5 Must-Have Free Software Picks: 2008 vs 2026
In 2008 guest author Manpreet Singh picked five free programs he felt nobody could afford to miss: MobileMe, PixelCryptor, LogMeIn Free, OpenOffice and iSpring. Most of those names have since disappeared or changed, but the jobs they did still matter. Here is our updated list of must-have free software for 2026: one modern, free tool for each of the original five jobs, plus what happened to the originals.
Quick answer: For the same five jobs in 2026, use iCloud or Google Drive to sync files and contacts across devices, VeraCrypt to encrypt sensitive files, Chrome Remote Desktop to reach your PC from anywhere, LibreOffice as a free office suite, and iSpring Free to turn PowerPoint slides into shareable HTML5 courses. All have free versions for personal use.
Table of Contents
5 must-have free software picks for 2026
1. Sync across devices: iCloud or Google Drive (replaces MobileMe)
MobileMe promised to update your email, contacts and calendar once and push the changes to your iPhone, Mac and PC. It was a paid service at $99 a year, and Apple shut it down on June 30, 2012, replacing it with iCloud.
Today iCloud (external site) does this free for Apple users with a starter storage allowance, and Google Drive (external site) and your Google account sync files, contacts and calendars across Android, iPhone and any browser. Windows users also get OneDrive built in.
2. Encrypt private files: VeraCrypt (replaces PixelCryptor)
PixelCryptor had a clever idea: use a picture as the key to encrypt your files. It has not been updated in many years. For serious protection, use VeraCrypt (external site), a free, open-source tool that creates encrypted containers or encrypts whole drives on Windows, macOS and Linux. Windows Pro editions also include BitLocker, and Macs have FileVault for full-disk encryption.
Whatever you use, pair it with strong, unique passwords. A password manager helps; see how to export and back up your LastPass passwords if you use one.
3. Access your PC remotely: Chrome Remote Desktop (replaces LogMeIn Free)
LogMeIn Free let you control your home PC from anywhere with a click. LogMeIn discontinued the free version in January 2014, pushing users to paid plans.
Chrome Remote Desktop (external site) is the simplest free replacement: install it on your computer, sign in with your Google account, and connect from another computer or your phone. For more options, see our list of the best PC remote access software.
4. Free office suite: LibreOffice (replaces OpenOffice)
OpenOffice was the free alternative to Microsoft Office in 2008. Most of its developers later moved to LibreOffice (external site), which is actively developed and opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. It includes Writer, Calc, Impress and more, and can export to PDF. If you work mostly online, the free web versions of Google Docs or Microsoft 365 are also good options.
5. Share presentations online: iSpring Free
The original pick converted PowerPoint slides to Flash. Flash is long gone, but iSpring Free (external site) is still around as a free PowerPoint add-in. It now turns slides into HTML5 courses with quizzes that you can share by link or upload to a learning platform. For simple sharing, PowerPoint and Google Slides can also publish a presentation to the web.
What happened to the 2008 picks
- MobileMe: shut down in 2012 and replaced by iCloud.
- PixelCryptor: no longer maintained; use VeraCrypt or your system’s built-in encryption.
- LogMeIn Free: discontinued in 2014; LogMeIn now sells paid remote access.
- OpenOffice: still downloadable, but LibreOffice gets far more frequent updates.
- iSpring: the free version survives, now with HTML5 output instead of Flash.
How to download free software safely
- Get programs only from the official website or your device’s app store.
- Watch installers for bundled toolbars or extra offers, and untick them.
- Check that the software still receives updates before relying on it.
Want more? See our best small free software for Windows.
FAQ
Is LibreOffice really free?
Yes. LibreOffice is free and open source for home and business use.
What replaced LogMeIn Free?
LogMeIn ended its free plan in 2014. Chrome Remote Desktop is a popular free alternative for personal use.
Is MobileMe still available?
No. Apple closed MobileMe in 2012 and moved users to iCloud.
What is the best free encryption software?
VeraCrypt is a widely used free, open-source choice. BitLocker (Windows Pro) and FileVault (Mac) are built-in alternatives for whole-drive encryption.
Originally written by guest author Manpreet Singh, who wrote about the web, tech news, blogging and productivity. Updated for 2026 by QuickOnlineTips.
Stuck on a gift? Try our free Gift Idea GeneratorIdeas for anyone by age, job, interests and budget, with Amazon.com and Amazon.in linksFind gifts →Get our free weekly email: new tech guides and tools, no spam.
New and updated tech guides, a free tool worth bookmarking and one useful pick, once a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime. See our privacy policy.
OpenOffice is awesome!
Thanks, I enjoyed reading your post. It?s nice to see someone writing something worth reading. Take care.
– Jack
MS OFFICE
VLC MEDIA PLAYER
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
ALL VIDEO CONVERTER
DAEMON TOOLS
Hello people as we broke the insiders Apple news and promised that you will get mobile me free for evaluation. Mobile Me has finally decided to launch a special 2 months free version for all users who wan to give Mobile Me a shot for using it(got to me.com).
Though you will have specify you credit card number for security purposes. But you wont be charged anything for a full 2 month period. You will only pay anything if you decide to use it more than 2 months.
We have also got a confirmed news that your free version will get extended to 4 months duration(120 days) rather than 2 months (60 days) period as Apple is not getting enough customers to use Mobile Me so they might extend the free duration.
I hope you love using the software.
Thanks
Manpreet Singh
LogMeIn gets my vote. Super simple, super effective PC remote control.
iSpring is free today (7/9/08) at https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/. Looks good…although I’ve not tried it yet.
@ Chris I have tested ispring to make a presentation for my little brother..It works fine and has two options while to play slides:
1. Auto timer: where the slides play like a flash movie
2. Self timer: where you click next or previous to view next or previous slide manually
@ eDeskOnline you have shared a master piece as normal update of calendar or contact or reminder will not take much of space so 100MB is enough for the starters..
Tech Insiders news with me is that Zoho is also coming up with cloud computing application.
Thanks for all of your comments
Manpreet Singh
[Hoping more people to take use of these beautiful yet free appicaitions (“,)]
There are several online applications now, talking about cloud computing eDeskOnline is on par with others where you can access your information not only on mobile but also on your GPRS enabled handset(need not be high end phones).
Didn’t know about iSpring. I’ll be testing this out as my app of the week for educators.
Thanks for all your comments..Regarding Mobile Me The news is an Apple Insider news. They are soon going to release the evaluation version for free for the users.
Right, epic fail on the #1 pick ($100/yr)
MobileMe is not free!