Norman Software Essentials

Today I was walking through the mall when I came across a lone store by the name of RadioShack. I proceeded to enter said establishment to waste time and because I was bored however upon further inspection of the shelves and products I found myself staring at a flash-drive filled with free software being sold for overpriced profit margins. This made me start to think about creating my own Software Essentials guide but releasing it for free on the internet so anyone with a USB or HDD could download and use the software. This brings us to the current moment with you reading a post on a blog. Without further wait let us begin...

Security: security can be a big issue when it comes to modern day computing and so what could be a better place to start.
First off there is the question of virus protection or malware scanners to which I would answer the call with Super Anti Spy-Ware which is a free download that can be used as a mobile application or installed to a computer. This program will scan your computer files, registry, and memory for trojans and other nasty items. Not only will this help keep your information secure but it will also help speed up your system.
What if you need to browse the internet in a secure manner? I offer up two options. Google Chrome gives users an Incognito mode which stores no information from sites and keeps no history. Next up we have TOR which will connect you to a private network of servers to mask your online identity and as an added bonus can help bypass many firewalls and site blockers.

Now that we have security taken care of lets get on to some work, yes I know work is terrible but this is very helpful. You could always fork out a ton of money to buy up Microsoft products such as Windows or Office products but what's the point when excellent free alternatives already exist? As for Office products there is Open  Office which offers up alternatives to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and in my opinion is just as featured as the Microsoft alternatives.
If you can't get a copy of Windows 7 or don't feel like upgrading an old system due to the cost you can always try out a version of Linux. My choice of distro would be Ubuntu which offers up a security and speed boost over Windows in many fronts. You may be worried about your applications not working on linux but that would be a mistake as lots of software is available for the platform and being added all the time. Updates are always free as is getting the system for the first time.

As I hope you are beginning to see there are plenty of free alternatives to many major bits of software. All it takes is a quick Google search and you could be saving hundreds of dollars if not more.