Working in the IT business for many years now has taught me several things, not the least of which is how to find good free software. Many of the tools I list here I use on a daily basis. I, like most others in IT, am always looking for a new shortcut or program to help me along. You will find that several of these have very practical applications for the everyday user as well.
These are just a few of the many great applications out there for IT professionals and PC users alike. But these particular tools have made a huge impact on my everyday work. The list isn't perfect and it is always evolving, if you have any great tools that make a big difference in your daily routines please comment it, I am eager to hear your opinions.
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I have to list this one first because I probably use it the most. LogMeIn is a remote system for your computer systems. Basically it works by installing a client on the computer you wish to be accessible, it will then associate itself with your account. When you login to your account on the website you will see that computer in your inventory list and whether or not it is available to connect. You will need administrator rights on the computer to log in. There are also some cool scripts that will automate the install for you so you don't even have to enter your account info every time you want to install it, which is great for mass deployment.
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I have to say, this one has really came in handy on several occasions. Microsoft's PsTools is actually a collection of command line tools aimed at helping network administrators work remotely. Some of the most handy features are being able execute remote installs silently, view who is logged in to and shutting down a remote computer. Definitely worthy of a top 10 list.
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One problem we are constantly faced with is dealing with computers that will no longer boot into their OS for whatever reason. The Ultimate Boot CD is a bootable CD that gives you several tools for diagnosing and repairing non bootable drives. It also includes features that allow you to recover deleted files, create NTFS volumes, scan the drives for viruses and clone disks. A definite must have.
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A good CD and DVD Emulation program. A must have if your like me and have everything in an .iso format. Actually it ranks up there with the best, and it's all free. One thing I especially like about it is how well it works with my virtual machines. It is compatible with 11 different image file types and comes in x86 or x64.
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I know, I know, everyone already knows all about Firefox. The real deal is that the extensions that are available for Firefox is what makes it so valuable. Its flexibility allows me to configure it especially for my work environment.
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AutoIT is a simple automation tool for Windows apps. It uses mouse and keystroke emulation to automate task. You can use this to make a script or an install package. I use this for a few tedious tasks, one of which is setting up Outlook for a new user. The script is predefined with all the basic information and preferred settings. The other AutoIT script I use a lot is the package I made for LogMeIn free. The package is a full executable package that runs the install and fills in all the account information.
USB Apps - I, II
Ok, I agree, this is somewhat vague, but there are too many to list. Instead I will direct you to some sites with all the portable USB freeware/open source apps you could ever want. There are tons of utilities for network and PC troubleshooting and repairing. These become especially handy when your out in the field doing a repair.
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Any computer use will agree that keeping your information confidential is always a concern. With TrueCrypt all those worries can be put to ease. TrueCrypt allows you to create an encrypted volume with any file name. So for example, you can call it winds.sys and hide it in some random folder where no one will ever suspect it. You can also configure the encryption to use a password, key file(s) or both. TrueCrypt supports some of the latest most advanced encryptions available. One great thing about TrueCrypt is you can create a volume small enough to carry on your USB drive and TrueCrypt is totally portable. You can run it directly from the USB drive itself. Another great feature is that you can mount the file to any drive letter you choose and drag and drop files into your mounted folder as you work, it encrypts on the fly. Definitely a must for anyone wanting security with mobility.
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This app is particular useful to me. Synergy allows you to share a single keyboard and mouse across multiple computers using their own displays. This works across multiple operating systems too, which is great since I run Ubuntu on one and Windows on the other. I use this mainly when I am in the office and I have both my laptop and my desktop running. I am not sure what the maximum number of computers you can run at a time, but I have personally ran it using four different computers and one keyboard/mouse.
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Ccleaner is a freeware optimization and privacy tool. It is lightweight and a great tool for cleaning up all those unused temp files. It also features a great registry cleaning tool. The one thing I live about this tool is that it's such a small install, and its super fast.
