Freeware / Open Source SIG March 26, 2015 Notes and Links

Freeware/Crapware

Old freeware download site favorites, such as download.com, cnet downloads, tucows, etc., are now bundling crapware, including superfish style malware. Even others like Source Forge and File Hippo are not as safe as they once were; they don’t wrap their downloads, but they do make it hard to find the right download link.

If what you want is on https://ninite.com/, that is the safest way of getting it.

If you must get it from somewhere else, make sure you don’t install using the defaults, check and only install what you need, not the crapware.

Further, make sure you research it to make sure it is really what you want, and check for/remove malware immediately after the install to make sure.

SOURCES

http://www.howtogeek.com/210265/download.com-and-others-bundle-superfish-style-https-breaking-adware/
https://discuss.howtogeek.com/t/download-sites-distributing-spyware-crapware/12449
http://www.ghacks.net/2015/03/13/report-all-major-download-sites-serve-potentially-unwanted-programs/

Google Search

Google Search now blocks crapware in the search results for downloads.
http://www.howtogeek.com/210568/google-is-now-blocking-crapware-in-search-results-ads-and-chrome/

f.lux

f.lux is an application to change your display to match the lighting by time of day.
https://justgetflux.com/

Web of Trust

https://www.mywot.com/en/aboutus says:

“Web of Trust (WOT) is a website reputation and review service that helps people make informed decisions about whether to trust a website or not. WOT is based on a unique crowdsourcing approach that collects ratings and reviews from a global community of millions of users who rate and comment on websites based on their personal experiences.”

Web of Trust is an add-on for Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Safari browsers.

From the Faq:
https://www.mywot.com/en/faq/add-on

“WOT shows you which websites you can trust based on millions of users’ experiences around the world to help you stay safe when you search, surf, and shop online.”

https://www.mywot.com/

Wi-Fi Slow Down

According to the HowToGeek blog, using slower wi-fi devices can slow your entire wi-fi network. The post explains why, and what you can do about it.
http://www.howtogeek.com/210062/how-802.11b-devices-slow-down-your-wi-fi-network-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

Other Items Discussed

VPN

https://www.witopia.net/

Firefox Add-Ons

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/hello/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-Us/firefox/addon/ghostery/

On-line Spell Checker

www.afterthedeadline.com/

Feedback

Check these out and let me know what you think. Comments always appreciated.

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May 23, 2013 Freeware/Open Source SIG Summary and Links

Introduction

The main topic for the session was Evernote, a cross platform note taking service.

This is icon for social networking website. Th...

This is icon for social networking website. This is part of Open Icon Library’s webpage icon package. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Presentation

A short presentation was given:
May 23, 2013 Evernote Presentation

There are links to some resources for learning more about Evernote, towards the end of the presentation.

After the presentation, an active Evernote account was shown using, the Windows app, web login, and an Android smartphone and tablet. Several tools such as the Web Clipper and Clearly were also demonstrated.

Additional Link

I found a post from MakeUseOf, regarding some tools to use with Evernote, while writing this post:

7 Tools To Improve The Way You Use Evernote
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-tools-to-improve-the-way-you-use-evernote/

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Check out the presentation and links and let me know what you think. Just use the contact page: https://ctublog.sefcug.com/contact/

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January 24, 2013 – Freeware/Open Source SIG Topics

Main Topic

Spelling/Grammar Checker  (Proofreader) Utilities/Extensions

  • tinySpell
  • Ginger
  • After The Deadline
  • Zemanta

 Other Topics – Time Permitting

SoovleA way to search topics with multiple search engines.

How To Geek Post
4 Ways to Outsmart Websites That Force You to Register“.

MakeUseOf Post
eBooks, Remote Control & Other Creative Uses For Dropbox That You Haven’t Thought Of”