Good morning Billandhiscat and welcome to CH
This is not meant to be a wise crack
but times like what you are describing is when Google comes in handy. Just do a search for the software you are looking for and if you do not find out the information then do a search for the software name and put the word review after it and so what it comes up with.
There are a lot of legit companies that review software / hardware etc all the time. One good web site is
http://download.cnet.com/windows/ Now freeware software some are truly free and some are loaded with other 3rd party software / or just plainly full of garbage
Hopefully this helps you if you need anything else please let us know, Mike