Links to Helpful Resources
Here are some helpful links to Open Source (OS) resouces. That means they are free! Sometimes people think that OS software isn't safe, or isn't as good as the retail stuff, most of the time those people are wrong. OS software is usually right on the cutting edge, designed by extremely talented programmers and developers who are contributing to society out of their own good will. A good example is Mozilla's Firefox... the worlds best and most advanced Internet browser, which has been kicking IE's butt in performance and security for years (tabbed browsing... they had that many many years before Microsoft added it).
Open Source Internet Browsers
Mozilla Firefox®
Firefox is the world's best browser. It is the most secure, standards complient, and most advanced. For the IE users out there, many of the latest inovations that you like so much originated in Firefox (years ago). Go ahead and try it out, you will soon fall in love.
Opera®
Another good open source browser, not quite as good as Firefox, but still beats IE. Opera however does have some great broswers for devices such as PDA cell phones.
Office Software (Word Processing, Spreadsheets, ect...)
Open Office.org
OpenOffice.org is a great open source office product modeled after microsoft office. Its a great thing to have if you don't feel like shelling out hundreds of dollars for MS Office. The main sponsor of this software is, Sun Microsystems a computer giant. Please donate to keep this great project going.
Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware Software
Spyware and other Malware can be extremely annoying and really hurt your computers performance. Here are some free software apps to help you get rid of it.
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware
Ad-aware is a pretty good anti-spyware program. There is a free-version on the website. When you install it, it will ask you for a product-key, just hit the button that says use free version, or something like that (the lower right corner). We recommend that everyone should have this on their computer.
HijackThis™ from Trend Micro
HijackThis™ is a great little application that analyzes your computer and detects if any changes have been made by spyware, malware, or viruses. This program does not actually remove these things, but rather helps identify them, and can be quite the useful little tool.
Computer Management and IT Software
Spyware and other Malware can be extremely annoying and really hurt your computers performance. Here are some free software apps to help you get rid of it.
CCleaner
CCleaner is a nice little program that is a system optimizer, privacy, and system cleaning tool. We wouldn't reccomend using it unless your pretty comfortable with playing around with your computers settings.
Daemon Tools
Daemon Tools is a great little dvd/cd emulating program, tired of constantly putting new discs into your drives? Try making an ISO and then using Daemon Tools to run it from your hard-drive, no more discs!
7Zip
7zip is a great compression utility, its capable of making zip's, rar's, and other compressed file types. This is a real handy little app.
Instant Messenging Clients
Pidgin
Pidgin is a cool little free application that lets you use multiple IM clients at once, such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger ect... If your tired of all the ads on AIM, this is a great altenative.