DBAN
Boot level program that you burn to a DVD. It is a very effective tool used to wipe hard drives. This software will wipe any hard drive that it can find on the computer that it's running on. Use it wisely http://www.dban.org/
RKILL
A neat little program that you use on an infected computer. This program will stop most known malicious processes to allow you to use an anti-virus to clean up your computer. http://www.technibble.com/rkill-repair-tool-of-the-week/
Opera is what I use. You can pin tabs, it has a small layout, turbo works great on dialup, and overall just a great browser. Some people don't like it, for some reason.
XPize is a great XP theme mod that will make your icons look like they should in XP. Like those Win2000 icons. Also adds some Welcome Screens and themes from other versions of the Windows XP era. xpize.net