I had an idea for a central GOG thread for anyone to recommend useful freeware programs or post questions seeking recommendations. This is NOT for games -- just useful programs such as VLC, ImgBurn, etc. If this thread proves popular, I will keep this post updated with a list of programs most recommended by the GOG community.

So, I'll start this thread with my big questions:

1. Are freeware antivirus programs worthwhile? Should I switch from Avast?

2. Are there any good free programs for editing FLV and MP4 files? I would really love something similar to Audacity but for video files.

I'd say antivirus software in general is pretty pointless. Malware has to either be manually installed (not knowing it was malware) or it is auto-run and installed via stupid features or security vulnerabilities that most systems have (Windows comes to mind with auto-run on CD's and thumb-drives). In a good environment where you aren't running as admin, malware or viruses can only run rampant on your own documents and files and nowhere else, nor can they infect the system further. Of course i'm pretty picky about what i install and use on my computer.


If you want a real simple video editing program for removing frames, recording or re-coding, then VirtualDub is a good choice. You can apply filters and other effects as well, but won't do what vegas video can.

I think there's already a thread for free general software, or there would be a difference?

I would say that Avast is just fine. Malware-Bytes would be a good supplement to that. Don't forget to enable the PUP protection from your security software. (Potentially Unwanted Programs - stuff like search bars and Bonzai Buddy)

Oh, and some useful freeware utilities include OpenCandy, which is an adware platform. Be sure to check if the installer includes that - more often not, adware can compromise your PC. The Portable versions of freeware software tends to not include OpenCandy, but take care anyways.



Handbrake - Good for converting video files into other formats, and to reduce their file size.

You might want to check out these threads, as they are still active somewhat recently and cover some of the same ground as you seemingly intend to cover in this thread:

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_free_software_list_2_0 (I see madth3 ^ already mentioned this one while I was composing this post.)

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/free_games_and_3rd_party_mods_the_updated_list

There might be other relevant, still-active threads you can find, and there are a ton of dead threads that should have some still-useful info for you. Just search the forum with keywords like "free software", "freeware", "open source", etc. Even GOG's search engine can't fail to return a lot of actually relevant results...and it's not a good search engine.

Regarding your Question #1, opinions are all over the map. Everyone has their own personal preferences based on their own (highly subjective) experiences. ("Well, I've been using [whatever AV] for three years, and I've never gotten hit with any viruses, and I know it's because of the AV because it tells me once in a while that it's caught a threat." Or, "[Such-and-such AV] is shit! I know this because I tried it for a couple months, and it slowed everything down, and when I ran a scan with [other AV], it found a bunch of malware that [such-and-such] apparently let slip through!") Whether you're looking at paid or free AV, I'd recommend reading reviews from a couple different professional sources. The good thing about free versions is that if you don't like it, you're not tied to it. Just uninstall and give another one a shot for a few months.

Hmmm.. I'm reminded of ZoneAlarm, where in one of the updates it started hampering you saying your system was under threats and had so many problems with it and detected vulnerabilities that couldn't be plugged unless you paid $20...

I'm then reminded of some Malware my GF accidentally installed on her system by clicking a link, which said her hard drive was failing while her ram and other system utilities were fine. Curiously it sorta looked like a M$ diagnostic utility but was very very odd, plus you couldn't access Task Manager or anything else. I eventually got rid of it without her being scammed, although we couldn't restore the icons for programs already installed...

If you are going to get security programs, make sure they aren't going to push virus/security scares on you to make you buy it... And they might list dozens of found viruses in folders or registry entries that don't exist to convince you you need help right away or else you're data will go to Nigeria or some other excuse...

There's also a libre software alternative ClamAV which has a Windows GUI, ClamWin.

Yep, free antivirus software is worthwhile. The free version of Avira Antivirus retains the same scanning/live capabilities of the Professional version, minus the browser/mail protection.

Hence the "checking professional reviews first" part of my advice. There are certain free AV programs which are widely used and generally regarded as decent, whatever the feelings of individual users may be. Avira, Avast!, AVG, BitDefender, Comodo et al. are basically trustworthy, regardless of how one feels about their UI, how they affect system performance, how "annoying" they might be, or how effective they are at detection of/protection from malware; it's up to each potential user to check into them, compare what each offers, read up a little on how well they performed in tests, then try one of the better ones out. (I've found that word of mouth from random people -- either IRL or online, and whether I'm personally acquainted with them or not -- is not worth a lot.) Sounds totally legit. I hope you paid! $20 is a steal to have your system vulnerabilities fixed.