{"id":954,"date":"2017-08-12T21:19:06","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T02:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vnsalvation.org\/?p=954"},"modified":"2020-03-18T21:48:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T21:48:05","slug":"thirty-free-and-open-software-programs-worth-downloading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/thirty-free-and-open-software-programs-worth-downloading\/","title":{"rendered":"Thirty Free and Open Software Programs Worth Downloading"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span id=\"thirty-free-and-open-software-programs-worth-downloading\">Thirty Free and Open Software Programs Worth Downloading<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"1-firefox\">1.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.getfirefox.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Firefox<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Internet Explorer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t switched to Firefox for your web<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image94\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"font-size: 1.0625rem;\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/firefox-logo.png\" alt=\"Firefox logo\" width=\"192\" height=\"192\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>browsing needs, do it now. It stops annoying popups and it has\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/2006\/11\/07\/10-firefox-plugins-that-save-you-money\/\">tons of amazing plugins<\/a>\u00a0that can make su<\/p>\n<p>rfing the web even better. I could evangelize all day about Firefox, but one thing\u2019s for sure: the first thing I do on any new Windows machine is run Internet Explorer just long enough to download Firefox.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"2-thunderbird\">2.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/thunderbird\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Thunderbird<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora<\/em><br \/>\nThunderbird is an email client that has five big things going for it: it\u2019s free, it\u2019s full featured, it\u2019s lightweight and runs quick, it has an unparalleled spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus website. If you\u2019re not already using a web-based email solution, Thunderbird should be your client.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"3-sunbird\">3.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/projects\/calendar\/sunbird\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Sunbird<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Outlook\u2019s calendaring functions<\/em><br \/>\nMight as well get the Mozilla trifecta out of the way by mentioning Sunbird, which is the Mozilla Foundation\u2019s calendaring program. It\u2019s extremely easy to use (I figured out everything I needed in a minute or two) and easy to share your calendar with others. I consider a calendaring tool to be essential if you\u2019re using a laptop, and this is no different.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"4-abiword\">4.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abisource.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Abiword<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Word<\/em><br \/>\nWant a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive? AbiWord is my favorite replacement for Word. It\u2019s lightweight (meaning it runs quickly) and includes pretty much every feature that I use regularly in a word processor, plus it can save files in formats that you can exchange with Word and WordPerfect users, plus open any of their files, too.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image95\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/openoffice.gif\" alt=\"OpenOffice logo\" width=\"200\" height=\"58\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"5-openoffice\">5.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.openoffice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0OpenOffice<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint<\/em><br \/>\nIf you want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is OpenOffice. It includes very nice replacements for Excel and PowerPoint (and workable replacements for Access and other Office elements). In fact, I actually prefer their Excel and PowerPoint replacements to the real thing.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"6-clamwin\">6.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.clamwin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0ClamWin<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee<\/em><br \/>\nClamWin is a slick anti-virus software that\u2019s quite easy to manage and is unobtrusive while keep your system free of viruses. That\u2019s pretty much all I want from a package, so why pay money for McAfee to keep bugging me all the time?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image90\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/gaim-logo.png\" alt=\"Gaim logo\" width=\"35\" height=\"46\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"7-gaim\">7.<a href=\"http:\/\/gaim.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Gaim<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces AIM, Windows Messenger, etc.<\/em><br \/>\nThis is a very clean instant messaging program that allows you to be on AOL Instant Messenger, Windows (MSN) Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger simultaneously with one program. There are other free packages that do this, but Gaim is stable and clean and simple.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"8-bittorrent\">8.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bittorrent.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">BitTorrent<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Original but essential<\/em><br \/>\nFrom their website, \u201cBitTorrent is a peer-assisted, digital content delivery platform that provides the fastest, most efficient means of distributing, discovering, and consuming large, high-quality files on the Web. Our mission is simple: to deliver the content that entertains and informs the digital world.\u201d In other words, BitTorrent allows you to download large media files and also use your bandwidth to help others download these files. Search for media files you want and download \u2019em.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"9-gimpshop\">9.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gimpshop.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0GIMPShop<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Adobe Photoshop<\/em><br \/>\nThis is a version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program that does a pretty solid job of imitating Adobe Photoshop \u2013 a regular user of Photoshop (like me) can adapt to it quite quickly. It\u2019s very richly featured and runs quite well \u2013 in fact, I see no reason to ever go back, even if Photoshop were free.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"10-gnucleus\">10.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gnucleus.com\/Gnucleus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Gnucleus<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces LimeWire, BearShare, etc.<\/em><br \/>\nSure, LimeWire and BearShare are free, but why not just get the same basic software without all of the spyware? Gnucleus is pretty much identical to those software packages \u2013 but without all that extra junk that slows down your computer.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"11-vlc-media-player\">11.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.videolan.org\/vlc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0VLC Media Player<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Windows Media Player, Quicktime, RealPlayer, etc.<\/em><br \/>\nIf you get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get this package that runs pretty much every media type you\u2019ll run across without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image80\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/juice_logo.jpg\" alt=\"Juice logo\" width=\"95\" height=\"66\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"12-juice\">12.<a href=\"http:\/\/juicereceiver.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Juice<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nJuice lets you effortlessly subscribe to podcasts, organize them, and listen to them at your convenience. In conjunction with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.podnova.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PodNova<\/a>, I find it easier to use Juice to organize podcasts than using iTunes itself.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"13-audacity\">13.<a href=\"http:\/\/audacity.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Audacity<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential (for some)<\/em><br \/>\nIf you\u2019re interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to make your own voice recordings for whatever reason), Audacity and a microphone are pretty much all you need to get the job done. I\u2019m not much for podcasting (let\u2019s just say I don\u2019t have a radio voice), but I use Audacity for other voice recording purposes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image70\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/rssowl.gif\" alt=\"RSSOwl logo\" width=\"81\" height=\"79\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"14-rssowl\">14.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rssowl.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0RSSOwl<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nRSSOwl is one of many open source RSS readers. In other words, it enables you to use one program to keep track of the content of a lot of different blogs; if you read a lot of blogs, it\u2019s the only way to keep tabs on all of them without devoting hours jumping from site to site. If you have a laptop, it\u2019s preferable to using sites like Bloglines, but if you\u2019re on a desktop, a web-based feed manager might be better.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"15-filezilla\">15.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/filezilla.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Filezilla<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces WinFTP<\/em><br \/>\nMany people occasionally have a need to FTP files to other computers; if you ever have the need to transfer files in such a fashion, FileZilla will do the job slickly and quickly.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"16-keynote\">16.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tranglos.com\/free\/keynote.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Keynote<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nKeynote is basically designed specifically for the task of taking notes on a laptop. If you ever find yourself in a meeting or a presentation with your laptop open and want to jot down notes and organize them just a bit, Keynote is unquestionably the program for you. It\u2019s not good at quality word processing, but that\u2019s not the point. In my professional work, I find myself using Keynote almost as often as any other utility.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"17-musikcube\">17.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.musikcube.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0MusikCube<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces iTunes<\/em><br \/>\nIf you\u2019re not already committed to downloaded music from the iTunes Music Store, then MusikCube is the best choice available for a music organizer and player. It organizes your mp3s, makes it really easy and really fast to find them, and allows you to make some incredibly clever smart playlists.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"18-handbrake\">18.<a href=\"http:\/\/handbrake.m0k.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Handbrake<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nHandbrake enables you to stick a DVD in your DVD drive and have the contents of that film stored to your hard drive in a form that can be read by pretty much any media player. I often use it to put a few movies on my laptop for travel purposes, so I don\u2019t have to worry about keeping track of DVDs while on the road.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"19-x-chat-2\">19.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.silverex.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0X-Chat 2<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces mIRC<\/em><br \/>\nX-Chat is a free IRC client. For those unfamiliar with IRC, it\u2019s a place for technical people (and, as my wife loves to point out, nerds) to meet and discuss topics in an open environment. I often find it very useful when piecing through difficult technical issues.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"image60\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.thesimpledollar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/keepass.gif\" alt=\"KeePass logo\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"20-keepass\">20.<a href=\"http:\/\/keepass.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0KeePass<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nKeePass is a program that securely stores and manages the abundance of passwords we all use on a daily basis. I have literally hundreds of usernames and passwords spread out all over the place; KeePass keeps them all for me and keeps them safe.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"21-truecrypt\">21.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.truecrypt.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0TrueCrypt<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nTrueCrypt enables you to convert a memory stick into a strongly encrypted data storage device, meaning that you can store personal data on it without worrying about losing it and having personal information get out and about. I use it to keep some of my most personal data off of my laptop and strongly secured, just in case.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"22-pdfcreator\">22.<a href=\"http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/pdfcreator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0PDFCreator<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Adobe Acrobat<\/em><br \/>\nPDFCreator creates a virtual printer on your computer that, if you print a document to it from any program, creates a PDF of that document that can be read on any computer with Acrobat Reader on it. After installing PDFCreator, all you have to do is print like normal and out comes a PDF!<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"23-freemind\">23.<a href=\"http:\/\/freemind.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Freemind<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but Essential<\/em><br \/>\nFreemind is a \u201cmind mapping\u201d software program. In essence, it enables you to brainstorm and link together ideas quickly, creating \u201cmaps\u201d of concepts similar to what you might do on a whiteboard. I find it incredibly useful when putting together ideas for new posts or planning small projects or assembling the backbone of a writing project.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"24-nasa-worldwind\">24.<a href=\"http:\/\/worldwind.arc.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0NASA Worldwind<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Google Earth<\/em><br \/>\nWorldWind is very similar to Google Earth in that it allows you to browse the globe. While it isn\u2019t strong for creating maps (but why not just use\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/maps.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Maps<\/a>\u00a0for that?), it is utterly incredible for viewing three-dimensional landscapes of any place on earth.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"25-notepad2\">25.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flos-freeware.ch\/notepad2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Notepad2<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Notepad<\/em><br \/>\nNotepad2 is a replacement for the traditional Windows Notepad that just adds a few sweet little features: multiple documents; line, word, and character counts; and some highlighting of tags. In fact, I\u2019m using Notepad2 as I draft this post (after using Freemind to organize it).<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"26-healthmonitor\">26. HealthMonitor<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but useful<\/em><br \/>\nHealthMonitor enables you to keep an eye on the health of your computer. It identifies slowdowns and other system issues quickly and lets you know (for example, it gives a popup if your system memory gets to a certain percentage of fullness, or if your hard drive has only 10 GB free). This can keep you out of trouble and also give you clues to problems your machine might be having.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"27-workrave\">27.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.workrave.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Workrave<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but useful<\/em><br \/>\nSometimes late into a writing session, my wrists get sore from too much repetitive movement. Workrave basically jumps in before this happens and locks down the computer for a while, preventing me from working too much and causing repetitive stress injury. Since I\u2019ve started using it, it hasn\u2019t significantly hurt my productivity at all and my wrists are thanking me!<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"28-ganttpv\">28.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pureviolet.net\/ganttpv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0GanttPV<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Project<\/em><br \/>\nIf you do any project management (or have a need to dip your toes in the water), GanttPV does a brilliant job of managing the task quickly, easily, and freely. If you need to move to MS Project later, you can export from GanttPV to Project, but once you start digging into GanttPV, you\u2019ll likely have no reason to use Project.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"29-gnucash\">29.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gnucash.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0GnuCash<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken<\/em><br \/>\nGnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the bloated Microsoft Money and Quicken packages, but it contains all of the features I want for managing my money. The interfaces are incredibly simple \u2013 it functions much like a checkbook ledger on your computer \u2013 but there\u2019s a lot of meat hidden throughout the software.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"30-true-combat-elite\">30.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.truecombatelite.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0True Combat: Elite<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Quake IV, Halo, etc.<\/em><br \/>\nAfter all this downloading, you\u2019re going to need to blow off a little steam, and I\u2019ve yet to find a more enjoyable free game than this one. It\u2019s basically a third person combat game, but the graphics are spectacular and the game is quite engrossing.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve downloaded and installed all of these, you\u2019ve got access to all the productivity software you\u2019ll likely need, clean and open and best of all free.<\/p>\n<p>A brand-new computer comes with a host of pre-installed software, some of which are only accessible as limited free trials. Fortunately, many of the best open source software are not only able to completely replace their paid counterparts but they also (arguably) perform better since they are peer-reviewed. If you\u2019re on the hunt for the best free software, start with our open source software list below:<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Software for Personal Use<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"apache-openoffice\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.openoffice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Apache OpenOffice<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Office<\/em><br \/>\nApache OpenOffice provides word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, a formula editor, and database management applications, all of which generally offer the same functionalities and features as MS Office.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"firefox\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/firefox\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Firefox<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Internet Explorer<\/em><br \/>\nA popular alternative to Chrome, more than 30% of web users use Firefox as their browser. Firefox stops annoying popups and has tons of amazing plugins that can make surfing the web more personalized and efficient.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"google-chrome\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/chrome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google Chrome<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Internet Explorer<\/em><br \/>\nGoogle Chrome isn\u2019t an open source software but it\u2019s a viable alternative to Firefox (if that isn\u2019t your thing). It\u2019s free, fast, and efficient \u2014 and comes with an abundance of add-ons so you can customize it to your liking. There\u2019s even an option to open an incognito window, which doesn\u2019t save your cache or browser history if prefer to keep things more private at home or in the office.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"thunderbird\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/en-US\/thunderbird\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Thunderbird<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora<\/em><br \/>\nThunderbird is an email client that has five big things going for it: it\u2019s free, it\u2019s full-featured, it\u2019s lightweight and runs quick, it has an unparalleled spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus website. If you\u2019re not already using a web-based email solution, Thunderbird should be your client.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"mozilla-lightning-calendar\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/en-US\/projects\/calendar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Mozilla Lightning Calendar<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Calendar<\/em><br \/>\nMeant to be used with Thunderbird, Lightning enables you to organize your schedule and important events in a calendar that\u2019s fully integrated with your email. You can manage and share multiple calendars, create recurring events, add to-do lists, invite friends to events, and subscribe to public calendars, including holidays.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"pdfcreator\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.pdfforge.org\/pdfcreator\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">PDFCreator<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Adobe Acrobat<\/em><br \/>\nPDFCreator creates a virtual printer on your computer that, if you print a document to it from any program, creates a PDF readable on any computer with Acrobat Reader installed. It supports many Adobe PDF options, including password protection and 128-bit encryption. All you need to do is print and it creates a PDF!<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"pidgin\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pidgin.im\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Pidgin<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nIf you have multiple instant-messaging accounts, use Pidgin to use them all at once. It supports AIM, ICQ, Google Hangouts, Jabber\/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, MXit, Novell, and more.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Business Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"ganttpv\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pureviolet.net\/ganttpv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">GanttPV<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Project<\/em><br \/>\nIf you do any project management (or need to dip your toes in the water), GanttPV does a brilliant job of managing the task quickly, easily, and freely. If you need to move to MS Project later, you can export from GanttPV to Project, but once you start digging into GanttPV, you\u2019ll likely have no reason to use Project.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"freemind\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/freemind.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">FreeMind<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nMind mapping is a key process in many businesses, and this mind mapper does a great job providing an easy-to-use hierarchical editor and other tools to help organize your ideas into one coherent overview.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"virtualbox\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.virtualbox.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">VirtualBox<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential (for some)<\/em><br \/>\nVirtualBox is a desktop virtualization software, which functions to separate your physical desktop from your desktop space and applications so you can access it from anywhere. It also makes recovery of lost files much easier since all the components are saved in a data center. VirtualBox comes with impressive processing power so your desktop isn\u2019t slowed down.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"notepad\"><a href=\"http:\/\/notepad-plus-plus.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Notepad++<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Windows Notepad<\/em><br \/>\nNotepad++\u2019s minimalist, user-friendly style is pleasant to use and comes with features such as multi-view, multiple tabs for separate documents, word auto completion, zoom functions, and bookmarking. On top of that, their systems minimize carbon dioxide emissions by using less CPU power!<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"greenshot\"><a href=\"http:\/\/getgreenshot.org\/imprint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Greenshot<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nWith Greenshot, you can take full or partial screenshots and add text and shapes to it so your colleagues quickly understand what you\u2019re visually describing. Greenshot supports several image formats.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"filezilla\"><a href=\"https:\/\/filezilla-project.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">FileZilla<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces WinFTP<\/em><br \/>\nMany people occasionally have a need to FTP files to other computers. FileZilla will do the job slickly and quickly, especially with their simple drag-and-drop functionality. FileZilla is especially efficient for batch transfers.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Accounting Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"turbocash-5\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.turbocash.net\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">TurboCASH 5<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Quicken<\/em><br \/>\nTurboCASH 5 is a small-business accounting package that includes such functions as invoicing, debtors, creditors, VAT accounting, balance sheet and income statements, and reporting. It\u2019s accessible to multiple users and companies.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"gnucash\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gnucash.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">GnuCash<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken<\/em><br \/>\nGnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the bloated Microsoft Money and Quicken packages, but it contains all of the essential features for managing money. The interfaces are incredibly simple \u2014 it functions much like a checkbook ledger on your computer \u2014 but there\u2019s a lot of meat hidden throughout the software.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free File-Sharing Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"ares-galaxy\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/aresgalaxy.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Ares Galaxy<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces BitTorrent<\/em><br \/>\nAres Galaxy is a BitTorrent and chat software program with an easily accessible interface and a built-in audio\/video viewer. You can share any types of digital file and publish your them through their own peer-to-peer network.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"emule\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.emule-project.net\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">eMule<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces BitTorrent<\/em><br \/>\neMule is a peer-to-peer file-sharing client that includes robust search features, checks for file corruptions during downloads, and previews of downloads.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"tribler\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.tribler.org\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Tribler<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces BitTorrent<\/em><br \/>\nTribler enables its users to discover and share video, audio, photos, and other files.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Graphics Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"gimp\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.gimp.org\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">GIMP<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro<\/em><br \/>\nGIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the most popular free alternative to Photoshop. It is known for its versatility, as you can use it as a simple Paint program or for more sophisticated capabilities, such as photo retouching, layering image rendering, and format conversion.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"blender-3d\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.blender.org\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Blender 3D<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Maya, 3DSMax<\/em><br \/>\nBlender is a 3D graphics-creation program that enables you to perform animation, modeling, rendering, post-production, real-time interactive 3D, and much more.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"dia\"><a href=\"http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/dia-installer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Dia<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Microsoft Visio<\/em><br \/>\nVery similar to Visio, you can use Dia to create a wide variety of diagrams, such as flowcharts and relationship charts. You can save your pieces to an XML format and export them to EPS or SVG formats.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"inkscape\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.inkscape.org\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Inkscape<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw<\/em><br \/>\nInkscape is a vector graphics editor that includes features such as shapes, paths, markers, clones, text, gradients, and patterns while supporting functionalities such as layers, node editing, bitmap tracing, and more. You can import JPEG, TIFF, and PNG files and export as PNG or other vector-based formats.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"scribus\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.scribus.net\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Scribus<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces PageMaker, InDesign, QuarkXPress<\/em><br \/>\nScribus, a desktop publishing application, supports many major graphic formats as well as SVG import and export.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Audio\/Video Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"vlc-media-player\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.videolan.org\/vlc\/index.html\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">VLC Media Player<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nVLC is a fast and powerful multimedia player that supports various audio and video formats, including but not limited to MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, and MP3, as well as DVDs and VCDs. It plays almost any file, CD, DVD, webcams, and other devices.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"smplayer\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/smplayer.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">SMPlayer<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nSMPlayer is a free media player with the added ability to play and download YouTube videos. On top of that, if you\u2019re the type not to sit and commit to an entire movie, SMPlayer will simply replay where you left off, which is perfect for busy folks.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"handbrake\"><a href=\"http:\/\/handbrake.m0k.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Handbrake<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential<\/em><br \/>\nHandbrake enables you to stick a DVD in your DVD drive and have the contents of that film stored to your hard drive in a form that can be read by pretty much any media player. This is awesome for travel since you can store all your movies in your laptop instead of carrying around DVDs.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"audacity\"><a href=\"http:\/\/audacity.sourceforge.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Audacity<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Unique but essential (for some)<\/em><br \/>\nIf you\u2019re interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to make your own voice recordings for whatever reason), Audacity and a microphone are pretty much all you need to get the job done. Audacity is also very useful for other voice recording purposes.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"media-player-classic\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/mpc-hc.org\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Media Player Classic<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nMedia Player Classic plays a wide swath of audio and video formats, including MPEG\/MPEG-2\/MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid, and CD\/VCD\/DVD media.<\/p>\n<h2>Best Free Security &amp; Anti-Virus Software<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"keepass-password-safe\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/keepass.info\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">KeePass Password Safe<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Essential<\/em><br \/>\nKeePass is a lightweight and intuitive password manager for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and mobile devices. Your passwords are kept safe in an encrypted database, which you can quickly access with a master password.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"truecrypt\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.truecrypt.org\/downloads\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">TrueCrypt<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces BitLocker<\/em><br \/>\nTrueCrypt enables you to convert a memory stick into a strongly encrypted data storage device, meaning that you can store personal data on it without worrying about losing it and having personal information get out and about.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"bitdefender-antivirus-free-edition\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesimpledollar.com\/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows\/www.bitdefender.com\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Replaces Norton Antivirus<\/em><br \/>\nYou can hardly tell Bitdefender is running, as it works quietly but efficiently. It\u2019s excellent at blocking and removing malware as well as protecting your computer from phishing.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"healthmonitor\"><a href=\"http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/healthmonitor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">HealthMonitor<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>Useful<\/em><br \/>\nHealthMonitor enables you to keep an eye on the health of your computer. It identifies slowdowns and other system issues quickly and lets you know (for example, it gives a popup if your system memory gets to a certain percentage of fullness, or if your hard drive has only 10 GB free). This can keep you out of trouble and also give you clues to problems your machine might be having.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty Free and Open Software Programs Worth Downloading 1.\u00a0Firefox Replaces Internet Explorer If you haven\u2019t switched to Firefox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[200,201,107],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chong-virus-antivirus-spyware-adware-removal","category-giup-may-vi-tinh-chay-nhanh-pc-tune-up","category-nhu-lieu-can-thiet-necessary-utilities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21182,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954\/revisions\/21182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hahosa.com\/vnsalvation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}