ShellExView
Allows you to manage options that appear in your context menu, thumbnail viewers, shell extensions, system folders and all other explorer extensions.
[by Searinox]
nLite
Install XP without all the trouble. This tool will help you to create one cd/dvd with all you favorite programs. Not just that you can enter your user information like name, country, etc to the unattended cd. You just have to sit and relax when the installation starts. And the good thing is you can use this in any computer you wantâŚHelp is available in their forumsâŚ
[by Damitha]
FreePascal
Who says Pascal is dead? With FreePascal, it is not dead; it is alive, cross-platform, and very fast, to boot! Also use the free Lazarus graphical IDE - which looks very much like Borlandâs Delphi. I found programs written in Pascal to be easier to understand, easier to maintain, and usually bug-free by the third compile. Quite unlike C/C++, which are usually still not bug-free by the 50th compileâŚ
[by pepoluan]
Allway Sync
A very good, easy-to-use synchronizer. I use this to synchronize files from my home pc to my USB disk, from my USB disk to my office pc, and back again.
[by pepoluan]
Dvdisaster
CDs and DVDs are prone to scratches and cracks which will make you lose your data. This utility is able to create Error Correction (.ecc) files which you can carry in a USB disk. With the .ecc files, dvdisaster can recover your lost data.
[by pepoluan]
Hashcalc
Freeware GUI-based hash (MD5, SHA1, CRC32, whathaveyou) calculator.
[by pepoluan]
Launchy
Instead of spelunking up and down the start menu, just type the keywords and this program provides you a list of matching programs. Just select, and next time your keyword will default to this program. I rarely use the start menu nowadaysâŚ
[by pepoluan]
Evernote
Integrate all your note in a freetext database with a papertape interface. All notes are fully-searchable can have multiple categories. Surely beats keeping a bunch of .txt files for your notes: They are not searchable, and youâll have a royal pain trying to categorize them.
[by pepoluan]
SamSpade
A comprehensive set of Internet tools. A little old but still good.
[by Toggie]
Easy Cleaner
A nice registry (and other things) cleaner.
[by Toggie]
SIV ( System Information Viewer)
A comprehensive collection of tools to find out whatâs in your PC.
[by Toggie]
Bulk Rename Utility
Bulk Rename Utility is a utility which allows you to easily rename files and directories, based upon extemely flexible criteria. Add date-stamps, replace numbers, insert strings, convert case, add auto-numbers, process folders and subfoldersâŚplus loads more!
[by Toggie]
MBM 5
A utility to monitor various sensors on your motherboard. Once configured it displays temperature related and fan speed related information in a number of ways. It can also be use as a plugin for Samurize
[by Toggie]
Starter
With this you can start and stop any of your start-up programs; you can see all your running processes and the amount of resources they are using, and can terminate any processes right from there; you can also see all your services listed and can edit them, start them, or stop them whenever you choose. I find it so handy it is always the first utility that I install.
[by JJasper]
StartRight
Another little startup manager, by joejoesoft. It allows you to customize your program run order, customize delays, auto-tune delays (based on CPU usage), notifies about new items, pause or stop program execution, and can automatically disable all new programs.
[by Little Mac]
Startup Control Panel
with this you can easily configure which programs run when your computer starts.
[by pandlouk]
Lavalys
Lavalys provides integrated management and monitoring solutions for Windows-based systems which addresses the growing needs for organizations to protect their IT network investments without breaking their budgets.
[by UGnee]
M8 free clipboard
Not as powerful than the discontinued M8 multi clipboard, but still very usable. Main thing for me is it preserves file formats. for example i can copy from corel or fireworks and i can go back any time and paste editables shapes or whatever i copied, rather than just a bitmap which is what most other clipboards do (even paid ones). Info
[by legion1978]
ShellEnhancer
ShellEnhancer is an application designed to enhance the default shell of Windows and to make your life easier. More info here. They also have some other interesting apps there Nuonsoft
[by legion1978]
ShirusuPad
ShirusuPad is an easy-to-use, yet powerful program, designed to always be right at your finger tips, yet as discreet as possible, allowing you to conveniently make notes of any kind.
Key Features
- Unlimited number of Tabs, meaning unlimited number of notes.
- Tabs can be dragged out of the main window, and function just like post-its.
- Your notes can be encryptet, allowing only you to read them.
- Sleek, and very, very innovative design, taking up almost no space.
- Smart show/hide. Itâs there only when you need it.
- Supports alphablending, i.e. transparency.
- URL-highlighting.
- Everything saved automatically. All you need to do is make the notes.
[by legion1978]
Strokeit
StrokeIt is an advanced mouse gesture recognition engine and command processor. StrokeIt can currently recognize more than 80 unique mouse gestures and can be easily trained to recognize many more. For each gesture recognized, StrokeIt can execute a user-defined set of commands within the active application.
[by legion1978]
Find Junk Files 3.0
Very thorough junk file cleaner that cleans junk files, temporary files, and cleans up tracksâŚ
[by adchia]
TCP Optimizer
A great internet tweaker!
[by adchia]
Xen / Xentweak
Two very useful apps, one is a thorough disk cleaner and the other is a great tweaker if you know what you are doing.
[by adchia]
IObit Smart Defrag
A great freeware alternative to defragmenters like O&O still in beta. Once it is officially released, it should be just as good as O&O.
[by adchia]
AusLogics Disk Defrag
One of the fastest free defragers.
from vendor: AUSLOGICS DISK DEFRAG USES MICROSOFTâS SAFE DEFRAGMENTATION API, AND PROVIDES AN INCREASED DEFRAGMENTATION SPEED AND DETAILED CLUSTER MAP AND DEFRAGMENTATION REPORT.
[by pandlouk]
Power Defragmenter
Easy-to-use Defragmenter that makes contig by sysinternals easy for novices!
[by adchia]
Camouflage
Program to compress files. The fun part is: It can, for example, make a .JPG image file with hidden content inside it, that can only be un-compressed with this same software. 
[by BullHorn]
Zipgenius
A file compression suite. Lets you compress files to almost any kind of archive.it is easy to use and supports more than 20 formats of compressed archives, including RAR, ARJ, ACE, CAB, SQX, 7-zip, etc.
[by pandlouk]
7-Zip and ZipGenius
Two top of the line Zip Utilities. For people who love to have a nicer interface, I suggest that you go for ZipGenius.
[by DoomScythe]
Process Explorer
A nifty program to check what is going on on your computer. It analyses current running processes and offer you a way to terminate them. Recommended for diagnostics.
[by DoomScythe]
winmd5sum
A utility that calculates the MD5 sum of a file. MD5 sum of a file is like a thumbprint of the file. If you donât know what a MD5 sum is, you wonât need this program anyway. However, if you are curious, just start a thread and I will reply.
[by DoomScythe]
Ccleaner
Ccleaner works great cleaning files etcâŚand yes you can customize which cookies to clean or not, back up the registry before cleaning it, etcâŚ
[by comicfan2000]
Agent ransack
I have used Agent ransack to browse for those tough files for a long time now and itâs the fastest and most thorough seeker in my opinion.
[by comicfan2000]
XuMouse
This is the only place I found to get XUmouse and is an older prog. It clicks for you. If you play games that you want to keep clicking on a button and not be there for it, this is great.
[by comicfan2000]
The Dude
Brilliant freeware LAN mapper and discovery tool. None better!
[by panic]
IZArc
Zip/unzip tool
[by KingKull]
MD5summer
MD5summer is an application which generates and verifies md5 and SHA1 checksums. Its output file is compatible with the output of the Linux GNU MD5Sum and it will also read Linux generated files. No installation is needed for this; just download it and run it.
[by pandlouk]
SVS
I can recommend a nice free virtualizating program: SVS or Software Vitualization Solution.
If you want to test new software and want to get rid of the any hassle if the program is not to your liking or it is incompatible with your system.
You install the software you like to try in a virtual environment.
You have to âactivateâ the program, once it is installed, via an icon in the window of SVS. It triggers the virtual enviroment to start with the program.
As long as the program is not activated it is like it wasnt installed in the first place. When activated the files appear in your file system. Nothing is written to the registry itself, it is written in the virtual environment but windows thinks it is installed.
If you dont like the software you try? Just delet the icon in SVS window and all traces of that program is gone.
You can export the program to another computer that has SVS installed.
Here are som free exported programs: http://www.svsdownloads.com/
All you have to do is to import the .vsa file into SVS and activate it.
They dont recommend it for malware testing. It propably will work against most of the malware, but Altiris (the developers) have not built this program (or tested) for that purpouse.
I use it alot to test software (I do test alot of software 
) and I never have to worry that it wont uninstall properly, ie leaving traces in registry, leaving files behind or that they simply doesnt uninstall because of a porly written uninstaller.
[by sukarof]
VirtualBox
OpenSource âfull virtualizationâ Virtual Machine software for x86 computers. It has a modular design with Client/Server setup, and a full Software Development Kit; you can change the interface without digging into the source code. The developerâs statement: âInnoTek VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware. Targeted at server, desktop and embedded use, it is now the only professional-quality virtualization solution that is also Open Source Software.â
[by Someone]
Locate32
fast file search.
From the authors web site:
"This program saves names of all files in your hard drives to file database. After that you can locate files. Very fast. This program works like updatedb and locate in Unix systems. Win32 based locating program also included. Program works with Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP (and with Windows 95 if Internet Explorer 3 is installed). "
A bit like Agent Ransack, but since it works with a database of the files it is much faster. The downside is that it takes 2.5 minutes to update the database (329Gb of files in my machine) you can schedule the update of the database although it doesnt take much resources while updating.
Once the database is updated file search is lightning fast.
[by sukarof]
Free Launch Bar
Free Launch Bar is a Free replacement for the standard Quick Launch bar. All functions presented in Quick Launch are also in Free Launch Bar. However, the Free Launch Bar is fully compatible with Quick Launch because it uses the same folder for shortcuts. But there is one huge difference. Free Launch Bar allows you to combine your shortcuts into groups. This feature looks like popup menus. This vastly improves the management of your shortcuts and save working space on your desktop. By using Free Launch Bar, you speed up the launching of your applications like never before.
[by Kail]
PowerOff
Poweroff is a small program for Win95/98/NT/W2K/XP to schedule a shutdown/reboot/logoff/poweroff/Standby/Hibernate/Lock/Wake-On-LAN at a certain time. It also support command line options that allows poweroff to be used in batch scripts. It has a built-in scheduler, it allows you to run a program before doing the action, you can give a warning message to the user, wait for a process to finish before doing the action and full remote control is supported.
[by wisanggeni]
LSrunas
LSrunas can be used to run a command using another user account and passing the password as a parameter. This is a big improvement over the standard runas tool which is not able to accept a password. LSrunas can be used in scripts.
[by wisanggeni]
ISO Producer
ISO Producer is an small tool created by JNS (http://www.emucheater.com) that creates ISO images in a fast, reliable and easy way using PSEmu Pro compatible CDR plugins.
[by wisnaggeni]
TaskSwitch XP
TaskSwitchXP is an advanced task management utility that picks up where the standard Windows Alt+Tab switcher leaves off. It provides the same functionality, and adds visual styles to the dialog and also enhances it by displaying thumbnail preview of the application that will be switched to.
[by wisnaggeni]
Password Safe
Stores passwords in an encrypted file using twofish file encryption.
[by MadJack]
ΣΎΟξĎÎą v3
This one is for greek users only. Itâs a calendar in greek lang
ÎÎżĎĎοΝĎγΚο Οξ κΚνΡĎÎĎ, ικίνΡĎÎľĎ, ονοΟιĎĎΚκÎĎ ÎłÎšÎżĎĎÎĎ. ÎΚĎιγĎγΎ κιΚ ĎĎÎżĎĎĎΚκĎν ΡΟξĎοΟΡνΚĎν. ÎÎźĎινίΜξĎιΚ Οξ ĎĎικĎÎšÎşĎ ĎĎĎĎÎż ĎĎÎżĎÎľ ΞξκΚνΏνξ ĎÎą Windows γΚι νι ÎźÎąĎ ÎľÎ˝ÎˇÎźÎľĎĎĎξΚ γΚι ĎΎΟξĎÎą κιΚ γΚι ĎÎż ÎľĎĎΟξνο δΚΏĎĎΡΟι κιΚ ĎÎľĎΚΝιΟβΏνξΚ ĎÎťÎŽÎ¸ÎżĎ ÎąĎĎĎονοΟΚκĎν ĎĎοΚĎξίĎν.(ÎĎÎżĎ ÎşÎťÎľÎŻĎξΚ βÎβιΚι δξν ĎÎąĎιΟÎνξΚ ĎÎŻĎÎżĎÎą ĎĎΡ ΟνΎΟΡ ĎĎν Windows).
[by pandlouk]
Handy Free Clock
Itâs not a simple clock.
âItâs a clock! Itâs a stopwatch! Itâs an egg timer! You can set alarms too!â (by the developer)
Also has options to customize the alarm sounds, to start with windows and to be always-on-top
[by pandlouk]
Citrus Alarm Clock
Tired of setting your alarm clock to a different time each day? Tired of waking up to typical radio fodder or annoying beeps? Citrus can help! Citrus is a software alarm clock that turns your computer into an alarm clock!
[by: rgreene501]
Notepad++ 3.8
A generic source code editor (it tries to be anyway) and Notepad replacement written in C++ with the win32 API. The aim of Notepad++ is to offer a slim and efficient binary with a totally customizable GUI.
[by AOwL]
Dial-a-Fix
Dial-a-fix is an advanced utility for 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows written by DjLizard in Borland Delphi 7 that repairs various Windows problems, such as:
* Windows Update errors and problems with Automatic Updates
* SSL, HTTPS, and Cryptography service (signing/verification) issues
* COM/ActiveX object errors and missing registry entries
* and more.
Dial-a-fix (hereafter known as âDAFâ) is a collection of known fixes gleaned from Microsoft Knowledgebase articles, Microsoft MVPs, and other important support forums, that will assist you in repairing problems with your system. Although this tool is ordinarily meant for power users, technicians, and administrators, it is quite safe to use even without technical guidance (although guidance is recommended). Simply choose the solutions you wish to apply via checkmarks, and click GO. There are other buttons and tools present on the main dialog as well, such as the policy scanner. All tools and checkmarks identify their purpose when you mouse over them. DAFâs primary philosophy is to fix problems by setting various things back to their original Microsoft defaults. DAF currently does not interface with or repair any third party programs (and there are no plans to do so). DAF works on all pertinent 32-bit versions of Windows: 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, and Server 2003. Dial-a-fix dynamically disables functions that are not applicable to your version of Windows. The version of Windows with the most support and functionality is currently Windows XP.
[by Kail]
WireShark
One word: Ethereal
Do I need to say more?
For the unaware, WireShark is packet sniffer with a bunch of protocols and abilities. Very usefull.
Be sure to check out WireShark FAQ Question 1.2 about the Ethereal/WireShark relation!
[by wjpm]
Nmap
Nmap (âNetwork Mapperâ) is a free open source utility for network exploration or security auditing. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, although it works fine against single hosts. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. Nmap runs on most types of computers and both console and graphical versions are available. Nmap is free and open source.
[by wjpm]
RegSeeker
RegSeeker includes a powerful registry cleaner and can display various informations like your startup entries, several histories (even index.dat files), installed applications and much more ! With RegSeeker you can search for any item inside your registry, export/delete the results, open them in the registry. RegSeeker also includes a tweaks panel to optimize your OS ! Now RegSeeker includes a file tool to search for duplicate files, bad shortcuts and more!
Use with care and make backups!
[by wjpm]
A great program for cleaning your registry ( it has not given me any problems until now but you should perform a backup for being sure)
[by Alexx]
Regseeker Exclude.ini (maintained by someone in CCleaner Forums)
A MUST-HAVE for Regseeker users. It makes the registry scanning over 10 times safer!
[by adchia]
NTP + NTP Time Server Monitor
An NTP software plus a time server monitor for controlling.
[by wjpm]
Jacksum
Jacksum is a free (OSI Certified Open Source Software) and platform independent (Java) software for computing and verifying checksums, CRCs and message digests (known as hash values and fingerprints).
[by wjpm]
System Information for Windows
It is amazing, how much information about your system (hardware/software), this little program will give you.
[by Alexx]
RightMark CPU Clock Utility (RMClock)
âRightMark CPU Clock Utility (RMClock) is a small GUI application designed for real-time CPU frequency, throttling and load level monitoring and on-the-fly adjustment of the CPU performance level on supported CPU models via processorâs power management model-specific registers (MSRs). In automatic management mode it continuously monitors the CPU usage level and dynamically adjusts the CPU frequency, throttle and/or voltage level as needed, realizing the âPerformance on Demandâ concept.â
âA great tool for controlling your mobile CPU consumption/power. It is very easy to use and the users that have notebooks (or desktop with mobile CPU) will love it. ;Dâ
[by pandlouk]
GhostScript (CNY)
Ghostscript is a package of software that provides:
* An interpreter for the PostScript ⢠language, with the ability to convert PostScript language files to many raster formats, view them on displays, and print them on printers that donât have PostScript language capability built in;
* An interpreter for Portable Document Format (PDF) files, with the same abilities;
* The ability to convert PostScript language files to PDF (with some limitations) and vice versa; and
* A set of C procedures (the Ghostscript library) that implement the graphics and filtering (data compression / decompression / conversion) capabilities that appear as primitive operations in the PostScript language and in PDF.
[by Little Mac]
Whatâs Running
Ever wonder if your PC is keeping secrets from you? Wonder no more. The freeware utility Whatâs Running reveals all your systemâs active processes, services, drivers, and connections. Itâs like Windows Task Manager, except far more informative. The cramped multipane interface is very hard to read, but even it has its good points: it lists processes in a parent-child hierarchy (a good way to spot malware); it lets you choose which columns of information to display; and it makes stopping or prioritizing processes as simple as right-clicking. It even lets you control which programs launch at start-up. Looks aside, Whatâs Running ought to appeal to system administrators, support specialists, and tech-savvy home users who want to know precisely what their computer is up to.
[by Someone]
Zsoft Uninstaller
Zsoft uninstaller is an easier way to help you uninstall applications.
[by andyman35]
Advanced WindowCare
Advanced WindowsCare v2 Personal is a comprehensive PC care utility that takes an one-click approach to help protect, repair and optimize your computer. It provides an all-in-one and super convenient solution for PC maintenance and protection.
[by Rikitikitawi]
Hamachi
Hamachi is a program that allows you to arrange multiple computers into their own secure network just as if they were connected by a physical network cable.
[by gebeleizis]
Lupas Rename
Lupas Rename is a FREEWARE program developed to rename a big number of files.
[by gebeleizis]
InstallPad
InstallPad downloads the latest versions of your favorite programs.
[by gebeleizis]
Ultravnc
a powerfull, easy to use and free software that can display the screen of another computer (via internet or network) on your own screen. The program allows you to use your mouse and keyboard to control the other PC remotely. It means that you can work on a remote computer, as if you were sitting in front of it, right from your current location.I love it! I use it all the time*
[by gebeleizis]
AppSnap
AppSnap is an application that simplifies installation of software. It automatically figures out the latest version, downloads the installer and
then installs the software in one seamless step.
[by gebeleizis]
VMWare
VMware Player and Server are free! âOptimize and manage your IT infrastructure, from the desktop to the data center, by virtualizing your computing, storage and networking systems with VMware software.â . Do you want to try Linux without uninstalling Windows? VMWARE! Do you want to try other applications in windows to see if there are BSODâs? VMWARE, but here youâll need an extra copy of Windows with valid keys. Pre built - http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/
[by Someone]
Bartâs Preinstalled Environment
âBartâs PE Builder helps you build a âBartPEâ (Bart Preinstalled Environment) bootable Windows CD-Rom or DVD from the original Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation/setup CD, very suitable for PC maintenance tasks.â
It will give you a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface (800x600) and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. Very handy for burn-in testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on.
This will replace any Dos bootdisk in no time!"
[by Someone]
Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
âUBCD4Win is a bootable CD which contains software that allows you to repair, restore, or diagnose almost any computer problem. Our goal is to be the ultimate free hardware and software diagnostic tool. All software included in UBCD4Win are freeware utilities for WindowsÂŽ. UBCD4Win is based on Bartâs PEŠ. Bartâs PEŠ builds a WindowsÂŽ âpre-installâ environment CD, basically WindowsÂŽ booted from CD. We include many free hardware and software diagnostic tools that allow you to fix almost any problem you will face with your computer. With network support, the ability to modify NTFS volumes, recover deleted files, create new NTFS volumes, scan hard drives for viruses, etc. this project includes almost everything you need to repair your system problems. This project has been put together to be the ultimate recovery cd and not a replacement OS (Operating System).â
[by Someone]
Belarc Advisor
" The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server. "
[by Someone]
Secunia Software Inspector
âDetects insecure versions of applications installed , Verifies that all Microsoft patches are applied, Assists you in updating your system and applications, Runs through your browser. No installation or download is required.â
[by Someone]
Baraha
Baraha is a word processing application for creating documents in Indian languages. It is developed with an intention to provide a free software to enable and encourage Indians use their native languages on the computers. Baraha can be effectively used for creating documents, sending emails and publishing web pages. Baraha 7.0 supports Kannada, Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Gurumukhi, Bengali, and Oriya scripts. The following table shows the languages supported.
[by maxqnz]
Process Tamer
Process Tamer is a tiny (140k) and super efficient utility for Microsoft Windows XP/2K/NT that runs in your system tray and constantly monitors the cpu usage of other processes. When it sees a process that is overloading your cpu, it reduces the priority of that process temporarily, until its cpu usage returns to a reasonable level. From http://www.donationcoder.com/
[by Pedro*]
JKDefrag
Free (released under the GNU General Public License) disk defragment and optimize utility for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use, fast, low overhead, with several optimization strategies, and can handle floppies and USB disks/sticks.
There is also a GUI available Here
[by adchia]
System Spec
System Spec is a great system profiling utility. It is a single executable file with no installation required - just run it as is. It details just about every facet of a Windows PC. Runs under Windows 98SE, ME, NT, 2000 and XP (98SE requires WMICORE to be installed). Vista compatability is yet to be determined.
[by panic]
