The 15 Best Downloads of the Year

Power Tools

Comodo Firewall Pro

The firewall built into Windows XP includes no outbound protection. And the Vista firewall, though it provides some outbound protection, is remarkably user-hostile. Just try to configure the outbound firewall--it's nearly impossible.

Enter Comodo Firewall Pro, a top-rated free firewall that's easy to use and configure. This tool automatically protects your inbound connections; and for outbound connections, it notifies you every time a program attempts to make a connection. You can then approve the connection, if you recognize the program, or else forbid it.

An overview screen shows all of your current Internet traffic and maintains a history of defense and threats. The firewall is network-friendly, too: If you're on a home network when you first run it, the program will automatically recognizes this fact and ask you whether you want all of the other PCs on the network to be trusted.

Download Comodo Firewall Pro | Price: Free

IrfanView

IrfanView is the best graphics file viewer and all-around utility you can get. It's lightning fast, displaying graphics files faster than any other editor or viewer. It lets you view graphics files and play video and audio files in dozens of formats.

In addition, IrfanView lets you edit photos and images--flipping, rotating, and resizing them; increasing their color depth; converting them to grayscale, auto-adjusting the colors; and removing red eye. It does a fine job of converting graphics files from one format to another, and it can handle batch conversions of such files, too.

Download IrfanView | Price: Free

Launchy

This small, free, open-source program enables you to launch programs and open documents without having to hunt, peck, and mouse around.

When you install the program, nothing seems to happen initially. But press Alt-Space, and you'll see a big black empty box in the middle of your screen. Start typing the name of the program or file that you want to launch, and Launchy will display a matching list. Select the program or file from the list, and the chosen item launches. You can use wild cards, command-line options, plug-ins, and skins to customize a launch.

Winner of the community choice award for best new project of 2007 at the open-source site Sourcegorge.net, Launchy is simple, fast, useful, and free.

Download Launchy | Price: Free

CCleaner

Your PC and its applications are filled with junk that slows down your PC, consumes precious disk space, and may be used to invade your privacy.

The author of the free CCleaner claims that the utility has been downloaded 100 million times.  No wonder: It gets rid of such Windows junk as temporary files, log files, and Recent Documents. It cleans out files from multiple browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. It even removes junk from third-party programs such as Google Toolbar, Microsoft Office, Nero, and Adobe Acrobat. And it has a Registry cleaner, for cleaning junk from the sensitive Windows Registry.

Download CCleaner | Price: Free