Articles
- Who owns your domain name?
- Using your own domain name for email
- Top free software for business
- Backup for small businessses
- Keeping in touch abroad
- Erasing data from an old PC
- Remote controlling a PC
We'll be adding more articles on a regular basis, so check again soon for more information.
If there's an area you'd like us to cover, contact us with details.
The Background
There are many free software packages available that rival the functionality of their commercial equivalents. These freeware packages can remove considerable cost for businesses of all sizes and also deal with licensing issues.
The following is a selection of what's available and we'll be updating this from time to time. Contact us if you have any comments or would like to put a package forward for inclusion in the list.
Office Suite ~ LibreOffice
LibreOffice is the free software alternative to Microsoft Office and offers a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), multimedia presentation editor (Impress), diagram / charting tool (Draw), database (Base) and equation editor (Math).
See this Wikipedia article for background to LibreOffice.
PC Operating System ~ Ubuntu
As as alternative to Windows, particularly for upgrading an older, lower spec PC or laptop, consider using the free Ubuntu operating system.
System requirements are lower than those for the later versions of Windows and so Ubuntu can give a new lease of life to older hardware.
Remote Control ~ LogMeIn
https://secure.logmein.com/UK/
Being able to access one PC from another over the Internet can be very useful, particularly when a you're at home and need something from the PC in the office.
LogMeIn offers a free version that enables this access, with a subscription buying more features that include file transfer and remote printing.
Photo Editor ~ Google Picasa
Free photo editing software from Google - useful for managing and organising all types of collections of images.
Encryption ~ TrueCrypt
TrueCrypt enables the creation of an encrypted area on your hard disk and decrypts data as it's accessed and encrypts as its saved. It can also encrypt data on USB and other devices.
See the Wikipedia page for background information.
Disk Wiping ~ DBAN
The DBAN software enables the creation of a boot disk that allows the secure wiping of a PC's hard disk, prior to it being sold or passed on for reuse.
Creating a PDF ~ PDFCreator
PDFCreator installs as a printer and to create a PDF document from something you have open - e.g. an email or a Word document - print the file, select PDFCreator and take the option you require. The output will be a file in PDF format.
Password Security ~ KeyPass
KeyPass is a secure way to store a collection of passwords. Apart from a version for Windows, there are versions available for smartphones and USB devices running the popular PortableApps Suite.
File Sharing ~ DropBox
Storing files on more than one PC and keeping them sychronised is time consuming and can be difficult to maintain. Dropbox allows folders to be set up that are synchronised automatically - 2GB of storage is available free, with more available by subscription.
Text Editor ~ Notepad++
A rather more powerful alternative to Microsoft Notepad. Not actually a free replacement for a chargable product, but one worth having!