Jan 30, 2015 Picasa is a convenient, effective editing program for users who want to quickly prep their pictures for sharing — especially on Google+.
My computer was hacked about a month ago and all my programs were uninstalled, including my basic freeware program for photo editing, Picasa. All programs are now reinstalled, but when I went to reinstall Picasa, I found that it had been 'deleted' by Google (and the new Google software has no 'tools' and is totally useless). Is there any safe way I can download Picasa (from a safe source) so that I can continue to use it (for quick/basic publicity photography)? I understand Picasa/Google will not 'support' it anymore (send patches or updates), but when I googled 'Picasa', there were hundreds of links (and their related drivers) by which I could download it. However, I don't want to download it from an un-safe site, since I don't want to infect my computer with viruses or malware again. It's like reinstalling Windows 8.1 (instead of 10): Picasa still exists but Google wants everyone to go to their new photo software site, which is useless for me. How do I get my Picasa back?
If not possible, is there any freeware that's comparable that I can use? (I use Ribbet for artistic/abstract photos and am learning Gimp, since I can't afford to pay for any new software right now; so I need to find a really good basic, free photo editing software that it as easy to use and has all the tools that Picasa did.or, preferably, safely download Picasa.). The Picasa program (which I use generally for basic photo editing (not 'artistic') was downloaded from its original website by at a tech person several years ago, who was fixing some problems with my computer (a desktop HP (Envy), which runs Windows 8.1).
I don't have the original disc for Picasa; I just need to re-install the program from a safe website (since the new Google site is awful). Some other people suggested complicated ways (for me, not a computer nerd) to try to find the 'hidden' program somewhere on my computer, but if there is an easy and fast way to reinstall Picasa without the original disc, I'd love to know. Otherwise, I'll try out (in a few days) the 'finding the original program somewhere on my computer' system. Thanks to all for the suggestions. (When I want to to 'abstract/artistic' photo editing, I use Ribbet (and am trying to learn Gimp, since I can't afford to purchase any software and need to find freeware). Picasa was never, primarily, a photo editor.