What good FREE software do you use?

[UncleJoe]

No offense, but the fact that you are using this on the job - using client screen captures is a little scary.

The practice is frightening, simply based on the fact that the IT industry doesn't have anything to really provide in lieu of OneNote, that can do the same thing.

It's comparable to hearing a doctor tell me that their PHI is located in their consumer grade Dropbox. Yikes!

You're a seasoned professional, so you know what you can and can't save offsite. HIPAA and PCI compliance issues could abound in someone less cognizant, as I'm sure you could imagine.

Clever? Yes. Scary, yep, just a little.

Jason

Jason I share your concerns and appreciate the input. I encrypt onenote and store the data on a private encrypted cloud, owned and controlled only by me, accessible only via an encrypted VPN, not a Microsoft One Drive. The level of encryption I use is the strongest available.

Is any data really safe??? Really. I am confident that my data is as safe as is practical. My daily work laptop is encrypted and can not be booted without a password to encrypt it. You can not boot to the bios without a password and you can not boot to a usb drive and requires the laptop requires fingerprint authentication. All of this can be hacked and are really just speed bumps for a good hacker. Should a hacker gain physical access to my hard drive he still has to deal with the encryption and that much more difficult. Decrypting a hard drive is something that even good hackers struggle with. I do not encrypt my drives with Bit Locker or some lite weight encryption tool. I use an industrial strength encryption tool.

I use screen captures for network documentation because one picture is worth a thousand words. I also believe that in dealing with IT support staff pictures are better than paragraphs. A screen capture of the configuration for a pair of ASA 5520's configured for policy based routing fail-over is more concise and easier for a lower level tech to understand than the 5 paragraphs it takes to explain it. Of course I can and do give the client the running config but that is greek to many IT staffers and with ASDM they get lost in the massive GUI interface but given a few pictures they can get and understanding of what was done.

The only safe data is that data which is not connected to the internet and the pc is locked in a vault and even then if someone wants it they can get it.

You are quite correct that if someone were working on very sensitive data and using OneNote and the Microsoft cloud to store and share the notebooks that would be a security risk. As someone who taught Cisco Security for 5 years I feel as comfortable as one can get with my level of security.

Please don't think I was offended by your comment. I just wanted to clarify. My comment for people using OneNote was not detailed on security because this is a garage forum not an IT forum. One Note is also great in the garage because you can have a notebook for each project and come back to it years later and see the photo or notes of why you did what you did.

 

[BeachBoy]

I use Picpick for screen capture.
Winsplit revolution to place windows on screen (no longer made so I download the latest version)

 

[gte718p]

I'm working a CNC project right now. I've come across two free Gcode programs that I like a lot. The universal Gcode sender and bCNC are both designed to work with GRBL and are very good programs.

I'm also starting to work with LinuxCNC and so far I'm impressed. It is not as user friendly as MACH 3, but its more powerful and you can't beat the price.

 

[rhandwor]

I use fedora 23 and numerous software that goes with this program.

 

[zkling]

In the recent past year or so, AutoDesk's fusion 360 has to be at the top of free fab shop type software. VERY powerful for the price.

I'm working a CNC project right now. I've come across two free Gcode programs that I like a lot. The universal Gcode sender and bCNC are both designed to work with GRBL and are very good programs.

I'm also starting to work with LinuxCNC and so far I'm impressed. It is not as user friendly as MACH 3, but its more powerful and you can't beat the price.

That is what I use, switched from Mach3, I'm a pretty big Linux supporter so it was a natural choice.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I use Open Office
Firefox
Malware Bytes

I don't do anything really on my computer, I scan it regularly with my security suite, and pray a lot.

As to Uncle Joe, I think that was posted in English... but it sure was impressive.

 

[bp460]

Draftsight... if you are a former 2D AutoCAD user, you will love it.

-Brad

 

[gte718p]

New software to add to the list. I've been doing a good bit of design work recently. Unfortunately none of it is paying work, but mentally challenging and generally fun.

I've found openFOAM to be invaluable. It is a very powerful CFD program. It is however command line based so it is not exactly user friendly out of the box. simFlow is a very nice GUI interface for the underlying program.

The second is GNU Octave. It is basically an open source Matlab. It is an incredibly powerful solver. It takes a lot of work out of complex mathematical calculations.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Better to ask what software I use that's paid: MS office, Windows, adobe acrobat.

Everything else I use is free.

 

[ChaseDE]

malwarebytes
avg free antivirus
notepad++
chrome/firefox
SketchUp

 

[theoldwizard1]

Better to ask what software I use that's paid: MS office, Windows, adobe acrobat.

MS Office is a waste of money unless you have a lot of complex Excel scripts in VB. LibreOffice does everything I want and reads all MSOffice files just fine.

 

[BonzoHansen]

Cute FTP
Firefox
Thunderbird email
FUBAR2000 audio player for flac files
AVP antivirus
DVD Decrypter
Handbrake
Chrome
Malware Bytes

probably others.

 

[ChaseDE]

oo i use filezilla ftp but it's been crappy lately.

i also use openoffice on pc's that i dont get MS office included on.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

MS Office is a waste of money unless you have a lot of complex Excel scripts in VB. LibreOffice does everything I want and reads all MSOffice files just fine.

I didn't buy MS Office, but LIbreOffice does *not* read all office files perfectly.

For simpler files, ok, but the more complex ones it has trouble with.

 

[gte718p]

I didn't buy MS Office, but LIbreOffice does *not* read all office files perfectly.

For simpler files, ok, but the more complex ones it has trouble with.

I find openOFFICE plays better with Microsoft word then LibreOffice. It is only compatible with office 2007 though.

Excel is still the gold standard for spread sheet programs. Most people have no idea of its true capabilities though. Star, Libre, and open office spread sheet programs can't touch it.

 

[wildbill23c]

I have Linux on a USB drive right now, its slow, but if I recall its Linux Mint. Learning about it and plan on getting a SSD to install it permanently and run it on my Lenovo T410 laptop here when windows 7 support expires in the next couple years. So far I have to say Linux is a really nice OS, even better that it is Free.

I still have a lot to learn about Linux, and all the command lines that can be used throughout the system.

I've always had and used Windows based PC's but I'm really enjoying Linux so far, and yes I realize it will run much better on a HDD or SSD than my USB thumb drive but its nice that you can mess with Linux and not have to use your current drive you have installed.

 

[engineer2]

For 'tabbed' windows browsing (sort of like Chrome) instead of windows hiding behind windows. Even works with Win10

Clover

 

[gte718p]

I'll bring this thread back from the dead as I discovered some cool apps from it.

Since the thread started in 2015

Autodesk Fusion 360 has become the best deal out there. Free to the hobby market and getting more features all the time.

SolidEdge also has a very good "student" edition. That is very full featured and free. Does solid model editing much better the Fusion 360 if you don't have the entire build history, for example a 3D scanned part.

I have been using KiCad ALOT recently to do circuit board designs.

 

[seber]

Adblock
Noscript
versaverter
Firefox
The first two totally eliminate the need for antivirus.

 

[mmason7764]

Another very happy Linux Mint user.

Libre Office

Firefox

 

[gte718p]

Back from the dead.

It is kind of a specialized market, but I'm doing lectures for a none profit I volunteer with. Active Presenter makes some really very powerful software for turning power points into video. They the paid versions have some really cool features, but they have a free tier that is pretty neat.

He have started streaming our workshops. Not real happy with the software we are using. Does anyone have a recommendation for podcasting/streaming software? I would really like to have both the presentation and the camera on the screen. Right now we can only do the camera, so we are sending a video of a presentation on a screen instead of just the screen.

 

[blackwire]

Back from the dead.

It is kind of a specialized market, but I'm doing lectures for a none profit I volunteer with. Active Presenter makes some really very powerful software for turning power points into video. They the paid versions have some really cool features, but they have a free tier that is pretty neat.

He have started streaming our workshops. Not real happy with the software we are using. Does anyone have a recommendation for podcasting/streaming software? I would really like to have both the presentation and the camera on the screen. Right now we can only do the camera, so we are sending a video of a presentation on a screen instead of just the screen.

I have read about this, but I have not used it.

Open Broadcaster Software https://obsproject.com/

 

[gte718p]

I have read about this, but I have not used it.

Open Broadcaster Software https://obsproject.com/

Not sure why that didn't come up in my googleing. However that is perfect. Thank you.

 

[mrtoolfool]

CCLEANER - I've been using for many years on multitude of computers. Every computer I have ever worked on I have installed this and it has been many……….

RED2 - Remove Empty Directories, Great for clearing out empty folders.

VLC – Great Media Player

Desktop Restore – Desktop icon location saver – Great if you have multiple screens with lots of icons. It's a real pain if they suddenly decide to rearrange themselves. This happens when using remote desktop on multi screen setups.

SyncBackFree – File sync program – used to back up to my NAS daily and through my work PC to my house through a VPN

Hard Disk Sentinel – Hard drive monitor (I actually paid for the Pro version, I think I bought 2 family packs, and it has saved me before a couple computers had a hard drive failure.)

 

[HenryAZ]

I run FreeBSD in console mode only, and the only software I've had to compile (i.e., not already in the Ports collection), is MRTG.

My GUI is macOS:
AppCleaner
Etcher
GIMP
Google Earth
Handbrake
iTerm2
lynx
minicom
macSVG
MalwareBytes
nmap
Oracle Java
uBlock Origin
Vienna
VLC
Wine
youtube-dl

 

[FrankLee]

I have several freebies listed previously, but did not see Driver Easy listed.

I was having some nagging laptop problems and thought I had most drivers updated.

I was specifically looking for a driver update for my QualComm Atheros Wireless Network Adapter. The "Update Driver" via Windows Device Manager did not find an update for this device, but DE did. DE found 14 updates total, so I installed them all.

So far, so good.

There is Pro version as well for $, but the free version works well with a little extra manual work at slower speeds.



I also occasionally use inSSIDer. It's not previously mentioned in this thread, but there are several hits in a GJ search.



MalwareBytes now owns AdwCleaner... still free.

 

[Git]

I didn't read all the posts, but if I am looking for 'free software' to do something, the first place I look is NINITE.com Pick one or as many programs you want. It will bundle them into one file that you automatically download and use to install. To keep things updated, just run the file again

I routinely use these programs from there

Chrome
Firefox
Java 8
.NET 4.6.2
WinRAR
Google Earth
Steam
FileZilla
NotePad++
Putty
VLC
Handbrake
RealVNC
TerCopy
Revo
WinDirStat

https://ninite.com/

 

[Onefastgsx]

I use Smartdraw for building wiring diagrams and other various layouts. It's just a 7 day free trial, but I have a program that makes it think the date never changed.

I use Gimp alot since it's hard to find a good source of bootlegged photoshop anymore.

 

[seber]

Adblock and Noscript combined with AVG free version keep me in tip top shape on the web. Never seeing an unwanted popup is really nice.

 

[jgromada]

I use OpenOffice and am wondering based on the recommendations here whether LibreOffice might be a better choice. Thoughts?

 

[dwasifar]

I use OpenOffice and am wondering based on the recommendations here whether LibreOffice might be a better choice. Thoughts?

Most Linux distributions have dropped OpenOffice in favor of LibreOffice because Oracle got control of the OpenOffice project and started playing corporate games. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice. Most of the OpenOffice developers moved to LibreOffice, so it has the more robust development community. I'd switch.

 

[intillzah]

Most Linux distributions have dropped OpenOffice in favor of LibreOffice because Oracle got control of the OpenOffice project and started playing corporate games. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice. Most of the OpenOffice developers moved to LibreOffice, so it has the more robust development community. I'd switch.

This....

 

[gte718p]

I'm doing a lot of presentation work for the none profit I work with. I'm trying to evolve a step above simple power point. I've started creating videos and animations. I know we have several Youtubers and aspiring Youtuber here. They probably would not fall under the free none commercial license, but free to learn.

I really like Nuke NC for generating complex animations and effects.
https://www.foundry.com/products/nuke/non-commercial

For Editing, compilation, and animation I'm using Black Magic Resolve.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

Both tools have a little bit of a learning curve, but it is amazing how simple (with the help of a little YouTube) it is to make really high quality videos.

 

[gte718p]

Two more recent discoveries. Audacity is a a amazing sound editor/recording suite. It is on the site git linked to earlier, I had just never heard of it.

Another one is xlights. It is designed for controlling Christmas light displays. However, it turns out to be a very versatile DMX controller. I’m using it to build stage and time stage shows. Throughly not what it was intended for, it works amazingly well. I’m also excited to do Led light displays when I have a house to do Christmas lights again.

 

[gte718p]

More updates

Still doing a decent amount of video work and streaming work. I wanted a simple way to do animations for lower thirds (The little bars that pop up and give peoples names, tittles, etc) and stingers (transitions between scenes).

You can do them in Nuke, but it is overkill. Syfig Studio is a much simpler tool to do basic work.

Autodesk changed their rules for small business and startups this year. It is causing some issues for friends and suppliers. FreeCAD did a major update in January and it is in really good shape. It is back to being a serious option instead of Fusion360.

 

[gte718p]

Lots of CNC discussions recently on the forum. Seems appropriate to update this list for CNC topics.


Motion Control
Small Machines: GRBL
Large Machines: LinuxCNC

There is a fork of LinuxCNC if you want to use a micro computer (Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Tinker, etc) : MachineKit

If you use GRBL for machine control you need a program to stream Gcode to it.
My favorite: BCNC
Honorable Mention: Universal Gcode Sender

CAM I use F360. The post processor for LinuxCNC is top notch.
For my laser I use the Gcodetools extension in Inkscape

Laser Control: LaserWeb
*combines CAM/GCode generation and Gcode sender for GRBL based controllers.

 

[homebuilt burner]

Greenshot--- I use it all the time
wetransfer--- for sending large files or multiples

 

[gte718p]

Greenshot--- I use it all the time
wetransfer--- for sending large files or multiples

I have seen greenshot mentioned several times. I always kind of dismissed it. <ALT><PRTSCN> has always worked well for me. I looked into it and it does have some really nice features. I think it can definitely improve my workflow.

Thanks

 

[MARINA]

I use Smartdraw for building wiring diagrams and other various layouts. It's just a 7 day free trial, but I have a program that makes it think the date never changed.

I use Gimp alot since it's hard to find a good source of bootlegged photoshop anymore.

What is the program you used to have the date not change?