Anyone using Windows needs a number of small programs like zip-extractors, graphic viewers, etc. Many people don't know how to find good software. For example, many people pay unnecessarily for programs like ACDSee (image viewer) or WinZip (ZIP file extractor) simply because those programs are heavily advertised. Yet there are comparable free programs available. With that in mind, this is a list of useful, often free programs that match or exceed the quality of better-known software that is usually more expensive.

Irfan View

www.irfanview.com
   This is a beautiful program. It's free for personal use, although the author would appreciate a donation. (See the Help -- Usage Info menu for details.) Irfan View opens virtually all graphic file types, does screen capture, resizing, color depth changes, file type conversion, and can even use plugin graphic filters.

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Zip Programs

   Zip programs (compression utilities) are used to open and create ZIP files. Most can zip, unzip, create self-extracting files, open CAB files, create password- protected files, etc. Starting with Windows XP, ZIP functionality is built into Windows, but it's very limited.

   Power Archiver, similar to WinZip, was free for a long time and is still available in the last free version, v. 6.1.1. (www.321download.com/LastFreeware/). That version of Power Archiver can only really handle ZIP and CAB files, but it performs well with those types, and the formats have not changed over the years. Power Archive can also create SFX zips, or self-executing ZIP files with an EXE file extension that unpack themselves.

7-Zip is a free, open source utility that handles most compressed file types very dependably. It can handle less common types such as .tar, .rar and .gz, but the interface is primitive.

A note about opening self-executing CAB files:

   Microsoft often packages Windows patches, and even small downloads, in self-executing CAB files - even when the download is not something that needs to install. Stranger still, there will often be a self-executing ZIP file inside the self-executing CAB file!

   Self-executing (SFX) CABs and SFX ZIPs are similar. In both cases, the EXE file is composed of the original file with a small EXE file (called a "stub") pasted onto the front. Self-executing files can be converted back to normal by merely finding the end of the EXE (the beginning of the actual ZIP or CAB) and writing the rest of the file to a new ZIP or CAB file.

   Most good ZIP programs will allow you to just rename a self-executing ZIP file to ".zip" and will recognize the file. But that does not work with self-executing CAB files. There used to be a small program available online called exe2cab, by Yuri Niyazov, which could convert a self-executing CAB file to a normal CAB that can be opened with a ZIP program. That program seems to be gone. A replacement for it is here, called X2CAB. It is a very simple utility. It just does one thing: Drop an EXE file on it and get the CAB.

Download xtocab.zip (7 KB)

   For people who want to work more with CAB files, there is also a JSWare component, available on the VBScripts page, which can create CABs, extract from CABs, and retrieve the CAB from self-extracting CAB files. If you are interested in that, see this link.

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TweakUI

TweakUI
   TweakUI is a small program from Microsoft for changing a number of obscure settings in Windows.

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Open Office

www.openoffice.org
   Sun Microsystems bought Star Office a few years ago and has been working on it ever since. The result has become Open Office. It's a bit bloated and parts of it require Java, but despite those shortcomings it is still worthwhile to have if you do not use Microsoft Office. Open Office will open and save to all MS Office formats and versions. (Unlike MS Office itself!)

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Icon Suite

Icon Suite
   Icon Suite is a free program for making icons.

   IrfanView (above) can also be used to make icons from images. Just open an image (usually you'll want 32 x 32 size) in IrfanView, save it as an icon, checking the box in the Save As dialogue that is marked "Save transparent color". IrfanView will let you click on the image to select the transparent color, and will then save the icon. Both of these programs can create 24-bit "true color" icons.

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ASCIIcat

ASCIIcat
   ASCIIcat by R. E. Harvey is a very useful help file. It includes ASCII codes, key codes, weights and measures conversion, RGB color charts, country codes, typeface measures, etc. If this link is not still active try doing a search for "asciicat harvey".

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FileZilla for FTP

FileZilla
   Silly name. But it's simple, free, open source, and it works.

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VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player
   An open source player for video.

Autoruns

Autoruns
   One of the most common problems for people using Windows is undesired software that runs at startup. A surprising amount of software will set itself to run at startup when it's installed, almost always without asking.

   Autoruns is perhaps the most comprehensive startup manager ever produced. It checks all ways that software can be set to run at startup and provides the ability to easily disable any particular program.

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Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit PDF Reader
   Dump the slow, bloated, insecure Adobe and use this quick, free, compact program instead.

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MyDefrag

MyDefrag
   Another one with a silly name. But it's free, thorough and relatively fast compared to the built-in XP defragger.

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ImgBurn

ImgBurn
   Free and dependable, for writing CDs and DVDs.

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CPUID.com

CPUID.com
   Several free hardware information and monitoring programs.

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Wntipcfg.exe

Wntipcfg.exe
   This one is officially for Win2000, but it also works in XP. In Windows 98 there is Winipcfg, which is a small GUI program that shows current IP address and allows a connection to be reset. That's sometimes handy, for instance, if there's an address conflict between PCs on the same router. But in WinXP Winipcfg was removed and only a primitive command line utility is provided! Wntipcfg.exe is Winipcfg for NT systems. Why Microsoft doesn't just pre-install it is a mystery.

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Online Armor Free

Online Armor Free
   Online Armor is among the highest rated firewalls. It is also one of the least bloated. This is the free version. It includes a useless and intrusive program monitor that monitors software running, but that part can be disabled. There are also a few features that are not available in the free version, but nothing that one would actually want. The firewall functionality itself is full-featured.

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Windows "Find" Utility - Agent Ransack

   In Windows XP the Windows "Find" utility has been renamed "Search". The name change is clearly connected with Microsoft's Internet obsession. And the program window repeatedly gets redesigned to look more like a browser window than the last version. But there's also an ironic accuracy in the renaming: In Windows 98 you open Find and you find things. In Windows XP you open Search, and there's a good chance that you won't "find".

   In Windows 98 the Find utility worked quickly and efficiently. On Windows XP there is an indexing service that is supposed to help improve the operation. It wears down the hard disk by constantly building a database of file information for Search to work from. Yet the XP Search tool does not work as well as the Win98 version. And it's very limited in terms of looking for text inside files.

   Enter Agent Ransack. Agent Ransack is a simple, small, fast search utility. It brings back the simplicity and functionality of Windows 98 Find. It's also pleasantly free of "wizards", tail-wagging dog cartoons, and silly, irrelevant options like "Find People". Agent Ransack puts a link under Start Menu -> Search, so it's convenient to get to. There's also a paid version, FileLocator Pro.