Looking for a new program to add to the computer?  Here are 10 that are tried and true for many different uses and needs.  Don’t see the one that meets your needs?  Send me an email at support@toadriver.net and let me know, there are many more awesome programs out there.

1.  Microsoft Security Essentials:  www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

A real-time anti-virus program made by Microsoft, works on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.  Can even be used in a small business environment with certain licensing restrictions.

2.  Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:  www.malwarebytes.org

Malware/spyware removal tool that has a free and paid version with some unique capabilities between the two.

3. LibreOffice:  www.libreoffice.org

An open source office productivity suite that provides word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation capabilities.  Similar in capabilities and origin to OpenOffice, many people prefer LibreOffice because it is updated more frequently.

4. Smart Defrag:  www.iobit.com

Smart Defrag is a great program that runs in the background and keeps hard drive fragmentation down to nothing when your not using the computer.  Which means you reap the rewards of a faster system without having to remember to run Windows Disk Defragmenter.

5. Revo Uninstaller:  http://www.revouninstaller.com

Better than Windows Add/Remove Programs this tool does a registry scan after removal and even looks for partially installed or removed programs.

6. Handbrake:  www.handbrake.fr

An open source video transcoder.

7. VLC:  www.videolan.org

A plays practically anything video player that works.

8. KeePass:  www.keepass.info

A password manager and generator so that you quit using the same password for everything.

9. Notepad++:  www.notepad-plus-plus.org

The notepad replacement that also works as a cource code editor, complete with color coding.

10.  7-Zip:  http://www.7-zip.org

7-Zip is an open source file archiver that supports many formats.

Although not current, this is still an excellent resource when your trying to figure out what your looking at inside that computer case or what that thing-a-ma-jig is called.

A full size version of the poster is available here for order at deviantart.com