The Top Ten Freeware Products of 2009: Users choice from Gizmo blog

1. Mozilla Firefox 3.5
Users Choice: Freeware Product of 2009  (25% of total vote)
Other browsers may be faster and sexier but Firefox with its huge range of add-ons remains the most capable browser for everyday use. Used by more of our site visitors than any other browser.
2.  Avira Antivir Free  (12%)
Antivir provides an extraordinary level of anti-malware protection for your PC at zero cost. There have been signature file update problems for the free version in recent months but these now seem to have been resolved
3.  Google Chrome browser  (10%)
Fast, safe and the shape of things to come. The most recent version now accommodates extensions.
4.  Microsoft Security Essentials  (9%)
A much better anti-malware scanner from Microsoft than anyone thought possible and low on resource usage as well. A great solution for low risk users.
5.   Comodo Firewall  (8%)
Extraordinary protection for those sufficiently technically competent to use it.
6.  Avast! Antimalware  (5%)
The most complete free anti-malware program available. It's a bit heavier on resources than Avira but the detection rates are superb.
7.  Picassa 3  (5%)
The ideal way to store, manage  and edit your online photos. The user interface is a gem.
8.  Everything Search  (5%)
Find any file on your hard drive in an instant without bogging down your PC in background indexing. Only finds files by name not content.
9.  Opera 10  (5%)
Opera's devoted fans will tell you it's the fastest, safest and most complete browser available. They are probably correct but somehow Opera has never got the traction it deserves.
10.  VLC Media Player (5%)
A multi-platform media player that runs mostly without the need for external codecs. It's the player of choice for many experienced users though a little daunting for beginners.

See GIZMO editors' selections for the best freeware of 2009