Free Student Software

Student software refers to a type of software that facilitates the needs of students around the world. Student software can include any program that aids a student in communication, education, safety, design, finances, or computer navigation. Student software is often free and/or open source so that students can access these programs without worrying about the cost. Student software can be used by students, office personnel, and anyone else who needs a strong collection of office programs. This article will list a number of these programs that are completely free to try and use.

Open Office
Open Office is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. The software includes specific alternatives for every program available in Microsoft Office such as reading and writing .doc and .docx files, designing and implementing presentations and slideshows, and creating spreadsheets. Open Office is an open source software that can be edited and updated at any time by thousands of users worldwide. Open Office comes equipped with a large collection of plug-ins that make performing calculations and accessing files even easier. For example, there are plug-ins for Open Office Writer that allows users to update their definition database as well as read and write in other languages. Open Office can be found and downloaded at http://www.openoffice.org/ .

GIMP
GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and is the most popular open source image editing software. GIMP is used by millions of users around the world and is the equivalent to a free version of PhotoShop. In fact, many users prefer GIMP to PhotoShop and claim that it is easier to use and has more features. GIMP can be used to design logos, banners, backgrounds, characters, objects, text, and much more. The software can be found at http://www.gimp.org/ .

Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free email client that replaces the popular Microsoft Outlook. Mozilla Thunderbird is provided by the same creators of Mozilla Firefox and features similar speed and efficiency. Mozilla Thunderbird allows users to setup a nearly unlimited number of email accounts and access them all from the same interface. Likewise, users can search their emails from multiple email accounts and list them in different ways. Mozilla Thunderbird has a built-in spam filter and can address various security threats such as phishing websites and suspicious emails. Mozilla Thunderbird is available for download at http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/ .

Spyware Terminator
Spyware Terminator is a free antispyware and antimalware software that is able to scan the user’s entire computer or a section of a specific hard drive. Spyware Terminator may take awhile to complete its scanning process but is able to find virtually all malicious software on the user’s computer and delete it with a single click. Spyware Terminator’s most prized feature is its real-time shield that is able to block any and all program executions from both the user’s computer and the Internet. The software also includes a Clam AV program for the user’s browser that is able to stop phishing websites and websites that host malware before they are ever opened. Spyware Terminator can be found at http://www.spywareterminator.com/ .

7-Zip
7-Zip is a free extraction and zipping software that is similar to WinRar and WinZip. The difference between these programs, however, is the fact that 7-Zip is capable of zipping and extracting zipped files in seven different file formats. 7-Zip also includes a feature that allows users to email zipped files directly from the program. 7-Zip can be downloaded from http://www.7-zip.org/ .