The internet is awash with free apps to help you manager your notes and your to-do list. I know this because I'm always looking out for interesting programs in this area. I've actually been using Microsoft Outlook for the past couple of years, but I'm in the process of abandoning it because it doesn't work with the way that I like to encrypt my confidential information.

In case you're interested, Outlook likes to keep cache files on a non-removable drive. So if you use an encryption facility, as I do, that relies on removable encrypted drives, Outlook doesn't play nicely. Which is to say that, even if you dismount your encrypted drive, all of your Outlook notes are still accessible via the cache. Hence the reason I'm looking for something else, and which is why you'll find me writing about a few of the best notes and to-do list apps out there over the next few days.

And I'm going to start with To Do List (catchy name, eh?) from AbstractSpoon software. It's free, it runs on all versions of Windows from 7 to 10, and it's a 9 MB download and is incredibly powerful. In fact, if you've ever used project management software, you'll recognise a lot of the features.

You can assign tasks to someone, keep track of when they're done, and track how long you (or someone else) spent on each task. It's a really nice application. And did I mention that it's completely free? It's also free of malware too, according to VirusTotal and Web of Trust.  Read More