17 Top Open Source XP Software

21 Top Free XP Software

These software are the safest to use on your computer, as the code written to create each program is freely available to download.

Some of these programs may not have as many features or updates as closed source software, as they are usually written by volunteers. They may also contain more bugs then proprietary software.
Please Note:
Last updated 04/09/08.

Each software contains:
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01. Antivirus - Clamwin
02. Spyware Preventor - Winpooch
03. Compression - 7-zip
04. Browser - Mozilla Firefox
05. PDF - Sumatra PDF
06. Instant Messenger - Miranda
07. Secure Deletion - Eraser
08. CD/DVD Burning - Infra Recorder
09. Media Player - VLC		10. License Key Checker - Keyfinder
11. Office Tools - OpenOffice
12. Graphics Editor - GIMP Portable
13. PS2 Emulator - PS2 Emulator - PCSX2
14. PC Benchmarking - System Stability Tester
15. ISO Integrity Checker - WinMD5Sum
16. Mail Client - Mozilla Thunderbird
17. FTP Client - FileZilla

1. Antivirus - Clamwin 0.93.1 (20.9mb)


This is a program which is able to detect both viruses and spyware. It features a scanning schedular and a Microsoft Outlook addon to stop viruses in attachments. However, the biggest problem with this is there is no, on access real time scanner. This means that each suspicious file must be checked manually.

2. Spyware Preventor - Winpooch 6.6 (1.37mb)


This program simply scans any pc activity in real time to watch out for any potential security problems. This includes adding any file to the registry or a change to a windows system file. It immediately notifies the user about the threat. This can be a pain when installing clean software as it will popup multiple messages.

3. Compression - 7-zip 4.57 (840kb)


The biggest advantage of using this software is that it is able to open all the popular compression file types e.g. zip, rar and 7z. It also provides a superior compression format using 7z. It's only problem is that it does not associate itself to all file types, this must be done manually, using Tools -> Options -> System.

4. Browser - Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1 (7.15mb)


This browser has become increasingly popular (15-20% of browser market) in recent years due to its superior security features and easy to use interface. Internet Explorer has become increasingly susceptile to spyware. It's main problem is that there are still a small percentage of sites that are not compatible with it.

5. PDF - Sumatra PDF 0.9.1 (0.99mb)


This is a no nonsense PDF viewer which is very fast and has a very simple clean layout. It's also designed for portable use with a single executable file. With each new version more improvements and features are added. The problem with it is that some PDF files are incomptabile with it and printing can sometimes be a pain.

6. Instant Messenger - Miranda 0.7.10 (1.46mb)


This useful multi protocol program is smaller and faster to use than Windows Live Messenger. It also supports AIM, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo, Gadu-Gadu and more. There are also hundreds of small plugins available. It's problem is that it's interface can take a while to adjust to and it does lack some features.

7. Secure Deletion - Eraser 5.86 (6.74mb)


It is an advanced security tool which allows you to wipe your hard drive for secruity purposes e.g. selling or disposing. It allows wiping from 1 pass which offers extremely limited security, to 35 (Guttman), which is the most secure and is almost impossible to recover data. The latest version is 5.86a, was a little bloated and therefore not recommended.

8. CD/DVD Burning - Infra Recorder 0.45 (3.27mb)


This program has its advantages, which are that it provides a clean interface in which to burn iso images and data to both cd/dvd. However, it can sometimes be unreliable and cause random errors to occur. This is especially true when burning a dvd disk. Most of its other features including data verification seem to work without problems.

9. Media Player - VLC 0.8.6i (9.06mb)


This is an extremely useful program when it comes to playing a variety of media downloaded from the internet. Most players including Windows Media Player require codecs before running certain media. VLC seems to run almost everything. It's main problem is that the interface isn't user friendly for novice users.

10. License Key Checker - Keyfinder 2.0.1 (330kb)


This program can be very useful when you want to view all your license keys on your computer. E.g. When wanting to reinstall windows. This can be used to show your current windows and office license keys. As well as any software and games that require license keys.

11. Office Tools - OpenOffice 2.4.1 includes JRE (127mb)


This is in no way a complete replacement to Microsoft Office 2003, however it is not very far off. It includes equivalent packages for each program in Office 2003 e.g. Writer instead of Word. It's problem is that it cannot open and save in exactly the same way as Microsoft Word which leads to formatting discrepancies.

12. Graphics Editor - GIMP Portable 2.4.7 (15.2mb)


This has the potential to be a replacement for Adobe Photoshop, as it has many features which are very similar. This includes the ability to open and edit a variety of different image formats. The main problem is it's interface which isn't easy to navigate. The non portable version is newer but it is very bloated and requires a seperate GTK addon.

13. PS2 Emulator - PS2 Emulator - PCSX2 0.94 (6.8mb)


This is an actual PS2 emulator that plays 812 PS2 games on the PC. However, it requires at least a dual core processor to reach 50/60 frames per second on most games. Some of the more popular games e.g. Gran Turismo series do not work and still contain bugs, however games like GTA San Andreas now work.

14. PC Benchmarking - System Stability Tester 1.0 (4.18mb)


This is a very basic benchmarking tool in comparison to 3dMark06, however it can be effective in quickly checking pc performance. This is useful when overclocking or on the go. It is only really limited to checking processor performance and is not a compelete system benchmark. It is an open source alternative to SuperPI.

15. ISO Integrity Checker - WinMD5Sum (180kb)


This program simply checks whether a ISO file is valid. This is done by comparing the MD5 checksum which has to be manually entered by the user and can usually be found where the ISO file was downloaded from. It's weakness is that it should not have an installer as there is only 1 file.

16. Mail Client - Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.16 (6.44mb)


Using this program you can now check your email without logging in using your browser. Additional add-ons will need to be installed which include webmail and another plugin for your current email provider. The popular email providers have a plugin for them which include both Hotmail and Yahoo.

17. FTP Client - FileZilla 3.1.2 (3.47mb)


This easy to use ftp client allows users to download and upload to file servers. It is a free alternative to WS FTP Pro which is a professional paid alternative. It has a simple to use interface and quick login shortcut.



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Windows XP Essential Downloads

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