Tag: utilities

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Windows apps I use regularly

I recently had the opportunity to reinstall Windows 7 on my laptop and figured it was a good time to make a list of the programs and utilities I use regularly on Windows. Most stuff is open source and/or free. There are a few commercial packages that I use a lot that I really like so I’ve included those on the list too. I don’t work in Windows that often, but when I do these are the things I use.

  • Firefox – https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
  • Chrome – http://www.google.com/chrome/
  • Classic Shell – http://classicshell.net/
  • Ditto Clipboard Manager – http://ditto-cp.sourceforge.net/
  • Gadwin PrintScreen – http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/
  • 7 Zip – http://www.7-zip.org/
  • Notepad++ – http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
  • VirtuaWin – http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/
  • Keepass 2.x – http://keepass.info/
  • Owncloud – http://owncloud.org/
  • Git – https://msysgit.github.io/
  • Putty – http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
  • Filezilla – https://filezilla-project.org/ (watch for crapware installs)
  • LibreOffice – https://www.libreoffice.org/
  • Bitorrent – http://www.bittorrent.com/bittorrent-free
  • Tweak UI – http://www.thewindowsclub.com/ultimate-windows-tweaker-v2-a-tweak-ui-for-windows-7-vista
  • MySQL Workbench – https://www.mysql.com/products/workbench/
  • CALI Author – http://www.cali.org/content/cali-author-download
  • XAMPP – https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html
  • Skype – http://www.skype.com/
  • Dropbox – http://www.dropbox.com/
  • Komodo – http://komodoide.com/
  • Slack – https://slack.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201746897-Slack-apps-for-computers-phones-tablets
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Using DejaDup To Back Up Your Ubuntu Desktop

Déjà Dup is a nice graphical wrapper around the command line backup tool duplicity. It hides the complexity of backing up the Right Way (encrypted, off-site, and regular) and uses duplicity as the back end. Déjà Dup does not use cron or similar schedulers. Rather, it starts a program deja-dup-monitor when you log into your session. This keeps track of when you last successfully backed up and will wait until the next scheduled backup.

via How to backup your Ubuntu Desktop with DejaDup.

Back ups are very important. Probably something I should do with my desktops more often.

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New Version of KeePass Password Manager Reminds Us We Need Better Security

KeePass screenshot

Dominik Reichl has released KeePass 2.25 for Windows. The open-source password management tool allows users to manage both offline and online passwords via a secure, encrypted container, and is also available in portable form.
Version 2.25 is a minor update, but introduces a new auto-type key sending engine that improves support for sending Unicode characters as well as sending keypresses into virtual machine and emulator windows.

via KeePass introduces new auto-key sending engine, improves entry attachment handling.

New update to the popular password manager. This is one of those utilities that everyone should consider using. And it’s open source. And it’s free. And it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. And there’s a portable version. And it works with virtual machines. And why aren’t you using it?

You can find all the details on the KeePass Password Safe website, the official website of KeePass.

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Get Control of Windows 8 With Ultimate Windows Tweaker 3

The Windows Club has released Ultimate Windows Tweaker 3.0 for Windows 8 and 8.1 users. The lightweight, portable freeware tool makes it easy to tweak various aspects of Windows that usually hidden away or require access to Registry editor or Group Policy Editor.

The new release sits alongside the previous version, Ultimate Windows Tweaker 2.2, which requires Windows Vista or 7.

– via Beta News

These utilities are great for getting at some of the more useful features of Windows that you might want to adjust without going through the pain of running regedit.