every sector for a proper forensics backup. |
Download |
| OSFMount |
Free disk image mounting program for Windows. Can mount many kinds of disk images, and can mount them as read-only for proper forensics or data recovery jobs. |
Download |
| Paint.NET |
Free alternative to Adobe Photoshop |
Download |
| PDF Creator |
Free alternative to Adobe Acrobat. It creates PDF files (but does not edit them). |
Download |
| pfSense |
Free firewall. Enterprise quality, runs on Linux, installs on any PC or virtual machine. |
Download |
| Plex |
Free home theater software. Has paid versions. Comparable to Kodi. |
Download |
| Postgresql |
Free database server. A better alternative to MSSQL and MySQL. |
Download |
| Prime95 |
Free CPU stress test. |
Download |
| Process Explorer |
Free tool that gives detailed information about running processes. |
Download |
| Process Monitor |
Free tool that logs Disk & Registry access in realtime. Useful for debugging programs. |
Download |
| Putty |
Free, small Terminal session client. |
Download |
| Recuva |
Free tool that recovers deleted files. |
Download |
| Shadow Explorer |
Free tool that can recover deleted files by reading the Windows Shadow Copy data from the drive. This tool should be used in addition to typical data recovery tools because they work two different ways. |
Download |
| ShowMyPC |
Free online web-based tool for sharing your screen with someone. Useful for troubleshooting for family. |
Download |
| SKTimeStamp |
Free, this is a File Explorer context menu plugin that lets you easily modify the Creation/Modified date timestamps on files. Download the SKTimeStamp installer, not the StExBar installer. It's much faster and easier than the more advanced program called "Attribute Changer". |
Download |
| Snappy Driver Installer |
Freeware. Downloads and installs driver updates. Does not require any installer, and doesn't try to push any junkware. Use the Lite version unless you require offline updates. |
Download |
| SPAM Fighter |
Free tool that blocks spam emails from Outlook, OE, Windows Mail, Thunderbird. |
Download |
| Speccy |
Free small tool that generates a nice report with lots of technical information about the computer. |
Download |
| SQL Express |
Free, reduced functionality versions of Microsoft's SQL Server application. |
Download |
| SQLite Browser |
Free. Opens SQLite database files for viewing and editing. |
Download |
| TCPView |
Shows you which programs are currently using bandwidth. |
Download |
| TDSSKiller |
Kaspersky tool that scans for rootkit viruses and removes them. |
Download |
| TeamViewer |
Free for personal use. Similar to VNC, LogMeIn.. |
Download |
| The Unzipper |
Free. A simple php script that you can upload to your FTP, then access remotely to extract/compress files on the remote server. Much faster than uploading thousands of tiny files with an FTP client. |
Download |
| UDPixel |
Free tool that helps to locate and repair dead pixels by flashing colors rapidly over a small area. |
Download |
| UrBackup |
Free data backup tool. Stores backups unencrypted. Is backup-oriented, not file oriented, so does not mange versioning well. |
Download |
| USBDLM |
Free for private use. USB Drive Letter Manager. Runs as a Windows Service and lets you configure powerful rules for determining which drive letter a USB storage device should mount with. |
Download |
| VBoxVmService |
Free. Runs VirtualBox VMs in the background as a Windows Service. |
Download |
| VeraCrypt |
Free tool that creates encrypted blobs for storing sensitive data. Replaces the abandoned TrueCrypt. |
Download |
| VirtualBox |
Free tool that creates & runs virtual machines. Not quite as fast as VmWare Player but supports recovery points. |
Download |
| VirtualBox |
Free. Virtual machine host. |
Download |
| VirusTotal Uploader |
Free explorer extension. Uploads the selected file to VirusTotal to be scanned by about 20 different AV programs at once. |
Download |
| Visual Studio Community |
Free, highly featured version of Microsoft's programming IDE. |
Download |
| VLC Media Player |
Free, small media player that plays practically every format of audio/video files. |
Download |
| VMWare Player |
Free for personal use, a tool that creates & runs virtual machines. |
Download |
| Windows 10 Downloader Tool - WIM version |
This is a 3rd party tool that lets you access the Microsoft Techbench downloads. The Techbench version of Windows 10 uses the install.WIM file, which is compatible with DISM. |
Download |
| Windows 10 ISO - ESD version (Media Creation Tool) |
This version of the Windows 10 installer ISO uses the install.esd file. ESD files do NOT work with the DISM tool. This page downloads the Media Creation Tool, which then downloads the ISO. |
Download |
| Windows 10 ISO - WIM version (page taken down?) |
This page downloads an ISO that contains install.WIM. WIM files are compatible with DISM. As of April 2017, this site seems to be no longer available. |
Download |
| Windows 10 ISO - WIM version (page taken down?) |
This version of the Windows 10 installer ISO uses the install.wim file. WIM files ARE compatible with the DISM tool. |
Download |
| Windows Firewall Control |
Commercial software. A great tool for managing the built-in Windows Firewall. It's probably the most efficient and bug-free firewall available. |
Download |
| WinSCP |
Free SCP client (similar to Filezilla FTP client) |
Download |
| WinTree |
Free tool that helps you to easily see where all your HDD space is being used. Much faster than WinDirStat. |
Download |
| Wipe My Disks |
Free tool that wipes disks. Bootable only. Works with SAS disks on Dell's PERC controllers. |
Download |
| Wireshark |
Free. Network packet tracing tool. Lets you monitor and analyze the raw data packets sent over a network. Useful for advanced troubleshooting of network, application, or protocol problems. |
Download |
| XPadder |
Free. Lets you control your PC using an XBox controller. Useful for home theater PC setups. |
Download |
| Youtube-dl |
Free command-line tool that can backup videos from various websites. |
Download |
| ZoneMinder |
Free. Runs in linux, monitors cameras, detects motion, sends custom alerts. Pretty buggy and difficult to manage. Gets minimal support from developers. |
Download |