Jicola.com Blogs

Here is a list of my favourite Free Programs that you must have installed on your computer, or at least have a look at them.

Crossloop: This program is my favourite for access remote computers over the internet, and to help friends, family or workers out on their computer. Unlike other VNC programs, Crossloop runs directly through port 80 so you do not have to configure your routers and modems to use the programs. It is fast, easy to use, and everything works from when you install it. On the Crossloop website, you can even get paid to help other people. http://crossloop.com/

TightVNC: A nice light remote desktop connection that you can use over the internet or through your lan. However, over the internet, i prefer Crossloop, and through LAN, i prefer UltraVNC. http://www.tightvnc.com/

UltraVNC: More features then Tight VNC, I like it more and use it more for my computers at home. http://www.uvnc.com/

Windows Live Messenger: Everyone should have heard about this program. It is good for online chats, webcams and file sharing. http://get.live.com/messenger/overview

Skype: Make free VOIP calls to computers, and cheap phone calls to mobiles and landlines world wide. http://www.skype.com/

PDF Creator: This program should be installed on everyone’s computer. It creates free PDF documents from pretty much anything that you can print. I use the program a lot. My workplace only has Office 2003 installed and I have Office 2007 at home and when I need to print the document at work, PDF Creater saves the 2007 document as is, so their is no formatting changes. If I open the 2007 document at work, their is a lot of formatting changes, blank pages, images don’t fit etc. So install this program, hit print and save it as a PDF file. http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

Google Chrome: A new web browser that has been developed by Google. Its lightweight, fast and kicks all over Internet Explorer. Check it out. http://www.google.com/chrome

Mozilla Firefox: Another free internet browser. I use both Firefox and Chrome when I surf the internet. Their the two best browsers out there. http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Portable Apps: This program is a must have on every USB flash drive out their. You can run hundreds of programs from your flash drive such as Open Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Audacity and heaps more. Keep all your emails and documents with you. http://portableapps.com/

Open Office 3: A free alternative to the popular Microsoft Office suite. Provides free programs that you would find in the Microsoft Office. So don’t spend $500 on a program, just download Open Office. You can read, edit and modify .doc and .docx file with Open Office. http://www.openoffice.org/

Mozilla Thunderbird: Another free Microsoft alternative. I use Mozilla Thunderbird as my default mail client instead of Microsoft Outlook. It is great, you can change the theme, add extensions, have heaps of different emails accounts all in one. I have my website’s email, Hotmail, and Gmail email accounts all accessed from one simple location. It saves heaps of time by not having to login to Hotmail and Gmail to read my emails. It’s all there right in front of me. http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

Cam Studio: A program that can record your screen, save it as a .mpg or a .swf file that you can publish on the web. http://camstudio.org/

DVD Shrink: A free program that allows you to copy DVD movies and save them to your hard disk. http://www.dvdshrink.org/

Daemon Tools: If you have an ISO or a CD/DVD image, you can use Daemon tools to mount it as its own CD on your computer so you can run it, just like if you had a CD in your Computers CD tray. http://www.daemon-tools.cc/

HiJackThis: Scans your computer and outputs a text file of everything that is running on your computer. Then go to hijackthis.de, upload the document and see if anything suspicious is running on your computer. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5554.html http://www.hijackthis.de/

LimeWire: Browse millions of audio, video, documents and music files to download (some content is illegal though) http://www.limewire.com/

BitTorrent: Download torrents using this lightweight bit torrent downloader. http://www.bittorrent.com/

Audacity: A music program that allows you to record, and modify sounds and music. Create podcasts, radio broadbasts and more. Remember to download the Lame MP3 Encoder file so you can export as an MP3 File. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Have a look at these programs, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.