Everywhere I look at the moment, I see magazines and bloggers listing the best of this or that. I have previously listed some of the must-have's that reside on my computer, but to go with the flow, here is an additional list (again, all free).
Anti-virus - although it is not the perfect anti-virus tool, it's hard to go past AVG. If you don't have it, install it today.
Anti-spyware - the same goes for Spybot. It's essential.
Recover lost files - should the unthinkable happen, and you accidentally permanently erase an essential file, don't panic. Glary undelete will come running to the rescue, restoring files that have even vanished from the recycle bin/trash can.
Page layout - I know many Microsoft bundles include Publisher, but take my advice, DO NOT USE IT. It's a dog! Anyone who works in the real printing business will tell you it creates massive problems in their prepress departments. An alternative is Serif PagePlus, which behaves much more like the old PageMaker.
Web design - There are several good open-source tools, but the best are probably NVU and KompoZer.
Video editing - If you are fortunate enough to own a Macintosh, then iMovie is a good basic editor. The PC equivalent is MovieMaker, which comes built in with the system. If you need something a bit more sophisticated, Jahshaka is getting good reviews in the open-source world.
Calculator - the Windows calculator is pathetic. Moffsoft FreeCalc doesn't have any more maths functions, but because I keep losing my place when I'm totting up a column of figures, I love the way it gives me a sidebar read-out of the steps I have entered.
Font viewer - One of the frustrations of the PC system is that it's hard to see what fonts actually look like - mostly the names give you no clue. Fontviewer does exactly what it says, and nothing else. But it does it very simply and well.
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