Getting started
Find a PC
First things first, you need to find a machine. You could of course check out your local tip, but other good places to look are Freecycle, Snaffleup or Gumtree – all of which are likely to have free offerings and they're likely to be in better shape than the ones at the dump!
Operating systems
You'll also need an Operating System (OS). If you're lucky, the PC you've found will have a recent OS already installed. However, if the hard drive has been wiped or the OS is out of date, don't panic! There's no need to spend hundreds of pounds on Microsoft Windows.
Instead, there are free alternatives. For example, the open sourced, linux based operating system Ubuntu comes highly recommended. It contains all the applications that come with Windows and is free to install.
It also comes with the Mozilla Firefox web browser which is a faster and more reliable alternative to Internet Explorer.
Browsers
If you're not using Ubuntu, you can download Mozilla's web browser Firefox for free, here.
Email application
You can obviously use web based email such as that offered by Google and Yahoo for free. Additionally, Mozilla offers its own, free Thunderbird 2 application.
Free software
Open Office
If you need a word processor and the ability to create spreadsheets and presentations, a free alternative to Microsoft Office is Open Office. This offers all of the above plus drawing and mathematical tools and a database manipulation facility.
This works on linux as well as Macs and Windows.
Google
Alternatively, if hard disk space is at a premium, Google Docs is a free, online-only software package comprising word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form applications.
It accepts most popular file formats – meaning you can open and amend existing files – and also allows multiple users to collaborate online on the same document, which means no more sending and resending email attachments.
Super security
Free security software from your bank
Some banks will offer you internet security software for free. Barclays customers, for example, can download Kapersky's internet security suite software, which includes anti-virus software and firewall (worth £51) for free (this can be installed on up to three computers in your home).
And HSBC's customers can download a free 12-month subscription to McAfee Security software here. Note: both of these offers are only available to PC users.
Free anti-virus software
If you can't get protection from your bank, you can download very good, free anti-virus software for Windows and Linux from AVG or Avast (note: this is only available for non-commercial or home use) but you must ensure to keep up-to-date by downloading the updates.
Free Firewall
If you're running MS Windows or Vista you can use the free firewall they come with. Alternatively, you can download a free version from Comodo and Zone Alarm.
Free anti-spyware
Windows users can use Windows Defender for free. Alternatively download the free, a-squared anti-spyware tool .
You could also consider Ad Aware which is a free program that that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on your computer.
Added extras
Free video and media player
VLC offers PC and Mac users free media and video playing software.
Free picture editing software
IrfanView is simple and great for basic image viewing and editing – it's far better than the free image programs in Windows.
For advanced image editing, Gimp is a good option (basically a free version of Photoshop). You can do a lot online these days, too – try SplashUp.
Free web authoring software
Linux, Windows and Mac users can even get free software to help create your own web page from NVU.
Sharing files
Dropbox is a way to share your files between computers, and back them up online. And it costs nothing. It's also simple to use.
You install it on your own computer, then define a particular folder as your 'dropbox'. Anything you save there automatically gets backed up online, with a full version history. And, if you install Dropbox on another computer, you can share your 'dropbox' folder between the two computers. So it's easy to share work – no more carrying USB keys around.
Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of files.
Conversion software
If you need to convert an obscure file format into another obscure file format, don't pay out shed loads for conversion software.
If you use Google to search for conversion software, the first page of results will usually be expensive bits of software with good search engine optimisation, and do just that one thing for about £20. So make sure you look lower down the list. There's usually something free.
The most common conversion problem is Word to PDF. You can pay for the full version of Adobe Acrobat to do this, but CutePDF is free.
Free games
If you fancy adding some games to your PC, check out Scratch and you could write your own!
Free music
For completely free listening, Spotify is fantastic, as is Last.fm.