Contents
- The Best Free Software of 2015
- Antivirus
- Backup & Synch
- Browsers
- Clean-up Utilities
- Conferencing
- Ebooks
- Email & IM
- Firewalls
- File Recovery & Deletion
- File Transfer, Management, Viewers
- Graphics & Imaging
- Maps & Media Players
- Networking & Notes
- Office & Presentations
- Operating Systems
- PDF Tools
- Remote Access & Screen Sharing
- Security
- Screen Capture & Recorders
- Small Business
- Software Updaters & Uninstallers
- Video
- Virtual Machines
- Windows Enhancers
- Writing
Windows and MacOS don't get the attention they used to in today's mobile world. But we have not fully abandoned the desktop. The real work (and a lot of the play) of computing requires a full personal computer system. To get the most out of that, you need software.
Software can be expensive if you're not smart about it. Free programs have been a mainstay of the desktop experience for decades, and the offerings only get more powerful and fascinating each year. As PCs compete with smartphones, it gets even better. Software developers can adopt an ad-based model, donation-ware to keep things afloat, or a shareware/freemium model that charges for extra features.
This is our first big look at free desktop software you can download and install (as opposed to just free Web-based apps) since 2012. While a lot has stayed the same, there's an odious new threat: crapware installers. To make ends meet, many creators of otherwise great free software, or the services that offer the programs for download, bundle in things you don't want. Worse, the installation routine you muddle through obfuscates the steps, so you provide the program tacit permission to be installed—even though you probably don't want it, at all. For more about how to spot and avoid this problem, see How to Clean Crapware From a New PC, and also check out the Uninstaller section of this very free software collection.
One step that helps prevent the extra crapware onslaught: only download desktop software from the maker of the software directly. It's not foolproof—after all, developers want to eat, too—but it helps. That's why it's one of the criteria for inclusion here is that the program has to be available directly from the maker.
Other criteria:
- The software has to typically have a Windows-based download; we mark it if it has a version for other platforms, even mobile or cloud-based.
- If it's on a tiered sales model, the free version can't be trial-ware that doesn't work after a time.
- It should have little or no advertising to support it. Some freemium software depends on showing ads to exist, however.
- Software for productivity is what this list is about; there's plenty of other places to find free games.
So take a look at the list of 148 147 programs (We had to delete one). On the desktop at PCMag.com, you can navigate it with the menu on the right or go to the + icon at the top, click it, then the printer icon—that'll show you the full story on one CleanPrint page you can print, save, or share. Tell us in the comments if we missed your absolute favorite piece of free software.
(For more free software, check out 50 Best Free iPhone Apps and the 100 Best Android Apps of 2015.)