A Guide To Free Software

[Verde]

As many of you do too, I love free stuff, especially when it comes to software. And unbeknowest to many computer users, there is a massive amount of free, useful programs that can help you out.

Mozilla Firefox - Message board users recommend it. So does the US government. Even Microsoft's own Slate Magazine said to use it as an Internet Explorer alternative! And not surprisingly; with the steady increase of vulnerabilities and worms found throughout IE, it is a good idea to switch to Firefox. Not only is it secure, but its faster, blocks pop-ups, has tabbed browsing, and is constantly improved by the Mozilla Foundation and their contributors. For Windows, Mac, and Linux. www.mozilla.org/products/firefox

Spybot: Search & Destroy - Spyware bogging your computer? Clean it up with Spybot, the trusted solution in spyware & adware removal. For Windows only. www.safer-networking.org/

SpywareBlaster - So if Spybot gets rid of it, what will keep it from coming back? I've found this neat little utility which stops the spyware from downlaoding/installing itself in the first place, saving you the trouble of constantly running Spybot.* For Windows only. www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

iTunes - The best thing since WinAmp. You can effortlessly manage playlists, burn & rip CDs, buy music off the iTunes Music Store, and so much more. The download includes QuickTime, a necessity for most online videos and VR tours. For Mac & Windows. www.apple.com/itunes/

PeerGuardian - Even though the odds of the RIAA catching you in the act are slim, you don't want to take any chances, now do ya? What PG does is block IP addresses which scour the Net for theiving P2P users. For Windows, Mac and Linux. methlabs.org/methlabs.htm

OpenOffice.Org - To hell with paying $300 for MS Office, OpenOffice (based on Sun's StarOffice) is free and just as versatile. And its backwards-compatable with MS Office files (.doc, .xls, etc) For Windows, Mac and Linux (it comes with most Linux distros anyways) www.openoffice.org/

Have some free software you would like to bring to the spotlight? Then post a reply in a design similar to this post.

*However, do run & upgrade Spybot and SpywareBlaster on a regular basis.

[Albino Fox]

The GIMP - And what if you need Adobe Photoshop but can't afford that either? The GIMP is another free, open-source program with all the same essential capabilies, and a good supply of filters, plus several "Script-Fu" features. It's compatible with dozens of different image file formats (Photoshop, .bmp, .jpg, .gif, the many features of .png, etc.). For Windows, Mac and Linux (once again, usually comes attached with Linux) www.gimp.org/

I happen to be somewhat experienced with this program, so I'm open for questions on how to use it, though not within this thread.

[tailsx2]

Hey the gimp is great stuff I love that program and mozilla. I would also like to add a free operating system that runs alot of that stuff www.linux.org 99% of software for it is free! I will say that you'll need alot of time to get used to it but when you do you will find that you have learnt alot more than just how to use linux you natrally learn alot of other stuff.

anyways have fun,

[Verde]

I would have both Linux and Windows, if it wasn't for the fact that my graphics & wireless cards aren't supported. Ah, anyways you can find a list of ISOs to download/burn to CDs at www.linuxiso.org/

You should also try Knoppix, its a Debian-based Linux OS which boots/runs straight off of a CD. No need to partition your hard drive and go through the task of installing it. Knoppix is available thru the LinuxISO site mentioned above.

[Mr. G]

Now where did I put that... Ah yes, here it is:



Edit: For some reason, it looks like it's not responding to the URL UBB code... Any insight into this?
Edit 3,642: Got a little tired around the media players, so no description there

Did a thread back on the Halocity forums, and people enjoyed it, so I'd thought that I'd bring it here., and make it a little prettier in the process

------------------------------------Tweaking------------------------------------
First, and formost, powerstrip is an overclocking program that makes OC-ing as simple as dragging bars... Even if you don't have an OC-able vid card, Powerstrip can "alter" how things work after a program is launched (such as giving processes priority automatically, disabling AGP monitors, automatically assigning processes to 1st processor, etc...) This works for Windows 95-XP. It can be found at www.entechtaiwan.com/files/pstrip.exe

If you're only going to get one application out of all of these, let it be Tweakall 3 . It can free up memory, automatically adjust your TCP window, prevent programs to automatically launching, a *true* add & remove programs, need I go on? It can be found at www.codeforge.co.uk/files/tweakall3fullsetup.exe

Felt that the TCP window adjustment unter TweakAll 3 wasn't enough? Dr. TCP is the program for you. The function for this would be to adjust your connection to make it the best it can be, by adjusting the TCP Recieve Window, path MTU Discovery, Time Stamping, TTL (Time To Live), etc, etc, etc... This can be found at www.broadbandreports.com/front/DRTCP021.exe
Make sure to run a tweak testso you know what to adjust.One such tweak test can be found at www.broadbandreports.com/tweaks (Requires java)


---------------------------------Security-----------------------------------
There are literally hundreds of thousands of unsecured computers world-wide. Don't let your computer be one of them. Zonealarm is a *free* software based firewall. (Upon installation, you can try the 15 day trial of the full verson, or the functional 100% free verson). This is a two way firewall (which means it blocks incomming and outgoing traffic, making your computer a little more secure. Zonealarm can be found at ftp.pcworld.com/pub/new/privacy___security/firewalls/zlsSetup_50_590_015.exe

If you're against downloading a software based firewall, then there are several applications to help close unnecessary, and potentially exploitable ports. (none are direct links)Please read through the entire page for the 100% effects (both positive and negative) before/while downloading.
The "DCOMmbobulator" closes port 135, and unbinds DCOM from that port. www.grc.com/dcom
The "Unplug-and-pray" disables the Universal Plug and Play ports and services. (not to be confused with the standard "plug and play", used for digital cameras, PDA's, some hard drives, etc, etc, etc...) www.grc.com/unpnp/unpnp.htm



------------------Spyware/Adware Removal----------------------
For adware removal, use Adaware. AdAware is the same general concept with spyware: Search & Destroy, but this is for getting rid of Adware. Again, if you don't have an adware remover, get it, test it, and see what comes back. This can be found at ftp.pcworld.com/pub/new/privacy___security/aaw6.exe


-------------------------------Media Players----------------------------------
Winamp @ www.winamp.com/player/free.php
iTunes @ www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Windows Media Player @ www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/player.aspx



-----------------------------------Misc-------------------------------
Smartbar XP is a toolbar that is capable of running multiple programs within the toolbar's pane (such as window's media player, RSS Feed programs, System stats., weather, etc...) In case if you couldn't tell from the title of the program, this is for XP Only... The SmartBar can be found at www.smartbarxp.com/SmartBarXP_0.981_BETA4.8.exe


And before you start saying that this is advertising, I just want to let you know that I am not affiliated in any way to the companies above, and I felt that you could use them... VERY long post, took almost 2 hours to create & troubleshoot (dam ubb code)....