Free Software That Is Actually Safe

Send us Fan Mail A “free download” can be the moment your computer starts running slow, your browser fills with pop-ups, or your accounts get compromised. Greg Rhodes and Refresh Computers technician Adam Littlefield break down what free software is truly worth using and what’s a hard pass, especially the so-called cleanup tools and driver updaters that push nonstop notifications and often care more about harvesting data than fixing anything.  We also dig into antivirus reality in 2026: for most people, Microsoft Defender on Windows already delivers solid real-time protection, and piling on multiple antivirus apps can cause serious slowdown as they compete to scan the same files. When you do want paid protection, we talk through how Windows handles conflicts and why choosing one trusted product matters. Then we shift to practical money-savers like Google Docs and Sheets, plus LibreOffice and OpenOffice as credible Microsoft Office alternatives, while calling out the growing risk of AI reverse engineered “lookalike” apps that imitate popular suites and sneak in malicious code.  With the holidays coming, scams ramp up fast. We cover surprise packages, porch theft, QR code scams on boxes, menus, parking meters, and chargers, plus the flood of fake delivery texts and bogus tariff fee demands that try to rush you into paying with Venmo or Zelle. We finish with a tech tip you’ll use immediately: iPhone Live Text and Google Lens let you copy text straight from a photo, perfect for Wi-Fi passwords, addresses, and messy URLs. If this helped, subscribe, share it with a friend who clicks first and asks questions later, and leave us a review with the scam you want us to break down next. Support the show Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RefreshComputers/ Track us on X at https://x.com/RefreshStores