System Requirements
Where system requirements are given, these are for Windows, over and above typical minimum configurations - see the products' websites for Mac, Linux or other platforms available and their requirements.
About the Links
In most cases we have linked to a page rather than a specific file, and you will need to click on the appropriate button or link on that page to initiate the download. This is because
a) download filenames often change as new versions are released,
b) there may be specific instructions and useful information on or near the download page, and
c) out of courtesy to the providers of the downloads who will normally want you to visit their website if you are making use of their facilities - we would too.
For an explanation of "URL", click here.
Download Size/Time
The download size we specify is approximate but close enough to calculate the likely download time based on the following rule-of-thumb guidelines:
I've Downloaded Something, Now What?
It varies, and the only definitive answer is to read the instructions, assuming you can find them! However, here are some general guidelines. If you are still stuck, ask someone to help you, or failing that, ring us for some advice.
Name, Version: 1st Page 2000
Product Type: Web Site Authoring
Licence Type: Free for personal use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 5.2MB
Download URL: http://downloads.vnunet.com/download/34438.html
Publisher: Evrsoft
Product URL: www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml
Notes: 1st Page 2000 is good, but the latest version, First Page 2006 is almost certainly better, however it is not free. One of our recommendations for Web Design.
Name, Version: AbiWord 2.x
Product Type: Word Processor
Licence Type: Free under GPL
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 5.1MB
Download URL: www.abiword.com/download/
Publisher: AbiSource Community
Product URL: www.abiword.com
Notes: One of our recommendations for a Word Processor.
Name, Version: Acrobat Reader 5.0.5
Product Type: Document Viewer (PDF)
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 8.6 - 10MB
Download URL: http://ardownload.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobatreader/win/5.x/rp505enu.exe
Publisher: Adobe Systems
Product URL: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html (refers to latest version, not recommended)
Notes: This is the version we recommend unless you have a specific requirement. Later versions require Windows 98SE, 2000 or XP, are much slower and offer little or no useful benefit to most people.
Name, Version: Audacity 1.2.x
Product Type: Audio Recorder/Editor
Licence Type: Free under GPL
Min. System Requirements: None specified - probably Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 3.2MB
Download URL: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
Publisher: Audacity project on Sourceforge
Product URL: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Notes: Has more than enough facilities for most non-specialists. Install LAME if you want to output MP3s. One of our recommendations for an Audio Editor.
Name, Version: AVG Free for Windows, 7.x
Product Type: Anti-Virus
Licence Type: Free for personal use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 16MB
Download URL: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5
Publisher: Grisoft
Product URL: http://free.grisoft.com
Notes: Download size does not include initial updates, which vary and can be up to 8MB. Our recommended Anti-Virus.
Name, Version: Microsoft Excel Viewer 97-2003
Product Type: Document Viewer (xls)
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 3.7MB
Download URL: www.ahs.state.vt.us/04ComPro/AboutViewers.cfm
Publisher: Microsoft
Product URL: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q165908/
Notes: Although called 97, it also works for Excel 2002/XP and 2003 but may not support some of the advanced formatting features. No longer available from Microsoft, but widely available elsewhere. The replacement version, Excel Viewer 2003, needs Windows 2000 SP4 upwards and is a large 10MB download.
Name, Version: Firefox 2.x
Product Type: Web Browser
Licence Type: Free, Open Source
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 98 upwards
Download Size: 4.9MB
Download URL: www.mozilla.com/firefox
Publisher: Mozilla Foundation
Product URL: www.mozilla.com/firefox
Notes: One of our top recommendations for anyone still using Internet Explorer. Continually updated - preferably use the latest version.
Name, Version: First Page 2006
Product Type: Web Site Authoring
Licence Type: Commercial, approx £35 (free 30-day Trial)
Min. System Requirements: Windows Me, 2000, XP only
Download Size: 9.1MB
Download URL: www.evrsoft.com/download.shtml
Publisher: Evrsoft
Product URL: www.evrsoft.com/1stpage3.shtml
Notes:
Name, Version: Flash Player 7
Product Type: Web Browser Plug-in
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: None except Internet Explorer 5.5 - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 10.1MB
Download URL: www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14266 Macromedia are not keen for you to install older versions and they are difficult to find on their site, so if the link is broken you can also get it here: www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=flashp
Publisher: Macromedia
Product URL: www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html
Notes: Version 5 is good enough for most purposes, version 7 (above) is the last version that supports Windows 95 upwards.
Name, Version: Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2
Product Type: Web Browser
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: Initially 0.5MB but then anything up to 55MB, depending on your system configuration.
Download URL:
Publisher: Microsoft
Product URL: www.microsoft.com/windows/ie (NB: this is basically an advert for the latest version)
Notes: If you are using Windows 95 or 98, we recommend installing IE 5.5 for the few occasions when you might need IE, but for your normal Web browsing install Firefox - it's much better and safer.
Name, Version: IrfanView, 4.9x
Product Type: Graphics Viewer/Convertor
Licence Type: Free for non-commercial use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 5.9MB (Program + Plug-ins)
Download URL: www.irfanview.com
Publisher: Irfan Skiljan
Product URL: www.irfanview.com
Notes: Program and Plug-ins are separate downloads, you need both to get the full benefit. Make sure you put the plug-ins in the right place.
Name, Version: Java 2 Standard Edition 5.0 RE (Runtime Environment)
Product Type: Plug-in
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: Needs Windows Installer 2, Needs Windows 98SE, Me, 2000 SP3+ or XP SP1+
Download Size: 16MB
Download URL: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp
Publisher: Sun Microsystems
Product URL: http://java.sun.com/javase/
Notes: Older versions e.g. at www.oldversion.com have smaller downloads and lower system requirements.
Name, Version: LAME v3.97
Product Type: MP3 Codec
Licence Type: Free, Open Source
Min. System Requirements: None specified
Download Size: 0.6MB
Download URL: www.free-codecs.com/Lame_Encoder_download.htm
Publisher: Lame Project on SourceForge
Product URL: http://lame.sourceforge.net/
Notes: LAME is required by (or already included in) most MP3 creators, including winLAME since it is better than the original Fraunhofer codec. NB: Do not try to upgrade winLAME using this download, winLAME uses a customised version.
Name, Version: Media Player Classic (MPC) 6.4.x
Product Type: Video Player
Licence Type: Free under GPL
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 1.9MB
Download URL: www.free-codecs.com/Media_Player_Classic_download.htm - we recommend downloading and installing the Real Alternative package instead
Publisher: See http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/
Product URL: http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=82303
Notes: Separate versions for Windows 9x and Windows 2000/XP. Recommend installing Real Alternative package instead, which includes MPC.
Name, Version: OpenOffice.org 2.x
Product Type: Office Suite
Licence Type: Free, Open Source
Min. System Requirements: Windows 98 upwards, 128MB RAM, not suitable for very slow machines (under 500MHz). Also versions for other platforms including Linux, Mac OS X.
Download Size: 106MB, excluding Java RE which is recommended
Download URL: http://download.openoffice.org
Publisher: Sun Microsystems sponsor this large collaborative project
Product URL: www.openoffice.org
Notes: Continually updated - preferably use the latest version.
Name, Version: PrimoPDF 3.1
Product Type: PDF Creator
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: Windows 98 upwards
Download Size: 13.2MB
Download URL: www.primopdf.com
Publisher: activePDF
Product URL: www.primopdf.com
Notes: Continually updated - preferably use the latest version.
Name, Version: Real Alternative, 1.4x
Product Type: Codec, Plug-in, Video Player
Licence Type: Free, as far as we can tell
Min. System Requirements: None specified - works on Windows 98 upwards
Download Size: 6.5MB
Download URL: www.free-codecs.com/Real_Alternative_download.htm
Publisher: Unknown Publisher
Product URL: www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm
Notes: Includes Media Player Classic, but also enables Real formats to play in other players. Install after Firefox in order for Firefox plug-in to work
Name, Version: Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5
Product Type: Anti-Spyware
Licence Type: Free for personal use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 7.1MB
Download URL: http://spybot.com/en/download/index.html
Publisher: Safer-Networking Ltd
Product URL: http://spybot.com/en/index.html
Notes: Download size does not include initial updates. We recommend upgrading to 1.5x if you are using 1.3 or 1.4.
Name, Version: Sygate Personal Firewall 5.5.2710
Product Type: Firewall
Licence Type: Free for personal use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 8.7MB
Download URL: www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=sygate
Publisher: Sygate Technologies
Product URL: www.securityconfig.com/software/firewalls/sygate_personal_firewall_5.5.html
Notes: No longer available from Sygate since takeover by Symantec, but widely available elsewhere. Last version, 5.6, not recommended due to a serious bug.
Name, Version: Thunderbird, 2.x
Product Type: E-mail Client
Licence Type: Free, Open Source
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 98 upwards. Also versions for other platforms including Linux, Mac OS X.
Download Size: 6.2MB
Download URL: www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Publisher: Mozilla Foundation
Product URL: www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Notes: Continually updated - preferably use the latest version.
Name, Version: WinAmp 2.95
Product Type: Audio Player
Licence Type: Free for personal use
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 98 upwards
Download Size: 2.2MB
Download URL: www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=winamp
Publisher: Nullsoft
Product URL: www.nullsoft.com (refers to latest version, not recommended)
Notes: The old free versions such as v2.95 that we recommend are no longer available on the Nullsoft site but are widely available elsewhere. The current version is not free.
Name, Version: winLAME
Product Type: MP3 Creator
Licence Type: Free under GPL
Min. System Requirements: None specified except requires Windows Installer 2+
Download Size: 1.5MB
Download URL: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=21193
Publisher: See winLAME on SourceForge
Product URL: http://winlame.sourceforge.net
Notes: Currently at pre-release version, but seems stable.
Name, Version: Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000
Product Type: Document Viewer (doc)
Licence Type: Free
Min. System Requirements: None - Windows 95 upwards
Download Size: 3.8MB
Download URL: www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,6314,00.asp
Publisher: Microsoft
Product URL: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q165908/
Notes: Although called 97-2000, it also works for Word 2002/XP and 2003 but does not support some of the advanced formatting features. No longer available from Microsoft, but widely available elsewhere. The replacement version, Word Viewer 2003, needs Windows 2000 SP4 upwards and is a large 11.7MB download.