It’s true that amid all our oohing and aahing over cutting-edge hardware and benchmark results, software often gets short shrift. But that’s not to say the ones and zeros don’t excite us. An email program that anticipates our needs, an app that uses the Internet to build a personal VPN, a utility that gives Windows the white-glove treatment—that kind of stuff makes us giddy. That’s what the Softy Awards are all about. Our annual bacchanal gives us a chance to salute the programs and utilities that have truly improved our lives.

Whittling down dozens of hopefuls into a standout handful is no easy task, and this year our task was even more difficult. We expanded our rigorous selection criteria to include applications that extend the power of mobile devices and web browsers. In the end, the software we present here was unanimously chosen by the uber-finicky Maximum PC staff—and all of it is free.

So, without further ado, let’s get on with the ceremony!

CCleaner

It's like a high colonic for Windows XP

You’re probably feeling a little like Harcourt Fenton Mudd, the way we constantly nag you to empty your Recycle Bin, clear out old chkdsk file fragments, and zap old prefetch data. Well, good news: CCleaner, aka Crap Cleaner, does the dirty work for you. With the push of a button it dumps Windows XP’s useless detritus and clears out those log files that, umm, you don’t want anyone to know about. Best of all, this handy app comes at the right price—it’s free. Run it once a month to shut old Stella up.