Useful list compiled here at Linux Planet: The Top 75 Open Source Security Apps. Excerpt:

Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware

1. ClamWin Free Antivirus

This Windows-only app uses the incredibly popular ClamAV engine to detect viruses and spyware. It includes a scanning scheduler, automatic downloads, and a Microsoft Outlook plug-in. However, it does not provide real-time scanning; you'll need to scan your files manually in order to be protected. Operating System: Windows.

2. ClamAV

Numerous commercial and open-source products are based on the Clam Antivirus engine. Designed for protecting e-mail gateways, Clam AV offers automatic updates, a command line scanner, and more. Operating System: Unix, Linux, BSD.
...
Data Removal

14. Eraser

Want to make sure that file you deleted can never be retrieved? Eraser writes over your files with random data so that no one can snoop into your private files. Operating System: Windows and DOS.

15. Darik's Boot and Nuke

Also known as "DBAN," Darik's Boot and Nuke completely eliminates all of the data on a hard drive. It's an ideal way to clean up an old computer before you donate or recycle it. Operating System: OS Independent.

16. Wipe

Wipe erases all traces of deleted files from your hard drive so that they can't be retrieved. It relies heavily on the work of Peter Gutmann, one of the foremost experts in the field. Operating System: Linux.
...
Internet Security Suites

42. Winpooch

Calling itself "an opensource watchdog for Windows," Winpooch incorporates anti-spyware and anti-trojan capabilities with ClamWin Antivirus. It aims to give the user complete control over which programs are running on the system. Operating System: Windows.

43. DemocraKey

The DemocraKey tagline says it all: "It's like a condom for your computer." Install it on a portable drive and plug it in to any computer. DemocraKey scans for viruses and protects your privacy while you surf. Operating System: Windows.

There's a lot more to look at, if you're so inclined.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 327 words, total size 2 kb.

Marcel Gagne links to several free to download video games that do not require the latest video card. In fact, I'll posit that you can use an old 1-meg video card and still play these games. So have at it.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 46 words, total size 1 kb.

Very interesting and useful article entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Linux Users. Excerpt:

If there was one habit that one should strictly abide by, it’s probably this one. Most of us come from a Windows background, and we have the notion that more power is better, so we login using our administrator accounts. Well let me tell you my friend, that this is a major reason that Windows is plagued with viruses and insecurities, half the world is currently running ‘root’ accounts!

With great power comes great responsibility, and with ‘root’ powers you should be aware of the consequences of EVERYTHING you’re doing, and even then, mistakes happen. [ed. note: That is the funniest and most horrifying Unix/Linux story ever]I remember my beginnings with SUSE Linux, there were lot of administrative tasks I needed to do but had no idea how to go about them without the GUI, so I so innocently log out and login onto the ‘root‘ GUI. The default wallpaper of the ‘root‘ GUI on SUSE were lit fuse bombs tiled beside each other. Back then, the symbolism totally flew over my head, coming from a Windows background, I wasn’t really doing anything wrong.

But what are the dangers of logging in as root?

1. Well imagine youÂ’re on the trapeze without a safety net, frightening isnÂ’t it? Well thatÂ’s effectively what you are doing when you login as root, you can inadvertently hose your whole system
   
2. You are at the risk of running malware. Any program that is started under root mode will automatically be given root privileges
   
3. If there is a common security hole that hasn’t been patched yet, you could be totally “pwned”
   
4. ItÂ’s common Unix convention, never run anything in root mode unless absolutely necessary. If a non-admin program asks for root access, you should be suspicious
   

Generally, instead of logging onto your root GUI, use any of the following techniques:

• Use “sudo” or “su” , and kill the session when your done
  
• If you donÂ’t know how to do it in the command line, use “gksu” or “kdesu”. For example, press alt+f2 and type “gksu nautilus“. Close the app as soon as you finish
  

Lots more good advice to peruse.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 362 words, total size 3 kb.

Via Jonah comes the Worlds Hardest Game. Somehow, I thought that was figuring out what women want. Oh wait, that's fiction, not a game.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:37 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 34 words, total size 1 kb.

So I hear that Microsoft will sunset XP as of June 30, forcing customers to upgrade the turd parade known as Vista or, possibly, switching to something else.

Let be clear: as much as I've extolled the virtues of Linux on this site, I find that Windows XP is a pretty decent operating system, especially since SP2 came out. And lots of people liked it. So much so, in fact, that people chose to "downgrade" from Vista. Of course, Vista sucking so much had a lot to do with it as well. Microsoft, after years of coding, finally created something that people hated more than Windows ME. And now Microsoft, in its finite wisdom, has decided to flip the bird to its customers. What to do, what to do? Well, the author of this article has some ideas and opinions on the matter. Excerpt:

On June 30, Microsoft will do something quite ordinary -- the company will stop selling a 7-year-old old product.

Microsoft has killed off many versions of Windows in the past. But there's a difference with the retirement of Windows XP: Most users hate its replacement, Windows Vista.

Microsoft has always suffered from a cultural flaw baked into its DNA: The company just doesn't do "simplicity." Microsoft thinks simplicity results from the masking of radical complexity with a user interface that hides, buries or disables options. Windows Vista stands as a monument to this flawed vision.

When the company shipped Vista -- which users hate precisely because of its over-complexity -- Microsoft compounded its error by segmenting out a dozen (or whatever it is) versions of Vista, creating confusion and paralysis.

Now, Microsoft is doing it again with uncertainty and complexity about when and where and which XP will be supported, not supported or semi-supported.
...
In my own case, both my desktop and laptop run Windows XP, and I have an Asus Eee PC that runs Linux. If I choose to buy another system, and XP is unavailable to me at the time of purchase, I'll be forced to choose from one of four alternatives: 1) Linux; 2) Mac OS X; 3) Vista; and 4) an illegal copy of XP. For me, options 3 and 4 aren't even up for consideration. I'll choose either Linux or a Mac. Just for my own peace of mind, I might be tempted to convert my remaining systems to my new choice, and abandoned Windows altogether.

But if XP is available, on the other hand, I'll buy it. Microsoft will get the money. I'll continue to invest in Windows applications, and if Microsoft gets Windows 7 right, I'll upgrade to that.

Isn't maintaining XP better for Microsoft than pushing people away from Windows altogether?

The answer to that last question is apparently "no".

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 475 words, total size 3 kb.

Don't like Windows Explorer to root around in your directories and files? Well, now you can use the Firefox browser for that task, as long as you install Firefly. Pretty cool stuff. However, be aware that it's still what I'd consider a beta release.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 52 words, total size 1 kb.

Well, I missed it two days ago, but you can still celebrate a belated Happy Run Some Old Browsers Day. Excerpt:

In honor of the ten year anniversary of the Mozilla project, home.mcom.com, the Internet Web Site of the Mosaic Communications Corporation, is now back online.
...
Once you've got those old browsers running, you'll find that they're working fine with the mcom.com web sites, but they fail on just about every other web site in the world (for the "Host" header reason I described above).
I have a fix for that!

I wrote a small proxy server that bidirectionally translates the HTTP/1.0 protocol spoken by old web browsers to the HTTP/1.1 protocol spoken on the modern web. Download and run http10proxy.pl. (You may need to install the Net::Server::Fork Perl module first.) Then, go into the preferences on your ancient browser and set "HTTP Proxy" to localhost, port 8228. This will adjust outgoing Host headers as well as incoming Content-Type headers.

I remember downloading, configuring and running Mosaic. Those were the days.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 182 words, total size 1 kb.