WinZip is one of the pioneers in creating a graphic based archiving software. Their zip software is only for Windows. However, it is a powerful compression utility, but easy to use. You can even create self extracting archives, making it extremely easy to extract the files later. Furthermore, it has a built-in viewer to browse through images in the archive. If you need to split the archive into smaller files, WinZip has the function to do that. The "Pro" version allows users to burn archives directly from the WinZip interface without any additional software.

WinZip

Open Office is a freely available office suite. It can be downloaded from this site and can be used in Windows OS, Mac OSX, various linux and BSD flavours as well. This fully featured piece of sottware has a word processor, a powerful spreadsheet, presentation software and graphic editing capabilites. And best of all, they are compatible with other competitor's format. Open Office is open standards compliant, which means that you don't need to worry about licenses or fees when you use a certain format. Open Office has been ported to different languages as well.

Open Office

OpenSSH is a software developed for security and reliably. It replaces the FTP protocol which is highly unsecured because all passwords are transmitted unencrypted. OpenSSH encrypts everything, including passwords and provides secure "tunneling" and authentication. OpenSSH is open source and freely available on the Net. Furthermore the OpenSSH suite replaces rlogin and telnet with the ssh program, rcp with scp, and ftp with sftp, all of which definitely more secure. OpenSSH is available for OpenBSD as well as for Linux, Solaris and even for Windows.

OpenSSH

AIM or AOL Instant Messenger is a free software for users to communicate with one another. Users of this powerful software can send messages, or even talk with other users through the Internet from any corner of the world. Furthermore, you can share pictures or even files among yourselves. They also have a free service called AIM Phoneline which acts like a phone number with a voicemail. If you like, you can use their full Phoneline service which is actually an Internet phone system tied to the AIM software for a small fee.

AIM

Filezilla is extremely stable and easy to use FTP client for Windows. This software is released as open source. The main features of this FTP client is it is able to support resume, timeout detection, firewall support, queue support, SFTP support, a smart keep alive system, proxy support, speed limit and many more. They also have a Filezilla Server for anyone looking at a FTP server. This project is constantly being updated and new versions coming out often. If you need help or would like to contribute, please visit their forums.

Filezilla

SmartFTP is a free (for non-commerical usage) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Client for Windows. This client is one of the most secure FTP clients out there. You can use it to upload files to your websites or do backups. It supports download resumes, On the fly compression, transfer queuing as well as multiple connections. SmartFTP has a comprehensive interactive tutorial if you are having problems with the software. You can also visit their forums for help. If you are using this software in a commercial environment, you can purchase it for US$36.95.

SmartFTP

Audacity is a freely available software meant for editing and recording audio. It is easy to use but surprisingly powerful and is meant for beginners and semi-advanced users. With this software, you can convert audio formats, edit audio files, record live sounds in real-time and add effects to your audio clips. Audacity produces very high quality results because of their powerful resampling and dilthering features. In addition, third party plugins can be added to enhance the features. This software is available for Windows, Mac OSX as well as various Linux distros.

Audacity

ICQ is a communication software meant for instant messaging. Users can download the software and then communicate with each other instantly from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, and this is done much faster than through email. This peer-to-peer software also enables users to do voice and video communication with other users through the use of webcams and mics. ICQ also allows users to send files to each other instantly. Another additional features is the ability to send text message to another user's cellphone. You can also join the ICQ community by participating in their forums, chatrooms, games or just join in their different groups around the world.

ICQ

Used to be called Webattack. Snap Files is a site with a huge collection of freeware and shareware available for download. They act as a central depository for developers to upload their latest files for others to access. Users can then download the files to test (trial or shareware) or even to keep (for freewares). However, the important thing is that Snap Files editors have tried and tested all the software on their site and if it not up to their standard, it will not be listed. You can also check out their featured software listings to see the best out there.

Snap Files

With a slogan like "Remember Everything", I am sure you know what this software is all about. Yes, it is all about note-taking. It helps you to remember what you have heard, your ideas, things which you have seen and so on. You can of course add photos, links or even just your own comments. After you have taken down the note, you can access it anywhere. This application is available as a web-based service but there is a client version. They have a paid (sponsored) service as well.

Evernote

XChat is a IRC (Internet Relay Chat) based chat software designed for both Windows & Linux. Not too sure which Linux distribution does it support though. Anyway, it allows users to join IRC Channels for group chatting, private chatting and even file transfers. The reason why this software is so popular among the users is because they allow multiple servers. Furthermore, XChat is highly configurable. This is licensed under the GNU General Public License, making it easily accessible to modders. However the Windows version is shareware.

XChat

XML Sitemaps is an online sitemap generator. It helps create a sitemap for you to submit to Google. It even creates a Yhoo! sitemap as well as RoR sitemap. You can even use this to create a html sitemap for your human vistors to understand your site navigation better. To do that, all you need to do is to key in your site's URL, setup a little configuration and then let XML Sitemaps do it's job. However, this service is limited to 500 URLs. For big sites which have thousands of pages, you can use their unlimited XML Sitemap generator script for US$14.99.

XML Sitemaps

ProFTPD is open source File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Sever to replace the wu-ftpd software. It's purpose is to be easily configurable and still provide a certain level of security for the administrator. And it has a lot more features as well. It is done by a team of contributors who maintain this software with a core team of developers. You can use ProFTPD to create multiple virtual FTP servers and even FTP servers for anonymous access. This software is designed to be modular, allowing the servers to have addons for more advanced features. ProFTPD runs on most Linux & BSD flavours.

ProFTPD

Foxit Software is the developer of numerous software but mainly dealing with the PDF (format). They have solutions for reading PDF files, creating PDF files and even editing PDF files. Their software also allows users to merge, split or rearrange PDF files. They support Windows and mobile devices. Foxit PDF reader for Windows is free while the other solutions are priced reasonably. Other than end-user products, they have solutions for software developers as well. They have SDKs for high quality PDF rendering which can be easily added to other applications.

Foxit Software

High Criteria is a software developer specializing in audio recording programs. Their main product is the Total Recorder. This software suite allows users to record audio from the Mic, from the Line-in input as well as from streaming music from the Internet. This suite comes in two editions, standard and professional. They also develop other software like Liberty Court Recorder, Dictation Buddy, Phone-in Buddy and many add-ons for Total Recorder. Support for their software is through email only.

High Criteria

MailWasher is one of the world leaders in email spam prevention. They develope powerful software which is very effective in combating email spam on the client side. They provide an easy to use interface to manage your incoming email through innovative methods like blacklists, filtering, preview and so on. This software is available for free. However, if you are looking for something more powerful, they also offer a "Pro" version. This comes with a more powerful filtering system as well as allowing multiple email accounts.

MailWasher

Spam Pal is a software which helps you filter out spam. It sort of works like a barrier between your email client (like Outlook Express, Thunderbird and so on) and your email server. It first downloads the emails from the server for you and then scans them for spam and if spam is found, it will tag it. You can then use your email client to filter out the tagged emails. Spam Pal uses freely available DNSBL lists on the Internet to accurately tag your emails. It also has whitelisting features and gives you full control over the software. This software is free.

Spam Pal

The name conjures up images of fat people going around in circles and touching each other. Yucks! Anyway, Sumo Paint is a powerful online image editor. And most importantly for non-artists like us, it is relatively easy to use. This online application supports numerous photo effects, drawing tools, photo editing, warp, transform and so on. Of course, the online version is free but comes with less features. If you would like to unleash your creativity, get the Pro version. It comes with tons of features to make your photos come alive and to impress your friends or clients. Do note that the pro version is a downloadable program and only supports Mac OS. Like only Mac OS users can paint.

Sumo Paint

This is a Sitemap generator software for windows. It supports both Google and Yahoo! sitemaps and automatically uploads those files for you too. You just need to install it and run the site wizard. GSite have tons of options like creating a RoR sitemap, a html sitemap and even generate a Robots.txt file for your site! It runs on all versions of windows and doesn't require a seperate database. However, if you have a big site, you might want to use an SQL server, which GSite supports as well. By the way, this software is free.

GSite Crawler

Network Magic is a piece of software which can help you setup your network easily and securely. It also enables users to share their printers on the LAN, share files between different computers, monitor web activities and lots more. It even measures your Internet speed for you. And it protects your wireless connection from intruders. Best of all, Network Magic makes setting up a home network a breeze. And it is available for the Windows Platform. Pricing is by the number of PCs. For a network of 3 PCs, the price is US$29.99.

Network Magic