GoToMyPC $19.95/mo.
This invaluable service provides you remote control access to your PC from any other PC. Sure, you can go out and buy PC Anywhere or another remote control package, but what if you're at a foreign machine? Through the GoToMyPC website, you can access your PC from any browser. This has come in handy countless times and I couldn't work without it.

http://www.gotomypc.com

Trillian Pro $25.00
Instant messaging is booming to the point where even executives are using it. But then so is your sister, your best friend, your vendors, and everyone else you know. Unfortunately, they all use a different IM client. Trillian brings together all IM clients in one great-looking, feature-rich package. Use Yahoo Pager, Microsoft Messenger, AIM, ICQ, or IRC from one slick interface. While the standard version is free, I sprang for the Pro version that allows plug-ins (weather, news, music, etc.) and extra features that enhance the interface.

http://www.ceruleanstudios.com - Free Version Available

Copernic Agent Professional $59.99
Google is great, as are several other web search engines, but I love Copernic. The fact that you can search dozens of the aforementioned search engines all at once is only part of it, after all, there are plenty of Metasearch engines out there that do that. More valuable is the incredible array of subject-specific sites you can metasearch, including Health, Business, government, lyrics, newspapers, law, and on and on. Plus, the interface is amazing. View thumbnails of the site before you visit, see a summary of a web page without even opening it, weed out bad links, search within results, and much, much more. If you do any kind of web research, get Copernic Agent Professional.

http://www.copernic.com - Free Version Available

PowerDesk Pro $29.95
The Mac Daddy of file managers, PowerDesk Pro has been in my stable of apps for years. PowerDesk's feature-set is a cornucopia of things Microsoft should have thought of when they made their own Explorer. Compare directories, use a flexible file viewer, transfer files with a built-in FTP utility, treat zip files like folders, automate everything, and much more. NOTE: PowerDesk's parent company changes hands quite a bit and recently became property of V-Communications. They seem to have dropped the free version.

http://www.v-com.com/product/pd_ind.html

NoteTab Pro $19.95
NoteTab Pro is a gem. Replace Windows NotePad with it as soon as possible. However, don't even compare NoteTab with Notepad. The features in NoteTab Pro boggle the mind. I use it as my HTML coding tool, my note taker, and anything else related to text. In fact, I'm writing this article with it. Despite taking up little memory (it loads instantly, unlike Word or WordPerfect), it can do almost anything the big Word Processors can do. It can also make hand coding HTML a breeze, including libraries of pre-built codes and javascript, as well as HTML code cleaners. If you're wondering about the name, it's because all your documents are displayed via a nifty tabbed interface that makes switching between documents fast and easy. Download NoteTab Light for free and then step up to the Pro version when you decide you want more. You will.

http://www.notetab.com/index.htm - Free Version Available

Sygate Personal Firewall Pro $39.95
I used ZoneAlarm Firewall for a while with little problem. However, when I ran across Sygate's product I decided to see what I was missing. That's when I found out that ZoneAlarm didn't like to be uninstalled. A few anger-filled days later, ZoneAlarm was gone and Sygate was installed permanently. Sygate provides all the firewall protection you're likely to need and throws in some cool features to boot. For instance, if you are attacked, Sygate allows you to trace the attacker. The interface is intuitive and detailed at the same time. Plus it works with your company's VPN!

http://www.sygate.com - Free Version Available

Honorable Mention:

Enfish Personal $99.95
Why isn't Enfish listed with the rest? One word "stability." More on that in a moment. If you use Outlook, have a lot of files on your PC, and love the web, download a trial version of Enfish Personal. The concept is great: A one-stop shop for e-mail, the web, and a fantastic search/index tool. Web pages and Outlook pages are presented in a tabbed layout that makes jumping between say, CNN, your Outlook calendar, and Google, as easy as pie. You can also treat folders on your hard drive as pages and include them in the mix. What it boils down to is having everything you need in one attractive interface. However, the best part is the File Finder, which indexes EVERYTHING on your hard drive from documents to emails. This means that when you can't find that document you were working on a month ago and have no idea where you saved it, you can type in a few keywords and Voila! there it is in mere seconds. However, all this power has a price. Enfish is a huge memory hog. Especially when you're running the Index Scheduler. This leads to some stability issues which Enfish has yet to fix. The bottom line is, if you have a powerful computer, you will find Enfish invaluable, however, if your system is not up to snuff, you may find the cons outweigh the pros.

http://www.enfish.com