TOP 10 PROGRAMS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE

There are millions of free and open source projects available, many of them better than any commercially available product. Below is a short listing of what we think is the best out there, broken down into ten categories.

Anti-virus and malware protection

Most PC users realize that they need protection on their computer or may have an installed anti-virus program from their computer manufacturer. What most don't realize is that there are free programs that are just as good and in some cases better than the commercial products. Below are our recommendations

Anti-virus program: Avast! or AVG

Malware / Spyware protection: Malwarebytes

Backup solutions

There are dozens of free and commercially available backup programs for computers. Unfortunately many of those backups are stored locally, meaning if your house were to catch fire, get robbed, or if you lost your backup discs all your data would be lost. This is why when dealing with important data we suggest users use online backup services.

Online backup solution: Mozy * or Dropbox
* Free 2GB of online backup for personal use

Browsers

Although Microsoft Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on Windows computers. There are several excellent free alternatives that everyone should try. These free alternatives can often be faster, have more options, and in many cases be more secure than Internet Explorer.

Internet Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome

Compression utility

When downloading files on the Internet you'll eventually encounter a .zip, .rar, or other compressed file. Dealing with these files can be easy with our below free file compression utility.

File compression utility: 7-Zip

Disc ripper and creation utility

Creating an audio or data CD/DVD, ripping the data from an audio CD, or creating a CD from a .ISO file can also be done freely using our below free recommendation.

CD burner / ripper utility: CDBurnerXP

E-mail

E-mail is yet another service that can be done freely. Most users today use online e-mail solutions like the one listed below. However, for those still using an e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook we strongly suggest one or both of the below suggestions.

E-mail client: Mozilla Thunderbird

Online e-mail: Gmail

FTP, SFTP, and SSH Utility

Users who maintain their own web page or need to upload or download files to or from a server will have to use an FTP utility or a SSH client. There are many commercial programs capable of doing this but our below free recommendations beats them all.

FTP client: Filezilla

SSH client: Putty

Image editor, paint program, and picture organizer

There are many great free solutions for editing, creating, and organizing your images on your computer. Many of the programs capable of doing these tasks can be several hundred dollars, but all of the below programs are completely free.

Image editor: GIMP

Paint program: Paint.net

Picture organizer: Google Picasa

Multimedia

There are dozens of different multimedia programs with different capabilities and limitations. Below are our top free multimedia programs for watching video files and recording audio.

Audio editing and creating tool: Audacity

Video and DVD Player: VLC

Office Suite

An Office suite such as Microsoft Office is often one of the most expensive programs that a user can install on their computer. Why install these expensive programs when there are free solutions that are just as good.

Office suite: OpenOffice

Notepad / Source code editor: Notepad++

WHATS HTTPS ON FACEBOOK !?!..

HTTPS is a significantly more secure version of HTTP, which is the protocol you generally use to load up your webpages (whether you're aware of it or not). HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, so HTTPS stands for the same thing but with Secure on the end of it. This is because, as Wikipedia will tell you, HTTPS is "a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of a network web server."

Why You Should Care

So yeah, you get it: HTTPS provides additional security, but what does that actually mean when you're browsing the web every day? It basically means you're protecting your private information from people who want to steal it using readily availably tools like Firesheep. It means when you enter your password or your phone number or anything personal on Facebook—or any other site offering HTTPS—that data will be encrypted as it flies through the great tubes of the internet.

Think of it like this: you're having a private conversation with your new boyfriend or girlfriend, and your ex—unbeknownst to you—is a few tables over listening to every word. That's the sort of risk HTTP poses, whereas HTTPS would be more like if you and your new romantic interest were speaking a new language that only the two of you understood. To your stalker of an ex, this information would sound like gibberish and s/he wouldn't get any value from listening if s/he tried. HTTPS is a way for you to exchange information with a web site securely so you don't have to worry about anyone trying to listen in.

Okay, I Want HTTPS Right Now!

Good choice! Enabling HTTPS in Facebook is very easy. Just visit your Account Settings page, select Account Security (it's the third option from the bottom), and you'll find a checkbox to enable HTTPS under the Secure Browsing header. That's all you have to do. NOTE: This feature hasn't been rolled out to all accounts and so it may not be available to you yet. We're told it's going to take a few weeks, so you should have it by mid-February at the latest.

SOLAR MOBILE CHARGER

For those who do not wanna spend their energy on winding-powered chargers mentioned in our previous article , this is the best choice.
With iPhones and GPS units becoming ubiquitous in the great outdoors, there is a growing market for pocket-size solar chargers. Highgear designed one for backcountry techies on a budget. New this winter, the Highgear SolarPod, at just $50, is a basic solar charger about the size of an iPhone.
Designed to charge phones and mp3 players, the SolarPod is said to disperse power for 40 minutes on an 8-hour solar charge. That should be enough time to rejuvenate your iPod for a few hours of music or your cell phone for some crucial talk time.

Highgear SolarPod

Attached to the corner of the SolarPod is a carabiner clip so you can secure it to your pack and charge while you hike. It comes with eight connector tips for various phones, including a USB connector for mp3 players, digital cameras or anything Apple.
The 2.4oz.-unit, which is the company’s first solar charger, has a battery indicator in 25 percent increments to let you know the power that remains.