E-mail safety

If it sounds too good to be true, then it's probably isn’t

Forwarding virus warnings and prize draw chain e-mails can get you more than you bargain for, but never what you intended or hoped for.

Most of these types of e-mail are scams or nuisances, some are even damaging and by forwarding them you are adding to the problem and becoming a perpetrator of e-mail abuse.

Basic safety and netiquette when forwarding e-mail

Don’t send or forward e-mails to people or add them to your “round robin” e-mail list without asking them if they want to be included. They may not want to hear every joke you think is funny or what your dog did last week and the e-mail address you have on file for them may be a work e-mail address, for instance, to which this type of personal e-mail could range from an annoyance to actually getting them into trouble.

If you must forward the information contained in an e-mail, unless the entire content is vital (an ongoing conversation for instance), always cut and paste the specific information you want to share, removing the multiple carriage returns that often appear “>>“ and other information, like e-mail addresses and names etc. (this goes for all online posting and instant and SMS messaging).

Never forward the contents of an e-mail from a friend or colleague without their prior permission, especially if it carries a disclaimer. Likewise, if you do not want others to forward the contents of your e-mails, tell them. Here is a general disclaimer you can add to your signature file or cut and paste into your e-mails:

This communication (including any attachments) is intended for the use of the intended recipient only and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or legally protected. Any unauthorized use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by return e-mail message and delete all copies of the original communication. Thank you for your cooperation.

Just forwarding (or cutting and pasting) the entire content of a forwarded e-mail (especially one that has already been forwarded many times) means that the e-mail headers and therefore the e-mail addresses of everyone who has ever sent and/or received that particular e-mail will be visible. Nobody wants to have their e-mail address advertised and leaving this type of information intact puts the owners of those e-mail addresses at risk from spammers, online predators and a host of other cybercriminals and malcontents.

The most efficient way to prevent this from happening in the first place is to use the “Bcc” option in your e-mail client. The "Bcc" field (unlike the “To” and “Cc” fields) prevents multiple recipients of an e-mail seeing any of the other e-mail addresses the message was sent to - they only see their own.

Most security warnings sent by e-mail, such as virus alerts, are hoaxes. Unless you have received a security warning from a legitimate anti-virus organization (that you signed up for), you can be 99.9% positive that the information is fraudulent. You must check the information you receive before you decide whether or not to send it to someone else. Forwarding security alerts without verifying their accuracy can cause annoyance, panic, damage to others’ computers (some virus hoaxes erroneously instruct a user to delete vital files from their operating system or actually contain a virus themselves) and embarrassment - when you find out that the information you just e-mailed to everyone in your address book is a hoax.

When you receive an chain e-mail (even from a trusted friend):

• Don’t forward it to anyone else.
• Reply to the sender (if you know them) without including the contents of the original e-mail and politely ask them not to send you any more. If you do not know the sender, ignore the e-mail and report it as spam.
• If you simply cannot bear not to forward a chain e-mail (and we understand that some people cannot ignore them), send it to us: chainmail@wiredsafety.org and we will deal with it for you. If the chain e-mail tells you to send 10 copies to 10 different people, that’s fine - send us 10 copies.

However, please remember this. No chain e-mails are legitimate, credible companies do not conduct their marketing in such a haphazard fashion. Chain e-mails cannot bring you fortune or cause bad luck, they will not make you rich and you will never get that luxury holiday. They are lies, at best mischievous at worst (like virus hoaxes) designed to cause worry and disruption.

Finally, if you truly want to help disadvantaged children, endangered species or support another charity or movement, go to their Web site[s] and make a donation or sign up as a volunteer. You can use a search engine to find them, it takes about the same amount of time and effort to run a search as it does to forward a questionable e-mail. If you really want to tell a friend or loved one that you care about them, don’t do it with a junk e-mail that has been repeatedly forwarded. Tell them yourself, write a personal note - from your heart or, even better, tell them face to face.

http://www.wiredsafety.org/safety/email_safety/chain_email.html

Computer hoaxes, rumors and urban legends

What they are and what you can do about them

We aren't strangers to urban legends. The crazed stalker of couples in lovers' lane. The baby alligator brought back as a souvenir from Florida that, when flushed down the toilet, lived and hunted in the sewers. Some legends live on from one generation to the next. (Do we even have lovers' lanes anymore, and aren't alligators a protected or endangered species?)

Real or hoax? You be the judge

Remember Mikey, the Life cereal kid who wouldn't eat anything? Well, you may also remember the rumor (totally unfounded) about twenty years ago that he died while eating Pop Rocks (the effervescent candy) when he drank a can of soda and his stomach exploded. (I wrote my senior thesis on that and other business rumors.) Rumors, especially those that sound believable, have abounded for centuries. It isn't any different in cyberspace. In fact, they move faster online than they ever could offline.

Someone went to a movie and sat down on a hypodermic needle that had been left on the seat. She then contracted AIDS. Someone else was drugged by a beautiful woman and woke up in a bathtub filled with ice to find a kidney missing. (Apparently it had been removed and sold to someone who needed a kidney transplant.)

But most good hoaxes and rumors have three main ingredients- they could happen, they touch something we know about or think is true (people can get HIV from an exposed infected needle, and people are desperate for transplant organs), and they feed on fear (getting HIV/AIDS, being drugged by strangers, dangers of having sex with strangers, etc.).

The difference between a rumor and a hoax is that while hoaxes are planned fakes, rumors may be believed and innocently passed on. But since once a hoax is passed on by people who believe it, it becomes a rumor.

Computer virus rumors are common cyberhoaxes

E-mail hoax messages warning about some new virus hazard arrive in our mailbox daily. While some are true, many are not. A lot of people are fooled, though.

What Can You Do About It?

Luckily, there are several great resources you can refer to when you get your next e-mail announcing Armageddon, especially e-mails announcing the latest viruses. These sites will help you decide what to pay careful attention to and which to just ignore.

Before you forward any e-mail proclaiming the latest virus, check it out. It's good Netiquette and a good way to preserve your credibility. And if you know someone who's rumormongering in cyberspace, tell them, too. (Otherwise, ignore anything they send you, or tell them to remove you from their rumor mailing list).

Follow this link to find out more about chain e-mail and virus hoaxes and what to do about them >>

http://www.wiredsafety.org/internet101/hoaxes.html

Blog Sites, Profile Sites, Diary Sites or Social-Networking Sites

Parry addresses parental concerns

Everyone calls them a different name, but it’s where kids are flocking (adults are too). They are a combination of a diary, a personal ad and a cyberdating Web site. I often call them a public diary on steroids. Recently, I have been receiving a large number of inquiries from schools, parents, regulators and the media about social-networking Web sites.

Questions about myspace.com and what to do if you have a problem

WiredSafety and MySpace.com

I decided that it was important to address parent concerns and answer their questions. In connection with this we have agreed to provide our safety content and help to the largest and most popular of these sites, MySpace.com.

I did this because they cared more than the other sites I contacted. When I explained the problems parents were reporting and we had spotted, they asked for help in improving safety at the site and building a section for parents’ questions. That’s what we do. We help everyone surf more safely. And MySpace.com is helping us do that.

MySpace.com and other similar sites are designed to allow people to share their creativity, pictures, and information with others. Sometimes people do this to find romance. Sometimes they do it to find friends with similar interest. While this may be okay for adults, it is not okay for kids.

MySpace.com recognizes this, and prohibits anyone under 14 years of age from using their website. Unfortunately, while they may set rules to keep younger kids off the site, they can’t prevent kids from lying about their age, pretending to be 14 years of age or older. To address this, MySpace.com has developed special software to review the profiles of their members, to try and find anyone under age, based on information the members post about themselves. It’s not perfect, but it does help spot the underage members.

While MySpace.com is doing its best to keep your children from using their website and lying about their age, it’s up to parents to do their job too. Parents need to talk with their children about not sharing personal information online. Personal information includes pictures, names and addresses, schools they attend, cell and phone numbers and many other less obvious things, such as the name of their school team, ethnic background and even a mall near your house. (You can learn more about how to talk to your kids and what you should be asking at WiredKids.org or WiredSafety.org. I am an Internet privacy and security lawyer and founded the all-volunteer Wired Safety Group. We can help you if things go wrong online, or you just have questions. We provide information, education and one-to-one help for victims of cyberabuse.)

We at WiredSafety.org are developing a special program just for parents concerned about their kids using social-networking and online dating sites. It will teach you what you need to know about finding out if your child has a profile on one of these sites, how to review them and remove them, if you want to. It will also help you if your child is being cyberbullied using one of these sites or members from these sites, or is cyberbullying others.

So what do you, as a parent, do? First you need to find out if your child has a page on one of these sites. The best way to find out if your child has a profile on this or another similar site is to ask them. If you’re not sure that your child is being honest with you, you can search MySpace.com (or the other sites) using their e-mail address, or by searching for their school. (You click on “search” and enter their email address or full name in the appropriate search box.)

If you find that your child has a profile on the Web site, you should review it. It’s amazing how much you can learn about your child by reading their profiles. Does it contain personal information, such as their full name, address or phone numbers? Has your child posted photos? Are they photos of themselves or someone else? Are they sharing poems they write or provocative comments about themselves or others?

If you want the profile removed (you must remove your child’s profile if they are under age), first ask your child to remove it themselves. If that doesn’t work, MySpace.com has a section explaining how to remove a page. If you find someone who is underage, you can report it there as well. It’s not as easy a procedure as the other Web sites.

While MySpace.com is working hard to keep kids off their Web site, ultimately, protecting your child is your job. But you have lots of help. At WiredKids.org and WiredSafety.org thousands of volunteers donate their time to helping parents and children surf responsibly and safely. And we will be building a few tutorials help parents and their children understand how to be careful when communicating publicly online.

A good things to do is to ask your kids why they created the profile. You might learn that they wanted to share their thoughts with others, make new friends or even allow others in their school to get to know them better. But not all of their motives are as noble or safe. Some may be interested in meeting new romantic interests or role-playing inappropriately online. And when a young preteen lies about their age posing as a seventeen year old at the site, that can be a serious problem. Others in their late teens might approach your child thinking they were older. That’s bad for everyone.

If you discover that your child is posting provocative comments or inappropriate images online, it’s time for the tough talk. The one about stranger dangers and how that cute fourteen year old boy they meet online may not be cute, may not be fourteen and may not be a boy. (Parents of young boys need to understand that their children are equally at risk. About one-third of the cases of Internet sexual exploitation are men exploiting boys.) Our children need to realize that there are real risks relating to meeting strangers offline, including murder.

The first confirmed murder victim by an Internet sexual predator was thirteen when she died, three years ago May 2002. The risks are real, not matter how smart, sophisticated or tech savvy your kids are. We recommend the book, A Girl’s Life Online, by Katie Tarbox. We are also developing a few videos for teens teaching them about standard ploys used by Internet sexual predators to lure a young boy or girl into an offline meeting or sexual exploitation situations online.

It’s not easy raising children anymore. It is even harder when the parent is expected to be expert in Internet, cell phone and interactive game risks. The good thing is that you’re not facing these challenges alone. We’re here to help.

Just remember that while your kids may know more than you do about technology, you know more about life. And you are allowed to set the rules and enforce them. You’re still the parent! There is software you can install that will record what your kids say and post online. There is even one that will e-mail you reports at work. The ones I like best are made by Spectorsoft, and can be found at software4parents.com or spectorsoft.com. But don’t use them just to spy on your kids. Treat them like a security video camera in the corner of a bank. No one views the tapes unless and until there is a break-in. Do the same here. Check the program reports if something goes wrong. It will collect whatever you need for evidence and to help your child if something goes wrong.

Also, check your parental control programs. Many, such as AOL’s and MSN’s, can block access to social-networking Web sites. or other sites you think are inappropriate for your younger child. There are many other products you can purchase to block sites as well. (Check out software4parents.com to learn about and purchase some of these.) Just remember that the best filter is the one between your children’s ears.

If you child is being bullied by another child online, check the terms of service first. If the bullying violates the Web site’s terms of service, report it to TOS and the offending comments and/or profile will be removed. If something serious occurs and you need to reach out to law enforcement, let them know that WiredSafety.org is here to help them, if they need it. Cyberbullying is a growing problem. You can learn more about it, as well as how to prevent and handle cyberbullying incidents, at our StopCyberbullying.org and InternetSuperheroes.org. We also has a report line link for victims of cyberbullying, their schools and parents where specially-trained volunteers assist victims of cyberstalking, harassment and cyberbullying without charge.

If schools are looking for a presentation or program to address their students’ posting inappropriate profiles or using these Web sites. while underage or other parent concerns, they should visit WiredKids.org or Teenangels.org. Schools may find many of their students using a particular Web site If the students are under 13, please notify MySpace.com’s help staff and their profiles will be removed immediately. Working together with schools and parents, we may be able to keep our kids off of Web site that are inappropriate for young children and teach them to make good choices online and offline.

http://www.wiredsafety.org/internet101/blogs.html

How to help your kids use social networking Web sites more safely

Published: March 9, 2006

You may already know that blogging—keeping a public "Web log" or personal journal online—is common among teens and even younger kids.

Now kids can also create personal Web pages on social networking Web sites hosted by services like MSN Spaces, MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, and others. These Web pages can often be viewed by anyone with access to the Internet.

With these services, which are extremely popular among teenagers, kids can fill out profiles that can include:

•	Photos
•	Videos
•	Personal information such as full names, locations, and cell phone numbers

Often the services that host the social networking sites provide several different ways for people to communicate with one another, including blogging and instant messaging features.

Kids use social networking sites to connect with kids who might live halfway around the world and with kids whom they pass every day in the hallways at school.

Social networking can provide a helpful way for kids to express their emotions or even to perform unofficial background checks on other kids they meet at parties and at school. For example, after they meet another kid in person, a kid might visit that other kid's Web site to find out if he or she might be someone they'd like to be friends with.

Unfortunately, the information that kids post on their pages can also make them vulnerable to predators.

Here are several ways you can help your kids can use social networking Web sites more safely.

•	Set your own house Internet rules. As soon as your children begin to use the Internet on their own, it is a good idea to come up with a list of rules that you all can all agree on. These rules should include whether your children can use social networking Web sites and how they can use them. For more information on setting rules, see Using family contracts to help protect your kids online.
•	Ensure your kids follow age limits on the site. The recommended age for signing up for social networking sites is usually 13 and over. If your children are under the recommended age for these sites, do not let them use the sites. It is important to remember that you cannot rely on the services themselves to keep your underage child from signing up.
•	Educate yourself about the site. Evaluate the site that your child plans to use and read the privacy policy and code of conduct carefully. Also, find out if the site monitors content that people post on their pages. Also, review your child's page periodically. For more suggestions, see Tips on blogging safely for parents and kids.
•	Insist that your children never meet anyone in person that they've communicated with only online, and encourage them to communicate only with people they've actually met in person. Kids are in real danger when they meet strangers in person whom they've communicated with only online. You can help protect your children from that danger by encouraging them to use these sites to communicate with their friends, but not with people they've never met in person. It might not be enough to simply tell your child not to talk to strangers, because your child might not consider someone they've "met" online to be a stranger. For more advice on protecting your children on the Internet, see Online Predators: What you can do to minimize the risk.
•	Ensure your kids don't use full names. Have your children use only their first names or a nickname, but not a nickname that would attract the wrong kind of attention. Also, do not allow your children to post the full names of their friends.
•	Be wary of other identifiable information in your child's profile. Many social networking sites allow kids to join public groups that include everyone who goes to a certain school. Be careful when your children reveal this and other information that could be used to identify them, such as where they work or the name of the town they live in, especially if it is a small one.
•	Consider using a site that is not very public. Some social networking sites allow you to password-protect your site or use other methods to help limit viewers to only people your child knows. With MSN Spaces, for example, you can set permissions for who can view your site, ranging from anyone on the Internet to only people you choose.
•	Be smart about details in photographs. Explain to your children that photographs can reveal a lot of personal information. Encourage your children not to post photographs of themselves or their friends with clearly identifiable details such as street signs, license plates on their cars, or the name of their school on their sweatshirts.
•	Warn your child about expressing emotions to strangers. You've probably already encouraged your kids not to communicate with strangers directly online. However, kids use social networking Web sites to write journals and poems that often express strong emotions. Explain to your children that these words can be read by anyone with access to the Internet and that predators often search out emotionally vulnerable kids. For more information, see 10 things you can teach kids to improve their Web safety.
•	Communicate with your children about their experiences. Encourage your children to tell you if something they encounter on one of these sites makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind your kids they are not in trouble for bringing something to your attention.
•	Remove your child's page. If your children refuse to abide by the rules you've set to help protect their safety, you can contact the social Web site your child uses and ask them to remove the page. You may also want to investigate Internet-filtering tools (such as MSN Premium's Parental Controls) as a complement to—not a replacement for—parental supervision.

Do you want more information on helping protect your child on the Internet? See Kids and the Internet: Frequently asked questions.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/social_web.mspx

My Space: Warning Children About Online Dangers

Yesterday afternoon, I was interviewed by CBS News for a story on MySpace. The social networking site announced plans for running new publics service announcements to educate its users about the potential dangers online. And the company hired Hemanshu Nigam, formerly of Microsoft and before that the Justice Department, to become its new chief security officer.

This can only be good, because there are dangers on the Internet, and MySpace has certainly seen its share. The big concern has been online predators, who seem to be exploiting all the information that many people have put up on my MySpace. Indeed, the new ad campaign is part of a program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Advertising Council, and NewsCorp, which owns MySpace, Fox Interactive Media, and more.

MySpace in particular makes it very easy for people to post personal information – from pictures to music to all sorts of information, and then makes it easy to search this data. And that can lead to all sorts of problems. Of course, MySpace is hardly alone in this threat -- though it is the largest social networking site in the country -- and sexual predators are not the only problem. We’ve also seen problems on the Internet ranging from fraud to identity theft to “cyber bullying.” The Internet is the greatest conduit of information we’ve ever seen, and it offers lots of new ways for people to connect with one another, so it’s not surprising that some of it turns out to be wrong, inappropriate, or just plain dangerous.

We want our children to use the Internet, but we want them to use it sensibly. My perspective is that we need to teach our kids that the Internet is like a very large city. There are all sorts of good things, but also some bad things and a few very bad people. I’ve very concerned about anyone who posts too much personal information online, and that is especially true for children and teens.

Kids especially shouldn’t give out their home address and phone number online, and I think they should be particularly careful about chat rooms, because it’s impossible to really know who is on the other hand of a chat conversation. And they should NEVER meet with anyone who approaches them in a chat room, especially without parents around. Even with children who should know better, I think you should reinforce these rules on a regular basis.
I talked to CBS News about it, and a small bit of the conversation ended up in a couple of different stories that ran in stories in Baltimore, Michigan, and others. Here’s eWeek’s coverage of the story.

I’m not sure we need a scare campaign here, but we do need to better educate Internet users about the basic rules of safety. If the ad campaign on MySpace helps educate its users and other children about the dangers online, and teaches them to use the Internet properly, then everyone could win.

posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 9:14 AM by MichaelMiller

http://blog.pcmag.com/blogs/miller/archive/2006/04/12/933.aspx

Company Culture

What It Is And How To Change It

From F. John Reh,Your Guide to Management.

Company Culture

A culture is the values and practices shared by the members of the group. Company Culture, therefore, is the shared values and practices of the company's employees.

Company culture is important because it can make or break your company. Companies with an adaptive culture that is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their competitors. Some studies report the difference at 200% or more. To achieve results like this for your organization, you have to figure out what your culture is, decide what it should be, and move everyone toward the desired culture.

Company cultures evolve and they change over time. As employee leave the company and replacements are hired the company culture will change. If it is a strong culture, it may not change much. However, since each new employee brings their own values and practices to the group the culture will change, at least a little. As the company matures from a startup to a more established company, the company culture will change. As the environment in which the company operates (the laws, regulations, business climate, etc.) changes, the company culture will also change.

These changes may be positive, or they may not. The changes in company culture may be intended, but often they are unintended. They may be major changes or minor ones. The company culture will change and it is important to be aware of the changes.

Assess The Company Culture

There are many ways to assess your company culture. There are consultants who will do it for you, for a fee. The easiest way to assess your company's culture is to look around. How do the employees act; what do they do? Look for common behaviors and visible symbols.

Listen. Listen to your employees, your suppliers, and your customers. Pay attention to what is written about your company, in print and online. These will also give you clues as to what your company's culture really is.

Determine The Desired Company Culture

Before you can change the company culture, you have to decide what you want the company culture to look like in the future. Different companies in different industries will have different cultures. Look at what kind of a culture will work best for your organization in its desired future state. Review your mission, vision and values and make sure the company culture you are designing supports them.

Here are some characteristics of company cultures that others have used successfully. Decide which work for your company and implement them.

• Mission clarity
• Employee commitment
• Fully empowered employees
• High integrity workplace
• Strong trust relationships
• Highly effective leadership
• Effective systems and processes
• Performance-based compensation and reward programs
• Customer-focused
• Effective 360-degree communications
• Commitment to learning and skill development
• Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees
• High degree of adaptability
• High accountability standards
• Demonstrated support for innovation

Align The Company Culture

You need to align your company culture with your strategic goals if it isn't already.

• Develop a specific action plan that can leverage the good things in your current culture and correct the unaligned areas.
• Brainstorm improvements in your formal policies and daily practices.
• Develop models of the desired actions and behaviors.
• Communicate the new culture to all employees and then
• over-communicate the new culture and its actions to everyone.

Only a company culture that is aligned with your goals, one that helps you anticipate and adapt to change, will help you achieve superior performance over the long run.

©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/companyculture_p.htm

Leader's Insight: Put on an Unhappy Face
There are lessons in lingering in your discouragement.
by Gordon MacDonald, Leadership editor at large

From my journal: This morning a man I like very much informed me that he and his wife were going to leave our church for another one. His wife, he said, didn't feel accepted by our people and she'd found better in another congregation. So, he told me, they would soon be gone.

When the conversation ended and we'd parted ways, I felt a cloud of discouragement engulf me. A thick cloud, as a matter of fact. I felt badly for our church; I even felt badly for myself because I had really thought we (and I) had served him and his wife well. But I was mistaken. Thus the discouragement. Usually, I can shake such moments off, but this morning I decided to let the sensation of discouragement linger and feel it for a while.

I hope it doesn't sound arrogant to say that it's been a long time since I have felt deeply discouraged. That's not because everything has always gone right for me but because I have learned over the years how to manage life's low moments. I know how to set dark experiences in a larger, more optimistic context; I know how to draw upon past events that remind me that nothing is quite as bad as it might seem to be. But this morning I decided to let the discouragement wash over me and thus become reacquainted with what many others in spiritual leadership seem to go through every day.

Discouragement comes with the territory of leadership. A little of it humbles a person appropriately. An overdose paralyzes. It distorts perspective; creates fear; generates doubt; makes one feel a failure; erases the memory-bank of former blessings.

The bystander is often tempted to try to fix the discouraged person with cheery comments like "Get past it!" or "God has something better in mind." or "Go back and read about Elijah." Usually, none of this helps.

We deal with discouragement in many ways. Many simply surrender to the feeling and become immobilized for a while. That's one option.

Escape of a sort is another. Escape for me might be planning some trip (get me out of here), or buying something in an electronics store (make me feel good), or just kibitzing around in a way that appears to be productive but really isn't (there can be lots of mindless work in the ministry). How did I get here? I might wonder. Why am I not more appreciated? Where is God in all of this?

Escape for some might mean a delving into pornography, overeating, or wasting hours in front of the TV. Some cope with discouragement by finding someone to get mad at or by wallowing in a mood of complaining and whining. It's a great time to curse the evangelical movement.

Another option is just quitting—which I did in one discouraging moment many, many years ago when I was terribly immature.

Others had their own solutions. When Peter lost his courage on last-supper night he decided to go back to fishing. Elijah, of course, ran off to quieter places. Jeremiah just wept.

Barnabas will always be known as the champion of encouragement with his beautiful name which I envy (meaning offspring of encouragement). And I was reminded of him this morning when I admitted my melancholy on the phone to my wife, Gail. She immediately said, "Meet me at our favorite walking spot." I did, and soon we were stepping through the New Hampshire woods on a lovely spring day listening to the nearby Merrimack River crash its way among the rocks in the riverbed. By the time we finished our walk, I was lifted up. Gail had listened and then talked me into a better perspective and out of my blue mood. She did it not by preaching to me but by softly reminding me of God's nearness … even in the down-moment.

Discouragement is not supposed to be part of the high-adrenaline Christian life today. So there aren't many people with whom you would feel the freedom, should you need it, to acknowledge that your spirit is empty. I tasted the feeling this morning and was glad I did. Because for just an hour or two it re-sensitized me to all those wonderful men and women in various kinds of ministries who live with much too much discouragement day after day. I sure hope they have what I have: a spouse or friend, a place to walk, and a heart that's not so empty it can't be renewed.

Pastor and author Gordon MacDonald is chair of World Relief and editor at large of Leadership.

To respond to this newsletter, write to Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
April 3, 2006

http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln60403.html

Prayers That Move the Heart of God
How to cultivate a meaningful conversation with the Lord.
by Nancy Guthrie

My teenaged son, Matt, always has a great time when he visits my parents. And why shouldn't he? Matt gets out of bed whenever he wants, eats whatever he wants, and watches whatever he wants on TV. In fact, Matt made a grand discovery at Grandma's house during his last visit. My mother keeps a bucket of chocolate-chip cookie dough in her refrigerator that Matt enjoyed eating by the spoonful! When he returned from that visit, he began asking me to buy cookie dough from Sam's Club, just like my mom.

I know having cookie dough easily available isn't good for either of us, so I said "no" over and over … until last week. Matt's repeated requests finally wore me down.

That's one of the big differences between God's parenting and mine. God doesn't give me everything I repeatedly ask for when he knows it's not best for me. But a shallow reading of Luke 11:9-10 could lead me to think otherwise. There Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Is the way to get what I want from God through wearing him down, or getting as many people as possible to ask God for it? What kinds of prayer really move the heart and hand of God?

Secret-Formula Prayer vs. Seeking Prayer
As his parent, I don't want Matt to try to get what he wants by constantly begging me for it or getting everyone he knows to gang up on me. I want to hear his heart on the matter, and I want him to hear mine. I want us to have a conversation. Isn't that how it is with our heavenly Father? Prayer is about a conversation with our loving God—not about wearing him down to get what we want.

There's so much to want—healed bodies, restored relationships, changed circumstances. But asking, seeking, and knocking aren't secret formulas for getting what we want from God; they're ways to get more of God. As I listen to God speak to me through his Word, he gives me more of himself in fuller, newer ways. Then, if healing doesn't come, if the relationship remains broken, or if the pressures increase, I have the opportunity to discover for myself he is enough. His presence is enough. His purpose is enough.

If you truly want to move God's heart, put aside secret-formula prayer and instead begin to practice prayer that seeks the Giver more than the gifts.

	Prayer is changing me from someone who knew a lot about God into someone who's experiencing God in deep, though sometimes difficult, ways.

Superficial Prayer vs. Significant Prayer
Sometimes I catch myself "chatting" with God, limiting my prayers to superficial things and surface issues, never getting to the heart of the matter. And I've noticed that when others offer prayer requests, they're rarely about spiritual needs. We ask God to heal physical ailments, provide safe travel, and to "be with us."

Of course God cares about these things. But prayer is spiritual work toward a spiritual end. God wants to rub off our rough edges and clean up our character. So why do we settle for talking to him only about the superficial stuff? When our prayers move from the superficial to the significant, we invite God to do no less than a deep, transforming, igniting work in our life and in the lives of those for whom we're praying.

I've often found myself slipping into superficial mode in my prayers for Matt—asking God to keep him safe or to bless his day at school. But I really don't want to settle for those things. So my prayers have moved from the superficial to the significant. I'm asking God to shape Matt's character—even if it requires some struggle. I'm begging the Holy Spirit to ignite in Matt a passion for holiness and a love for God's Word. These are things that really matter. This is what significant prayer is all about.

Showy Prayer vs. Secret Prayer
Several years ago, at a friend's wedding, a college friend described me to her other friends as "a prayer warrior." Her comment surprised me because I knew it wasn't true. I guess I'd made a great impression with my public prayers at our weekly Bible study group in college. But the truth was, there wasn't much private prayer going on in my life.

If I'm not careful, I still can make prayer all about impressing others with my pseudo-spirituality. That's "showy prayer"—prayer that's more for others' ears than for God's. Jesus warned against this: "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the doors and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:5-6).

Showy prayer uses put-on voices, lofty words, and spiritual-sounding phrases; simple prayer is authentic and humble. I can perform public prayers or make claims of private prayer, and settle for the applause of people; or I can go to a secret place, shut the door, and commune with God. It's in that secret place with him you and I find our most blessed reward—not impressing others, but cultivating true intimacy with him.

Insistent Prayer vs. Submissive Prayer
Nothing's taught me more about prayer than Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. According to Hebrews 5:7-8, "during the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered."

This moves me, because I know what it's like to offer prayers with loud cries and tears, to come before God with a broken heart and a desperate need. Several years ago, physicians told my husband and me that because of a rare metabolic disorder, our newborn daughter, Hope, would live for only two or three months.

Time seemed to be slipping away so quickly when one day, as I rocked Hope in the nursery we'd prepared for her—tears spilling down my face—I thought, I'll ask God to give Hope more time. It seemed such a modest prayer; I'd already surrendered any insistence God heal her completely. But even as that prayer formed in my mind, I sensed God calling me to submit to his perfect timing. So my prayer instead became, Give me strength to make the most of every day you give me with Hope. Show me how to rest in your plan for her life and mine.

In Hope's life and death, I learned what it is to pray to a God who has the power to make another way … but chooses not to. It helps to know Jesus understands what this feels like. Like Jesus, I've wrestled with God's plan for my life even as I've sought to submit to it. But Jesus shows me how to obey when God's answer to my sincere, reverent prayer is "no." I also see Jesus' example of obedience.

I've learned that submissive prayer is prayer that welcomes God to work in and through my suffering rather than begs him to take it away. It's thanking God for what he gives me rather than resenting him for what I lose. Submissive prayer is changing me from someone who knew a lot about God into someone who's experiencing God in deep, though sometimes difficult, ways.

Too often I still find myself merely going through the motions of prayer, but I want to pray in a way that's authentic, sincere, and effective. I'm learning to go to my heavenly Father in the way I want my son to come to me. I want to hear what Matt wants and needs. I want to respond. I want to be active in his life, doing what I know is best for him.

Our heavenly Father's no different. He has no need for a show or secret formulas, and he's not interested in keeping things superficial. He loves it when we come to him—and he simply wants to talk with us.

Nancy Guthrie is the author of Holding On to Hope: A Pathway Through Suffering to the Heart of God and The One Year Book of Hope (both Tyndale). She lives in Tennessee.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian Woman magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Today's Christian Woman.
March/April 2006, Vol. 28, No. 2, Page 22


http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2006/002/9.22.html

101 Fabulous Freebies

The best things in life aren't just free--they're indispensable. Case in point: these outrageously useful downloads, sites, and services.

Dylan Tweney

From the May 2006 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Tuesday, March 28, 2006

There's never been a better time to be a cheapskate. Free utilities? We've got 'em. Want a full-fledged image editor? A few gigabytes of mail storage? How about an entire office software suite? We can top that, easy. Take the whole earth and solar system. Free!

If you thought that the golden age of free stuff ended when the dot-com bubble burst, guess again. The past few years have seen an explosion of giveaways--both Web-based services and free software--that make the anemic home-page building apps and first-generation Web mail services of the late 1990s pale in comparison.

In part, we have the open-source movement to thank. Initially the province of uber-geeks only (think Linux), open-source projects have recently produced several outstanding consumer-oriented programs. The Mozilla project has spawned not only a terrific browser (Firefox) but also an e-mail client, an HTML editor, and more. Sun's OpenOffice.org suite has finally matured, with Microsoft Office-compatible programs that are fully the equal of their commercial competitors. And the list goes on.

The other developments putting smiles on the faces of the tightfisted are advertising-supported software and Web services. As online advertising gathers momentum, it no longer seems so silly to give away endless gigabytes of hard-disk storage and server bandwidth, as free video-hosting services like Putfile and Revver are doing. As a consumer, all you need is the willingness to put up with some banner ads while you watch the videos these services host. Revver is so confident in its ability to make money from ads that it's willing to share ad revenue with anyone who posts videos.

In the following pages, we uncover the best free software and services you can find. These are the real deal--no hobbled half-products or demos that time out after 30 days. To launch straight into this sweet stuff, check out our online directory, which links you to all the downloads, services, and Web sites. Read on, and load up.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Tune Up

Utilities and System Tools

Foxit Reader For viewing PDF files, Foxit Reader beats Adobe Reader hands-down. This program requires no installation--just run the executable--and it launches in about 1 second. Plus, it includes some desirable tools that Adobe lacks, such as a "typewriter" that lets you edit any text in the PDF, not just in form fields.

System Information for Windows Run the executable, and in a few seconds this little utility will tell you more than you could imagine about your computer's hardware, operating system, installed programs, and so on. What you do with that information is up to you--the tool doesn't offer diagnoses or advice.

PDF Creator This printer driver lets you create Adobe Acrobat files from any application, just by selecting Print from within that app and choosing PDF Creator as your printer. It offers a multitude of options for controlling the output, including the ability to password-protect PDF files to limit users' ability to print, copy, or modify the documents.

CCleaner Over time, your PC gets gunked up with old browser cache files, cookies, and other bits and pieces. CCleaner finds this digital detritus and zaps it.

Microsoft Tweak UI Control scores of hidden Windows XP settings, from determining what appears on your Start menu to specifying how users log on to your PC.

7-Zip It's just plain rude to send huge, uncompressed files. 7-Zip is a free utility that creates .zip compressed archives.

PuTTY If you need to connect to your Web server for maintenance, an SSH (Secure Shell) connection is safer than old-school Telnet, because the connection--including the part where you type your password--is encrypted. This SSH client will do the trick very neatly.

OmniFormat Want to convert BMPs to JPEGs? GIFs to PDFs? Word docs to TIF image files? As fast as you can copy files into a specified target folder, OmniFormat will turn them into the precise kind of file you want. Note: In order to use OmniFormat, you must install an ad-supported PDF creation utility, PDF995.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Find It

Online Search and Reference Services

Google Desktop Harness the power of the Internet's most popular search engine on your own PC. Google Desktop indexes nearly every document on your hard drive and then includes those files in your Google searches. A sidebar displays information modules that you select, such as current news, updated items from recently visited sites, and local weather.

MSN Search Toolbar With Windows Desktop Search This search tool indexes your hard drive and then delivers search results through a Windows application rather than relying on a Web browser. Also, it searches the Web via MSN Search, and can index your Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail.

Copernic Desktop Search Like Google Desktop and the MSN Search Toolbar, Copernic lets you search local files as well as Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail. But it gives you more control over your searches--for instance, letting you specify messages from a certain sender.

Free Download Manager If you're continually downloading files, this Internet Explorer companion can help. It speeds up single-file downloads, resumes interrupted downloads, manages your bandwidth usage, and schedules multiple file downloads for specific times. You can even use it to grab every page from a Web site.

FlashGot For Firefox users, this browser plug-in simplifies downloading, allowing you to download multiple files efficiently. It requires a download manager, and integrates that program's features into right-click menus in Firefox.

Project Gutenberg Like to read? Project Gutenberg has been creating electronic versions of the classics for three decades, and its library currently contains the full text of more than 17,000 volumes. Read them online, or get your own free CD or DVD containing thousands of titles.

Wikipedia Anyone can contribute to this online encyclopedia, so take its articles with a grain of salt. But Wikipedia is a clearinghouse for general info on almost anything. And you can access it from a PDA via Wapedia.

Bartleby Like a reference library, Bartleby is home to several sources, including a dictionary, an encyclopedia, and various books of quotations. It offers audio pronunciations of words, a feature you have to pay for at other dictionary sites.

WordWeb This handy utility provides a dictionary and a thesaurus that work in any application on your computer. Simply highlight a word and press Ctrl-Alt-W (or click the taskbar icon) to get a definition, synonyms, and other information.

podAmigo podAmigo works with Podomatic, a Web service that helps you organize and download podcasts from all over the Web. You tell it what podcasts you want, and it creates daily "radio shows" for you--optionally mixing them with selections from your own music library.

Hyperwords This Firefox browser plug-in renders any text--on any Web page--clickable. Highlight a word or phrase, and a pop-up menu lets you submit the highlighted text to search engines, reference sites, online merchants, and more.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Roam Free

Collaboration and Remote-Access Tools

LogMeIn LogMeIn simplifies checking your home PC from the road: Leave your home PC connected to the Web, sign on to a Web page, and the remote-access service shows your PC's screen in the browser. Then you control your PC from afar.

GetByMail The free version of LogMeIn won't allow you to transfer files. For that, use GetByMail. Once you've installed the utility, you can use your e-mail account to send and receive files.

Backpack With this easy-to-use Web application, you or your group can create shared Web pages. Pages may include to-do lists, notes, pictures, and more.

FreeConference.com Interested in hosting a 3-hour conference call with up to a hundred participants? You can set up calls via this Web site, and people join by calling a number that FreeConference.com specifies. These calls are rarely local, so use your cell phone (if it offers free long distance) to keep this service truly free.

PBwiki Wondering about wikis? PBwiki is a great introduction to these collaboratively created Web sites. You can launch a new, password-protected wiki in just moments. The free version has ads, and gives you only 10MB of storage.

ITeamwork This Web service helps groups keep track of complicated projects. After creating a project, you can add and assign tasks, and mark them complete. iTeamwork enables you to see at a glance what still needs to be done and by whom.

WriteBoard For collaborative editing, you can't beat WriteBoard. It lets you create, edit, and share documents with others--directly in your browser. You can even compare versions to see changes.

Groove Virtual Office Groove simplifies collaboration by letting you create shared workspaces where you and others can work on documents together, discuss plans, and more. After 60 days, the trial version of Groove loses some features, such as file synchronization--but its core collaboration features remain usable.

Netomat This social networking service permits you to share information via a PC or cell phone. Create a "hub" based on an RSS feed or your own content, and invite some friends; whenever the hub receives new photos or other content, the update gets beamed to every member of the group via SMS or via the Netomat Hub application, which runs on their computers or compatible cell phones.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Get to Work

Business and Productivity Tools

Firefox Still using Internet Explorer? It's time you started using Firefox for most of your Web browsing--it's a faster, more secure, and more flexible Web browser.

OpenOffice.org Though it's a full-fledged, Microsoft Office-compatible word processor, spreadsheet, presentation package, and database, OpenOffice.org won't cost you one thin dime. It's solid enough (and sufficiently compatible with Office documents) that you may never have to invest in an office suite again.

ThinkFree Online Beta This office software, which runs in your browser, lets you edit Microsoft Office-compatible documents, spreadsheets, and presentations from any Internet-connected system. The programs are slow to load but work beautifully once they're running.

AbiWord If all you need is a word processor, try AbiWord, a lightweight and full-featured word processor that is compatible with Microsoft Word documents. It looks and feels a lot like Word, too.

Pegasus Mail A longtime favorite among e-mail power users, Pegasus takes a little getting used to--due to its many options and unconventional interface--but it provides a huge amount of control over your mail, including mail merges and a greater range of flexible filtering options than any other free e-mail client offers.

Thunderbird You may not care for Thunderbird's simple look, but its tight security and robust stability make it the top choice for managing e-mail on your PC.

Steganos LockNote Need to keep a secret? LockNote is a simple notepad with strong encryption. You set a password, and once you close the file, you won't be able to see the text (which is stored inside the Lock-Note executable file) without entering the password. And neither will anyone else.

Alleycode Here's a simple HTML editor for people who are comfortable with code but want some support for creating Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Alleycode is not for novices, but it's efficient if you know your way around a Web page and need to do some quick editing.

Nvu Don't know much about HTML? Try Nvu, a sophisticated Web page editor that doesn't require any understanding of the underlying tags. What you see in Nvu is close to what you'll see in a browser.

SeaMonkey Mozilla.org's e-mail and browser programs have found new life in this suite of Internet tools, which includes a chat client and a capable HTML editor, and lets you sync your address book to a Palm device (see review).

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Keep in Touch

Communications tools and services

Trillian Basic If you use AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN Messenger, and/or Yahoo Messenger, ditch your proprietary clients and get Trillian Basic instead. Its clean, ad-free interface is a breath of fresh air.

EFax If you don't mind having your fax number in an area code other than your own, eFax is a big improvement on the fax machine that sits on your desk turning perfectly good paper into printed junk mail. You can receive faxes free of charge, viewing or printing them via the service's eFax Messenger software.

QNext This universal instant messenger service includes robust music-sharing and photo-sharing features. It's overkill for just chatting on AIM--but for sharing tunes and snaps, QNext is a kick.

SightSpeed For live video calls, it's hard to beat SightSpeed, which is simple to set up, neatly synchronizes lip movements and audio, and provides easy in-call controls. The free version permits unlimited one-to-one video calling.

Skype People who like to gab on the phone may like Skype, which has been offering free PC-to-PC voice calls (with text chat and file transfer capabilities) since 2003. It's easy to set up and has a huge user community. The current version makes video chat available. But Skype-to-telephone or telephone-to-Skype calls cost you money.

Festoon Beta This clever add-on for Skype and Google Talk lets users of these two services call each other. It gives video chat capabilities to Google Talk. And it includes a number of trippy visual effects for spicing up your video calls--by placing your face in the middle of a daisy, for instance.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Nail It Down

Calendars and Organizers

Yahoo Calendar If you don't object to an occasional ad appearing next to your appointment book, Yahoo's calendar is one of the best available online. Its Time Guides let you easily insert holidays, local weather reports, and events from Yahoo Groups into your calendar; and optional software syncs your calendar with Outlook, Outlook Express, and Palm PDAs.

Ta-Da List This straightforward to-do list manager lets you create lists, reorder items, and check them off when completed--from the comfort of your browser.

Palm Desktop Designed to sync with the company's PDAs, Palm Desktop is a remarkably well done calendar and address book application for Windows. Even if you don't own a PDA, you might like using this organizer anyway, to help keep your life in order. It's free for anyone, not just for Palm customers.

Yahoo Widgets Formerly known as Konfabulator, this application puts "widgets" on your desktop that provide information such as stock tickers, weather reports, and photos; alternatively, they can provide services, like running search engine queries or storing notes. Choose from thousands of widgets, or as many as your desktop can bear.

Del.icio.us Forget browser bookmarks--Del.icio.us can keep track of your favorite sites much more easily, and from any PC online. When you post an item to Del.icio.us, you add keywords; afterward, you can search for items that you or other users have tagged with these words, making this site a handy search tool, too.

EssentialPIM Free EssentialPIM combines a calendar, a contact manager, a to-do list, and a notes manager. Its EPIM Today view displays your day at a glance, and import and export tools enable you to share information with other organizers.

SyncNotes This is a sticky-note application that runs on your computer--and it features an online account that you can use to view and edit your notes from any Web or WAP browser.

FreeMind Psychologists say that an effective way to take notes is to put them in a "mind map"--a free-form tree structure that mimics the way your brain works. FreeMind does exactly that. It acts like an outliner--except that, instead of working with headings and subheadings, you create nodes and subnodes that branch from a central point. Each node can contain text, pictures, special icons, or colorful formatting. FreeMind is useful for taking notes in class, outlining books, or even planning a route to world domination.

Furl Like Del.icio.us, Furl lets you save your favorite Web pages in an online account that you can access from any computer. However, Furl lets you save the entire page--so even if the site becomes inaccessible later, you still have a copy.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Share It

File Sharing and Storage Services

FolderSync USB keys are great for shuttling files around, but how do you ensure that you have the most recent versions of your files? Easy: You use FolderSync to sync files between any two folders.

BeInSync If carrying a USB key is too much trouble, use BeInSync to ensure that you always have access to your most critical files. It keeps folders, IE favorites, and Outlook e-mail and contacts automatically (and virtually instantly) synchronized between up to five PCs. You can share files with other people, too.

FolderShare Like BeInSync, FolderShare keeps data files synchronized between multiple computers. It won't sync Outlook data, but it does have an OS X version, so you can use it to sync between PCs and Macs. Note: Microsoft has acquired FolderShare's maker (also called FolderShare). A Microsoft representative says that the program will remain free.

Flickr This popular photo-sharing service makes uploading pics, sharing them with others, or posting them to your Weblog a breeze. If you upload full-size images, though, you'll quickly burn through the paltry 20MB monthly upload limit.

Kodak EasyShare Gallery Sure, Kodak wants you to upload photos so you'll be tempted to buy prints from its site. (And it'll delete your galleries if you don't order anything for a year.) But this site's usability, mobile-phone access options, and lack of upload restrictions make it our top pick for photo sharing. The photo prints look attractive, too. Tip: A 15-cent order--okay, $1.65 with tax and shipping--is all it takes to keep your galleries alive.

Yahoo Briefcase Its interface is almost starkly simple--which is why we like Yahoo Briefcase. It's one of the easiest ways we know of to store and share files (up to 30MB of them) online.

BitTorrent You may have heard that some folks use BitTorrent to trade copyrighted music and movies. But it's useful for downloading legitimate content quickly or for sharing your own (though creating "torrents," or files you want to share, is quite a bit trickier than downloading them).

Avvenu Like many file sharing services, this one lets you access your files in a Web browser. What's unique about Avvenu is that it lets you browse files and view thumbnails of images from a cell phone or PDA, too. No need to upload files to a server--the files stay on your desktop.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Lock It Up

Security and Antivirus Tools

Spybot Search & Destroy Spyware: It can slow your system, monitor where you surf, and even make your browser malfunction. Though no tool is a cure-all, Spybot is a powerful antidote to many ills. In addition to finding and deleting spyware, Spybot can continuously monitor your system for changes, giving you an opportunity to permit or disallow critical Registry modifications before they happen.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal Another reliable tool, Ad-Aware scans your PC for spyware, uncovering digital snoops that lurk in memory or on your hard drive. The free version performs on-demand scans only, not continuous monitoring. But Ad-Aware catches some programs that Spybot misses (and vice versa).

Microsoft Windows Defender Yes, you do need another antispyware app. Though this beta software (formerly known as Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware) expires on December 31, 2006, it's worth downloading. Microsoft's tool catches spyware that other programs don't--including the dangerous rootkit carried by some Sony music CDs that were released last year.

All-in-One Secretmaker If you must use Internet Explorer, the least you can do is plug its security holes. All-in-One Secretmaker can help. It blocks banner ads and pop-ups, filters spam, and offers a collection of utilities for cleaning up and securing your system.

ZoneAlarm This firewall keeps watch over inbound and outbound Internet connections, helping avert attacks by hackers and spyware programs. It offers greater control and is easier to use than Windows XP's built-in firewall. Make sure that you download the basic firewall, which is free for personal and nonprofit use, instead of the trial version of ZoneAlarm Pro.

Anonymizer This company hosts a free anonymous browsing service at its home page. Enter a URL, and Anonymizer displays the page you want--without revealing your IP address, your cookies, or any other information to the sites you surf.

GRC Shields Up Think your PC is secure? Visit programming guru Steve Gibson's site to be sure. Shields Up is a convenient browser-based tool that checks for common vulnerabilities, such as open ports and hackable file-sharing services.

Trend Micro HouseCall If installing antivirus and antispyware programs isn't an option, do yourself a favor and visit this site regularly. Trend Micro's software runs in your browser to scan for and eliminate malware on your computer.

AirDefense Personal Lite You should never lose sight of the security risks involved in using Wi-Fi. This simple program alerts you whenever you connect to an insecure wireless network or to a hotspot that you haven't designated as safe.

Avast Home Edition This easy-to-use antivirus scanner is free for noncommercial or home use. Unlike online scanners, it can perform a boot-time virus scan (the most effective way to catch viruses) and will continually monitor your system for threats. Avast is free, but you must register at the company's Web site to use the program beyond its 90-day trial period.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Kick Back

Entertainment Software and Services

Google Picasa Forget the clunky image gallery software you got with your digital camera. There's no easier way to organize, touch up, and share photos than Picasa.

Irfanview For basic image editing, file format conversions, and the like, simple-to-use Irfanview is your best bet. It installs quickly, doesn't take up much room on your hard disk, and supports a huge variety of image file formats.

The GIMP If you can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on Photoshop but still need sophisticated image-editing software, consider the GNU Image Manipulation Program, aka the GIMP. It features an arsenal of image tools for retouching, layer-based composition, and more.

Pandora Don't play the same song until you're sick of it. Enter the name of an artist or song you like, and Pandora will create a custom "radio station" for you that plays similar music, right in your browser. This service makes surprisingly good choices, and it uses your feedback to refine them further. And if you get tired of one station, you can just create a new one.

ITunes We don't call iTunes a slick music player just because it works with our beloved iPods. Its user-friendliness redefined the market, and it's still the easiest-to-use audio player and CD ripper going.

Kristal Audio Engine Need to record a demo tape of your garage band? Kristal is your mixing deck. But you'll need some audio engineering expertise to make the most of this sophisticated audio mixing and sequencing platform.

Audacity This simple sound-file editor can import audio files in a variety of formats and can export them as .wav, MP3, or Ogg Vorbis files. It's a snap to use.

Google Earth Turn the globe into your plaything. Like some cybernetic angel, you spin the Earth, tilt it, turn it upside down, or zoom in to take a closer look at almost anything: New York City, the Grand Canyon, or your own house.

Celestia When the world seems too small after all, launch Celestia. You can zoom through the solar system--and beyond--for real-time or accelerated views of planets, moons, comets, stars, and even the Hubble space telescope. Heavenly.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

The New Faces of Web-Based E-Mail

A few years ago, you'd have found little to differentiate one Web-based e-mail service from another. How times change. These days you'll see big contrasts.

The best of today's services, Gmail, behaves more like a Windows application than like a Web mail service. What's more, Gmail can be a huge time-saver. Instead of making you sift through your sent messages and your inbox to reconstruct an e-mail exchange, Gmail's interface presents every message in a thread--the ones you wrote on a given topic as well as those you received--in a single stack.

Gmail permits you to export and import contacts, and it allows you to set the reply-to address to something other than your gmail.com address--features that most free Web mail providers don't have. It also gives you POP3 access (so you can download messages to a Windows mail program), another rarity. And Gmail's 2.5GB of mail storage far outstrips other services' limits. These items make Gmail a fine replacement for your ISP's mail server: Use its Web interface when you're on the road, and a desktop program at home.

The traditional, forms-based Web interface of Yahoo Mail is quick and easy to use, and the service provides 1GB of mail storage. Yahoo's synchronization utility lets you sync your Yahoo Mail address book with Outlook, Outlook Express, or a Palm device. We also tested a beta of Yahoo Mail's upcoming Ajax-based interface. This promising three-pane approach includes browser-like tabbed windows, an RSS reader, and the ability to search through attachments as well as through messages.

MSN Hotmail offers a respectable 250MB of storage to United States residents (others get 25MB). It has a Windows-like look, but the tiny buttons make the interface awkward, and the address book is limited to 650 entries. Its successor, Microsoft's Ajax-based Windows Live Mail (now in beta) is an Outlook-like application--or an Outlook Express--like one, if you select that view--offering drag-and-drop convenience.

AIM Mail supplies 2GB of storage and integration with AOL Instant Messenger, so it can be good for IM addicts who want a generous Web mail account. But its large, animated ads are distracting--and screens can be slow to load. Netscape Webmail, with 250MB of storage, features large, easy-to-click buttons. On the downside, its address book lacks the capability to import contacts, and its help files aren't searchable.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Blogging Tools for Everyone

Blogging has come a long way since the medium burst on the scene in 1999. Weblogs aren't merely vehicles for personal expression; many of them frequently break news, shape public opinion, and serve as lively channels for discussion.

You don't need to shell out money to start a blog when such outstanding free options abound. These free blog services can get you started, usually in less than 10 minutes.

Our favorite service is Blogger. The first major free blogging tool (launched in 1999), Blogger stays ahead of the game by remaining incredibly convenient to use and by offering a rich complement of features. If you have a Web server, you can use Blogger to publish your Weblog via FTP. But we like the easy way: hosting the blog on Blogspot. In about 5 minutes, we were able to create a blog, pick an appealing design, and start posting. Uploading images is a simple process, and the service supplies a generous 300MB of photo storage.

Blogger is especially friendly to mobile bloggers. Can't get access to a computer easily? Send a picture or a text message from your phone to a special SMS address, and up it goes. Blogger's Audioblogger service even offers voice blogging: Just call a special number, enter a code, and say your piece. Blogger converts the sound of your voice (up to 5 minutes' worth) into an audio file and posts it for all to hear.

Another excellent choice is WordPress.com, a hosted service built on popular open-source blogging tool WordPress. WordPress.com doesn't support remote blogging, but it does have a clean, responsive interface that makes creating and editing posts easy, and it lets you upload 25MB of images. The site offers an appealing array of preformatted templates; but unlike Blogger, Wordpress.com won't let you edit the template code--you're stuck with its options.

The three other blogging services we reviewed are better suited for personal blogs than for professional ones. Aimed at a young audience, LiveJournal, MySpace, and Xanga Classic include features for easily creating lists of friends and then seeing those friends' posts. LiveJournal has plenty of customizable options, and it carries no advertising. MySpace, on the other hand, is rife with ads--but it lets you store an unlimited number of small images, and uploading music and image files is easy. Finally, Xanga Classic has lots of (often garish) blog-formatting templates, but it has advertisements, too, albeit more muted ones than on MySpace. Xanga offers 200MB of image storage and can be a good way to stay in touch with friends--but the smaller community means your friends are more likely to be on LiveJournal or MySpace.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Delivered: The News You Want

If you still take a hunter/gatherer approach to finding news--visiting one Web site after another--it's time to join the modern world. RSS news-feed readers are a far faster and easier way to stay abreast of the news you care about. An RSS reader downloads specially formatted XML files from the Web sites you're interested in and then displays all their news to you in one place--no more browsing from site to site.

Software-based news readers are generally the fastest, and it's hard to beat Abilon. This powerful, speedy reader offers you a choice of views: You can opt for a three-pane view with feeds on the left, headlines in the middle, and articles on the right; or you can switch to a two-column view. It has a built-in tabbed browser, too. One tool lets you quickly and easily post items to your Blogger, LiveJournal, or Movable Type blog. And finally, Abilon speedily imports and exports OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) files, which are crucial for transferring your list of subscriptions to another news reader. Caveat: As of press time, Abilon's parent site (www.abilon.org) was down; this handy piece of freeware may be an orphan.

Other fine choices in PC-based news readers include RssReader and Feedreader. While not as elegant as Abilon, both display your feeds simply and cleanly. With RssReader, you have the advantage of viewing all the stories from a feed or group of feeds in a single, tall, scrolling window; Feedreader, by contrast, displays the content from only one story at a time. However, Feedreader's keyboard shortcuts are more flexible. Both programs import large OPML files slowly.

If you use more than one PC, a Web-based feed reader may be a better selection. By far the best choice in this category is Bloglines. This site uses frames, so you see a list of your subscribed feeds on the left pane while you read the latest articles from each feed on the right. Shortcut keys help you speed through the news, article by article or feed by feed. Bloglines also supports the import and export of OPML files.

Another popular Web-based reader is NewsGator, which shows feeds in a clean, readable display. Unlike Bloglines, it doesn't use frames, so as you scroll down the list of articles, you lose the navigation controls that let you skip from feed to feed--pretty annoying. Also, NewsGator can import OPML files but it won't export them, so you can't transfer your feeds to another reader if you decide NewsGator's not your pet.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

A Virtual Home for Your Films

You put a lot of effort into your home movies: recording them, and then editing them down to tight, 1-minute shows. To share these movies, you could burn them onto DVDs and mail them to your friends--but there's an easier way. Several hosting services let you upload your videos and then share them--with your friends or with the entire world--via the Web.

One of our favorites is Revver, a relative newcomer. Like the other services here, Revver sells ads that appear with your videos--but unlike the others, Revver shares 50 percent of the ad revenue with you. To facilitate this, you have to enter a bit more information than on other sites. An optional utility, Revver Uploader, simplifies uploading files over 10MB. Revver does not limit the size or quantity of files you can upload.

The service's playback interface is simple and reliable. Even if you didn't set up your videos as streaming files, Revver streams the video on playback.You are free to download Revver videos, since they have ads embedded in them, and you can republish them anywhere on the Internet. (Finding the download link is a bit of a challenge, though: You go to the detail page for a video, scroll down to the base of the page, and at the bottom of the yellow box labeled "Grab this video" you'll see a link that says "Download Entire Video.")

Comparatively basic, Putfile doesn't automatically stream video (you may have to download a whole file before you can view it), but it works reliably and well. You can upload as many video or audio files as you like under 25MB (2MB for still images). A handy drop-down box lets you select the size of the video. Putfile doesn't support keyword tagging, so videos can be hard to find later.

Vimeo may be the easiest service to use. You can upload 20MB of video files per week. Videos are not streamed on playback, but a link lets you save files locally.

Want to share lots of big files in addition to videos? Try Streamload Mediamax, a storage site that gives you 25GB of free online storage and permits file uploads up to 25MB. (You're limited to 500MB of downloads per month.) The browser-based upload tool is simple and elegant.

For watching videos, Mediamax has a promising-looking frame-by-frame view that enables you to look at selected stills. However, many of the frames looked black in our tests, and the service's in-browser playback didn't function either. Fortunately, Mediamax lets you download the original video files so you can play them back locally.

The lengthy approval process of Google Video may not appeal to amateurs, but the service reaches a large audience.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

Software Lexicon: Software Lexicon

How do you know whether the software you're downloading is truly free? And what does "free" mean exactly, anyway? Here's a quick guide to the terminology of free and almost-free software.

adware Advertising-supported software or Web services. Often (but not always), a paid alternative lets you remove the ads.

freeware Programs that you can download, install, and run without charge or limitation of any kind. Freeware may be from a company or an individual, who may or may not provide support.

malware or badware Malicious software--often installed surreptitiously alongside seemingly legitimate free programs--that can slow down your computer, insert extra ads into Web pages, and spy on your online activities.

open source Software that is free to run--and for which the source code is available, so you can modify the software (if you're a programmer). Most open-source software is supported by volunteers, if at all.

shareware Software that is free to run for a limited time, after which you're asked to pay a fee. Shareware may "nag" you to register (and pay) after the trial period is done, but should remain fully functional.

trialware or demoware Software that you can run for a limited time, after which it stops working unless you purchase the full version. In some cases the demo may continue to function but loses certain features after the demo period. We've included a few demos in this roundup, but only if they remain substantially useful without purchase.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

101 Fabulous Freebies (Alphabetically)

7-Zip	Create ZIP compressed archives for free with this handy utility.
Abilon	This powerful, speedy RSS reader offers a choice of views, and features a built-in tabbed browser.
AbiWord	This lightweight, full-featured word processor is compatible with Microsoft Word documents and also runs on Linux and Macs.
AIM Mail	AIM mail offers 2GB of storage and integration with AOL Instant Messenger.
AirDefense Personal Lite	This simple program alerts you whenever you connect to an insecure network or to a hotspot you haven't previously marked as safe.
Alleycode	A simple HTML editor for people who are comfortable with code and need to do some quick editing.
All-in-One Secretmaker	All-in-One Secretmaker blocks banner ads and pop-ups, filters spam, and offers an array of utilities for cleaning up and securing your system.
Anonymizer	This anonymous browsing service will display Web pages without revealing any information to the sites you visit.
Audacity	All-purpose audio editor lets you record, play, and edit digital files.
Avast Home Edition	This antivirus scanner can do a boot-time virus scan (which can catch more viruses than scanning once Windows is running) and will continually monitor your system for threats.
Avvenu	This free remote-access and file-sharing service lets you and your colleagues get to files on an Avvenu-enabled computer from another computer, Web-enabled phone, or PDA.
Backpack	Create Web pages--with to-do lists, notes, pictures, and more--that you can share with a group.
Bartleby	This online reference library offers a host of features, including a dictionary, thesaurus, and various books of quotations.
BeInSync	Make sure you have access to your critical files and folders with this remote-access tool.
BitTorrent	BitTorrent is useful for downloading legitimate content quickly or for sharing your own files.
Blogger	This blogging service remains incredibly simple to use, but offers a rich complement of features.
Bloglines	This Web-based RSS reader lets you access your news from multiple PCs.
CCleaner	Finds and zaps useless files--including cache files and old Registry entries--that may be slowing down your PC.
Celestia	Zoom through the solar system with Celestia, which offers real-time views of planets, moons, comets, stars, and more.
Copernic Desktop Search	Copernic lets you search local files as well as Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail.
Del.icio.us	Forget bookmarks--this service keeps track of your favorite sites, and much more, from any Internet-connected PC.
eFax Messenger	You can receive faxes on your PC with eFax, viewing or printing them via the eFax Messenger software.
EssentialPIM Free	EssentialPIM combines a calendar, contact manager, to-do list, and notes manager in a single program.
Feedreader	This free Windows utility displays your news feeds, and includes flexible keyboard shortcuts.
Festoon Beta	This add-on for Skype and Google Talk lets users of these two services make calls to each other, and brings video chat capabilities to Google Talk.
Firefox	Still using Internet Explorer? It's time you made the switch to Firefox--a more secure, faster, and more flexible Web browser.
FlashGot	This Firefox plug-in simplifies downloading, allowing you to grab every page from a Web site or download multiple files efficiently.
Flickr	Easily upload, share, and post pictures with this popular service.
FolderShare (Mac)
FolderShare (Windows)	Automatically sync files and folders between multiple computers and easily share data with colleagues and friends.
FolderSync	Keep your USB drive and your hard drive on the same page with this synchronization utility.
FoxIt Reader	For viewing PDF files, FoxIt Reader beats Adobe Reader hands-down--and it's got some tools Adobe lacks.
Free Download Manager	This companion to Internet Explorer can speed up single-file downloads, resume interrupted downloads, manage bandwidth usage, or schedule multiple file downloads for specific times.
FreeConference.com	Set up and host conference calls with this free Web service.
FreeMind	FreeMind allows you to compile your notes in a "mind map"--a free-form tree structure that mimics the way your brain works.
Furl	Save your favorite Web pages in an online account that you can access from any computer.
GetByMail	Don't pay for a pricey remote-access app--GetByMail offers access to your office computer through your e-mail account.
Gmail	Google's e-mail service feels more like a Windows application than a Web mail service.
Google Desktop	Google Desktop extends the power of the Web's most popular search engine to your desktop by indexing nearly every document on your hard drive.
Google Earth	Spin the earth, tilt it, and zoom in to objects as tiny as one building.
Google Picasa	Picasa offers a simple--and free--way to organize, touch up, and share your photos.
Google Video	Google's service is well suited for commercially oriented video producers looking for a large audience for their work.
GRC Shields Up	This browser-based tool checks your PC for common vulnerabilities, such as open ports.
Groove Virtual Office	Bring your far-flung coworkers together with this file-sharing and collaboration tool.
Hyperwords	This Firefox browser plug-in makes any text on any Web page clickable.
Irfanview	This lean, mean graphics utility offers basic image editing and file format conversions.
iTeamwork	This Web-based project management service helps groups keep track of complicated projects.
iTunes	Apple's media player is a joy to use even if you never buy a 99-cent song.
Kodak EasyShare Gallery	This site's usability, mobile-phone access options, and lack of upload restrictions make it our top pick for photo sharing.
Kristal Audio Engine	This sophisticated audio mixing and sequencing platform offers features found in much pricier apps.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal	Ad-Aware scans your PC for spyware, making sure that no digital snoops are lurking in memory or on your hard drive.
LiveJournal	LiveJournal offers plenty of customizable options for your blog, and carries no advertising.
LogMeIn	This remote access service lets you control your PC from afar, via a Web browser.
Microsoft Tweak UI	Take control of hidden Windows XP settings, from determining what appears on your Start menu to specifying how users log on to your computer, with this extra set of tools created by Microsoft developers.
Microsoft Windows Defender (formerly AntiSpyware Beta)	Microsoft's antispyware app catches spyware that other programs don't--including the dangerous "rootkit" Trojan horse that some Sony music CDs carry.
MSN Hotmail	MSN Hotmail offers a respectable 250MB of storage and a familiar, Windows-like look.
MSN Search Toolbar With Windows Desktop Search	This search tool indexes your hard drive and provides search results through a Windows application, rather than a browser.
MySpace	MySpace lets you store an unlimited number of small images, and makes uploading music and images easy.
Netomat	This social networking service allows you to create, access, and share content on the Web or a phone.
Netscape Webmail	Netscape Webmail offers 250MB of storage and features large, easy-to-click buttons.
NewsGator	NewsGator displays your RSS feeds in a clean, readable display.
Nvu	This sophisticated Web page editor doesn't require any understanding of the underlying tags.
OmniFormat	Convert BMPs to JPEGs, GIFs to PDFs, Word documents to TIF image files, and more with this free document conversion utility.
OpenOffice.org	This full-fledged, Microsoft Office-compatible office suite offers a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation package, and database--and it doesn't cost one thin dime.
Palm Desktop	This remarkably well-designed calendar and address book application will appeal to users who don't even have a PDA.
Pandora	Enter the name of an artist or song that you like and Pandora creates a custom "radio station" for you--and makes surprisingly good choices.
PBwiki	Create a free, password-protected wiki--a collaborative Web site--with PBwiki.
PDF Creator	This printer driver lets you create Adobe Acrobat files from within almost any application.
Pegasus Mail	A longtime favorite of power users, this e-mail client provides a huge amount of control over your mail, with support for mail merges and flexible filtering options.
podAmigo	podAmigo works with the Podomatic Web service to organize and download your podcasts.
Project Gutenberg	Browse electronic versions of more than 17,000 books at this online library.
Putfile	This basic video sharing service works reliably and well.
PuTTY	This free utility allows you to create an SSH, Telnet, or Rlogin connection.
QNext	This universal instant messenger service includes robust music-sharing%252520and photo-sharing features.
Revver	This service--our Best Bet--is a video sharing site from which you can actually make money.
RssReader	RssReader displays your news feeds simply and cleanly.
SeaMonkey	This suite of Internet tools includes the Mozilla browser, an enhanced version of the netscape Messenger e-mail client, the ChatZilla IRC chat program, and an HTML editor.
SightSpeed	This video calling service is simple to set up, synchronizes lip movements and audio neatly, and offers easy in-call controls.
Skype	Skype offers free PC-to-PC voice calls with text chat and file transfer capabilities.
Spybot Search & Destroy	Spybot is a powerful antidote in the battle against spyware.
Steganos LockNote	Password-protect text files with LockNote, a simple notepad with strong encryption.
Streamload Mediamax	Streamload Mediamax is great for users who want to share lots of big files in addition to videos.
SyncNotes	This sticky-note application runs on your computer, but allows you to view and edit your notes from any Web or WAP browser.
System Information for Windows	This utility will tell you everything you need to know about your computer's hardware, operating system, installed programs, and more.
Ta-Da List	Stay organized with this straightforward to-do list manager.
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)	This freely distributed app includes tools for photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring.
ThinkFree Online Beta	This software runs in your browser and lets you edit Microsoft Office-compatible documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Thunderbird	The tighter security and robust stability of this e-mail client make it the top choice for managing e-mail on your PC.
Trend Micro HouseCall	This Web site runs software in your browser to scan for and eliminate malware on your PC.
Trillian Basic	This universal IM client lets you keep in contact with your friends whether they use IRC, AOL, ICQ, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger.
Vimeo	Of the video sharing services we tested, Vimeo is perhaps the easiest to use.
Wapedia	For accessing Wikipedia from a PDA or smart phone, try Wapedia.
Wikipedia	This online encyclopedia is a convenient way to find general information on almost anything.
Windows Live Mail	This Ajax-based service is still in beta, but you can put your name on a waiting list.
WordPress.com	This hosted blogging service offers a clean, fast interface.
WordWeb	This handy utility provides a dictionary and a thesaurus that work in any application on your computer.
WriteBoard	This service lets you create, edit, and share documents with others right in your browser.
Xanga Classic	Xanga offers 200MB of image storage and features plenty of blog-formatting templates.
Yahoo Briefcase	Yahoo Briefcase is one of the easiest ways we know of to store and share files online.
Yahoo Calendar	This ad-supported calendar is one of the best available online.
Yahoo Mail	With a traditional, forms-based Web interface, Yahoo mail is quick and easy to use.
Yahoo Mail Beta	Beta, not yet public.
Yahoo Widgets	This application puts "widgets" on your desktop that provide useful information, such as news updates, weather reports, stock tickers, or photos, or provide handy little services, like performing search engine queries, storing your notes, and more.
ZoneAlarm	Zone Alarm's free firewall keeps watch over inbound and outbound Internet connections, helping avert malicious attacks by hackers and spyware.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

101 Fabulous Freebies (By Category)

Tune Up: Utilities and system tools
FoxIt Reader	For viewing PDF files, FoxIt Reader beats Adobe Reader hands-down--and it's got some tools Adobe lacks.
System Information for Windows	This utility will tell you everything you need to know about your computer's hardware, operating system, installed programs, and more.
PDF Creator	This printer driver lets you create Adobe Acrobat files from within almost any application.
CCleaner	Finds and zaps useless files--including cache files and old Registry entries--that may be slowing down your PC.
Microsoft Tweak UI	Take control of hidden Windows XP settings, from determining what appears on your Start menu to specifying how users log on to your computer, with this extra set of tools created by Microsoft developers.
7-Zip	Create ZIP compressed archives for free with this handy utility.
PuTTY	This free utility allows you to create an SSH, Telnet, or Rlogin connection.
OmniFormat	Convert BMPs to JPEGs, GIFs to PDFs, Word documents to TIF image files, and more with this free document conversion utility.
Find It: Online search and reference services
Google Desktop	Google Desktop extends the power of the Web's most popular search engine to your desktop by indexing nearly every document on your hard drive.
MSN Search Toolbar With Windows Desktop Search	This search tool indexes your hard drive and provides search results through a Windows application, rather than a browser.
Copernic Desktop Search	Copernic lets you search local files as well as Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail.
Free Download Manager	This companion to Internet Explorer can speed up single-file downloads, resume interrupted downloads, manage bandwidth usage, or schedule multiple file downloads for specific times.
FlashGot	This Firefox plug-in simplifies downloading, allowing you to grab every page from a Web site or download multiple files efficiently.
Project Gutenberg	Browse electronic versions of more than 17,000 books at this online library.
Wikipedia	This online encyclopedia is a convenient way to find general information on almost anything.
Wapedia	For accessing Wikipedia from a PDA or smart phone, try Wapedia.
Bartleby	This online reference library offers a host of features, including a dictionary, thesaurus, and various books of quotations.
WordWeb	This handy utility provides a dictionary and a thesaurus that work in any application on your computer.
podAmigo	podAmigo works with the Podomatic Web service to organize and download your podcasts.
Hyperwords	This Firefox browser plug-in makes any text on any Web page clickable.
Roam Free: Collaboration and remote-access tools
LogMeIn	This remote access service lets you control your PC from afar, via a Web browser.
Backpack	Create Web pages--with to-do lists, notes, pictures, and more--that you can share with a group.
WriteBoard	This service lets you create, edit, and share documents with others right in your browser.
FreeConference.com	Set up and host conference calls with this free Web service.
GetByMail	Don't pay for a pricey remote-access app--GetByMail offers access to your office computer through your e-mail account.
iTeamwork	This Web-based project management service helps groups keep track of complicated projects.
PBwiki	Create a free, password-protected wiki--a collaborative Web site--with PBwiki.
Groove Virtual Office	Bring your far-flung coworkers together with this file-sharing and collaboration tool.
Netomat	This social networking service allows you to create, access, and share content on the Web or a phone.
Get to Work: Business and productivity tools
Firefox	Still using Internet Explorer? It's time you made the switch to Firefox--a more secure, faster, and more flexible Web browser.
OpenOffice.org	This full-fledged, Microsoft Office-compatible office suite offers a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation package, and database--and it doesn't cost one thin dime.
ThinkFree Online Beta	This software runs in your browser and lets you edit Microsoft Office-compatible documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
AbiWord	This lightweight, full-featured word processor is compatible with Microsoft Word documents and also runs on Linux and Macs.
Pegasus Mail	A longtime favorite of power users, this e-mail client provides a huge amount of control over your mail, with support for mail merges and flexible filtering options.
Thunderbird	The tighter security and robust stability of this e-mail client make it the top choice for managing e-mail on your PC.
Steganos LockNote	Password-protect text files with LockNote, a simple notepad with strong encryption.
Alleycode	A simple HTML editor for people who are comfortable with code and need to do some quick editing.
Nvu	This sophisticated Web page editor doesn't require any understanding of the underlying tags.
SeaMonkey	This suite of Internet tools includes the Mozilla browser, an enhanced version of the netscape Messenger e-mail client, the ChatZilla IRC chat program, and an HTML editor.
Keep in Touch: Communications tools and services
Trillian Basic	This universal IM client lets you keep in contact with your friends whether they use IRC, AOL, ICQ, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger.
eFax Messenger	You can receive faxes on your PC with eFax, viewing or printing them via the eFax Messenger software.
QNext	This universal instant messenger service includes robust music-sharing and photo-sharing features.
SightSpeed	This video calling service is simple to set up, synchronizes lip movements and audio neatly, and offers easy in-call controls.
Skype	Skype offers free PC-to-PC voice calls with text chat and file transfer capabilities.
Festoon Beta	This add-on for Skype and Google Talk lets users of these two services make calls to each other, and brings video chat capabilities to Google Talk.
Nail It Down: Calendars and organizers
Yahoo Calendar	This ad-supported calendar is one of the best available online.
Ta-Da List	Stay organized with this straightforward to-do list manager.
Palm Desktop	This remarkably well-designed calendar and address book application will appeal to users who don't even have a PDA.
Yahoo Widgets	This application puts "widgets" on your desktop that provide useful information, such as news updates, weather reports, stock tickers, or photos, or provide handy little services, like performing search engine queries, storing your notes, and more.
Del.icio.us	Forget bookmarks--this service keeps track of your favorite sites, and much more, from any Internet-connected PC.
EssentialPIM Free	EssentialPIM combines a calendar, contact manager, to-do list, and notes manager in a single program.
SyncNotes	This sticky-note application runs on your computer, but allows you to view and edit your notes from any Web or WAP browser.
FreeMind	FreeMind allows you to compile your notes in a "mind map"--a free-form tree structure that mimics the way your brain works.
Furl	Save your favorite Web pages in an online account that you can access from any computer.
Share It: File sharing and storage services
FolderSync	Keep your USB drive and your hard drive on the same page with this synchronization utility.
BeInSync	Make sure you have access to your critical files and folders with this remote-access tool.
FolderShare (Windows)	Automatically sync files and folders between multiple computers and easily share data with colleagues and friends.
FolderShare (Mac)
Flickr	Easily upload, share, and post pictures with this popular service.
Kodak EasyShare Gallery	This site's usability, mobile-phone access options, and lack of upload restrictions make it our top pick for photo sharing.
Yahoo Briefcase	Yahoo Briefcase is one of the easiest ways we know of to store and share files online.
BitTorrent	BitTorrent is useful for downloading legitimate content quickly or for sharing your own files.
Avvenu	This free remote-access and file-sharing service lets you and your colleagues get to files on an Avvenu-enabled computer from another computer, Web-enabled phone, or PDA.
Lock It Up: Security/antispam tools, system-stabilizing utilities
Spybot Search & Destroy	Spybot is a powerful antidote in the battle against spyware.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal	Ad-Aware scans your PC for spyware, making sure that no digital snoops are lurking in memory or on your hard drive.
Microsoft Windows Defender (formerly AntiSpyware Beta)	Microsoft's antispyware app catches spyware that other programs don't--including the dangerous "rootkit" Trojan horse that some Sony music CDs carry.
All-in-One Secretmaker	All-in-One Secretmaker blocks banner ads and pop-ups, filters spam, and offers an array of utilities for cleaning up and securing your system.
ZoneAlarm	Zone Alarm's free firewall keeps watch over inbound and outbound Internet connections, helping avert malicious attacks by hackers and spyware.
Anonymizer	This anonymous browsing service will display Web pages without revealing any information to the sites you visit.
GRC Shields Up	This browser-based tool checks your PC for common vulnerabilities, such as open ports.
Trend Micro HouseCall	This Web site runs software in your browser to scan for and eliminate malware on your PC.
AirDefense Personal Lite	This simple program alerts you whenever you connect to an insecure network or to a hotspot you haven't previously marked as safe.
Avast Home Edition	This antivirus scanner can do a boot-time virus scan (which can catch more viruses than scanning once Windows is running) and will continually monitor your system for threats.
Kick Back: Entertainment software and services (9)
Google Picasa	Picasa offers a simple--and free--way to organize, touch up, and share your photos.
Irfanview	This lean, mean graphics utility offers basic image editing and file format conversions.
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)	This freely distributed app includes tools for photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring.
Pandora	Enter the name of an artist or song that you like and Pandora creates a custom "radio station" for you--and makes surprisingly good choices.
iTunes	Apple's media player is a joy to use even if you never buy a 99-cent song.
Kristal Audio Engine	This sophisticated audio mixing and sequencing platform offers features found in much pricier apps.
Audacity	All-purpose audio editor lets you record, play, and edit digital files.
Google Earth	Spin the earth, tilt it, and zoom in to objects as tiny as one building.
Celestia	Zoom through the solar system with Celestia, which offers real-time views of planets, moons, comets, stars, and more.
Roundup: Web-based e-mail
Gmail	Google's e-mail service feels more like a Windows application than a Web mail service.
Yahoo Mail	With a traditional, forms-based Web interface, Yahoo mail is quick and easy to use.
Yahoo Mail Beta	Beta, not yet public.
MSN Hotmail	MSN Hotmail offers a respectable 250MB of storage and a familiar, Windows-like look.
Windows Live Mail	This Ajax-based service is still in beta, but you can put your name on a waiting list.
AIM Mail	AIM mail offers 2GB of storage and integration with AOL Instant Messenger.
Netscape Webmail	Netscape Webmail offers 250MB of storage and features large, easy-to-click buttons.
Roundup: Blogging tools
Blogger	This blogging service remains incredibly simple to use, but offers a rich complement of features.
WordPress.com	This hosted blogging service offers a clean, fast interface.
LiveJournal	LiveJournal offers plenty of customizable options for your blog, and carries no advertising.
MySpace	MySpace lets you store an unlimited number of small images, and makes uploading music and images easy.
Xanga Classic	Xanga offers 200MB of image storage and features plenty of blog-formatting templates.
Roundup: RSS readers
Abilon	This powerful, speedy RSS reader offers a choice of views, and features a built-in tabbed browser.
RssReader	RssReader displays your news feeds simply and cleanly.
Feedreader	This free Windows utility displays your news feeds, and includes flexible keyboard shortcuts.
Bloglines	This Web-based RSS reader lets you access your news from multiple PCs.
NewsGator	NewsGator displays your RSS feeds in a clean, readable display.
Roundup: Video sharing services
Revver	This service--our Best Bet--is a video sharing site from which you can actually make money.
Putfile	This basic video sharing service works reliably and well.
Vimeo	Of the video sharing services we tested, Vimeo is perhaps the easiest to use.
Streamload Mediamax	Streamload Mediamax is great for users who want to share lots of big files in addition to videos.
Google Video	Google's service is well suited for commercially oriented video producers looking for a large audience for their work.

101 Fabulous Freebies
Introduction	Roundup: Web-Based E-Mail
Tune Up	Roundup: Blogging Tools
Find It	Roundup: RSS News Readers
Roam Free	Roundup: Video Sharing Services
Get to Work
Keep in Touch
Nail It Down	Online Exclusive: Software Lexicon
Share It
Lock It Up
Kick Back
The Entire List: (Alphabetically) | (By Category)

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124883,00.asp