ZoneAlarm is probably the most well-known of firewalls, partly because it’s free for personal use, but also because it’s effective and very simple to use. This latest version now works with Windows Vista. The download is a small utility that is used to select the correct version of ZoneAlarm for with Vista or Windows XP and 2000.
Its main appeal stems from the fact that you can install it and forget about it, yet be securely protected from outside intrusions or attacks.

The popular iTunes has been one of the best audio players on the market. However, its vast music store now gives holders of the video iPod the opportunity to preview and download music videos, TV programmes and now full movies, all at very reasonable prices.
If you want to share your music, iTunes will look for other copies running across a network and you can then listen to other people’s music. An Internet radio option is available for broadband users.

Microsoft DirectX is designed to improve the running and display of applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-colour graphics, video, 3D animation and rich audio.
DirectX 9.0 includes security and performance updates along with several new technological features, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX 9.0 APIs.

Winamp has always prided itself on being free and it has a steady, loyal following as a result. Version 5 is sure to please its current users, and to win it some converts.
It looks good with a completely new interface, and comes with fairly comprehensive file support. Audio support includes CDA, MIDI, MP1/2/3/4, AAC, OGG, WAV, AIF, WMA and more.
Support for video is added in version 5.52, and currently this stretches to MPG, M2V, AVI and ASF formats.

MusicMatch is an impressive all-in-one audio player that offers a lot more than most. Whether you want to play, encode, rip or record, you can do it all from within this one player.
It supports a variety of file formats including MP3, WMA, WAV, internet streams and CD audio. Its MP3 radio service provides access to numerous stations and even lets you create your own. Enter an artist and MusicMatch will create a station based on similar sounds.

With MSN Messenger you can chat online instantly in real time with friends, family and colleagues. It’s faster than e-mail, more discreet than a phone call. Chat using a webcam, send text messages to mobile phones, and express yourself instantly online in real time with new, cool emoticons.
MSN Messenger looks like you! Sign in with your own picture, create your own emoticons, and represent yourself with new, cool backgrounds!

CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it’s fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.

Little Fighter 2 (LF2) is a popular freeware fighting game for Windows. LF2 was created by Marti Wong and Starsky Wong in 1999. Its popularity has been substantial thanks to its simple yet addictive gameplay, its great replay ability and free at the point of use availability. The game can have up to 4 human players on one computer and 8 characters in network play at one time. Game modes include VS mode, Stage mode (where 1 or more players move through the environment killing increasing numbers and difficulties of …

SUPER is a Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a GUI to ffmpeg, mencoder, mplayer, ffmpeg2theora & the theora/vorbis RealProducer plugIn.
SUPER supports a wide variety of input/source file format to play or encode (to & from) without any additional third party software:

Audacity is a free audio editor. You can record sounds, play sounds, import and export WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and MP3 files, and more.
Use it to edit your sounds using Cut, Copy and Paste (with unlimited Undo), mix tracks together, or apply effects to your recordings. It also has a built-in amplitude envelope editor, a customizable spectrogram mode and a frequency analysis window for audio analysis applications. Built-in effects include Echo, Change Tempo, and Noise Removal, and it also supports VST and LADSPA plug-in effects.