T1B

Over on Scobode we started a thread about open source software available that people use and would suggest to others. Junkman just came up with the same idea here, but instead of hiding it in a thread, I thought it be a good idea to pull the content out and post it here.

While we listed a number of alternatives below, I'm adding this site http://www.osalt.com. This site allows you to search for open source alternative software based on the paid versions.

This is a repost of Junkman's links with some updates:
Adobe Photoshop
Gimp
Moonlight 3
Free trial of PaintShop Pro

Norton Anti-Virus
Freeware AVG - I use the commercial version for servers - its great
AntiVir - Seen some good results. You have to manually update.
Avast
VCatch
BitDefender[URL] [u]Firewalls[/u] [url=http://www ... Zone Alarm - Note - can be buggy.
Sygate
Outpost
Sunbelt Kerio
Safety.Net

Windows XP users can get a decent firewall for free by upgrading to
Service Pack 2.

The better solution for broad-band users is to get a router

Spyware Prevention/removal
Crap Cleaner - Designed to remove temp files and cookies. Not really a spyware
tool, but a good idea none the less.
Free 30 day trial of Spy Subtract
CoolWeb Shredder
Ad-Aware
Spybot S&D
SpywareGuard
Firefox Browser. Not using IE can be the best prevention.

Operating Systems
If you don't want to pay for a modern operating system, there are some free options for you. However, you will have to make sure the applications you want to run will run on these. And the setups range from the simple to the downright confusing.
Debian Linux
Mandrake Linux
Redhat Linux
Slackware Linux
SUSE Linux
FreeBSD

I would suggest that if you make a post, at the very least include a comparison to popular windows software or a short explonation about what the software does.

Here is an up to date list
econsultant Freeware list

-ET

Another Antivirus Candidate For LINUX/UNIX:
ClamAV

I've heard a ton of great things about ClamAV on a lot of the Tech forums/lists. Its not for Windows, which sets it apart from all those links above, but it is great if you run a linux web, file and/or email server. It is Open source and can be the answer to your problems if you run your own domain with its own email server.

-ET

I've been playing with Gimp. It ain't PS, but it has brushes and other features.

I need a pic of Terrance to truely test it.

I've got a spare server that I will try the Suse ftp install on. I'll let you guys know how that goes.

Should be fun. Or funny.

Suse is money.

One thing if yer interested in linux but want to try open source/linux first, go get Knoppix. Its a CD sized distribution. You download a CD Image and then you Burn it onto a CD. It will be a bootable CD. Then you can take your Windows machine, reboot it and set it to boot from the CD. Let it boot up and viola. It will not touch the Hard drive at all. It will load everything into memory. It has Open Office on it as well as Gimp and a lot of network tools. YOu can access the local network, internet and wireless with it. YOu can access your Hard drive for files, edit them, save them or you can run a temp web server or ftp server.
It is an awesome distribution that will detect all your hardware and will let you sample how linux looks and works.

-ET

Thank you, ElTaco.

SuSE good.
APT bad.

ElTaco wrote:Suse is money.

One thing if yer interested in linux but want to try open source/linux first, go get Knoppix. Its a CD sized distribution. You download a CD Image and then you Burn it onto a CD. It will be a bootable CD. Then you can take your Windows machine, reboot it and set it to boot from the CD. Let it boot up and viola. It will not touch the Hard drive at all.
-ET

I have SuSE for a box and have many Knoppix CD's around. BTW, you can delete a Windows partition or volume with it. Lock down your BIOS settings on your Windows network machines bizzotch.

Atomic Punk wrote:

Martyred wrote:Thank you, ElTaco.

SuSE good.
APT bad.

Yeah I guess you'd know with all of your hands-on experience.

I know more than to post utter rubbish like this:

"I have SuSE for a box and have many Knoppix CD's around. BTW, you can delete a Windows partition or volume with it. Lock down your BIOS settings on your Windows network machines bizzotch."


Why you need a 698 MB .ISO to do the work of a simple DOS program like FDISK, I'll never know. And "locking down your BIOS settings"? Please...you didn't just say that....

Let me play here:

Martyred; is it "possible" that AP meant that an "average user" could use Knoppix to accidently delete a windows partition? Would it be possible that :

BTW, you can delete a Windows partition or volume with it.

Was more of warning to average users and that

Lock down your BIOS settings on your Windows network machines bizzotch

was AP's suggestion for what someone could do to prevent someone else from damaging their system?

Yes if you are an admin, lock your work computers bios down so that people can't set the CD to boot. Can they get around it anyway? Sure they can but its one more hoop they'll have to go through.

Knoppix probably isn't the greatest fdisk only tool, but as a general tool that also has fdisk and many other tools on it, sure its fairly awesome. Its also a good test tool to see if your system works like its supposed to even if windows is for some reason giving you problems. There are better cds out there that are based on knoppix but are fine tuned better for specific tasks.

Just search google for Live linux CDs. There are Recovery CDs, network toolsets, wireless security, general bootable knoppix alternatives, etc.

-ET

Before the term Open Source was coined, Freeware was the big thing for windows users.

Here are 46 popular tools that this website recommends for different things. Some are fairly familiar to us all, while others are not as well known.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46 ... lities.htm

This is a great list for just about any task you want. I knew of most of the stuff they mentioned but there were a few freebies I'm downloading as we speak.

Here are some examples:

Best Free Software Suite
GNUWin II is a free software compilation for Windows. This huge suite features dozens of programs including free alternatives to many expensive commercial products. There is Abi Word as an alternative for MS Word, OpenOffice for MS Office XP, The Gimp for Adobe Photoshop, Gzip for WinZIP are dozens more. Taken collectively this suite provides more than enough software to completely set up a PC without spending a cent on applications or utilities. The suite is available or CD or you download the
CD image and cut your own.
http://gnuwin.epfl.ch/en/index.html

Best Free Anonymous Surfing Service
There are lots of reasons folks have for wanting to surf anonymously, ranging from simple paranoia to possibly being murdered by a malevolent foreign government. Whatever the reasons, commercial services that offer anonymity are doing real well. However one of the best services, JAP, is totally free and its level of secrecy is better than many commercial systems. However expect your surfing to slow down as you'll be relayed through a chain of servers. You'll also need to change your browser settings to work through a proxy.
http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html

The Best Free Screen Capture Utility
I've used over half a dozen screen-capture utilities and none of them has really satisfied. Until now. Gadwin screen capture does exactly what I want in the way I want. Further, it avoids the trap of providing lots of useless and confusing features. It's the little things that count like making the hot key PrtSc so I don't have to remember it, and automatically sequentially naming the output files for multiple screen shots. Gadwin will stay on my PC permanently. (976KB)
http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/?prnscr

Check it out for 43 more suggestions.

-ET

If anyone's interested in Open Source, this is a good read:

http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/

I have little to add to the topic, but figured I'd homer it up, anyway.

http://www.osdl.org/

WAR Niketown, sport-shoe AND open source capital of the world. Dinsdale capital of the world, also

WAR Linus Torvalds leading the masses towards the light, slowly but surely.

Great topic. There ought to be a tech library in the form of a tech archive for links. Well done with the descriptions ET.

Atomic Punk wrote:Great topic. There ought to be a tech library in the form of a tech archive for links. Well done with the descriptions ET.

I agree . I've already got some cool stuff from El Taco's post .

Rack this thead .

You want freeware? Have fun!

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=119821

NO question!

MAMBO!!!


EDIT: Mambo is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Mambo is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

I should add in one site that is a great tool to find open source projects. This is usually my first stop for tools on windows and Linux. It is geared more torward linux projects, but a lot of the popular ones have Windows versions as well.

Freshmeat.net

Since I've been browsing with Opera, I've been using the newsfeed reader a lot more. I am subscribed to the freshmeat feed, and it's incredible how many project announcements there are every day. Freshmeat fucking rocks.

So does this site:

http://opensourcecms.com/

you can test out the best open source software available without having to mess with installation and uninstallation. All of the projects listed are evaluated by users. I have found this site to be utterly invaluable.

Et Taco you Rock brah!

Right now I am using a HD I found in the trash last month, it has 80 GBs the most I have ever used.
Since I have used up all my XP window keys to many times? I have to re flush my shit every 28 days so all those programs don't really do much since I don't have the PC running long enough to get in much of any trouble.

All I do is download crap off eMule and Bitlord

I use PC Tools registry Mechanic,spy doctor and XoftSpy after evey 12 hours, Funny how each one finds something the other did not.

I have the codes if you want to use any of these...

http://www.paretologic.com/download.asp



http://www.pctools.com/downloads/sdsetup.exe



http://www.pctools.com/downloads/rminstall.exe

http://www.sysinternals.com/

Get their stuff fast - Mother Microsoft has bought them.

contig rules.

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/in ... /Main_Page

Freemind is really cool. It's brainstorming/mapping software. I've really enjoyed gazing at it lovingly.

I need a free C++ compiler that is compatible to Microsoft's version.

Thanks!!

Well I mean programming can be done in a text file if you know the syntax and then you just need a complier so my question is, are you looking for a compiler that will do MS Windows C++ or a package like the MS Suite? Hell, VI does the language and on linux you can compile it with GCC. There are other windows C/C++ compilers but they tend to cost $$$.

Here is a list of compilers:
http://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/cpp.shtml

My primary experience is with the MS stuff but Borland is good. Remember that a full package is made up of an editor, compiler, debugger, and Interpreters and then some so if you want the full package for free, you'll probably need to search around.

amorak and pacpl rank up there as my favorites.

http://www.openoffice.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An open source version of Microsoft Office. Works pretty good.

Here are the first eight things I install on computers I get my grasp on:

Firefox - http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
7-zip - http://www.7-zip.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
K-lite power pack - http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_l ... c_pack.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
CDeX - http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
uTorrent - http://www.utorrent.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Filezilla - http://filezilla-project.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Edit+ = http://www.editplus.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Foxit - http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

here are some others:
PDFCreator - http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - completely open source, works well.
TrueCrypt - http://www.truecrypt.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - Drive/data encryption - If you own a laptop or use one for business and want to ensure that no one can get access to a portion or all of it, you can use TrueCrypt to encrypt a file, directory, partition or a whole drive. You can encrypt USB/external drives/memory sticks as well in case you are worried about the data you carry around.

That's a good list, psu. Have you ever tried html kit as an editor? It has a full featured free version as well as a pay version with a bunch of add ons, and it supports a lot of stuff:

http://www.chami.com/html-kit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I looked into a bunch of editors a while back, and this one was the best free one I found, based on all the formats it supports and its user features. Learning curve is not too bad either.

Open Source IT tools:

Here are my and other's favorite IT/ Enterprise tools:

OpenBravo ERP - Enterprise Management System - http://www.openbravo.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - completely free but can be complex. The nice thing is that it is web based, and can be used to manage your companies sales, Procurement, Warehouse, Project/Services, CRM (Customer Relation), etc... If you want to take your company to the next level by creating a single point system where you can manage everything (from projects, to customer contacts, to sales), Bravo might be the best method, but it does require some business knowledge to set up.

Zenoss - Enterprise Systems Management - Manage/monitor your IT/IS systems. Basically this single system can have agents installed on every machine within your organization and it can poll those machines to ensure every service is up and running as well as some other information.

OSSEC - Open Source Host Based IDS - http://www.ossec.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - OSSEC is an Open Source Host-based Intrusion Detection System. It performs log analysis, integrity checking, Windows registry monitoring, rootkit detection, real-time alerting and active response. It runs on most operating systems, including Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, MacOS, Solaris and Windows. A list with all supported platforms is available here. NOTE: this is for multi-system environment and not for a single system, in other words this is a server/client system where you load the server on a Linux box and deploy the agents to desktop/server machines.

Thedude - Network Monitoring - http://www.mikrotik.com/thedude.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - I only heard of this tool recent, and it definitely has some competition even in the open source market, but it is great for scanning your network, mapping it out for you and monitoring the systems on your network. SNMP can be used to get reports from devices.

ZipTie - http://www.ziptie.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - manage your switches/router/network devices on your network. Great for backing up configuration files of all your devices. Open source replacement for Proprietary tools from Cisco and other network companies.

MRTG - Router Traffic monitoring - http://oss.oetiker.ch/mrtg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - Quickly map out and monitor your traffic that is going through your routers and get it mapped out.

Bushice, yes, I used to use html-kit. I have really enjoyed using Edit Plus over the years. it is very easily configurable, and extremely lightweight. It can be used free in perpetuity, but once I get to about a hundred days of usage on a particular computer I generally kick them a few bucks - well worth it.

ElTaco wrote:here are some others:
PDFCreator - http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - completely open source, works well.

Does it open in Adobe PDF reader, and do all the same editing tools work?

PDFCreator is not a PDF editing software program. It is basically a print driver. You install it, and then when you want to create a PDF you select it in the print dialog.

That said, it is worth using, because it creates PDFs more quickly than Acrobat or Distiller alone. Also, it's free.

As far as PDF editing tools go, there aren't too many that are free. Free readers are thick about the carpet...but editors are less so. I used to simply open PDFs in Illustrator to make edits...that's usually pretty handy.

If you're merely asking whether the PDFs created by the program can be edited by Acrobat, then the answer is yes.

I have a laptop for work but without admin access. I wanted access to firefox, open office etc.. and I found this program-

http://portableapps.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I installed this program and the bundle that came included including firefox, open office etc.. and I run them all from my usb flash drive. I can then swap out the flash drive when I get home if I've downloaded music or found a site I've saved to my firefox favs etc..

PDF Creator and the VLC Player have been added to the standard image in my organization. We have been able to implement PostgreSQL pretty seamlessly as an Oracle replacement.

PSUFAN wrote:PDF Creator and the VLC Player have been added to the standard image in my organization. We have been able to implement PostgreSQL pretty seamlessly as an Oracle replacement.

Please call my company's head of IT and see if you can talk him into upgrading us to tabbed browsing via IE 8 or FF? Thanks.

Recently as I've been searching for open source alternatives one site has been providing the answer. I added it to the first post above but wanted to call it out in its own post. http://www.osalt.com allows you to search for products we may be used to and it provides a description along with a list of open source alternatives. Definitely worth checking out the next time you are looking for a replacement.