Yes, I use Linux for most things, but I have a dual-boot set up between Fedora and Windows XP. I play a few games that are Windows only, so I have to keep Windows around…

I have found some useful programs over the years and thought I would share a few of my favorites with you (in no particular order). These are all (currently) free or free for personal use.

Microsoft RegClean
I have been using this since Windows98 and it even works in Vista. It is a registry cleaner that makes an undo file just in case you feel it has made a mistake. In all the years I have been using it I have never had to use the undo file. It is not as fancy as many of the newer registry utilities, but it’s a small application and it only runs on-demand. I highly recommend it. MS Office 200 users should read this before using.

DClean
This is a great file cleaner (logs, temp files, browser history remover, etc…) that supports custom templates and is also a lightweight program that runs on-demand. I really don’t like programs that sit in the system tray constantly monitoring my system and looking for updates via the internet.

CCleaner
A full featured system optimization program and file cleaning tool. I don’t really use it anymore because I am fine with RegClean and DClean, but this may be a better (and full-featured) option for many of you.

JKDefrag
a disk defragmenter and optimizer for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, 2008, and X64. It is automatic and very user friendly. It is fast, reliable and can even run as a screensaver! Much better (IMHO) than Windows defrag.

HexEdit
A simple no-frills hex editor that is quite simple to use.

MyUninstaller
A lightweight and easy to use alternative to Windows’ add/remove programs. Works with everything from Win98 to Vista.

SumatraPDF
A lightweight PDF file viewer that is a great alternative for Adobe’s own PDF reader.

Unison
File synchronization utility that works locally or across a LAN/network. Works with Unix and Windows and can deal logically with files that have changed on both machines. Remember that file synchronization is not necessarily the best backup strategy as errors can be propagated to your backup!!!

XP Antispy
A great program to disable/enable lots of (hidden and obscure) features, settings, etc… in Windows. Allows you to easily take control of your system and change settings that may be difficult to control otherwise…

Spybot Search and Destroy
My favorite anti-malware utility. I disable the realime protection (TeaTimer and SDHelper IIRC) and just run it on-demand. You probably would prefer the real-time protection…

ClamWin
A great on-demand anti-virus program. It does not have features like real-time protection, I just run it from time to time… (You can schedule updates and scans though).

AVG Free
I like this anti-virus, but it has gotten a bit bloated and uses a lot of system resources… It is probably one of the better anti-virus programs there is (for free at least).

I install it from a command line or batch file to disable a lot of the components so it does not take over (and bog down) my system with components that I don’t want….

avg_free_stf_xxxxxxxx.exe /hide /no_welcome /NOAVGTOOLBAR /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_Firewall /NO_CC_STARTUP /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_EMC

(where  ‘avg_free_stf_xxxxxxxx.exe’ is replaced in the command with the name of the current version)

This Installs AVG AntiVirus with Web Shield. it disables the following components: Security
echo Toolbar, Link Scanner, Firewall, Tray icon, and E-mail echo Scanner. I feel that these are unnecessary and slow down my computer and internet browsing.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
I have heard great things about this one but have never used it myself, maybe I should check it out…

7-Zip
I prefer this one to WinZip… It can uncompress many types of archives (7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z) and can create (standard or password protected) .zip and .7z archives (and a few others I think). I have been using this for years and it’s great.

Firefox
A great web browser, I like it much more than Internet Explorer! It also has a plug-in system that allows you to do things like block ads and turn scripts off in web pages (which I feel makes me a little more secure when browsing). It is very customizable and supports custom themes.

Virtual Box
A great way to virtualize an operating system or browser appliance… Very fast and easy to configure. I use it to run Windows applications under Linux.

OpenOffice
A great alternative to MS Office, another one I have been using for years.

GIMP
An impressive image manipulation program. Lots of filters and it supports advanced editing like alpha channels and layers.

Many of the above programs are available for OS X and Linux/Unix as well as Windows.

Happy (and safe) computing!

-Chris