Welcome to the official second edition of the PC Pitstop Free Software Report. I want to thank everyone for the tons of comments both positive and negative. We are listening. More importantly, many of our readers learned more from the comments than our Top Software List! In fact, I even learned a few things.
Here are the changes between this and the last one. First and foremost, we removed Adobe Reader from the list entirely. The reason is as everyone advised us. PC Pitstop is able to measure the popularity of a FreeWare. The idea is that if a freeware is popular, then it is most likely the best as well. There are a few instances in which this concept falls apart, and Adobe Reader sticks out. The reason is that Adobe Reader has high popularity because it is pre-installed on computers, not because of its inherent value.
Based on all of the advice, I have personally removed Adobe Reader from my main computer and have replaced it with Foxit Reader, and I am very pleased. Not only is it a lot faster, more secure, it also has a slick tabbed interface like FireFox. Thanks for the recommendation. You can also find Foxit Reader on the Free Software List, although it debuts at #20 with a puny 3.63% of PC’s tested.
Another item removed from the list is WinRAR. The reason is WinRAR is considered trialware and not freeware. I was personally using WinRAR, and after 15 days, it wanted me to pay. This list is dedicated to 100% free software, not trialware.
In addition to the above, we added and ranked the following:
| – | Adobe Reader |
| – | WinRar |
| + | µTorrent |
| + | AusLogics Disk Defrag |
| + | avast! Antivirus |
| + | Comodo Firewall |
| + | DeepBurner Free |
| + | DriverMax |
| + | Foxit PDF Reader |
| + | GOM Player |
| + | MicroSoft SyncToy |
| + | Online Armor |
| + | Pidgin |
| + | True Crypt |
| + | Revo Uninstaller |
| + | Secunia PSI |
| + | Gimp |
| + | winamp |
| + | SUPERAntiSpyware Free |
See how your favorite did below!
