This is a list of various web sites that I use, especially for Open Source (free) programs.

I will continue to update this page as I find additional programs that I like, or as I get more requests for programs that I use.

• 7-Zip is a program similar to WinZip, but it is open source (free). It allows you to extract the contents of several types of compressed files, such as .zip files.

• AbiWord is a very lean, fast word processor. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the full office suites, but it loads and runs very quickly. It has most of the features that most people use most of the time, so even if it does not meet all of your requirements it can be a good choice for quick documents when you don't need all of the fancy features of a product like OpenOffice or Microsoft Office. I use it in addition to OpenOffice.

• Research tools. Almost everybody is aware of, and has used at least one of, the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. These are only a few of the research tools that are available, however. Some others include:
  • Dictionaries
    • DICT.org is a dictionary server. You can look up words on the web site, or you can install programs to use to look up words. You can choose from several dictionaries. They have both client (used to look up entries) and server (provide information to the clients) software, and you can build your own dictionaries to use with the server software.
    • Wiktionary is a wiki-based dictionary, similar to Wikipedia without all of the extra detail.
  • Encyclopedias
    • Wikipedia is a wiki-based encyclopedia. Anybody can contribute to the content, so, while it is believed to be accurate, there are no guarantees of accuracy.

• I recommend the Kaspersky Internet Security Suite to protect your computer from attacks. While no product that I am aware of is 100% effective, I have had better results with this products than with others. You can download a free 30-day trial from their web site.

• Mozilla has two main products: the Firefox web browser, and the Thunderbird email client. I use both of these products. Firefox works with most web sites (except the ones that only work with Internet Explorer). Thunderbird works for email accounts that you can access using Outlook or Outlook Express. Both Firefox and Thunderbird tend to be more secure than their Microsoft equivalents, and there are a lot of plugins that you can install to change the way that they look or function.

• OpenDNS is a service that helps prevent your computer from accessing web sites that you don't want it to, either through your web browser or from a program (usually an infection). By default it just prevents access to sites that are known to host malware, but if you sign up for a (free) account you can also restrict access to other types of sites. The list of types is fairly long, and includes such types as adult content, shopping, and social networking. Some of these types are aimed at business locations, but you can choose what you want no matter whether you are using it from home or work. Note that, unlike Web of Trust (below), you cannot bypass the blocks.

• OpenOffice office suite. As good as, or better than, Microsoft Office for most people. There are versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
  • Go-OO, derived from OpenOffice and reputed to be faster and to have better integration with Microsoft Office.

• PdfCreator installs as a printer, and allows you to create a PDF from any program that you can print from.

• TeamViewer is a program that allows remote control of a computer with the permission of the owner/user of the computer being controlled. The "Join a session" version does not install anything, and does not leave anything running, so there is no way for anybody to use it to break into the computer using this tool. Free for non-commercial use.

• There are several Web Browsers besides Internet Explorer. While there are still some web sites that only work with Internet Explorer, most sites work perfectly well with other browsers, and the other browsers are often safer, faster, more configurable (via add-ins), or a combination of these. This list is by no means complete, but these are the browsers that I have tried:
  • Google Chrome is a lean, fast browser
  • Mozilla Firefox is becoming a standard, and there are many add-ins that allow yoou to add features or change its appearance.
  • Opera has long been known as one of the best at following the Internet standards
  • Apple's Safari is standard on Mac OS X, and is available for Windows as well.

• Web Of Trust is a free web browser add-in that helps you to avoid untrustworthy web sites. Users of the service rate sites on several areas, including whether a site hosts malware (viruses, spyware, etc.).

• WinPatrol works in conjunction with your other protective software (e.g. anti-virus and anti-spyware) to notify you when a new program installs itself to start automatically, as well as monitoring several other types of system changes. I highly recommend purchasing the "plus" version, which adds features to the free version, including extra information about programs that you find on your computer (e.g. is it safe, unsafe, required, etc.).