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I-Series Computing Concepts
Stephen Haag, University of Denver
Maeve Cummings, Pittsburg State University
Alan I Rea, Jr., Western Michigan University
Ethics, Security, And Privacy

Freeware

All over the Web, you can find software that's free or almost free. These types of software are called public domain software, shareware, and freeware.

  • Public domain software is software that you can copy, distribute, and even modify without obtain permission.
  • Shareware is software that you can "test drive" or "try before you buy."
  • Freeware is software that is also public domain software, meaning that you can use it as you wish free of charge.

Freeware and public domain software sound the same, don't they? They actually are with one slight difference. Public domain software was the first name created for free software that people wanted to make available to anyone. When the term shareware was coined to describe "try before you buy" software, freeware was also coined to describe public domain software (Freeware sounds sexier than public domain software.).

However, with true public domain software you often get the source code, allowing you change how the software works. You often don't get the source code with freeware, so you may not have the ability to change how it works.

Below, we've listed just a few of the thousands of sites that offer public domain software, shareware, and freeware.





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