CamStudio records activity from your screen into .avi or .swf movie files. It is ideal for demonstrating software, creating training, capturing a meeting, or recording buggy behavior.

The program is insanely easy to use, generates relatively small files, and records sound from a microphone or your system speakers.

Version 2.0 seems to be the last freeware version, and many copies disappeared from the internet as a training company seems to have taken a commercial interest in the technology.  However, the license.txt of these full-featured versions provides for free use and distribution.

• CamStudio 2.0 (95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, XP)*
  • .EXE Setup
  • .ZIP Version
     

  The below files are all optional.

  • CamStudio 2.0 Source Code (program code, only useful for geeks) ... I actually have two different versions of the source, and I have not investigated how these are different.  Both versions are here.
    • vscap20s.zip
    • Camstudio-2.0-src.zip
  • CamStudio Lossless Codec 1.0... optional software that improves the clarity of the picture, but has to be on the systems of both the creator and viewer of the file. This is usually not convenient.
    • Codec Binaries (.ZIP with install instructions enclosed)
    • Source Code (program code, only useful for geeks)