Paint.NET v2.6

Paint.NET is a awesome free image editor. I use it everytime I need to change a image. To quote their website:

Paint.NET is image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.

It started development at Washington State University as an undergraduate senior design project mentored by Microsoft, and is currently being maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Originally intended as a free replacement for the MS Paint software that comes with Windows, it has grown into a powerful yet simple tool for photo and image editing. The programming language used to create Paint.NET is C#, with a small amount of C++ for setup and shell-integration related functionality.

1. Requires .Net framework 2.0.
2. Download is file called "PaintDotNet_2_6.exe", that when executed spawns a MSI install in the "%temp%\PdnSetup" directory.
3. To create the install, run the command "%temp%\PdnSetup\SetupFrontEnd.exe /createMSI" creates deployment MSI files in "%userprofile%\desktop\PaintDotNetMsi\".
4. Use the appropriate MSI; filePaintDotNet.x86.msi(for Normal installs non-64 bit),
   PaintDotNet.x64.msi(for 64 bit x386),
   PaintDotNet.ia64.msi(for 64 bit Alpha).
5. Install command is simple "MSIEXEC /i "PaintDotNet.x86.msi" /qb"

Windows® Defender (Beta 2)

Windows® Defender (Beta 2)
Like any other computer on the Internet, I got infected with spyware. All of the sudden I go popup galore. I finally found myself looking for a spyware blocker / protector. I was going to wait until it went gold but I found it was time. I tried the Windows Defender Beta 2 and it fixed my problems and it installs without issues using the following command:

MSIEXEC /i WindowsDefender.msi /QB

Simple and sweet install... the best way. If you would like to download it (it's free) here is the link.

Windows® Defender (Beta 2)