Free software

We have tried and tested lots of software, and here is our pick of the crop for free software:

OpenOffice.org

http://www.openoffice.org/

If you're looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, try OpenOffice.org. Though not as fully-­featured as the Microsoft Office, the suite includes a very capable word processor and spreadsheet that are compatible with MS Office files. There's also a presentation app, a diagramming tool, and a database. OpenOffice.org may be all the suite you need.

Spybot S&D

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/

This will scan your whole system for spyware and report back to you the results. It can take a few minutes to do a whole scan, but for the peace of mind it provides it is well worth it. Updates are free, and it is available in many different languages.

FileZilla

http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/

FileZilla is a full-featured FTP client that supports Secure FTP, SSL, and other protocols in a slick interface, complete with a tree-structured site manager that lets you store settings for multiple sites. An option to set speed limits can prevent download quotas from being triggered on networks that monitor bandwidth usage.

AVG Free

http://free.grisoft.com/

This program splits its user interface between Control Center and Test Center, which can be a bit confusing. But it does what an antivirus app should: It scans files on access, on demand, and on schedule. It also scans e-mail, both incoming and outgoing. According to Grisoft, it's totally Vista-ready.

ZoneAlarm

http://www.zonelabs.com/

The venerable ZoneAlarm doesn't have all the features of ZoneAlarm Pro's firewall. Its program control asks you whether to allow programs rather than consulting the SmartDefense Advisor database. It doesn't have the component control or OSFirewall features, so it won't block "leak test" techniques. But it's tough as nails; malware can't disable it.

Audacity

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

This is a powerful audio editing/recording software package that doesn't require much training. It works on Linux, Mac, and Windows, and it handles many file types, including OGG, MP3, AIFF, AU, and WAV (but not WMA or AAC). Its features include 32-bit/96-KHz recording and editing (up to 16 channels), independent speed and pitch control, noise removal, a spectrogram mode, and tons of built-in effects. But it's also perfect for quick ­recordings and editing long files.

Notepad++

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/

With Notepad++, you get many of EditPad Pro's advanced features for free. The interface is more cluttered, but this text editor, billed as a source-code editor, includes macros, collapsible sections, and syntax coloring for over 40 programming languages, from HTML and JavaScript to Fortran and Smalltalk