Since there are so many great computer programs out there, it's hard to resist the buying impulse.



However, before you start shelling out your hard earned money buying software for your computer, there are several things you should consider:

1. Why do I need this software?

2. Is there a free version that will work just as well?

3. What's the difference among freeware, shareware, free trials, open source, etc.?

Freeware is simply software that you can get for free. Sometimes it has advertising in it, and sometimes it doesn't. The downside of using freeware is that it might not be stable, or it contains advertising.

Shareware is where you get a full version of the software, and you get to try all of the features for a certain period of time. Then, if you want to keep it, you have to pay the fee.

Free trials allow you to try the software, but not all of the features are enabled, so you will have to upgrade to get everything to work.

Open Source is free software that has been developed by volunteer programmers and is freely available. You can even edit the source code if you like. The downside is that not all open source software is stable, and it can cause problems on your computer.

There are also other types of software, like donationware, or lite versions of the software. With lite versions, you get a working version of the software, but some of the features are disabled. Unlike a free trial, you can continue to use the lite version forever.

Below are five sites where you can get some great software for your computer.

Some of these sites are free. Others, you have to buy the software, but it's definitely worth the investment.

Freeware Home - http://www.freewarehome.com - This is absolutely one of the best websites on the internet. It contains over 7,000 programs that are all free. The programs are all full versions of the software, and there are tons of categories. If you can't find what you're looking for here, you'll be hard pressed to find it anywhere else.

Doug Knox - http://www.dougknox.com - This site is actually more of a site for scripts you can run on your computer. All of the scripts are designed to fix various computer problems you may be having. You'll also find information on different operating systems as well, so this is a good all around computer resource to help you solve your computer problems.

Snap and Pop - http://www.snapnpopdragon.com/ - This program isn't free, but I felt it was important to mention it.

This site offers a free ecourse to show you how to tweak your computer so that you can get better performance out of it. The software is especially good for anyone who is new to computers because it can help you maximize your resources, as well as fix any computer problems, and you don't need to be a computer geek to do it.

Webmaster Free - http://www.webmasterfree.com - If you are a webmaster, or you're considering building a website, this site is absolutely invaluable.

You'll find every possible tool you can imagine to help you build, upload, and promote your website. Although there are plenty of free trials and shareware located here, there's enough free software on this site to keep you browsing for days. This site is part of the iEntry Network, where you can find tons of information on just about anything, especially if it's related to business.

Jumbo - http://www.jumbo.com - This is one of the oldest software sites on the internet and contains thousands of programs. You can find all kinds of freeware, shareware, free trials, and other computer software to download. This site also offers software for just about any operating system. Part of the internet.com network.

There are tons of places on the internet to find free software. However, it's important that you use a reliable site to find it. Otherwise, you can end up with all kinds of spyware, adware, and malware on your computer, and it will cause you all kinds of problems.

Avoid all of that by surfing on reliable sites. These sites will keep you surfing for days, and you'll find tons of great software for your computer.