Freeware how many

When you boil it down, Microsoft Excel is simply a spreadsheet program, for which there are many alternatives. Even better, many of those alternatives are free! But just how good are these free alternatives to Excel? And which ones are the best? Related: Wondering about the best free alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint?

Google Docs Spreadsheet. Chances are you already use a lot of Google products on a daily basis e. This makes working remotely on your spreadsheets easier than ever, as you can be sure that your files are backed up online automatically too. OpenOffice is a solution that is being utilized by more and more businesses these days. Unlike Google Docs Spreadsheet, OpenOffice is a downloadable program and operates locally on your personal computer much like Excel. In terms of functionality, OpenOffice is very similar to Microsoft Excel.

But even legitimate products can have weaknesses. Since there is some overlap, you should understand what freeware vs shareware is. Shareware is often confused with freeware, but they have two distinctly different purposes.

Freeware is copyrighted software that is available at no cost for unlimited usage. The developer retains all rights to the program and controls distribution. Users can sometimes purchase additional services or options. One good example is introductory antivirus software that protects your computer at no cost but also offers premium packages with more sophisticated protection.

With shareware , users are encouraged to share the limited version of the software to promote larger distribution and sales. Note: Shareware is not synonymous with open source software, which is source code available to anyone with the software's license. Open-source software is designed to allow collaborative effort between developers studying the code.

Freeware and shareware do not allow you to make changes to the programs. The definition of shareware can include many types of software.

However, not all of them are desirable. Malware: Cybercriminals can use shareware to distribute malware using tactics that are similar to those used in other socially engineered attacks.

Users are fooled into believing URL links — often in ads — are legitimate. These deceptive links take them to pages where they download malware instead of a safe shareware application. Security vulnerabilities: While all types of software are at risk of vulnerabilities and flaws that could lead to malicious attacks, shareware is particularly at risk. This is especially true when software that is no longer used is left on a computer. Sponsored software: Some shareware and freeware applications offer users the chance to download another application as an additional option.

Secondary programs can help shareware developers earn a commission from each user download. This funding gives them plenty of incentive to encourage these downloads. In fact, the box agreeing to it is often already checked by default, allowing the extra software to download automatically.

Although the software could be legitimate, this is also a way for scammers to trick users into unwittingly downloading something malicious. Enterprise data leaks: Use of shareware in business and government networks can compound the above risks if sensitive data gets leaked.

If so, check out Total Commander , which has been around for decades and works with Windows If you think you might have bad memory installed in your computer, you can check for bad memory using memtest Want to record your screen and live stream it too? OBS Studio is a free app that does just that.

TinyTake is another decent one, though the free version is limited. Darktable is an open-source photography workflow application. Speaking of Adobe, are there any good Adobe Illustrator alternatives? One good one for working with vector graphics is Inkscape. Another good one is Vectr. Are you someone who needs to write something, but gets distracted easily? Check out FocusWriter and write without distractions.

One of the worst things that can happen to your computer is for it to become infected with Spyware. HijackThis is an awesome program that you can use to find and remove spyware. Another good option is AdwCleaner. One good option is Windows Defender Offline. It also has a portable version you can run off your USB stick. Are you a true nerd and still use IRC? Ever run into the problem where you are trying to delete a file in Windows and it says that the file is in use and cannot be deleted?

You can use Unlocker to delete any file that is locked by a process. Are you always thinking about stuff? Then you should probably use some free mind-mapping software. Wikipedia also has a big list of mind-mapping software. Need to manage a small project, but need some project management software? Check out GnattProject and Taiga.

If you want to play around with virtual machines, download the free and excellent VirtualBox from Oracle. In 19 and 20, I talked about software to backup your computer, but forgot to mention DriveImage XML , an good program you can use to create an image of your hard drive.

Other good disk imaging tools include MacriumReflect and Clonezilla. GNUCash is free accounting and finance software. Ever head of Blender? It lets you create 3D worlds, 3D animations and 3D games. Check it out. If Blender is too complex for you, another great option for sketching in 3D is SketchUp. For space lovers, I always recommend Stellarium , which is basically a planetarium for your computer. Looking for a really good partition manager?

Check out GParted , probably the best not-heard-of partition manager out there. Looking for a file on your computer? Default Windows search sucks? Wish your clipboard could store more than one item at a time? Got a spare computer with some extra storage on it? Want to learn a new language? The best program for Windows in my view is Duolingo.

Ever had to split a large file into a couple of pieces? SMPlayer — SMPlayer is an open-source media player that comes with the most codec for you to be able to play all the formats of media files on your PC. It also allows you to watch YouTube videos and download and use subtitles for your files. Potplayer — Potplayer plays almost all types of media formats as it supports OpenCodec where you can add your own codec whenever you want. It uses hardware acceleration to provide users with a smooth media playing environment.

The software also lets you see files inside an archive before you actually extract the files. IZArc — IZArc helps you zip and unzip files and also helps you encrypt your files so that no unauthorized person can access them. Want to find out which compression software rules them all? Telegram — Telegram is a really great alternative to WhatsApp, and it has native apps for many of the popular platforms including Windows. The app lets you send and receive messages from your contacts and also helps you interact with the bots.

A native app is available for Windows OS. Slack — The focus here may be a platform for communication in the workplace, but that means plenty of options for sending silly GIFs as well as the more serious matter of group chat management and keeping track of when and where workers sign in.

Inky — Inky is designed especially for encrypted and digitally-signed emails so that they remain secure while they are transmitted through the Internet.

It works with most email types and is a good email client for your daily use. The software makes it really easy for you to read your emails, label them however you want, and also do filtering to get to the emails you actually want to read. BitTorrent — BitTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients available with support for torrents as well as magnet links. It also supports playing media files directly from the torrent which is an exclusive feature for Windows users.

Deluge — Deluge, as the company says, is a feature-rich BitTorrent client for popular operating systems. It has the playlist feature for you to keep your torrents in order and also lets you read and write comments for the torrents. You can also read our in-depth feature about the legality of torrents. Malwarebytes — Malwarebytes keeps your PC safe from harmful threats and makes sure you always have a secure environment on your PC.

Root-kits are utilities that help malware hide on your PC. Avira — Avira has won awards for being a good anti-virus and helps you remove and stay safe from malware and spyware on your PC. Panda — Panda is an anti-virus that helps you protect your computer from various kinds of spyware and viruses.

If so, check out our piece on whether antivirus software is relevant anymore. Cyberduck — Cyberduck is a popular FTP client that helps you connect to your FTP server and upload and remove files to and from the server. It focuses on the security of the files that are being exchanged. It also supports the drag and drop of files and file view and editing for you to interact with your files.

Not only does it save passwords for you, it also helps you auto-fill forms on websites and generate random passwords. KeePass — KeePass is an open-source password manager that helps you store your passwords in a highly secure and encrypted database which can be opened using a master password. Not only does it help you save passwords, it also helps you save bank accounts, credit cards, and passports in a secret and safe environment. Encryptr — Encryptr is a free and private password manager for your PC that lets you save passwords, generate secure passwords, search for saved passwords, and has a zero knowledge cloud so only you and the server know your passwords.

It helps you mount these disk images as disk drives on your computer. Read more about our favorite ISO-mounting software for all platforms.