I would suggest using a program like Paint Shop Pro which has a free 30day trial and is not very expensive to purchase:
http://www.jasc.com/download_4.asp?
If you want a truly free program ("free" as in speech and as in beer), then the Gimp would be a good choice (it's what I use). The windows version can be found here:
http://www2.arnes.si/~sopjsimo/gimp/
You will need to download and install the gtk+1.3.0 file as well as the gimp-1.2.4 file, the first two items listed on that page. Good luck!