The following software is available for free. Most of the software is comparable to the commercial equivalent, and in a couple cases, even better. The popular (usually commercial) equivalent is listed in brackets after each title. All software on this list will work with Microsoft XP and should work with the Vista operating system. If you use a Mac or Linux, check the software website for compatibility.

Mozilla Firefox – [Microsoft Internet Explorer] Highly recommended web browser that is considered by many (including this web author) to be the best browser at any cost.

Open Office – [Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Expressions] This complete office suite includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, database, and web editor. The software is fully compatible with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

AbiWord – [Microsoft Word] Another free word processor.

Adobe Reader – Adobe Reader is the premiere PDF (portable document format) reader and has been free for many years. However, Adobe does charge for their PDF creator, Adobe Acrobat.

PDFCreator – [Adobe Acrobat] A free PDF creator.

doPDF – [Adobe Acrobat] Another free PDF creator.

Mozilla Thunderbird – [Microsoft Outlook] Mozilla’s version of email software.

Mozilla Sunbird – [Microsoft Outlook] Cross-platform calendar program.

GIMP – [Adobe Photoshop] Fully functional image editing software. There are a variety of plugins available that provide additional features and capabilities.

Paint.net – [Adobe Photoshop] – Another free image editor.

Scribus – [Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign] – Free desktop publishing software.

Inkscape – [Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw] Image and graphics software. Creates and edits vector graphics.

WordPress – [TypePad] Content management system typically used for blogging, but can be used to create other types of websites. (NOTE: Nonprofit Technology uses this free software to create and operate this website.)

Joomla – [CMS Builder] Open source content management software. Users can create a website without writing code.

Comodo Firewall – [Norton Firewall, McAfee Firewall] Software to protect a computer connected to a network from hacking attacks and unauthorized access. Comodo also offers other free computer protection software at this website.

7-Zip – [WinZip, WinRAR] This software creates a compressed file for archiving and easy transfer of files and data.

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