Pinned thread Free Computer Software (Windows/Mac) **UPDATED March 10, 2024**

BaconUnicornsAndSpongeBob

Malware Bytes: This program is 100% safe and easy to use. Actually gets rids of viruses, and if you want a pro version it is the ultimate virus protection.

Sony Vegas (Free Trial): Also available to buy, you can easily edit movies and clips. Provides a lot of amazing content.

HandBrake: Converts media files into other media files, such as .avi into .mp3 or .mp4. Easy to use.
 

Patrick-man

Patrick the ice-cream killer!
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NastyPatty2002 said:
I don't necessarily advocate using torrents, but in the case that you do, if you use μTorrent, I'd recommend you probably switch to some other software because μTorrent has been in the news lately for bringing a [potentially malicious] cryptocurrency miner in its latest update that has been attributed to overloading computer processors.

Some good alternatives being suggested on reddit is qBittorrent, Transmission, and Deluge, among others.

NOTE: I do not encourage or advocate using torrents, by downloading and using them you are taking
a security risk that could potentially compromise your computer and its functionality. I am not
responsible for any damage resulted in the use of torrents.

Don't forget these can be illegal.
 

Mavaxis Starburner

I love SBM
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I've got a few additions to make on top of my original entry.

Media:
PowerISO: I've had several uses for this as of late, the biggest being to burn CDs in MP3 format (saves a lot of space for more files, if you didn't know). It also gives you the ability to set up virtual drives, as well as extract files from ISOs. (Oddly, I can do the latter with WinRAR of all things as well.)
K-Lite Codec Pack: Good lord, this is useful. This allows even Windows Media Player to play a relatively-wide range of files, all the way from MP4 to M4V to even MOV. This extends to every other media application, even Movie Maker. No more downloading extra programs to be able to do what you want with a single video.
Handbrake: Video encoder. I sometimes use this in conjunction with Fraps to encode the massive video files it puts out, as well as to convert a video to a different file type (often times WMV or AVI to MP4). It can also rip movies and the like from DVDs, but I haven't tried this before.

Other:
SpeedFan: Allows you to monitor hardware readings, such as fan speed (it does exactly what it says on the tin), CPU usage, and hardware temperatures. Handy for old computers, or computers with bad thermal paste.
Paint.NET: Photo editor that falls somewhere between MS Paint and Photoshop. Feels a lot like GIMP. I do a lot of my pic editing in the standard Windows 7 Paint (sue me), but when I need to do something a bit more advanced - say, edit a picture while saving transparency - this is what I use.
 

toonjoey

Bomb-Selling Pirate
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Programming:Geany. It's the way to go IMO, it helps me when I'm programming some sort of Tew Tow stuff.

Recording:Unregistered Hypercam 2 Camtasia Studio. Helps me record (in an iffy quality) and edit the video. Very basic and easy to use.

Game optimizer:Razer Cortex (they make gaming PCs so they know what they're doing). I've used it and have been able to run Yooka-Laylee at "simple" graphics (my computer is that bad). In the past I had to run it windowed in a small resolution on "fastest" and THEN it runs at 60fps.
 

More

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For Graphics and Media applications, I think that the Autodesk SketchBook program works extremely well on Mac devices, as a free alternative to Photoshop. It coordinates really well with Wacom tablets for drawing, and has a wide variety of useful tools much like PhotoShop, from Layering, to blending, to realistic drawing utensils. I'd say that it's been very helpful.
 
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