Below are some free downloads that I really couldn't live without. If you have any suggestions for other software downloads, drop me a line.

Thunderbird is a great email client by the Mozilla organization that runs on Windows, Linux or Mac operating systems. It still does not have a builtin calendar, but it is definitely worth checking out.

SyncBack Freeware V3.2.10 is a PC-based backup software that I've had great luck with. If you're looking to backup your pc to another drive, cd, whatever - this utility is easy to use and more reliable that any builtin Windows backup software.

Ad-Aware Personal has been around for quite some time, but it just seems to fade into the background with all other spyware utilities - especially now that Microsoft has their own antispyware beta available for download. It really isn't possible to receommend just a single utility, since I've found that several are often required to keep a PC clean (go ahead and laugh Mac users, your day will come as well). This program should be your starting point.

There are tons of free Windows-based FTP utilities out there, but my favorite is SmartFTP. It's simple and it just works.