Free software/best of the web

I'm going to organize this page by category, and I'll try to alphabetize, but you'll have to forgive me.

AVG Free Edition - If your computer came with Norton or McAfee preinstalled, you may have started using that and like it. But more often than not, they only give you 60 day trials before your updates STOP WORKING, leaving you totally unprotected against any new viruses. Then they try to make you pay large sums of money for a "subscription update". It's a total scam in all ways, plus the two big anti-virus programs generally slow down your computer...alot. So my advice to anyone out there is once your subscription expires (typically after 60 days), completely uninstall whatever you have and put AVG Free edition on there. I stand by this package so much that I use it on all my computers and recommend it to anyone I do work for. It is completely free, stays updated forever, and has a very small memory footprint that won't slow down your computer. I've been running it for over five years now and haven't paid a dime. It's totally worth it, trust me.

Google Chrome - It's a new browser, that you may have heard about, but didn't really know why you need a different browser if you already have Internet Explorer. Well I'll tell you why you need a different browser, Internet Explorer is unsafe. Plain and simple, depending on your settings, you can get viruses and spyware just by visiting a bad webpage. Later versions have gotten better, but I still wouldn't trust IE. Virus and spyware crafters design software to take advantage of IE specifically because more web users use it than anything else. If not for security only, switching to Google's Chrome browser will increase the speed of page loads significantly over IE and even Firefox. It's a baby browser, but I've been converted. I don't even have Firefox on my computer anymore...

Skype - This is a cool piece of software, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting video chat. It's free and it runs on PC and Mac and works with almost any hardware. Since most new laptops have video cams built in and mics, it is a good way to stay in touch with your family and an easy and cool way to talk to your friends. Whats even cooler is that for a low price (I think i pay 2.95/month and 12.95/three months) you can get a local phone number that rings your computer and the ability to freely call anyone in the U.S. and Canada. There's more information on their website, but that's definitely useful for many purposes.  

Digsby - The best integrated IM program hands down. You have to be careful not to install the sponsor programs while you install it, but once it's on your computer it gives you access to MSN, AIM, Yahoo, Facebook Chat, and I think a few others. It automatically checks any email account, your myspace alerts, and facebook notifications. And to top it off, it has a clean, completely customizable interface, and runs on PC, Mac, and even Linux. This is quality software right here.