Five freeware tools everyone should try out

I'd like to present to you five freeware tools to you that everyone should at least take a look at and try out. They are not the "normal" freeware applications that you find in every top ten list like Firefox and Open Office. I review tools that many users don't know but would be grateful if they knew they existed. Please be aware that this is my top five list and that yours most likely may have different applications in it.

1. Sound Recorder / Editor: Audacity

Audacity is an open source software for editing and recording sounds. It's available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux and has a great list of features and supported formats. If you ever need an audio editor / recorder you should take a look at audacity.

2. Ftp Client / Server: Filezila

Filezilla is a powerful ftp client for windows. Every webmaster for instance needs an ftp client to transfer files to and from the web server the website is hosted on. Filezilla also offers a server version which you can use to host your own ftp server on your local system. While it is usually limited by your line's upload bandwidth, it may be sufficient to provide your friends with options to upload and download files to to. And if you run it in a network, you may even enjoy blazing fast transfer speeds.

3. Image Manipulation: Gimp

Gimp is an image manipulation application like photoshop and paint shop professional. Unlike the latter it's completly free. Its available for windows, macintosh and *nix and offers a wide variety of features. The gimp homepage has an extensive list of tutorials and documentations in many languages. If you need an image manipulation tool try gimp.

4. Encryption: True Crypt

I've already published a large article about true crypt and can recommend it fully. I'm using it at home where I encrypted my entire external hard drive using true crypt. It's running fine and the read / write speed does not differ a lot from my unencrypted drives. The main gain here is that no one can access the drive's content unless they have the right password to decrypt it.

5. Text Editor: PsPad

Ps Pad is an enhanced texteditor for windows with multi-language support. The text editor supports projects, syntax highlighting and templates. There are more features, just take a look at the applications homepage.

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