A vast number of free software tools are available to PC users these days, many of them at least as good as the equivalent commercial products. But amongst the high quality stuff are an even greater number of inferior tools, ranging from those that are harmless but useless to ones that are actively dangerous. Not only that, there are also hundreds of web sites offering free downloads of software tools, many of which are not rated or even documented. So how do you choose? How do you sift out the good stuff from the bewildering variety of rubbish out there?

The usual way is to get some advice from a friend or a site like Gizmo's Freeware, download the tool(s) you think will work for you and try them out. This is a long, tedious and frustrating process, because I guarantee you will find that most of the software you download and try will not be to your liking. So you waste a lot of time and a lot of bandwidth, resulting in a computer clogged up with stuff you'll never use (and, certainly on Windows, uninstalling never really gets rid of all traces of something you installed).

But there is another way. I've been a software developer for over 30 years and have been through the "download and try" process many, many times (and I'm still doing it as new tools are released). Over that time I've figured what tools really are good and worthwhile, so if you'd like to save yourself a lot of bother you can order my Top Free Software CD. This is a disc packed with products that I use and which I recommend, all of them personally tested by me, guaranteed to be free of viruses and malware, non-invasive and absolutely free for non-commercial use. So

• no need to download a lot of junk before finding what you want
• no need to waste time trying things out
• no need to get a hacked product key so you can illegally use a commercial tool

Just order my Top Free Software CD. The current version contains all the software products listed in the box on the right (this may change at any time as new and better tools become available), plus a few extra ones that I may add. The cost of the CD is 95 SA Rands (ZAR), which includes packaging and postage to any address within the Republic of South Africa ; addresses outside South Africa may cost a bit more.

If you'd like to order one or more copies of the CD, please send me an email ; make sure you include your name, postal address and phone number.