My open source software collection for 2017 1/2

Open source software has lots of advantages over other ‘free’ options you’ll come across – even if you’re not a developer yourself. It’s usually maintained by a community and updated frequently to patch vulnerabilities or squish bugs as soon as they’re identified; there are no restrictions on commercial use, so you can happily use it for your home business; and the ability to edit the source means there’s often a wealth of user-created plugins available to download.

Here’s my pick of the best open source software. Got another recommendation? Let me know in the comments below.

Office software: LibreOffice

There’s no need to pay for Microsoft Office with this free alternative

LibreOffice is a full suite of office software, including excellent apps for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases. These are all fully compatible with the latest Microsoft file formats, so you’ll have no trouble sharing files work users of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Documents look just as sharp and professional as those created using paid-for software, and there are hundreds of templates available to download, use and edit.

LibreOffice’s huge community of contributors have compiled a brilliant collection of support materials, including a forum and even live chat if you need a hand.

Where to download:LibreOffice

Photo editor: GIMP

My favorite photo editor, GIMP is packed with powerful tools

Powerful and flexible, open source image editor GIMP is as close to Adobe Photoshop as you can get without opening your wallet. It supports layers, and is packed with advanced tools for enhancing your pictures or creating new ones from scratch.

You can adjust every aspect of your pictures’ appearance manually, or use the dozens of customizable filters and effects to achieve amazing results with just a few clicks. GIMP comes with a huge array of user-created plugins pre-installed, and adding more is a piece of cake.

If you don’t need the power of GIMP and prefer a simpler interface, check out Paint.NET – another superb open source photo editor that’s a little lighter on features, but easier to master.

Where to download: GIMP

A media player than can handle virtually any file format without extra codecs

VLC Media Player is one of the world’s most popular free media players, and for good reason – it can handle just about any audio file, video file, or media stream you can throw at it, without the need to mess around installing additional codecs. VLC Media Player gives you an amazing degree of control over playback, letting you optimize video and audio for your specific hardware configuration.

VLC Media Player is ideal for streaming podcasts, as well as internet radio stations like Last.fm and TuneIn Radio. There’s also a superb archive of extensions and skins, and the WYSIWYG Skin Editor lets you create your own custom designs.

The latest addition to VLC is 360-degree playback, which lets you enjoy immersive videos with a VR headset, and more exciting developments are on the horizon to keep pace with new video technology.

Where to download: VLC Media Player

Video editor: Shotcut

Great for new users.

If you’re looking for a great open source video ditor, give Shotcut a whirl. It might look a little stark at first, but add some of the optional toolbars and you’ll soon have its most powerful and useful features your your fingertips.

Some of its best tools include quick filters for audio and video (which are non-destructive and can be layered to achieve different effects), advanced white balancing, wipes and other transitions, color grading, click-and-drag import, and straightforward trimming and compositing of clips.

Lightworks (our favorite free-as-in-beer video editor) isn’t open source. Its developer says the source code will be released at some point, but no date has been given.

Where to download: Shotcut

The perfect tool for recording and editing podcasts, or making music

Even if you have the ready cash for an audio editor, you might choose to stick with open source alternative Audacity. It has almost all the tools you need for recording and refining sound files, and any features it lacks can be plugged with its extensive catalog of extensions.

Audacity is the tool of choice for many podcasters, musicians and audiobook narrators thanks to its professional quality results. You can use it to combine clips, copy and paste sections of audio, remove noise and other unwanted noises, strip vocals from songs, alter frequencies, and apply effects like echo and reverb.

Where to download: Audacity

Web browser: Firefox

An powerful, fully customizable browser with a plugin for every purpose

The browser wars show no sign of ending, but Firefox‘s open source heritage makes it incredibly flexible. Its main appeal is its collection of extensions. With thousands of plug-ins available at the click of a mouse, it’s easy to transform Firefox into your perfect browser.

Firefox is updated every five to eight weeks, and you can get an early taste of the latest features by installing the beta version or taking part in Firefox Test Pilot – a way to sample experimental tools that might be incorporated into future releases.

Firefox’s source code forms the basis of many specialist projects, including the security-focused Tor Browser and speed-centric Waterfox, which is designed with power users in mind.

Where to download: Firefox

If you have multiple email accounts – even if they’re with the same provider – open source email client Mozilla Thunderbird will save you time and hassle flicking between browser tabs and logins. Like Firefox, Thunderbird is an open source project published by the Mozilla Foundation, and is almost infinitely adaptable.

Thunderbird’s standard features include an RSS reader and the ability to link to files too large to send as attachments, and its optional extras include weather forecasts and Google app tabs.

Where to download: Mozilla Thunderbird

Generate strong passwords for your accounts and store them in a secure vault

There’s no shortage of free password managers, but KeePass Password Safe is our favorite open source option. It’s not flashy, but it’s packed with all the tools and features you could want, including AES encryption of your entire database of login details (not just the passwords themselves), two-factor authentication via both a master password and key file, and secure random password generation.

KeePass is tiny, and because it’s a portable program you can carry it on a USB stick, and thanks to an extensive library of plug-ins, it’s easy to integrate with your preferred browser and cloud storage provider.

Where to download: KeePass Password Safe

Antivirus: ClamWin

ClamWin Free Antivirus is used by more than 600,000 users worldwide on a daily basis. It comes with an easy installer and open source code. You may download and use it absolutely free of charge. It features: High detection rates for viruses and spyware;
Scanning Scheduler;Automatic downloads of regularly updated Virus Database;Standalone virus scanner and right-click menu integration to Microsoft Windows Explorer;Addin to Microsoft Outlook to remove virus-infected attachments automatically.

Replaces : Kaspersky Anti-Virus, McAfee AntiVirus Plus

Where to download:ClamWin

Audio/Music Tools: Amarok

Their are many open source softwares for music playback and Amarok is one of them which combines music discovery features with an attractive, easy-to-use audio player. Key features include integration with multiple Web audio services, dynamic playlists, bookmarks, scripting, context view and more.

Replaces : iTunes

Where to download: Amarok

Supported OS : Windows, OS X and Linux

Office Productivity: OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice includes Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (graphics), Math (mathematic equations) and Base (database). It can open, edit and export to Microsoft file formats, and it features a very intuitive interface.

Replaces : Microsoft Office ($71.88 per user per year and up)

Where to download: OpenOffice

Supported OS : Windows, OS X and Linux

PDF Tools: PDFCreator

With this tool, you can create a PDF file from any application that can print. It also includes digital signature and encryption capabilities, but it lacks some of Acrobat’s form creating capabilities.

Replaces : Adobe Acrobat ($381.65)

Where to download: PDFCreator

Supported OS : Windows

Compression tools: 7-zip

While WinZip offers a fancier interface and more menu options, 7-zip lets you create 7z files with a higher compression rate, which means it creates smaller files. 7-zip also reads and writes WinZip files, as well as a number of other popular compression formats.

Replaces : WinZip

Where to download: 7-zip

Supported OS : Windows, OS X and Linux

Open Source VPN: Psiphon

Psiphon is an Open Source VPN project for Windows and Android. For me its excellent, and surely I will prefer it over other free VPN services. Psiphon is a circumvention tool from Psiphon Inc. that utilizes VPN, SSH and HTTP Proxy technology to provide you with uncensored access to Internet content.

Where to download : Psiphon

Replaces : Popular paid VPN clients

Supported OS : Windows and Android