Listed below in alphabetical order are the basic software components on my computer that I either use everyday or are otherwise indispensible to my Internet marketing business.

They include:

1. Anti-Virus Software
2. Article Distribution Software
3. Chat Software
4. Email Software
5. File Transfer Software
6. Graphics Editor
7. HTML Editor
8. Macro Software
9. Statistics Reporting Software
10. Text Editor
11. Web Browser

You can also check out the video tour of my home office. The page includes a list of 25 different hardware components that I use to make money online.

Anti-Virus Software

Although mentioning anti-virus software may seem superfluous to most who use their computers for business - the point needs to be stressed for PC users who still don't protect one their most important business assets. You'd be amazed how often I hear from people who have suffered complete data losses due to viruses, etc. I use Trend Micro. Before you buy, try out HouseCall, their FREE online virus scanner.

Article Distribution Software

Rather than submit articles to each individual article directory where you have to login, input all the pertinent information about the article (title, author, Link, article content, resource box and more), I use Article Announcer to automate the process and increase traffic to my sites quickly.

Here's an example of "What Happened When I Tested Article Announcer".

Chat Software

Chatting with your Affiliate manager, clients or partners is more personal and gets results faster than exchanging information by Email. I use Google's GTalk which is free and offers PC-to-PC voice calls, instant messaging, file transfers and Gmail notifications.

Email Software

My email client of choice is Eudora (paid version 7.1.0.9 as of February 2008) simply for the fact that creating filters is so much easier than in Outlook and I run a ton of filters. However, according to the Qaulcomm website, "The Paid mode commercial versions of Eudora are no longer available. The Sponsored mode versions of Eudora continue to be available for Download. An open source version of Eudora® is being developed by Mozilla and will be free of charge."

So, if you're tired of Microsoft's cranky filters, you might want to check out Mozilla's Thunderbird, which promises intelligent SPAM filters, quick message search, and customizable views, has received excellent reviews and is available as a free download.

File Transfer Software

Rather than use my HTML editor or cPanel to manage files and transfer them from my computer to the server, I find it much faster and easier to use FTP (file transfer protocol) software. I use WS_FTP Professional by Ipswitch, Inc which offers excellent security features as well as transfer and configuration settings. Coffee Cup's Direct FTP client is similar to WS-FTP and is available as a free download.

Graphics Editor

I've used Corel's Paint Shop Pro (PSP) bitmap, vector and raster graphics editor for years and it does everything I need to do with graphics --- as a Windows user. Paint Shop Pro's closest competitor is Adobe's more robust, much more expensive Photoshop that is available to Mac users and which sits unused in my bookcase.

At time of writing, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is the current version, selling on the Corel site for $89.99 and at Shop.com for $72.99. Corel offers a 30-day free trial download of the latest version.

There are earlier versions of Paint Shop Pro available for download on various software sites around the 'net. Do a Google search for "Paint Shop Pro free download" and pick up a copy. Because it won't come with documentation, if you are new to graphics editors, it might be worthwhile to pick up a guide such as Paint Shop Pro 7 For Dummies.

If you are bent on having the most robust graphics editor, Adobe's current promotion lets you save up to $150 when you buy Photoshop Lightroom together with Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop CS3 Extended. However, Photoshop CS3 is available on its own.

HTML Editor

Dreamweaver, NVU, and Coffee Cup are just a few of the HTML editors that I've tried and used, but I'll stick with my copy of Homesite 5.5 until it breaks and can't be reloaded for whatever reason or is no longer available from Macromedia.

If that happens, I'll switch to Coffee Cup which is very similar to Homesite with both a code editor and a drag and drop WYSIWYG editor. CoffeeCup comes with more than 100 DHTML & JavaScripts, a DHTML Menu wizard, 25,000 graphics and photos including over 1,000 XP style Icons. It also has Built-in FTP Uploading and easy to use Table, Frame, Font, and Form Designers. Preview your work in any Browser or use the exclusive Split Screen preview.

CoffeeCup offers their HTML Editor as a as a free trial download.

Macro Software

If you type the same signature line, sentence, or URL's on a repeated basis, you really should use macro software that can reduces each of those to just one or two keystrokes. I've made a video about Perfect Keyboard, the macro software that I use. If you go direct to the Perfect Keyboard order page, select a Single-user license for $29.95 --- as you probably don't need the Pro version for $79.95.

Statistics Reporting Software for Affiliate Marketers

I love software that saves me oodles of time, and in that respect, Affmeter is one of my favorite software programs because it consolidates most of my affiliate statistics. This software is especially effective for 'stats junkies' who tend to check their affiliate stats several times a day - or even every hour - because you set it up once and you won't have to login to those interfaces again. Read more about it at "Save Time: Consolidate Your Affiliate Stats with Affmeter".

Text Editor

I write all of my posts and articles offline - so as not to risk losing my work should my Internet connection go down as has happened to me in the past. I use Ultra-Edit, which is a text editor PLUS. although I prefer coding with an HTML editor, Ultra-Edit Pro can be used to create HTML code.

Web Browser

Although Firefox has gained considerable popularity over the years, rising from 4 percent in January 2004 to 36.3 in December 2007; Microsoft's Internet Explorer with a majority share of users at 55.9% (December 2007) is is still my browser of choice. It is much more flexible and forgiving from a design perspective and very rarely do sites look 'strange' when they're viewed in IE. I do however keep a copy of Firefox around to do some cross-compatibility testing --- usually when Firefox users complain that my site looks 'strange' (because their browser doesn't know how to read a well-written CSS). :-)