These are programs I depend on regularly and are compatible with 2000/XP/Vista, unless otherwise noted, and may even work on 95/98, but I highly doubt there are any of those around anymore. Other platforms like Mac and UN*X variants may get something here if I find a use for it and need it handy here.

7-Zip -
(Had PowerArchiver v6.11 here, but it just can't handle a lot of modern stuff. 7-Zip is incredible, and free! A SourceForge project, even! Will add this in sometime... Meanwhile, go check 'em out.)
[Click here to go to http://www.7-zip.org/]

ACDSee 32 v2.41
One of the best image viewers around, with unsurpassed display speed, ACDSee has long been a staple of this section, and v2.41, as old as it is, proves time and time again that newer does *NOT* necessarily mean better!
Size: 1823k
[Click here to download ACDSee v2.41]

mpg123 v0.59m+
Very compact (57kb!!) high-performance MP2/MP3 player. Command line based, but works extremely well on the Windows desktop. Just drag and drop an MP2/MP3 file onto the mpg123 icon, and away you go, fast! The only thing it can't do (and I'm always looking for updates that are stable) is Variable Bit Rate (VBR) MP3s. Oh well... hopefully soon I'll find a new update with it, as soon as someone somewhere compiles one...
Size: 57k
[Click here to download mpg123 v0.59m+]

Putty v0.60
SecureCRT may have had a lot of nifty useful features, but this little gem works, is small, and is only one file, with no need to 'install' it. Neat! Great for taking to internet centers for a quick telnet access. At the moment, v0.60 is the latest, and is what I'm using. As much as I loved using SecureCRT, I can't do without such portability.
Size: 238k (444k executable in zip)
[Click here to download Putty v0.60]

Tray Command Line
Candidate for the 'Why was this not standard equipment?' award. This small utility pops a command line at the press of a user-definable hotkey, which allows you to enter a command, pop up a directory window by name anywhere without going through piles of windows, and even has full alias support, even for multiple commands in a single alias! Think of it as the 'Run' box on massive quantities of steroids. An absolute must-have for Win9x, but I'm actually not sure if this works properly on 2000/XP/Vista. Might have to remove this. A shame if I do, it's so nice.
Size: 173k
[Click here to download TrayCL]

SmartFTP
SmartFTP has finally yanked FTP Explorer 1.010 off its long-held position of glory on my list. Current version at the time of this writing is 2.5.1008.37 but the thing gets updated so often that you can bet there's a new version, and as it gets a little bitchy if you use a really old version (my only gripe about this program!) perhaps it's just better in this case to refer folks to http://www.smartftp.com/ to get their fresh copy.
Size: ----k

HyperSnap DX Pro v3.20
Easy screen grabs and multiple graphic formats for saving make this an incredible power tool. I also have v2.79 of the original basic version, but I don't recommend it unless you absolutely HAVE to have it. (A couple people have had problems with 3.20 I guess...can't see how, though.)
Size: 1092k for v3.20, 393k for original v2.79
[Click here to download HyperSnap DX Pro v3.20] [Click here to download HyperSnap v2.79]

Cookie Wall
Several people have asked me (or is that begged?) about this, and for VERY good reason. If you are an Internet Explorer user and you don't have this running, you are just asking for trouble. Set cookie accept/deny lists with ease! Of course, since FireFox, nobody sane uses IE anymore, but some programs use the same built-in functions of IE and if they access cookies (like AIM), this will take care of them too!
Size: 185k
[Click here to download CookieWall]