Save Money by Using Free Software

While you sometimes get what you pay for, that’s not always true with computer software. There are free programs that are of very high quality and in some instances even superior to paid software. And lets face it, everybody likes free things. Today we look at some free programs that you can use and we look at how much money you will save.

Operating System

If you are a student then it is possible to a so-called Microsoft Windows 7 student license for only $29.99. A normal home premium version costs $199.99. (You can do the math!)

Of course, if you don’t like to pay for an operating system you can get a Linux distribution for free. For instance Ubuntu is a distribution that is easy to use for beginners.

Security

Especially if you run Microsoft Windows, you need protection against threats like viruses and Malware. There are free security suites that can save you $50 to $100 a year. For instance free anti virus (scanners) like Avast (home edition), AVG or Avira AntiVir.

You can use e-mail Spam filter to filter Spam e-mails that could form a threat with Spamfighter Standard.

You can use Spy-bot Search and Destroy to scan for malicious software that commonly is missed by normal virus scanners.

Of course, you also need a firewall if your PC is constantly connected to the Internet. Luckily nowadays, most operating systems offer a free version of a firewall.

Office Suite

Everybody knows that the MS Office suite isn’t cheap. An alternative is to make use of the free alternativeOpen Office. The interface and the features are similar to MS Office. This can save you up to $300 depending on the MS Office version. (Note: there is also a portable Open Office available!)

If you only need a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tools then you also can use web-based options like Google Docs.

Web-based

There are a lot of free web-based applications available that can replace commercial software. Examples are: Gmail, MS Live, Google Calendar and Google Docs

Other Free Programs

Other useful free programs where you can save money on are:

• Thunderbird a free off-line e-mail client.
• GIMP a photo editing tool
• Audacity a free audio editing tool

These are just a few. Also take a look at the post 150 Essential Business or Freelancing Tools and Resources. This post contains a lot of useful tool and many of them are free.

As you can see if you take the time to look around then you can find tools that are free, thus saving you money.