My Favorite Windows Freewares

Will be updating regularly. Also others please comment about your favorite free utilities.
This is a collection of URLs to what I feel is among the best of free software for Windows . I greatly prefer portable programs(as they are more secure and easy to handle), but even many programs that write to the Registry can emulate portability.
Notations used:
"[F]" : installation-free programs
"[NI]": (un-ZIP/RAR and go)
"[nR]": programs that don't write to the Registry

Web Links
other freeware users' favorites
xtort • Kikizas.net • other frequenters of alt.comp.freeware

Portable Application resources

PortableApps.com (checkout all the IM s/w there)• Kikizas.net: USB Applications • The Portable Freeware Collection • "Windows-Tools on CD-ROM (or USB stick)"

General listings/Collections
xtort.net • Open Source Windows • I Want a Freeware Utility To ... • Shell Extension City • FileForum • freshmeat • Old Version • Browser Archive • TinyApps.org • UNDER1MB Freeware • Pricelessware Home

Noted authors' software
Sysinternals • Undefined • Mouser Soft • Dominextrix Team • NirSoft • PESoft • VCL

Usenet Newsgroups
alt.comp.freeware • alt.binaries.freeware

Windows-related Tools

File managers

xplorer² Lite [F] is wildly powerful (but no Unicode support)
A43 [P] isn't as powerful but is totally portable

Registry

CCleaner [F] "is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool"
Regmon [R] shows all current Registry accesses in real-time
Erunt backs up and restores your entire Registry with great ease
NTRegOpt optimizes all of your Registry hives
EasyCleaner and RegSeeker both perform various Registry maintenance functions
RegReplace can find and optionally replace strings throughout your Registry
Also Free Registry Cleaner on Downloads.com is my favorite

System Tweaks and Accessories

ChangeExt can a file's information (useful for copying files' paths)
DM2 [F][NI][nR] offers Save/Open dialog folder shortcuts, opacity options, any much more
Fast Explorer and Mmm can modify and customize your Explorer right-click context menus
Matrix Screen Locker lets you lock your desktop with a single click on the system tray icon
ShellExView displays the shell extensions installed on your computer and let's you disable them
[launcher] TrayBar [F][NI] is a portable, System Tray–based program launcher (ideal for portable hard drives)
[services] SrvAdmin is an advanced Windows service–controlling application
[tweaking] TweakUI XP [F] and X-Setup Pro [F] access many generally-inaccessible system settings in Windows XP
[uninstallers] Safarp [NI][nR] and MyUninstaller [NI] are lightweight alternatives to the Windows uninstaller
see also: NTSubst, Volumouse, Sound Control
File-handling utilities

[file-recovery] Restoration and Drive Rescue v1.9d recover recently deleted files
[shredding] UltraShredder [NI] securely deletes files and is only about 200 KB
[splitting]HJSplit [NI] is popular for splitting files into equally sized chunks, but I like Splitter [NI] as well
[drive-wiping] Darik's Boot and Nuke, a self-contained boot floppy, securely wipes most hard disks
[monitoring] FileMon monitors file system activity on a system in real-time
[renaming] The Rename Program, Rename Master [NI], and Lupas Rename

Disk-Management

Acronis True Image [$][?] is fully functioning, 30-day trialware and seems to work well
XXCLONE [?] seems to have a good reputation

System Information and Management

[management] XP SysPad provides a ton of system monitoring and management features
[profilers] System Information for Windows [NI], Karen's Computer Profiler [NI], System Spec [NI]
[monitor] Process Explorer [NI] and CurrProcess [NI] display all processes currently running on your system
[recovery]RockXP [NI] retrieves Microsoft product keys, saves your XP activation file, recovers lost XP passwords, and more

Windows customization

ActivIcons will change nearly any icon on your system
DesktopCoral reserves desktop space (or a "docking space"), preventing maximized applications from covering it
Drempels is a "psychotherapeutic screensaver and desktop enhancer" that uses few system resources
Glass2K adjusts the transparency of windows in Windows XP and remembers the settings across sessions
ObjectDock imitates Apple's Mac OS X dock
Y'z Shadow places drop shadows on windows

Visual styles for windows xp

Windows skinning is available for use without software (like StyleXP) by patching your UXTHEME.DLL file

[web sites] DeviantArt, Max Themes, StudioTwentyEight Virtual Plastic, WinCustomize,
[favorite styles] my DeviantArt favorites list, advance4[xp]/3, Aluminum Alloy, Amarach, AMPed, AquaExtreme, BlueMesa, bluuna.vs.one, Borderline, b0se v1 Final, b0zen, Beige Azul, Blue Turquesa, Brushed 3.5 Visual Style, Classix 10k 2.0, Clearlook Redux, ClearLooks Ubuntu Mod (Update), Codename: Opus 3.0, Compact Luna, Crystal SVG, Extensis, FatLuna, Fresco VS, gfxOasis[F], Infini8 Modern Age, KBlueX, Kuantum VS, Major Tempest, Metallic Shades, method II, Olive Verde, Opus Luna, Opus OS, Opus OSX, Panther[F], Panther Perfect, Panther 1.5[F], Panther v.4, PxlPlusM, Prominence Pro, Recurve, Reluna[F], Rhapsodized, Safari, Silver Gris, Sirius, Slush, smooth.gnome.remix.one, Smooth Alternative :VS:, Smooth Stripes 4.1 Visual Style, SmoothStripes Black Panther, Studio28 v3, System 2, System 5, Thallos VS[F], Tiger VS, Tiger 2 VS, Velvet Waves, Vista Inspirat Visual Style, -vs- Method, XPM Classic (RC2)

Fonts
[management] X-Fonter and The Font Thing
[Sources] Creamundo • codeman38 • 趣味のゲームフォント • 1001Fonts.com (Tepid Monkey's fonts)

Security

Virus protection

avast! (avast! External Control) is my one recommendation
AOL free antivirus is the new entry havent tried it yet
AVG Antivirus is my favorite

Firewalls

Kerio Personal Firewall v2.1.5 is a classic that's still excellent but it completely ignores fragmented packets (though there's debate about how dangerous this is). Research recommends using either CHX-I or the Windows Firewall to supplement, though I admit that I don't. (current version)

Spyware

For most people, Spybot Search & Destroy [F] and Ad-Aware SE Personal [F] are necessary and sufficient. But you might also want to examine SpywareBlaster, SpywareGuard, CWShredder [NI], and HijackThis [NI].

Encryption and File Access Management

TrueCrypt [nR][F] creates encrypted file containers or disk partitions and can be run from a USB drive
AxCrypt AES File Encryption encrypts files with AES-128 encryption and decrypts and re-encrypts automatically
Omziff [NI] provides powerful file encryption from your choice of algorithms (and more) in a small standalone .EXE
Hide Files 2.3 (last free version) hides and protects (to an extent) data, but the app is an observable process
Folder Access denies access to specified folders but leaves the locked container visible
Steganos LockNote converts text files into portable, encrypted EXEs (no Unicode yet)

Internet/Networking

Browsers
Firefox Portable [F][nI][nR], based on Firefox, is a full-featured, standards-compliant portable browser
extension sources: The Extensions Mirror (UMO list) and Mozdev Extension Room
selected extensions: Adblock [add-ons: Adblock Filterset.G Updater, filters], Configuration Mania, Download Manager Tweak, downTHEMall!, EditCSS, FlashGot, Flat Bookmark Editing, Gmail Manager, Linkification, Long Titles, Magpie, Menu Editor, Nuke Anything Enhanced, Openbook, ResizeSearchBox, Show Image, Stylish, Super DragAndGo, Tab Mix Plus, Translation Panel
selected themes: Ashen for Firefox 0.9, LittleMozilla, MicroMozilla, Plastikfox Crystal SVG, Qute, Safari for Firefox 0.9
OperaUSB is a portable Opera package, but I've barely used Opera, so I can't say too much
Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) is a very powerful Internet Explorer shell—recommended if you use Internet Explorer

E-mail

For now, I'm using Gmail's web interface as my primary e-mail application because Pegasus Mail had trouble with Unicode (I need to type in Japanese) and Thunderbird, I feel, still needs more development. Still, both applications are quite fine, especially Pegasus Mail. I never thought I'd ever use a webmail service like this, but Gmail is both convenient and the best webmail service I've seen

Pegasus Mail [F] is a longtime favorite with powerful features aplenty, but no solid Unicode support yet
Thunderbird Portable [F][nI][nR], based on Thunderbird, is a full-featured portable e-mail client
extension sources: The Extensions Mirror (UMO list) and Mozdev Extension Room
selected extensions: autorewrap, ChromEdit, Contacts Add BCC button, Display mailing list header, InfoLister, Mail Redirect, Menu Editor, Minimize to Tray, MoreButtonPlus, savemultiple, Shift-Delete Controller, Slim Extension List, TB Attachment Tools, TB Header Tools Extension
i.Scribe is a small, crossplatform, single-account client with calendar—simple and small

USENET

see Usenet Help if you're unfamiliar with newsgroups
Xnews [F] is almost (but not!) abandoned but is still among the best Usenet clients
QuickPar allows usage of PAR and PAR2 files, which restore incomplete files

FTP

Filezilla is a very full-featured FTP client—highly recommended (but newer versions are XP and up only)

Download Managers
If you use Firefox, try the downTHEMall! extension
NetTransport v1.87 is the last freeware version of the program and it still works very well
Star Downloader Free is a good runner-up, though I had trouble with it crashing (YMMV)

Instant messaging

Trillian Basic [F][nR] is an excellent, stable multi-protocol IM client that, apparently, is run portably
Portable Gaim [nR][NI] is totally portable but has UI quirks that bug me

Filesharing

µTorrent [nI][F] is tiny, powerful, and compared to Azureus, gives me insanely fast downloads
Azureus was my first Bittorrent client, and it's excellent, but it's my second choice now

Blogging

Blogger is the best free major service that I've found but it lacks some major features (like categories)
Simple PHP Blog is an easy-to-use set of PHP-based blog templates that's pretty solid, but updating can be troublesome

Other utilities
CurrPorts [NI] displays the list of all currently opened TCP/IP and UDP ports on your local computer
url2bmp generates images from Internet Explorer webpage renders (requires IE)
Favorites to HTML (for IE) converts Internet Explorer Favorites to a DHTML document

General

Financial

AceMoney Lite is a personal finance manager

Media
BurnAtOnce , my favorite disc-burner, masters data and audio discs, reads/writes image files, and copies on the fly
CDCheck [NI] provides CD-ROM error-detection and -recovery (nag screen after 30 days)
IsoBuster rescues lost files from a bad or trashed CD or DVD
DAEMON Tools is a virtual CD-/DVD-ROM emulator, able to mounts ISOs as if they were CDs/DVDs.
Floppy Image [NI] creates and mounts images of floppy diskettes

Text

SciTE [F][nR][NI] is a totally portable, totally amazing advanced text editor with Unicode support and syntax highlighting
QJot [F][nR] is a recently-discovered RTF editor with great Unicode support
WordTabs 3.30 is a great RTF editor but is abandoned (I use QJot now) [RICHED20.DLL, ver. 2]
Keynote [F][nR] is a powerful tree-based organizer with RTF support and built-in Blowfish encryption
Treepad Lite [nR] is a text-based tree organizer that doesn't support Unicode but saves files as straight text
Portable OpenOffice [F][nR][nI] contains the entire OpenOffice.org suite, but packaged for portable use!
Steganos LockNote converts text files into encrypted .EXE files
utility: Antiword

PDF files

Foxit PDF Reader [see also: Adobe Acrobat 4 and eXPert PDF Reader]
The Ghostscript family (AFPL Ghostscript, GSview, Redmon port redirector) create PDFs by "printing" them to files!
also see: CutePDF Writer and PDF Version Converter

Graphics

IrfanView [F][nR], with plugins, is a quick, indispensable image viewer [add-on: see IrfanView ShellExtension]
Dup Detector finds duplicate and near duplicate images by opening and reading image pixel data

File compression

WinRAR [$][F] isn't free but it's easily the most solid archiver I've used, though it only writes ZIPs and RARs
7-Zip Portable [F][nI][nR], based on 7-Zip, is open-source and supports formats such as 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR
Universal Extractor [nI][nR] is a great tool for avoiding installation of programs—a definite must-see for portable-app users

Multimedia

Audio

foobar2000 [F][nR] is the audio player—extremely powerful! (in Windows 98 and earlier, use v0.8.3) [plug-ins] kode's foobar2000 plug-ins and 3rd party foobar2000 components
1by1 [F][NI][nR] is a miniscule and straightforward audio player that can use Winamp input plug-ins
XMPlay [NI][nR] is small, powerful, and can use Winamp input plug-ins [add-on: XMPlaySecret]

other options: Quintessential Player, Winamp 5, Winamp 2.95, SysTrayPlayer

Audio utilities

[ripping] CDex and dBpowerAMP Music Converter rip and normalize CDs
[encoding] oggdropXPd and LamedropXPd are drag-and-drop audio encoders
[normalizing] MP3Gain analyzes (using statistical analysis) and losslessly adjusts MP3 files' volume
[analyzing] EncSpot reports useful facts about your music collection, such as guessing which encoder creates a file
[editing] Audacity is a crossplatform audio editor and recorder
[editing] mp3DirectCut is a non-destructive audio editor and recorder for MP3
[joining/splitting] musiCutter losslessly splits and combines MP3s and OGGs
[recording] HarddiskOgg records from your microphone or line-in and converts it to common sound formats
[minidisc] M3U2SBurner, for MiniDisc usage, offers fast upload of audio files to NetMD
RareWares is great source for audio encoders

Tag editors

ID3-TagIT edits, adds, or removes ID3 TAGs in MP3 files and supports Unicode
MP3 Book Helper supports MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Speex, and FLAC tags but has a confusing interface
TagScanner supports MP3, Ogg Vorbis, and APE tags but not Unicode

Video players

VLC Portable [F][nR][NI], based on VLC Media Player, supports many video codecs and advanced features out of the "box"
Media Player Classic [F][NI] is a sub-5MB .EXE that plays just about anything, including DVDs
BSPlayer 1.37 [F][nR] is likewise feature-full but doesn't have DVD support (later versions are adware)

Video utilities

[analyzer] VideoInspector, AVIcodec, and GSpot
[conversion/editing] VirtualDub and FlasKMPEG
[screen-recording] AviScreen enables you to capture screen activity and save it as AVI video or bitmap images
[stream-capturing] Real7ime Converter for Real media; SDP Multimedia for WMVs
[ripping] DVD Decrypter and VCDgear
[joining/splitting] Camel's MPEGJoin, Peck's Power Join (for AVIs), VCD Cutter, DVD Cutter, and FileMerger
[tagger] abcAVI Tag Editor is little stand-alone utility for viewing/editing tags in AVI files (with IMDb information)

Codecs

A list of common codecs is available at FOURCC.org. Google for the best way to obtain individual codecs, in necessary.
XviD • DivX • Real Alternative • QuickTime Alternative • 3ivx (for .MP4 files)

Web Services

General services

Google Reader is an RSS aggregator in development
ChangeDetection [F] e-mails you whenever Web pages you specify are updated (no spam!)
Sitemeter [F] is a fantastic website counter and statistics tracker
[url shortcuts] TinyURL, SnipURL [F], notlong [F], Shorl, Metamark
[temporary e-mail accounts] Walala.org, BSpamFree, SpamBob, PookMail, list of disposable e-mail address services
IP Address Locator Tool finds the home country of an IP address
Password Generator and Javascript Password Generator both create passwords dependent on a single master password

Webpage validation

[HTML] W3C Markup Validation Service, WDG HTML Validator
[CSS] W3C CSS Validation Service, W3C Link Checker

Games

Indexes
GameHippo • Caiman

Specific games
Zetrix, a pleasant 3-D Tetris clone with standard and "enhanced" modes of play

Online games
Evil Cube • Guess-the-google • Puzzling Rooms • Square 2 • Steady • Tontie • Tower Blaster • xRaye

Emulation
ZSNES • 1964 and Project64 • VisualBoyAdvance