Free Software recommended by Computer Support (UK) Ltd.

This is a short list of the best free software available for your computer. We use the programs on this list as most of them are a good as, or even out-perform, the equivalent commercial packages!

Zone Alarm -the best free personal Firewall

AVG Anti-virus -the best free Anti-virus program

AVG Anti-spyware -the best free Anti-spyware program. Stops malicious software from sending personal details to an attacker

AVG Anti-rootkit -obviously the best free Anti-rootkit program. Stops a malicious program from hiding on your computer allowing full control by an attacker

Firefox is a free web browser and a serious challenger to IE. It gets a lot of its power from extensions such as the two below:

• Adblock Plus This Firefox extension blocks even the most persistent advertising from any Web page
• NoScript This Firefox extension pre-emptively blocks malicious scripts and allows JavaScript, Java and other potentially dangerous content only from sites you trust.

Thunderbird Mail is a great alternative to Outlook Express.

OpenOffice.org -If you're looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, try OpenOffice.org.

FileZilla is a full-featured FTP client that supports Secure FTP, SSL, and other protocols in a slick interface.

Tweak UI Microsoft's super-tweaker tool for Windows XP is the program to install immediately after installing XP.

GIMP It's not Photoshop, but GIMP is an amazingly powerful and efficient open-source bitmap-­editing package.

Winamp This is a classic alternative music player.

Skype is by far the most popular PC-based VoIP service; it also works in dedicated telephones and other handheld devices.

Speedtest -Test your Internet connection bandwidth to locations around the world with this interactive broadband speed test.

LogMeIn is FREE, secure remote desktop access to your PC from anywhere. Remotely control the mouse, keyboard and desktop from any computer or PocketPC.