Here is a list of Free and Open Source software that I personally use. All of these work with Windows XP and do not cost you any money. Also, since most of them are open source, they give you greater security and freedom to use at your discretion.
| FireFox | The Best and Safest Web Browser, Expandable with PlugIns and Skins |
| ThunderBird | The Perfect Email Companion for FireFox |
| 7-Zip | The Best Compression Software (zip, rar, ace, cab, iso etc) |
| CDBurnerXP Pro | Great CD/DVD Burning Software for Data and Audio Discs (Not Open Source, but freeware) |
| FileZilla | The Best Free FTP Client |
| Notepad++ | A free light-weight text editor with neccessary features like syntax highlighting for your HTML and CSS |
| Pidgin |
The Best chat client - Supports AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, GoogleTalk, Jabber and more.. |
| VLC Player | A free media player and streaming server. Plays all kinds of formats including QuickTime and DVD’s |
| Azureus | Great Bittorrent client to manage your torrents |
| FoxIt PDF Reader | PDF document viewer and printer. Super fast with no bloat (Free, not open source) |
| OpenOffice.org | Free suite of Office Software (great compatibility with MS Office and other formats!) |
| The GIMP | A free image manipulation program. Features as powerful as PhotoShop |
| Inkscape | A free vector graphics program. Features as powerful as Illustrator |
| avast! | A very good virus scanner. One of the highest detection rates in a third party test. (Not open source, but free for personal use) |
| AdAware SE | This is a great adware and malware scanner (Provided free for personal use) |
| Trend Micro HouseCall | Free online virus scanner, all in your web browser, great when you need a 3rd opinion. |
| Eclipse | My favorite development environment with flexibility for many languages. |