These downloads will haunt you

Well-built software that can inspire projects and streamline productivity is powerful indeed, but ill-conceived programs, too, can haunt your dreams. In this week's, CNET Top 5 video (also see below), editor Tom Merritt shares five terrifically bad apps you'd most likely encounter in a dark alley of your computer's recycle bin. This Chuck Norris Facts Widget is particularly chilling.

Plenty more ghoulish and gleeful downloads are standing by to ease you into the Halloween spirit. Three skeletons in pointed hats boogie down by moonlight (and UV lamplight) in Halloween Dance 3D Screensaver, a personal favorite. Your browser can also get into costume. Developer Ed Hume has updated his bewitching Halloween Firefox theme, where broomstick-borne hags replace the "forward" and "back" arrows and bat icons adorn the tabs. Responsible pranksters can also find five joke downloads for spooking friends into thinking their computer's been possessed.

And for those who still aren't sure which costume to call their own this All Hallow's Eve, this slideshow suggests ten freaky tech-geek getups. Yes, you too can make the RIAA quake in their boots as a rough 'n' tumble software pirate.

So let the festive fall season begin with a howl! Which is your favorite holiday download?