The economy has me scrounging around more than usual. I haven't yet checked the Dumpster behind the Kroger for discarded vegetables, but I keep my eyes open for any way to save some coins.

At times, I find ways to avoid spending money at all.

Today, we'll talk about some excellent computer programs that are absolutely free.

In some cases, you are asked to send a donation, and I encourage that if you can spare it. Without some show of support, these free products will go away.

I've mentioned many of these programs in the past. Today, we'll add some more, along with a brief summary and how to find them. If you need more information, Google is your friend.

Belarc Personal Advisor (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html): My favorite free program. It'll tell you, in great detail, almost anything you'd like to know about your computer and its software. You'll also find activation codes for software — handy if you've lost any.

Grisoft Anti-Virus and AVAST (http://free.grisoft.com/ and http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html): These two anti-virus programs are as good or better than the commercial stuff. Use the addresses I listed to get the free programs, otherwise you may find "free trial" and commercial packages.

OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org/): I was cautious about recommending this package — it serves as a clone for Microsoft Office — in the beginning. I'd heard reports that it would not always open documents produced by Microsoft Office. So I've spent some time with it. I'll stick with Microsoft, but I feel easy recommending this package — it does an excellent job and includes word processor, database, spreadsheet and much more.

Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/): Some of my readers are tired of Windows or just like trying something new. Ubuntu is an operating system based on Linux (as is Macintosh OS). It shares many of the advantages and requires less horsepower from a PC. If you have an old PC that's not up to Windows Vista or even XP, give this a try.

Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/): Zoom to any spot on Earth and see aerial photographs that have stunning detail — in some cases clear enough to identify parked cars and see people walking. I use it for entertainment. But my real estate agent wife uses it to scout some types of properties.

Anchor Free (http://www.anchorfree.com/): A few years ago, I visited some of the popular public hot-spot locations — where you can get a wireless connection, sometimes free, sometimes for a fee. They all had one thing in common. I sat there with some very basic software and a laptop and watched passwords and user names roll across my screen. Almost all these hot spots are wide open. This program can close that gap.

MozyHome (http://mozy.com/): If you make data backups, congratulations. You're ahead of most computer users. But the trouble with backups stored at home is that they can be destroyed by fire or other disasters. This site offers an online backup service for a fee. But you can back up 2 gigabytes of data for free.

Use Google to find more free software.

But investigate any program before downloading. Look for user reviews. Some of the free software out there isn't worth the price, and some contains spyware.

My recommendations are a safe way to start exploring while pinching your pennies at the same time.

— Bill Husted writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: bhusted@ajc.com.