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You are here: Home / Misc Tech Tips / 15 More Free Software Downloads

15 More Free Software Downloads


Our original post, 15 Powerful Free Computer Programs, has been very popular with German Pearls’ visitors. Since writing that post I’ve realized I left a few great programs off the original list. Also, I’ve learned about other free software downloads recommended by our readers through comments on the blog and on our Google + posts. So, without further ado, here is our list of 15 more powerful free programs.

As a follow-up to our popular post, here are 15 MORE free software downloads that are worth checking out.

15 More Powerful Free Software Downloads to Check Out

Note: This post may contain affiliate links.

Free Software Downloads- Pictures and Graphics Programs

1. Irfanview

Irfanview is a graphics viewer available for Windows. It is free for personal use or, for a small fee, can be used for commercial purposes. There is an impressive number of file formats that this program can view and an even more impressive list of features. If you’re looking for help with Irfanview, there’s a wealth of information on their forum page.

2. Inkscape

Inkscape is a free, open source, vector graphics editing program for Windows, Mac and Linux. Many people use Inkscape to create files in the SVG (scalable vector graphic) format. (I’ve used Inkscape to create svg cutting files for my Silhouette and Cricut. When I first began using Inkscape I found Narelle’s tutorials at the Non-Crafty Crafter very helpful. These may also be helpful to you when first learning Inkscape.)

Free Software Downloads – Video Tools

3. Make MKV

MakeMKV is a free program (aka transcoder) which allows you to convert video into the MKV file format. This format allows you to store video, audio, chapters, subtitles, metadata, etc all in one file. MakeMKV can be used to save a copy of a fully functional DVD into one file on your computer.

4. Handbrake

Handbrake is a free, open source, video transcoder. This is just a fancy way of saying it’s a free program which will allow you to convert a video from one filetype to another. One of the best features of this program is its filetype presets. Let’s say you have an .mkv video that you want to play on your Apple TV. You load the .mkv file into Handbrake and select the Apple TV from Handbrake’s presets. The program will then tweak all the settings necessary to create a video your Apple TV can play without you having to know anything about editing video files!

5. Windows Movie Maker

Creating videos can be a daunting task. Windows Movie Makericon’s simple interface makes a complicated process seem feasible. The Microsoft website doesn’t offer a download for a Windows 10 version of Movie Maker but the Windows 8 appears to be compatible from my experience.




Free Software Downloads – Music Programs

6. Spotify

Create your own radio stations and listen to music you love with Spotify. Download the player to your computer, type in a song or artist you like to create a station and rock out! Spotify has a free program which allows you to play the radio (with ads). If you like it and prefer to upgrade you can get ad-free listening and the option to pick songs and play music offline.

Free Software Downloads – File Programs

7. Cute PDF

PDF (portable document format) is a universally known file format that’s easy to use for sharing documents, books, presentations and more. Say you want to send a powerpoint presentation to someone who doesn’t have powerpoint or you want to email someone a word document to view quickly on their phone? (Note: If you do want to send the original document but find the file size too large you may be interested in our post on how to send large file sizes.) Creating and sending a pdf file is a great way to do either of these things. However, how do you create a pdf file? If you don’t want to pay for Adobe Acrobat,
you can use the free Cute PDF. With Cute PDF installed on your computer you can create a pdf by selecting print from the program and choosing Cute PDF as a printer.

8. Foxit

Foxit Reader is another free program which gives you the ability to create a pdf document from a program or from a scanned document. Add comments, insert photos and videos and share all through the Foxit program.

9. Open office

When most people think about creating a document on the computer they think about Microsoft Word. When they think about creating a spreadsheet, they think Microsoft Excel. These programs are part of Microsoft Office. In previous years Office would cost you hundreds of dollars. Now, with Microsoft’s new pricing structure, you can purchase the use of the most up to date Office programs for a small monthly fee. If you prefer not to pay for office, you may choose to go with Open Office. Open Office includes document, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database and math programs – absolutely free!

10. OneNote

Our previous list included Evernote as a resource. OneNote, Microsoft’s version of a note-taking, to-do list mastering memory keeper is also very popular and powerful. Download the app, use OneNote online or get the free software download for your computer.

11. Filezilla

Filezilla offers free client and server ftp solutions. It’s an open source software with its own Wiki page and forums for support.

12. Imgburn

If you want or create a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray Imgburn can help. With this free program you can create an image of an existing disc to save on your computer, burn a file to a CD, create a disc from multiple files and more. Their site offers guides and a forum if you need help using the product.

Free Software Downloads – Security for your Computer

13. CCleaner

I’m sure you’ve experienced a computer that’s gotten slower as it has gotten older. As technology continues to advance at amazing speeds this is going to continue to happen. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. There are ways to clean extra, unneeded files on your computer to keep it running as efficiently as your hardware will allow. Rather than trying to clean up your computer yourself, CCleaner is a free program which will do it for you! CCleaner will clean out your old files so your computer runs faster, browsing on the internet is safer and the computer boots up faster. If you choose to upgrade to one of their paid options you can also get real-time protection, scheduled cleanings and file recovery tools.

Note: If your hard drive is filling up with your personal files you may want to check out our post to help you figure out what’s taking up all the space on your hard drive.

14. Recuva

Have you ever deleted a file only to realize you still need it? Recuva (made by the same company as CCleaner) can recover a file you accidentally delete from your computer, recycle bin, camera card or MP3 player. You could also use this to help recover files after a damaged drive or computer crash. (Speaking of a hard drive crash – eek – before a crash is a good time to learn how to easily backup your computer.)

15. Unchecky

In our post about how to download YouTube videos we talk about how careful you have to be when downloading free software online. You need to read each window that opens up carefully and uncheck the boxes for any additional programs that they attempt to install on your computer. This is the problem that Unchecky attempts to resolve. With Unchecky installed on your computer it will monitor your computer and uncheck boxes for additional programs or for programs that attempt to change your browser settings.

Conclusion

So, there you have it, another 15 powerful free software downloads. Between this post and the previous one we’ve listed 30 free programs worth checking out. I have a feeling the lists are far from complete. I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations on other programs we should check out. Leave a comment below.


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March 14, 2016

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Comments

  1. Leo says

    March 26, 2016 at 11:43 am

    What about OpenVPN ?

    http://techarena51.com/index.php/how-to-install-an-opensource-vpn-server-on-linux/

    • amy says

      March 29, 2016 at 9:01 am

      I haven’t used that but you’re not the first to mention it – I’ll have to go check it out. Thanks!
      Amy

  2. Jim Lanphere says

    June 30, 2016 at 7:48 am

    Thank You for your “TIME” πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

    • amy says

      June 30, 2016 at 4:50 pm

      πŸ™‚

  3. Josh says

    July 27, 2016 at 3:53 am

    for Antivirus I like to use 360 total security. it’s completely free and has a lot of great features. they also apparently have it for android which I haven’t looked at yet

    • amy says

      July 28, 2016 at 11:41 am

      I haven’t heard of that one. I keep changing…I’ve used Avast, AVG, Avira, Eset…. πŸ™‚ I’ll have to check out 360 total security. Thanks for the tip.
      Amy

      • Stephen says

        September 10, 2016 at 9:39 pm

        Good day, I have been working in the IT field for the last 15 years and a few years ago i stumbled on Panda FREE antivirus and when i was testing it out i found it would detect things that AVG or AVIRA and AVAST would not detect.

        Also the feature that really sold me on this free product was that it can Vaccinate your USB drives so you can safely take them to another computer and back to your own without having to worry about bringing back a virus.

        • amy says

          October 5, 2016 at 10:57 pm

          Stephen,
          Panda sounds like a great resource. I haven’t tried it. I sometimes wonder if any one program could pick up every virus. Unfortunately the hackers are always one step ahead it seems.
          Amy

  4. jabon says

    December 23, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    good list. you might want to checkout Greenshot, a screenshot capture app. I use it often in Windows.

    • amy says

      January 4, 2017 at 9:56 pm

      Thanks Jabon. I always love finding new software – I’ll check that one out.
      Amy

    • Granville Taylor says

      January 7, 2017 at 9:10 am

      I’ve used Greenshot in past when I was coaching football. Worked great in capturing a screenshot.

  5. Yasar Ali says

    January 4, 2017 at 8:48 am

    They Are Nice Too.
    Thanks buddy for sharing..

    • amy says

      January 4, 2017 at 10:01 pm

      You’re welcome – thanks for checking them out.
      Amy

  6. Jhon Carter says

    March 23, 2017 at 7:04 am

    Thanks Amy for sharing this article. It is very useful, Keep sharing. Gud Luck

    • amy says

      March 25, 2017 at 3:16 pm

      Thanks Jhon! πŸ™‚
      Amy

  7. Frank Pearce says

    July 19, 2017 at 10:35 pm

    Another good photo editing resource is Gimp.com, very good at virtually any type of photo you make want to change or improve.

    • amy says

      November 16, 2017 at 6:51 pm

      Yes, I’ve heard good things about that one too. Thanks for sharing!!
      Amy

  8. joe says

    September 3, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    thanks for sharing….

    • amy says

      October 8, 2017 at 9:25 pm

      You’re welcome. Hope you found something useful!
      Amy

  9. Devil Inside says

    November 9, 2017 at 2:21 am

    Great Article Thanks Amy for sharing with us this wonderful info.

    • amy says

      November 9, 2017 at 8:36 am

      You’re welcome.

  10. Hunk says

    February 9, 2018 at 10:13 am

    Thank you for your info! But as for MakeMKV, it is NOT a video converter that converts videos to MKV. It is a Bluray and DVD ripper that rips Bluray or DVD discs to MKV. And yes it is free, but for DVD ripping. For Bluray discs, it costs $50 and I see no discount available for it.

    • amy says

      March 4, 2018 at 8:15 pm

      Thank you, you’re right I should have called it a ripper. Too bad about the blue-ray part. It’s such a handy tool for DVDs.
      Amy

  11. makemkv says

    February 18, 2018 at 6:14 am

    thanks for all of the software that you reviewed in your post, all of these software are worthy so thanks again

  12. don says

    April 4, 2019 at 2:59 am

    AMY,
    I LIVE IN HONG KONG BUT DO NOT READ OR SPEAK CHINESE. I MONITOR
    MSN, GOOGLE, ETC AS IF IN THE USA. BUT WHEN I SEARCH AND RETURN IT
    ALWAYS DEFAULTS TO MSN.HK, OR GOOGLE.HK. HOW CAN I STOP THEM FROM
    DOING THIS? WILL UNCHECKY DO IT?

    • amy says

      April 30, 2019 at 3:38 pm

      You can change your default search engine in most browsers. So, if you use Google Chrome for instance you would open the Chrome menu, click settings, scroll down and click on manage search engines. In the next window you can try to modify the default .hk to .com or the like. Hope that helps.
      Amy

  13. Paul says

    May 9, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    Windows Movie Maker runs perfectly in Windows 10 still. It is available as a download in the Windows archives.

    • amy says

      September 4, 2019 at 8:32 am

      Yes, I learned that recently as well. It is a handy little program. Thank you for mentioning it.
      Amy

Trackbacks

  1. 15 Powerful Free Software Downloads says:
    March 14, 2016 at 9:36 am

    […] Edited: Since writing this post I’ve gotten so many recommendations for other useful free software that I made a follow up post with more powerful free programs. After you check out this list you’ll want to look at 15 more free software downloads. […]

  2. Convert Excel to PDF (Save One or Multiple Sheets in a PDF) - German Pearls says:
    May 2, 2016 at 8:01 am

    […] pdf documents was typically done using Adobe Acrobat, which could be costly. Since them some free pdf converters have been released allowing more users access to this […]

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