[Alphard]

One noteworthy addition to the list of softwares that we typically use would be a "password manager" utility - something like 1Password (https://1password.com/)

In today's increasingly digital times, password management across different applications - (email & social media accounts or bank portals) can be quite a handful.

Initially, I was skeptical about the value proposition of password managers but now since I have started using it, I have no doubt that it is one of the most important utility that can help guard our digital assets.

NOTE: Please do not read this note as an endorsement for any particular password manager application.

[RYP]

I have quite an un-orthodox PC situation. Was a hardcore PC guy since 2006 and have my own share of tinkering, customizing them and what not. Cut to today, the laptop i currently have is a 2015 ASUS. Emphasize on the word "have" and not "use". All my computing needs are met by the smartphone and the usage of my laptop became an event in itself.

Whenever the millennial in me decides a certain task is "just better with a laptop" this happens-

Boot it on -> immediately notice the battery is dead or about to be dead -> scrap around to plug it in -> Boot again (attempt 2) -> Wait for an eternity for it to be usable -> Get frustrated and fail at that task anyway -> Shut it down -> Throw it away into the drawer only to repeat all these steps again a month later

I do have a state of the art, work laptop from HP, but i've dedicated it to office related tasks only and have held myself from using it even for any mundane task like signing a pdf document. I don't want to invest big bucks in a new laptop, only for it be used less and less every day and be obsolete in a few years. Similar to how i would never buy an appliance which i feel i wouldn't use it much.

But my computing needs have not come down and infact it had gone up significantly. So whats the solution? This is where i landed in a brilliant solution in the name of Samsung Dex. For the un-initiated its a way to use your phone as a PC. It has completely changed the way i think about phones and productivity. I have a complete desk setup with wireless keyboard / mice and 21' monitors no less to use with Dex. All the files i need are right there, wanna pay in a website Samsung Wallet, Gpay is right there, OTP's are delivered right on my screen, ear buds work straightaway without need to own another headset or re-pair, camera album is a click away, Whatsapp, brilliant camera hardware for video meetings you get the drift... the convenience is just too good.

Hoping i've not bored you guys so far, these are my most used tools on the Dex setup:

1. Samsung DEX
2. Adobe Scan
3. Snapseed
4. Fuelio
5. Firefox / Chrome / Samsung Internet
6. Samsung Wallet
7. Numerous PWA's
8. ChatGPT/ Meta AI / Gemini
9. Maps
10. Keep notes
11. Google Drive
12. YT Music

[binand]

I come from Unix background (first Windows computer came a decade+ after first Unix one) - so I have great affinity for open source software, keyboard navigation etc. I carry the Firefox installer on a thumb drive, and Firefox is the first software I install on a new computer/laptop.

My preference is (in order) FOSS or software that I have paid for.

Once I have Firefox installed and synced, then I start on the remaining software, which are:

1. Firefox
2. MS Office - usually Word, Onenote, Excel and Outlook. I simply cannot live without the last three - especially Outlook which is my calendar and TODO manager/organiser.
3. SumatraPDF - open source PDF reader. Particularly important is that the Adobe bloat/nag is avoided.
4. Everything - Desktop search.
5. Sublime Text - (commercial software) I am a Vi (Vim) expert but not on Windows; particularly I don't like how it interacts with the Windows clipboard. I did have Notepad++ previously but after it crashed and lost all my buffers (I have dozens, sometimes 100+ of them) twice I decided it is time to move on.
6. Git Bash - apart from all Git-related workflows, I use this as CMD.EXE replacement and as SSH client. I also have a licensed version of SecureCRT but I decided it is better to use a combined tool than separate ones.
7. CutePDF - (commercial software for) PDF editing, scan-to-pdf etc.
8. IrfanView - image viewer that supports pretty much all image formats you throw at it.
9. 7-Zip - for compressed file management. Windows Explorer does manage .ZIP files, but this one supports many other formats. Including .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .rar, .iso etc. that occasionally land on my desk.
10. ImagePrinter Pro - (commercial software that) installs itself as a printer, which then saves anything you throw at it in an image format (several choices, but I mostly use JPG or PNG). The free version adds a watermark.
11. VLC Player - open source video/DVD player that can play pretty much any format.
12. Calibre - I have hundreds of ebooks that needs a decent software to manage.

Then some stuff like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Teams, Spotify etc. OneDrive client (comes with Windows). Dropbox which I plan to quit soon (not enough space).

A JVM, Eclipse and WinMerge are $dayjob requirements. I also install some stuff from Sysinternals and similar sys/netadmin tools some of which are paid software (Multiping, for example).

I see people installing screen snippers - for me, Windows does it on its own (Win+Shift+S). Never felt the need for something else.

My Password Manager is the Firefox built-in one. Used to have Password Safe but not any longer - migrated everything out.

I sometimes dabble with Gimp & Audacity, but those are not must-haves.

I also keep an installation of WinDirStat handy because Windows' built-in support for this sort of work kind of sucks.

[ohaak]

* Get Zoho Vault as a free alternative to 1Password for password management.
* Similar to Chrome, you have Zoho Ulaa that is based on Chromium. It doesn't send as much telemetry data as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
* Get QuickHeal Internet Security for malware and good antivirus protection.
* Get HWInfo to monitor temperatures and voltages periodically. It helps with letting you know when the system is too hot (throttled response).
* Update the Intel/AMD management suite, BIOS updates and other system downloads periodically to get the best from the computer.

[jomyboy]

Here is a list of my five favorite apps not necessarily in order though:

Brave browser and quite frankly nothing beats it.

Also, I subscribe to the Kaspersky Internet, so along with password manager they have unlimited VPN and I am paying like only 600 bucks a year for all that. For some reason, they charge me lesser than the prices on their website.

Also, have the entire NCH suite, which is like totally worth it.

I prefer the Media Player Classic with the K-lite codecs.

Lastly, what would I do without Ice Cream reader and Ice Cream Pdf editor pro.

[itspatra]

Besides the usuals I will only add apps that I think not many people know or use.

Quick Share from Google : This is honestly the closest think to apple air drop and i find it very seamless. It pos up in the quickshare on my phone and quite easy and bloat free. I find Microsoft's Phone Link too bulky and invasive.

Nvidia Broadcast : If you have a RTX GPU please install this and give it a try. It is amazing. The green screen, eye contact, noise reduction etc is amazing.

(Oh yeah install Intel/AMD/Nvidia Driver update software too)

OBS Studio : This is the perfect software for you to record or stream your screen and apps. Its amazing.

WinDirStat : Amazing visualization of your storage to find the hidden stuff eating up your storage. Give this a try.


Core Temp : A quick and light weight software to check temps. It stays in your system tray to glance over.

[EnthDriver]

The programs I have been using for the past 2 to 3 years as a student :

1. Essentials

• MS Edge
• Google Chrome
• Phone link
• Outlook
• Microsoft store
• MS Office suite ( Word, Powerpoint, Excel)
• OneDrive

2. Productivity

• Notion ( excellent productivity app, can be used for anything)
• Microsoft ToDo

3. Entertainment

• Spotify
• YT Music ( Web app)

4. Utility

• HW info ( very useful application, can be used to monitor the temperatures and know the battery wear)

5. Games (Occasionally)

• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• American truck simulator

[meerkat]

Are there any free alternatives to the Acrobat DC for all password-protected PDFs and also for validating digital signatures on PDFs ?

Some such software (e.g. Foxit reader) can open some password-protected PDFs, but not all. I do absolutely detest Acrobat DC, but still have to keep it installed!

Thanks.
.

[binand]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Are there any free alternatives to the Acrobat DC for all password-protected PDFs? Some such software can open some password-protected PDFs, but not all.

Do you know why Foxit can't open some such files? I mentioned Sumatra PDF earlier; it opens all password-protected PDF files that I get. A good feature is that I can mention the passwords in its configuration file so that I don't have to enter it each time I open a PDF.

For example, HDFC Bank's monthly statement PDF has a different filename each month but the same password (my account ID), so once I enter it in the configuration file Sumatra doesn't ask the password for any month's HDFC statement. It basically tries all the listed passwords in sequence until one opens the file.

So once I enter some usual suspects (account ID, PAN, JESU2512 etc.) I'm good for the most part. Every time I encounter a new password format I add it to the list.

Originally Posted by meerkat

Are there any free alternatives to the Acrobat DC for validating digital signatures on PDFs ?

This is a miss (it shows documents as digitally signed but does not have the feature to validate them). This issue tracks the request to add this feature:

https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/...apdf/issues/59

Reading through it, I understand there are privacy concerns, among other problems.

[iampulo]

It's fascinating to see such no-nonsense and high productivity softwares which are time tested by BHPians. So many new softwares to try. I am excited. Kudos to all!

I am a proponent of FOSS(Free and Open Source Software) and I would like to add my share of pie, other the the regulars like MSOFFICE, VLC, etc:
1. Obsidian: The idea of developing a second brain is very cool. Although still in primal stages, I am loving this software to develop my forever memory library. It isn't open source but the fact that it stores data locally adds another level of privacy.
2. Syncthing: The free-source file sync software helps in keeping my apps like Obsidian, KeePass, synced with desktop and phone files.
3. Qbittorrent: For the obvious reasons, best open source Torrent client.
4. Calibre: another FOSS. It's my go to for all ebook management, kindle transfers and reading in PC.
5. KeePass: FOSS password manager. It's completely local based. No cloud data and again it's the simplest password manager I have encountered. Again syncthing helps in keeping my laptop and phone databases updated.
6. Telegram: For large File transfers to friends (2GB limits) and it's better desktop client interface than WhatsApp. Will add more as I discover the BHPians listed apps.

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by chiekennugget

Have you used FSR by AMD, it works on both AMD and Nvidia GPU's. I have never used it but the common talk is that it is very good

FSR is good, but it has to be natively supported by the game. Not all games have it implemented, especially older ones.

Originally Posted by ExtremePocca

Don't think fsr works on Linux, and it's quality won't be as good as Nvidia's solution. On a slightly related note, has anybody nere managed to make DLSS 3 work on 30 series GPUs? I have a 3070Ti laptop GPU, would love to use DLSS 3

FSR works on Linux, it is coupled with the rendering layer. Steam Deck e.g., is a Linux machine that uses FSR very well (again, the game needs to implement it first).

Lossless Scaling is a third party injector, similar to AMD's AFMF (Fluid Motion Frames) at the driver level (AFMF only works on Radeon 6000/ 7000 series GPUs). Neither of them are perfect as their side effects are ghosting and latency, but for games that struggle to render higher than 30 fps (perhaps due to console first design), they can be very good. Especially Lossless Scaling with its recent versions have addressed the ghosting issue by a lot. And for those of us who only play single player games, latency is not a big issue.

I dont think DLSS3 will work on RTX 30 series GPUs, not without driver hacks. Some modders did come up with custom dlls but they are game specific, e.g. Starfield, and they still never supported frame generation part of DLSS3.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by binand

Do you know why Foxit can't open some such files? I mentioned Sumatra PDF earlier; it opens all password-protected PDF files that I get. A good feature is that I can mention the passwords in its configuration file so that I don't have to enter it each time I open a PDF.

Thanks. I've never tried SumatraPDF to open password-protected PDFs, because Foxit works on almost all such files, and I do like it as a PDF reader. Foxit can open HDFC statements just fine, for example, but, curiously, not the ones from ICICI.

No, I don't know why Foxit can't open some such files. Please let us know if you have the answer.

So once I enter some usual suspects (account ID, PAN, JESU2512 etc.) I'm good for the most part.

That's something I have always been puzzled about: What purpose does such password-protection on PDFs actually serve when anybody and everybody can easily guess at the likely passwords?! Banks (as well as others) are curiously quite unconcerned about this issue! Is it so very difficult to let the customers choose their own passwords from the outset?!

Everybody knows that some digits of an account number or a credit card number are masked on the statements 'for safety purposes'. But did you ever happen to notice that on the same CC statements ICICI also provides 'helpful' QR codes to scan and pay, that divulge the full CC numbers in all their glory to anybody pointing a scanner at it? Boggles the mind!

This is a miss (it shows documents as digitally signed but does not have the feature to validate them). This issue tracks the request to add this feature:

https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/...apdf/issues/59

Reading through it, I understand there are privacy concerns, among other problems.

--- That means that I'm stuck with the horrible Acrobat DC for this purpose alone! It's a pity.
.

[uchun]

Originally Posted by ChristComesSoon

Here are the ones I use:


Would love to know if you have any recommendations for an alternative that is free, open source, for OneNote...

Not exactly an alternative to OneNote but I've been using trilium for the recent past months and it has been really good. You can self host it anywhere and can access via URL. I've personally tested it's backup/restore feature and it works well.

https://github.com/zadam/trilium

[binand]

Originally Posted by meerkat

What purpose does such password-protection on PDFs actually serve when anybody and everybody can easily guess at the likely passwords?

Good question, and worthy of further discussion. My theory is that bank CISOs do this only because it allows them to tick a checkbox somewhere in an audit compliance report. Otherwise why do banks overdo passwords, OTPs, captchas, javascript tricks and all such nonsense that fly directly against good UX principles?