A few personally recommended programs. In RED are utilities that I consider essential and believe that no computer user should be without.
    Clickable Hot Links Below
Real Alternative : An alternative to Real Networks Real Player and RealOne Player (No spy-ware.)
CDex : Rip your CDs to any of fourteen supported formats.
Deluxe FTP : I like this one for its drag and drop feature . . . FTP transfer couldn't be any easier.
Ad-Aware SE Personal : On first inspection, Ad Aware SE Personal and Spyboy - Search & Destroy both seem to serve much the same function, but in fact, really complement each other. Both should be installed, and both should have their definitions updated weekly and run on the same interval as aminimum.
Spybot - Search & Destroy : CLICK to go to the Spybot Search & Destroy site
AVG Freeware Edition : My preferred Anti-Virus option to those that ship with many systems.
Because of their popularity, these programs are frequently targeted by those who write the viruses.
Just ZIP It: This is just about the easiest to use FREE "ZIP" option I've found . . . the download LINK is at the bottom of the page.
yousendit.com: This FREE online site/utility will let you send BIG files by e-mail. Files that would otherwise overwhelm the limits of most e-mail servers. No downlod/profram installation required. But you will need to a ZIP utility to compress you files before sending. I've successfully e-mailed entire MP3 albums . . . like almost 50 MB!