Hi, and welcome to my favourite stuff. Its not a definitive list and I update it when I feel like it. I offer no guarantee that the software will work on your system or that you will have a working system when you have finished playing. If your not sure then go and pay someone who is!

All items on this page are freeware unless otherwise stated.

Errors and omissions accepted (but no liability ;-)

Page Updated 17 May 2005

$ = Must pay

READING

• Tom's Hardware Guide - Loads of great stuff on cpu mobo and more
  http://www.tomshardware.com/

TOOLS

Antivirus

• Trend Micro House Call - Online virus checker
  http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
   
• Free antivirus (manual update only)
  http://www.freeav.com
   
• $ Etrust Antivirus Corporate Edition $

Firewall

• Zone Alarm – haven’t tried the pro version but the free version is great
  http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

• Sygate personal firewall
  http://www.download.com/Sygate-Personal-Firewall/

FTP / TFTP Server

• 3com 3CDaemon
  http://support.3com.com/software/utilities_for_windows_32_bit.htm

Graphics Viewer

• Irfanview Graphics viewer and more - It doesn't get much better than this
  Note: Don't forget the plugIns if you want the program to access more than the default ext
  http://www.irfanview.com/

Linux

• Debian distribution - use for firewall and file server and much much more
  http://www.debian.org/

Monitoring Systems

• Big Brother Free Version
  http://www.bb4.org/
   
• Process Explorer - What is running on your system and what resources is it using?
  http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

$ Microsoft Bargain of the Year at £199+Vat

• Microsoft Action Pack
  http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/sales%5Fand%5Fmarketing/actionpack/
   
• Microsoft Action Pack
• XP Pro
• Server 2003
• Exchange 2003
• Office
• Frontpage
• SQL Server
• SBS
• Visio
• MS virtual machine

The Action Pack is restricted to resellers, consultants, value-added resellers, value-added providers, system integrators, developers, system builders, hosts, service providers or IT professionals who sell Microsoft products or provide solutions based on Microsoft products and technologies to third-party customers.

Network Checkers and Scanners

• Angry IP Scanner
  Great for detecting what is on the network and what ports are open.
  http://www.angryziber.com/ipscan/
   
• Packet Capture
  http://www.ethereal.com
   
• TCPView - Network listings of all TCP and UDP endpoints on your system
  http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/tcpview.shtml

Passwords Revealed

• Snadboy Revelation
  http://www.snadboy.com/

PDF Reader / Writer

• Great fast and small reader
  http://www.snapfiles.com/opinions/for_foxitpdf.html
   
• PDF writer and editor - PDF995
  http://www.pdf995.com/download.html

Popup Blocker

• Google Toolbar
  http://toolbar.google.com/

Registry Tools

• Reg Cleaner
  http://www.worldstart.com/weekly-download/archives/reg-cleaner4.3.htm

Remote Control Software

• RDC client for windows 98 (XP Home and Pro have built in)
  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx
   
• VNC
  http://www.realvnc.com

Reporting Tool

• Belarc -  Builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser.
  http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Spyware Remover and Blocker

• Spybot
  http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/
   
• Hosts File – Note: bit radical as it can slow down some older machines
  http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

WiFi Detectors

• WiFiFoFum is great even if the ssid is hidden
  http://www.aspecto-software.com/WiFiFoFum/
   
• Netstumbler
  http://www.netstumbler.com