Top 25 free tools for every Windows desktop

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Surprisingly, there are still many good free tools out there. Desktop users only..InfoWorld
[See the full post at: Top 25 free tools for every Windows desktop]

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Nice list! A few of these I had missed. One or two others, notably pdf-XChange, may displace some of my long-time favorites.

And of course, the most important slide in the show is the one warning to avoid crapware piggybacks and fake download buttons.

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Hi, I’d like to try 7-Zip but I have a question. The main site (http://www.7-zip.org) says the latest available download for Windows is 9.20 (dated 2010-11-18), but the Sourceforge site appears to say the latest version is 9.22 (“Download 7z922.exe (1.1 MB)”).

I’m puzzled by the apparent discrepancy. Is the version on 7-Zip’s own site the best one to download, even if it’s 4 years old? (Does the version on Sourceforge include crapware?)

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@Chamekke –

Very good question, and I’m glad you asked.

There’s a lot of confusion about the “real” 7-zip web site. Instead of adding to the discussion, I’ll just say that your instincts are right – download it from Sourceforge, http://sourceforge.net/projects/sevenzip/files/7-Zip/9.22/7z922.msi/download

Latest version is 9.22. No idea why 7-zip.org (and 7-zip.com!) are still reporting 9.20.

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Not to add to the confusion about 7-Zip, but their “beta” versions remain in that status for long periods of time. Last I checked, many tech experts were sayingthe Beta version may be as stable as the mainstream version. No security problems either way, so even Version 9.20 should be just fine to install and use. But I agree that Sourceforge is THE site from which to download the real 7-Zip, with no worries about piggyback junk.

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woody,

According to the changelog at http://www.7-zip.org/history.txt version 9.22 is a beta version that dates back to 4/8/2011 while 9.20 is a stable version that’s from 11/18/2010.

FWIW, the version of 7-zip that is offered by the portableapps.com website is 9.20.

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@Eric –

Interesting. See RC’s comment, next.

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