The Big Useful List Of Free Useful Programs To Use Usually For Free

lexluthermiester · Aug 25, 2021

lynx29 said:
so I can't use a personal email?

Nope. It's not really free. VideoProc isn't that great either.

Space Lynx · Aug 25, 2021

lexluthermiester said:
Nope. It's not really free. VideoProc isn't that great either.

I have no need for it anyway so I will pass for now

vectoravtech · Sep 1, 2021

(Prevent the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software! Simple, effective, trusted.)
I would use this to prevent ransomware. I couldn't update my antivirus with this so be warned.

SpywareBlaster

Prevent the installation of spyware, adware, malware, and more. Free download.

www.brightfort.com

Geek Uninstaller - the best FREE uninstaller

Efficient and Fast, Small and Portable. 100% Free

geekuninstaller.com

Mussels · Sep 1, 2021

Holy crap spyware blaster is still around?

They havent updated their website in like 10 years, downloads page shows its recently updated tho :O

lexluthermiester · Sep 1, 2021

Mussels said:
Holy crap spyware blaster is still around?

That's what I was thinking... Had to double take..

Logan7 · Sep 7, 2021

cucker tarlson said:
DaVinci Resolve,it's unbelievable such software can come free.

Agreed.

A number that I use or have used:
Advanced Renamer - batch file/folder renaming, very powerful
Autoruns - Microsoft Sysinternals; most probably know of this but I don't remember seeing it mentioned, maybe I missed it
DisplayCAL - one of the best monitor calibration software (if you have the appropriate device for calibrating of course)
FanControl - easy-to-use customizable fan control software, highly recommend this one (forum link)
HCFR - calibration software that is more suited for calibrating TVs (again need the appropriate calibration device)
Hugin - panorama photo stitcher
Logitech Setpoint - if you have certain Logitech keyboards, this will allow you to remap, for example on mine, the home, mail, shutdown, and calculator buttons at the top of the keyboard. It is older software but still works. For example I remapped my calculator key to put my PC into sleep and my home button to run F.lux (with a -noshow modifier)
MPC-HC - many know of this media player, it is without a doubt my favorite. Development is active again.
MadVR - a renderer that allows MPC-HC to use your monitor calibration profile when playing video, among many other things you can do with it
MusicBee - music player that is highly customizable
Speccy - shows basic computer specs in a nice interface; made by Piriform, I don't think its been updated in a few years but it still works fine
XnViewMP - image viewer program; the big advantage of this one is that it's fully color aware. Not many are, I believe FastStone is only partially. I used to use FastStone but switched to this for that reason. With a little tinkering I got the interface to look almost identical to how FastStone looks. I love in particular the ability to customize labels with EXIF/metadata info.
WifiInfoView - made by Nirsoft, shows WiFi signal strength and more

lexluthermiester · Sep 7, 2021

Logan7 said:
MPC-HC - many know of this media player, it is without a doubt my favorite. Development is active again.

It's not being maintained anymore. MPC-BE is a fork that is being maintained.

MPC-BE

Download MPC-BE for free. Media Player Classic - BE. Media Player Classic - BE is a free and open source audio and video player for Windows. Media Player Classic - BE is based on the original "Media Player Classic" project (Gabest) and "Media Player Classic Home Cinema" project (Casimir666)...

sourceforge.net

Logan7 said:
XnViewMP - image viewer program; the big advantage of this one is that it's fully color aware. Not many are, I believe FastStone is only partially. I used to use FastStone but switched to this for that reason. With a little tinkering I got the interface to look almost identical to how FastStone looks. I love in particular the ability to customize labels with EXIF/metadata info.

I personally prefer the standard XnView. "MP" is a big departure from the intuitive UI that made XnView a joy to use.

xrobwx71 · Sep 7, 2021

Steve Gibson's site has a lot of freebies but one of my favorites is his DNS Benchmark software.

Logan7 · Sep 11, 2021

One more I forgot about:
PhotoRec (part of TestDisk)
For recovering photos from a corrupted SD card (and other forms of storage).
Somehow last month my camera's SD card got corrupted and I was missing over 100 of the last pictures I took. Some but not all of them would show in the camera, but none of them were showing when the card was plugged into a PC. With PhotoRec I recovered every picture.

Something you won't need very often, but its fantastic when you do need it.

mrpickem · Oct 5, 2021

Can anyone recommend a free ftp client. There use to be a Chrome extention called codeanywhere that you had most ftb abilities as well as ability to edit webpages in real time, but its no longer available. Something similar would be great formy use as I maintain occasional updates on 2 sites as well as moving files around. I like the idea of a browser extension allowing flexibility to have access from multiple locations. But a stand alone client would also work. Currently I'm using a Chrome app sFTP on trial and it works ok but trial time is almost up.

Hachi_Roku256563 · Oct 5, 2021

mrpickem said:
Can anyone recommend a free ftp client. There use to be a Chrome extention called codeanywhere that you had most ftb abilities as well as ability to edit webpages in real time, but its no longer available. Something similar would be great formy use as I maintain occasional updates on 2 sites as well as moving files around. I like the idea of a browser extension allowing flexibility to have access from multiple locations. But a stand alone client would also work. Currently I'm using a Chrome app sFTP on trial and it works ok but trial time is almost up.

I use Filezilla to do FTP transfers

cvaldes · Oct 5, 2021

mrpickem said:
Can anyone recommend a free ftp client. There use to be a Chrome extention called codeanywhere that you had most ftb abilities as well as ability to edit webpages in real time, but its no longer available. Something similar would be great formy use as I maintain occasional updates on 2 sites as well as moving files around. I like the idea of a browser extension allowing flexibility to have access from multiple locations. But a stand alone client would also work. Currently I'm using a Chrome app sFTP on trial and it works ok but trial time is almost up.

I have used ncftp as my default FTP client for the past two decades. There are various clients including macOS, various Linux distros, Windows, UNIXes, etc.

xrobwx71 · Oct 5, 2021

mrpickem said:
Can anyone recommend a free ftp client. There use to be a Chrome extention called codeanywhere that you had most ftb abilities as well as ability to edit webpages in real time, but its no longer available. Something similar would be great formy use as I maintain occasional updates on 2 sites as well as moving files around. I like the idea of a browser extension allowing flexibility to have access from multiple locations. But a stand alone client would also work. Currently I'm using a Chrome app sFTP on trial and it works ok but trial time is almost up.

Free FTP Client for Windows :: WinSCP

WinSCP is a free file manager for Windows supporting FTP, SFTP, S3 and WebDAV.

winscp.net

I've used it for years.

Ivan Bliminse · Jan 28, 2022

I use this Program Updater "Patch My Pc" which keeps me informed every week.

Home Updater: Overview and Download | Patch My PC

Our home updater is a free, easy-to-use program that keeps over 300 apps updated on your PC. A key component of staying safe online is keeping your apps patched.

patchmypc.com

xrobwx71 · Jan 28, 2022

DoH! said:
I use this Program Updater "Patch My Pc" which keeps me informed every week.

Home Updater: Overview and Download | Patch My PC

Our home updater is a free, easy-to-use program that keeps over 300 apps updated on your PC. A key component of staying safe online is keeping your apps patched.

patchmypc.com

Love this little program. I use it on multiple PC's at home and work.

Splinterdog · Jan 28, 2022

xrobwx71 said:
Love this little program. I use it on multiple PC's at home and work.

Is it free? I couldn't really tell from the website.

Mussels · Jan 29, 2022

Splinterdog said:
Is it free? I couldn't really tell from the website.

Home updater is free, their other programs are not.

If the two users above were 0 post noobs i'd have hit the spam button, my mod-senses tingled so hard
Hell i found reports of it being a trojan on malwarebytes forums, and it was deemed clean and whitelisted.

I have daily backups so i'm giving it a shot here, but it might be that one rare updater thats not malware ridden trash

VulkanBros · Feb 5, 2022

DoH! said:
I use this Program Updater "Patch My Pc" which keeps me informed every week.

Home Updater: Overview and Download | Patch My PC

Our home updater is a free, easy-to-use program that keeps over 300 apps updated on your PC. A key component of staying safe online is keeping your apps patched.

patchmypc.com

Seems legit and neither Kaspersky Internet Security or some of the other Security tools freaked out.
It found Notepad++ and GreenShot to be outdated - which where correct - and updated the apps without any hiccup's - nice tool

Mussels · Feb 6, 2022

Yeah i had no issues or problems with it

xrobwx71 · Mar 5, 2022

Splinterdog said:
Is it free? I couldn't really tell from the website.

Yes.

Mussels said:
Home updater is free, their other programs are not.

If the two users above were 0 post noobs i'd have hit the spam button, my mod-senses tingled so hard
Hell i found reports of it being a trojan on malwarebytes forums, and it was deemed clean and whitelisted.

I have daily backups so i'm giving it a shot here, but it might be that one rare updater thats not malware ridden trash

I've been using it for years without issue.

I spend hours at my job maintaining the Server environment for our Point Of Sale system and would never use or recommend anything that would be detrimental to its functioning. However, I keep an eye on its changelogs.

Logan7 · Jun 8, 2022

For those with cameras like GoPros, Gyroflow is a new open-source alternative to the $99 USD ReelSteady.

https://gyroflow.xyz/
https://github.com/gyroflow/gyroflow

Supported formats:

Sony (a1, a7c, a7r IV, a7 IV, a7s III, a9 II, FX3, FX6, RX0 II, RX100 VII, ZV1, ZV-E10)

GoPro (All models with gyro metadata, starting with HERO 5)

Insta360 (OneR, SMO 4k, GO2)

Betaflight blackbox (CSV and binary)

Runcam CSV (Runcam 5 Orange, iFlight GOCam GR)

WitMotion (WT901SDCL binary and *.txt)

Mobile apps: Sensor Logger, G-Field Recorder, Gyro

Gyroflow .gcsv log

P4-630 · Jun 22, 2022

WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista

Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista

Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista that monitors the wireless network service of Windows operating system and displays any event that occurs while WifiDiagnosticsView is running.

www.nirsoft.net

xrobwx71 · Jun 23, 2022

P4-630 said:
WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista

Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista

Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista that monitors the wireless network service of Windows operating system and displays any event that occurs while WifiDiagnosticsView is running.

www.nirsoft.net

Just about anything from Nirsoft is useful.

I'm sure this has been posted before but its worth a reminder. WSCC It puts all of Nir Sofer's tools and Microsoft's Sysinternals Suite (and a few others)in one place. It's frequently updated. The packages are downloaded and updated direct from the Authors site. It's the first thing I add to my Portable Tech Drive.

Mussels · Jun 26, 2022

Nirsoft do indeed make great stuff, somehow i never knew of this one

Edit: that's right, they have 30,000 various little tools for and the relevant ones get buried

Frick · Jun 17, 2023

Not a program, but a site I've found to be quite excellent, if it fits the thread:

Virtual Graph Paper

Virtual Graph Paper is a web application for creating drawings and illustrations on a virtual grid. You can use it right here in your browser. When you are done, your drawing can be downloaded as an SVG file.

virtual-graph-paper.com

It's just what it says. Virtual graph paper. It's pretty rudimentary, but it's developing and there's even a forum for suggetions.

System Name	Gaming PC from bestby
Processor	I7
Motherboard	Ibuypower
Cooling	Stock
Video Card(s)	Nvidia 3080
Storage	1TB shared with windows 11 and FerenOS
Display(s)	MPG ARTYMIS 323CQR
Case	nice big case with rainbow fans allover it
Audio Device(s)	realtech
Software	OS is Windows 7 home premium, sometimes I use linux mint mate or sabayon both live
Benchmark Scores	CL-RCD-RP-RAS Write Speed 2x DDR3-1333 SDRAM 9-9-9-23 CR1 10484 MB/s

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

Processor	Intel i7-4790K @ 4.7 GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Z97-A USB3.1
Cooling	DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX400V2
Memory	16GB DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	HP RX 5500 4GB
Storage	500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD
Display(s)	Gigabyte M28U (4K 144Hz 10-bit)
Case	Corsair 4000D
Audio Device(s)	Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Power Supply	Corsair CX550M
Mouse	Logitech MK295
Keyboard	Logitech MK295

System Name	EventHorizon
Processor	Intel® Core™ Processor i9-13900KF 8P/16 + 16E 3.00GHz [Turbo 5.7GHz] 36MB Cache LGA1700
Motherboard	ASUS PRIME Z790-P
Cooling	CyberpowerPC MasterLiquid Lite 240mm ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler
Memory	32GB (16GBx2) DDR5/6000MHz Dual Channel Memory (KINGSTON FURY BEAST RGB)
Video Card(s)	GeForce RTX™ 4080 16GB
Storage	2TB WD BLACK SN850X (PCIe Gen4) NVMe M.2 SSD - Seq R/W: Up to 7300/6600 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 1200/110
Display(s)	LG 34''
Case	CyberPowerPC HYTE Y60 Dual Chamber Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Panoramic View Tempered Glass + 2x120mm
Audio Device(s)	Asus Strix w/Alan Finote mod for Windows 11
Power Supply	High Power 1300W 80+ GOLD Full Modular w/ PCIE 12+4Pins Connector for PCIe 5.0 graphics cards
Mouse	Steelseries Rival 600 wired
Keyboard	Steelseries Apex 7 TKL red Switch
Software	Win 11 Pro

Processor	Intel i7-4790K @ 4.7 GHz
Motherboard	ASUS Z97-A USB3.1
Cooling	DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX400V2
Memory	16GB DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	HP RX 5500 4GB
Storage	500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD
Display(s)	Gigabyte M28U (4K 144Hz 10-bit)
Case	Corsair 4000D
Audio Device(s)	Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Power Supply	Corsair CX550M
Mouse	Logitech MK295
Keyboard	Logitech MK295

System Name	Chip
Processor	Amd 5600X
Motherboard	MSI B450M Mortar Max
Cooling	Hyper 212
Memory	2x 16g ddr4 3200mz
Video Card(s)	RX 6700
Storage	5.5 tb hd 220 g ssd
Display(s)	Normal moniter
Case	something cheap
VR HMD	Vive

System Name	daily driver Mac mini M2 Pro
Processor	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (6 p-cores, 4 e-cores)
Motherboard	Apple proprietary
Cooling	Apple proprietary
Memory	Apple proprietary 16GB LPDDR5 unified memory
Video Card(s)	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (16-core GPU)
Storage	Apple proprietary onboard 512GB SSD + various external HDDs
Display(s)	LG UltraFine 27UL850W (4K@60Hz IPS)
Case	Apple proprietary
Audio Device(s)	Apple proprietary
Power Supply	Apple proprietary
Mouse	Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Keyboard	Keychron K1 tenkeyless (Gateron Reds)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S (hosted on a different PC)
Software	macOS Sonoma 14.7
Benchmark Scores	(My Windows daily driver is a Beelink Mini S12 Pro. I'm not interested in benchmarking.)

System Name	Scan 3XS System
Processor	Intel Core i7 11700K
Motherboard	ASUS TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI
Cooling	Corsair Hydro H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB
Memory	64GB Kingston FURY Beast (2x32GB) DDR4 3200Mhz
Video Card(s)	10GB EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA GAMING
Storage	1TB Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus, 2TB Seagate HDD, 240GB Kingston SSD
Display(s)	Samsung C32JG5x Curved, 1080p, 1920 x 1080
Case	Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB
Audio Device(s)	USB Speakers 2.1
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x 80PLUS GOLD
Mouse	Razer Mouse
Keyboard	ROCCAT Horde
Software	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit 23H2

System Name	Ryzen Monster
Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair Hero VII WiFi
Cooling	Corsair H100i RGB Platinum
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (4x8GB) 3200Mhz CMW16GX4M2C3200C16
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix RX5700XT OC 8Gb
Storage	WD Black 500GB NVMe 250Gb Samsung SSD, OCZ 500Gb SSD WD M.2 500Gb, plus three spinners up to 1.5Tb
Display(s)	LG 32GK650F-B 32" UltraGear™ QHD
Case	Cooler Master Storm Trooper
Audio Device(s)	Supreme FX on board
Power Supply	Corsair RM850X full modular
Mouse	Corsair Ironclaw wireless
Keyboard	Logitech G213
VR HMD	Headphones Logitech G533 wireless
Software	Windows 11 Start 11
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Time Spy 4532 (9258 March 2021, 9399 July 2021)

System Name	Commercial towing vehicle "Nostromo"
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	X570 Unify
Cooling	EK-AIO 360
Memory	32 GB Fury 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	4070 Ti Eagle
Storage	SN850 NVMe 1TB + Renegade NVMe 2TB + 870 EVO 4TB
Display(s)	25" Legion Y25g-30 360Hz
Case	Lian Li LanCool 216 v2
Audio Device(s)	Razer Blackshark v2 Hyperspeed / Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
Power Supply	HX1500i
Mouse	Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition
Keyboard	Scope II 96 Wireless
Software	Windows 11 23H2 / Fedora w. KDE

System Name	AlderLake
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	White DJ in Detroit
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Plantronics 5220, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

The Big Useful List Of Free Useful Programs To Use Usually For Free

Astronaut

Freshwater Moderator

New Member

Freshwater Moderator

Freshwater Moderator

Supported formats:​

WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista​

WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista​

Freshwater Moderator

Fishfaced Nincompoop

Supported formats:

WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista

WifiDiagnosticsView a Wifi diagnostics tool for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista