Essential free software downloads

Here are 10 of the most popular free software downloads on the web. We update this list regularly and welcome suggested additions - visit our forums to have your say. 1 AVG Anti-Virus Get the free version here Why pay for anti-virus software when you can have this much-loved bug buster for free. [read Web User's review] 2 Zone Alarm Get the free version here Stop cyber-criminals attacking your computer while you're online with this essential free firewall. [read Web User's review] 3 Google Toolbar 2.0 Get the free version here This latest version of the Google Toolbar offers easy searching, blocks pop-ups and makes it easy to fill in online forms. [read Web User's review] 4 Trillian Get the free version here Access several instant messaging services with one handy tool. Essential for chat fans. [read Web User's review] 5 HijackThis Get the free version here The most thorough way to get spyware off your PC - visit our HijackThis forum for details about how to use the tool and getting your log analysed. 6 Adobe Acrobat Reader Get the free version here The best software for reading PDF documents - especially useful for reading hardware and software manuals. [read Web User's review] 7 Core FTP Lite Get the free version here You'll find this FTP program very welcome if you need to transfer files to your website with ease. 8 IrfanView Get the free version here A great image viewer that's quick to load and offers simple but effective image-editing functions. [read Web User's review] 9 Spybot Search & Destroy Get the free version here Not quite as big as Ad-aware, but this spyware stopper recently won a Web User Gold Award. [read Web User's review] 10 Pop-up Stopper Get the free version here If there was ever a program that deserves the over-used phrase, "does what it says on the tin". [Discuss these programs now at our Reader Recommends forum]