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A Secret Gay Vampire

Check out our new iPhone Thread!
With the new forum coming out and us having six trillion "recommended software" stickies, it’s time to consolidate threads and whatnot. I’ve gone ahead and locked all the old stickies. This is now the thread to post ANY recommended software, be it for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.

The old threads can still be viewed here, and are still very valuable:

Zushiba’s list of free software you should be using OSX Shareware recommendation thread Tech Monkeys recommend
Anyway, this is the new thread to recommend any software for any OS. You can repost any software you recommended from the old thread if you desire, or recommend new software. Try to keep posts in this format:

[b]OS[/b]: Name of OS
[b]Name of Program[/b]: Name of Program
[b]Cost[/b]: $Cost
[b]Description[/b]: A brief description of how the program works and what makes it better than other programs.

Anyway, post away with any software recommendations you have!

get hot get too close to the flame. wild, open space. talk like an open book. sign me up—got no time to take a picture. i’ll remember someday all the chances we took. we’re so close to something better left unknown. so close to something better left unknown. i can feel it in my bones… gimme sympathy after all of this is gone. who would you rather be? the beatles or the rolling stones? oh, seriously, you’re gonna make mistakes you’re young. come on baby play me a song like here comes the sun.

Elliotw2

OS: Any Wings 3D Free A very easy to learn and use 3d modeler, and it can export to most popular formats. Wings3d

Coolkalle

Wings3d link doesn’t work.

Jamis

http://www.kessels.com/Jkdefrag/
Someone on this forum posted this in one of the older topics, and I’ve been using it.

OS: Windows
Name of Program: JkDefrag
Cost: Free
Description: Defragmenter. Better than the Disk Defragmenter that comes with Windows.

Here’s the link for Wings3d:
http://wings3d.com/

Slew

OS: Windows/Mac/Unix
Name of Program: Synergy
Cost: Free
Description: Allows you to use a single keyboard/mouse to control more than one computer. Works like a dual-screen desktop, includes copy/paste support.

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

YES! HI!

NLA

Personally, I like Ultimate Defrag 2008 for all defragging. Nice GUI, great functionality. I can’t say its free, but where there’s a will…

http://www.disktrix.com/

PoweredByParanoia

Here are my favorite programs for just about everything. Sorry if any of this stuff is “posting the obvious” so to speak. These are based on my opinions alone, and are pretty much all that I personally feel I “need” (aside from antivirus, emulators, ISO burning stuff and hex editors, but I’m leaving those out of this) for a decent computing environment.

OS: Windows/Mac/Linux/
Name of Program: Firefox
Cost: Free
Description: A decently secure, fast and open source browser. Far better than any other browser I’ve used.

OS: Windows/Possibly Other Platforms
Name of Program: Foobar2000
Cost: Free
Description: Very lightweight and usable. While it doesn’t quite have all of the other features of programs such as WinAMP, it can still do quite a bit and is a great companion when CPU and RAM is of the essence.

OS: Chances Are It Supports What You’re Using
Name of Program: OpenOffice Suite
Cost: Free
Description: A good alternative to Microsoft’s Office programs. They’re both about the same as far as I can tell (only receives casual use from me though, so I can’t really give you a major comparison), the only difference being OpenOffice is open source (w00t!) and has a slightly different interface.

OS: Windows
Name of Program: OpenCanvas
Cost: Free For 1.1, Around $70 For Newest Version
Description: If drawing with a tablet is your intent, this software is perfect. By perfect, I mean “loads more practical than using MS Paint”. I personally prefer it to both PhotoShop and Painter, but that may just be because I’m used it it. Still, it can be used to make great stuff. Highly recommended.

Name of Program: 7-Zip
OS: Chances Are It Supports What You’re Using
Cost: Free
Description: If you download many files, you absolutely WANT this. It decompresses many many formats and compresses a decent amount. Lots of options and a lot less naggy than the free version of WinRAR.

Name of Program: NetVeda Safety.net
OS: Windows
Cost: Free (I’m Sure There’s A For Pay Version as Well)
Description: It’s a firewall. It’s free. It works. It should also work in conjunction with your current firewall, and you can never be too paranoid. ;)

Name of Program: PeerGauridan2
OS: Windows/Possibly More
Cost: Free
Description: You can never be too paranoid, even if you don’t use Torrents (I don’t, but I still use this program). It can supposedly pick up government scans from known IP addresses. It’s something that you may want to look into yourself (if you’re that paranoid), but it works for what it claims to do.

Name of Program: VLC
OS: Windows/Many Others
Cost: Free
Description: Freeware audio, video and DVD player. Works pretty well for most things (always works great when you’re playing from a file on your hard drive, but I’ve had some trouble with it using DVDs) and it’s free.

Name of Program: Foxit Reader
OS: Windows/Others
Cost: Free – Paid Version Available
Description: A very good PDF file reader, and it’s not made by Adobe. Very good stuff.

Programs I do NOT Recommend:
iTunes
Anything Adobe Related (I have not tried a single thing from them that I have liked)
Internet Explorer
ThreatFire
Quicktime

Hope this is helpful to someone. :P

“Starman Jr. ate a bologna sandwich…And liked it!”

Tankinator

I read what you said about PeerGuardian2. I used to keep it on all the time, but it kept blocking sites that I frequent (it has a lot of trouble with myspace). So now I only use it when using torrents or Frostwire. I don’t know if it is all versions, but mine has a nasty bug where sometimes when I start to load it my computer just cuts power and restarts.

Are there any programs that are similar that won’t posses the same bug?

I’m a fighter Adrian, that’s the way I was made!

PoweredByParanoia

Tankinator:
I read what you said about PeerGuardian2. I used to keep it on all the time, but it kept blocking sites that I frequent (it has a lot of trouble with myspace). So now I only use it when using torrents or Frostwire. I don’t know if it is all versions, but mine has a nasty bug where sometimes when I start to load it my computer just cuts power and restarts.

Are there any programs that are similar that won’t posses the same bug?

I’ve never had such a thing happen, to be quite honest. Blocking out decent websites (Slashdot, Engadget, even this site) is common, though. As for alternatives, I’ll take a look…
Ah. Here’s some stuff:
ProtoWall [Wikipedia]
MoBlock [Wikipedia]
Iplist [Wikipedia]
Tell me if any of those work for you. :)

“Starman Jr. ate a bologna sandwich…And liked it!”

EBPlayer1028

OS: Windows/Linux (with WINE)
Name of Program: uTorrent
Cost: Free
Description: It’s a miniature yet awesome torrent client.

OS: Windows/Linux (with WINE)
Name of Program: Notepad++
Cost: Free
Description: It’s a text editor that supports syntax highlighting. There’s also many plugins and features for it.

Anyone know of a firewall for Windows that’s like Firestarter for Linux? (Port blocking, IP blocking, etc. I don’t know how to block ports using PG2.)

PoweredByParanoia

@EBPlayer1028
I’m pretty sure Outpost Firewall will handle that for you, but it’s not free, if I’m not mistaken. If not, try NetVeda.

“Starman Jr. ate a bologna sandwich…And liked it!”

EBPlayer1028

Thanks!

PoweredByParanoia

Not a problem. :D

“Starman Jr. ate a bologna sandwich…And liked it!”

Nin10doDS

I agree with 7zip as a recommended program. It is everything you need essentially, it unzips and opens various other file types, plus it’s free and easy to use, unlike WinZip. Hands down the best file opener utility.

Tankinator

I completely uninstalled PeerGuardian and downloaded it again. Now it works fine!

I’m a fighter Adrian, that’s the way I was made!

networkassault

OS: All (XUL-based)
Name of Product: Ubiquity for Firefox
Cost: Free
Description: A keyboard interface that brings web services to you.

Ubiquity
Mozilla Labs is always busy trying out new ideas. Well, this is their latest. It’s very much alpha software, but it’s remarkably good. It brings loads of web services to your finger-tips. I’m sure that this idea will be implemented somehow in future builds of Firefox.

OS: Mac OS X
Name of Product: Quicksilver
Cost: Free
Description: Quicksilver is an adaptive app launcher as well as a unified keyboard interface for a wide variety of services.

Truth be told, Quicksilver is one of my top 5 reasons for using a Mac. In many ways, I strongly doubt it would be possible on other platforms. The true power of Quicksilver lies not in its app-launching, but in its extensibility. It has a very robust plugin platform, and, for that which you can’t implement in a plugin, you can use it to launch scripts. You can find stable releases at http://quicksilver.blacktree.com and the latest SVN builds at http://code.google.com/p/blacktree-alchemy/downloads/list.

Wow, it’s a reflective desktop!

Mr. Saturn is my friend

Programs I do NOT Recommend:
iTunes
Anything Adobe Related (I have not tried a single thing from them that I have liked)
Internet Explorer
ThreatFire
Quicktime

Actually, I find Adobe to be one of the finest graphics software producers. Ever use Photoshop?

Visit Phone’s DeviantArt today!

DemonParasite

OS: All
Name of Program: Opera
Cost: FREE
Description: A great web browser, with very convenient shortcuts like speed dial and the wand password manager..

Opera
In my opinion, Opera is THE best web browser out there. I reccomend getting the new beta version, although unstable, the speed in the new beta is better than Firefox, in my opinion. Opera also comes with some nice shortcuts, like speed dial. Speed dial is the page that opens when you have a new tab, with 9 buttons to click for your favorite websites! There are more things, like the Wand password manager, where you press ctrl+enter, and it will save any “Remember me” checkboxes that you used last time, and put in your username, password, and log you in! Another thing I like about it is that any new Opera windows will show up as tabs. This makes them load a lot faster. Useful for things you do in popups, and it prevents clunking up your start bar with a crapload of windows.

ZaphodBee
This post brought to you by the letter 'kegs and eggs'

Shhh, the cult of firefox might hear you and burn you at the stake

nessrox111

Too late. MUAHAHAHA!

PLEASE update the Old Layout Theme to where it looks like almost an exact replica of the old forum…
Also, my cousin Jordstar Joined. Yay.
Hey Arnold ftw

Incoherent Moron
TOTAL ANNIHILATION

actually, you know, i just got Opera because FF3 was annoying the hell out of me, and i have to say it is better

“So what about Incoherent_Moron? I’m suprised he has not been banned yet. He makes Falc look like a teddy bear…”

Drowzee64

Jamis

Anyone know a good free anti-virus program? I used to have McAfee, but it got uninstalled and I won’t be able to get it back for another month or two.

DemonParasite

AVG is the best free anti-virus out there, and is better than a lot of anti-viruses that cost money. *cough*Norton*cough*

Mr. SmartyPants

So as of late, I keep getting hit by constant malware and trojans. I find myself often running Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware, which works wonders and gets rid of the harmful stuff from my computer. My problem is getting them to permanently stay away. I’m not visiting any crazy or nudie sites or anything, so it concerns me that I constantly have this problem.

So I need a good firewall or a blocker so that these pesty Trojans and Malwares don’t come back to my computer without blocking my necessary programs like Steam and stuff. Any suggestions?

EvilPuffBall

Does Peerguardian 2 also block malware type stuff? My brother swears by the free version of COMODO firewall. I personally think NoScript is wonderful as well.

BTW, If you’re not visiting unscrupulous type sites, that may mean that you still have a downloader trojan installed in on your system.

Mr. SmartyPants

Someone suggested that to me, and I think that may be the case. =(

I don’t know how to get rid of it.

EvilPuffBall

Assuming you’re not dealing with some painfully difficult-to-remove Vundu virus variant, one of the Anti-virus suites mentioned in this thread should be able to take care of it if this is the case.

IWontGetOvertheDam

OS: Mac OSX
Name of Program: Handbrake
Cost: F-f-f-free
Description: DVD ripping software that can rip the video from a disc in MP4, AVI or OGM format.

[18:29] <ffish> This just in: IWGOTD is a G.
[18:30] <iwgotdam> I will neither confirm nor deny these accusations.
[01:28] <darth_pokey> It is written that only you IWGOTD can defeat po-ki-

NLA

You should definitely add AnyDVD to the list. It decodes the anti-piracy measures that are present on DVD’s and Blu-Ray’s and allows you to access the VOB and IFO files like they were on an unprotected CD. Having said that, the next logical step is to use Badaboom to rip and encode the video from disc, using the NVIDIA graphics card to complete the whole encoding process in something like 30 minutes (while looking amazing.)

We have movie sign!

I know I already posted this in the New Rules section of this board accidentally (well to be helpful, at least) but this program definitely warrants a second posting.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Best program for catching viruses and Malware on the market so far (yes, even better than spybot) and it’s free! Might want to add this bad boy to the list for those who have virus problems. Ran it on my work computer and it found a Trojan virus that neither Mcaffe or Spybot Search and Destroy detected.

“All the cool kids laugh and call me names. All because I have no sense of humor or source of fame.”

b01ng01d

Hi everyone, I just got a new HP notebook that has Vista 64-Bit on it, does anyone know a good free firewall program that will work with it? I’ve tried Zonealarm and they don’t support it..

Why do you wear that stupid human suit?

Man, this is late.

I’ve been wondering what the general consensus is on what’s the best anti-rootkit software, if there even is one.

Welcome aboard the crazy trip
Circle of fools say “hi”

FSHOOM!!!

Rootkits specifically? I have no advice really – I’ve never had to deal with them. However, Lifehacker just completed a Hive Five dedicated to anti-malware tools - I’m sure you’ll find something in there that works for you.

droll and boring

ROFISH

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this. Apparently the developer of Quicksilver now works for Google and evolved into Google Quick Search. It’s nice and quick, I suggest giving it a try, especially if you don’t like lifting your hands from the keyboard.

Starmen.Net

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