Freeware (a.k.a., free software) is software that is available at no cost to the user, now or ever. Developers often cover their development costs by running ads on their sites or accepting donations from users via PayPal or other means.
Freeware is generally only available in its final form and cannot be modified by the user, which is what differentiates it from "free software" or open-source software, where users are allowed and often encouraged to make modifications and improvements and redistribute it.
Andrew Fluegelman is credited with first popularizing the term freeware when looking for ways to distribute his communications software PC-Talk without using traditional costly means of distribution. Freeware is commonly available on the Internet for download, and such digital distribution cuts cost of sales down to almost nothing beyond the bandwidth used to transmit it.
Freeware programs can be almost anything, from screensavers to system utilities to media players to security applications.
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