Free software, which may or may not be distributed free of charge, is distinct from freeware, which by definition does not require payment for use.

The authors or copyright holders of freeware may retain all rights to the software ; it is not necessarily permissible to reverse engineer, modify, or redistribute freeware.

According to the Free Software Foundation, " freeware " is a loosely defined category and it has no clear accepted definition, although FSF says it must be distinguished from free software ( libre ).

Software classified as freeware is licensed at no cost and is either fully functional for an unlimited time ; or has only basic functions enabled with a fully functional version available commercially or as shareware.

Sometimes, the class of shareware produced without a time limit, but with intentionally limited functionality is erroneously referred to as freeware.

Many freeware products are developed by commercial developers alongside an expanded product with more features which is sold for profit.

This type of freeware is released as a type of promotion for the other product, which is often based on the same code base with only a compiler flag required to produce the free version.

Thus the internet is the primary resource for information on which freeware is available, useful, and is not malware.

The pure freeware model of software development has been criticized as " unsustainable " because it requires a single entity to be responsible for updating and enhancing the product, which is then given away for free.

One of the early and basic forms of this model is called freeware.

Under a freeware license, software is licensed free of charge for regular use and the developer does not gain any monetary compensation.

The term shareware is used in contrast to retail software, which refers to commercial software available only with the purchase of a license which may not be copied for others ; public domain software, which refers to software not copyright protected ; open-source software, in which the source code is available for anyone to inspect and alter ; and freeware, which refers to copyrighted software for which the developers solicit no payment ( though they may request donations ).

PAD file is an XML document that describes a shareware or freeware product according to the PAD specification.

DynamicPAD is a set of server-side PHP scripts distributed under a GPL license and a freeware DynamicPAD builder for 32 ‑ bit Windows.

The Sun API is freeware and claimed accurate.

It is recommended that users do not install any freeware claiming to be anti-spyware unless it is verified to be legitimate.

Waltograph, a freeware typeface, is based on his signature and handwriting.

Users are capable of finding shareware, freeware and free software products or use Web services as easily as retail.

The term freeware was coined by Andrew Fluegelman when he wanted to sell a communications program named PC-Talk that he had created but for which he did not wish to use traditional methods of distribution because of their cost.

Current use of the term freeware does not necessarily match the original concept by Andrew Fluegelman.

Around 1982, Pavel Curtis started work on a freeware clone of the Bell Labs curses, named pcurses, which was maintained by various people through 1986.

However, Wallace acknowledged that he got the term from an InfoWorld magazine column by that name in the 1970s, and that he considered the name to be generic, so its use became established over freeware and user-supported software.

As a result, in the early 21st century, the term shareware was being used less, replaced by either demo for trial software or freeware for full editions.

As newer versions of the ( originally freeware ) X386 were being sold under a proprietary software license by SGCS ( of which Roell was a partner ), confusion existed between the projects.

* Comodo Internet Security, a freeware security suite developed by Comodo

Unlike previous collections, this does not come with any printed documentation ( instead including PDF files containing the original manuals for copy protection purposes ), and the " Runs on Windows XP " blurb on the box is justified by an included copy of freeware application DOSBox, leaving many to see this edition ( and the simultaneous releases of the Police Quest, King's Quest and Space Quest collections ) as a cash-in to measure the viability of future games in the series.

FreeCell Pro, the enhanced Windows-based Solitaire implementation by Adrian Ettlinger and Wilson Callan ( formerly freeware, later licensed under GPL ), first integrated Don Woods ' solver and later on used Fish's Freecell Solver and Holroyd's Patsolve.

In addition, up until 2002 it was available for download from Microsoft's web site as freeware (". exe " files for Microsoft Windows and in ". sit. hqx " archives for Mac OS X ) under a proprietary license imposing some restrictions on usage and distribution, allowing it to be used by end users in any system supporting installation of " exe " or ". sit. hqx " files and supporting TrueType fonts.

Pelles C is another freeware C compiler maintained by Pelle Orinius.

* Proxi, a proprietary freeware computer application for Mac OS X by Griffin Technology

On November 7, 2006 he also produced Lumines II for PSP, the sequel to the popular original ( this time supplementing the original score with a heavy integration of music videos ), and a shooter / puzzle hybrid game called Every Extend Extra ( a heavily-modified ' synesthesia ' update to an existing PC freeware title, Every Extend ," by indie developer " Omega "), which was released on August 7, 2006.

The wide availability over the internet of freeware add-on files for the simulation package has encouraged the development of a large and diverse virtual community, linked up by design group and enthusiast message boards, online multiplayer flying, and ' virtual airlines '.

* TNAPS Application Server, freeware application server, developed by TN LLC

Xnews is a freeware Usenet newsreader created by Luu Tran.

Arkanoid has remained a popular game and is commonly cloned by aspiring game developers in freeware and shareware titles.

Bare Bones Software tested the waters by making its BBEdit Lite freeware text editor available as an OpenDoc editor component.

Before being re-released as freeware on 31 August 2008 by Electronic Arts Command & Conquer: Red Alert had sold over three million copies.

During the development cycle leading up to the 0. 5. 0 release on August 2, 2003, game manufacturer Revolution Software not only helped ScummVM developers add support for their adventure Beneath a Steel Sky by supplying them with the original source code, but also decided to release both the CD and the floppy version of the game as freeware, available for download on the ScummVM website.

* b2een-a freeware peer-to-peer client used to exchange EDI messages by companies like Chevron, Areva or GE Oil & Gas

TADS 2 has been maintained and updated at regular intervals by its creator, Michael J. Roberts, even after it became freeware in July 1996.

The program, called MDDClone ( Mercenary, Damocles, Dion crisis Clone ) is freeware, includes all three games, selectable through a drop-down list, and features graphics and gameplay identical to that of the Atari ST versions of the games, with the additional option to fix some bugs that were originally present.