File backup software
Unison
Unison is a simple, lightweight backup program. It is GUI-driven, which makes it well suitable for new Linux
users. It is capable of backing up files and folders to local and remote locations (via SSH) and can run
scheduled.
TimeVault
TimeVault is a snapshot software, which, when activated will create copies of all files and folders that
change, retained a detailed archive of all revisions. It is very useful for keeping track of frequent changes
to important files. It also guarantees easy recovery of lost data.
Imaging software
CloneZilla
CloneZilla is a fast, light imaging software that runs from a CD. It is well suited for desktop use, as well as
massive deployment in server environment. The program can backup and restore high-quality, high-compression
images on a variety of disk, partition and filesystem types, including NTFS.
Mondo
Mondo is a text-driven system backup & restore utility. It is reliable and works well with a range of
filesystems. Mondo is the module responsible for creating backup archives. Mindi is the module that packages
archives into bootable .isos, so they can be burned and used on any machine.
PartImage
PartImage is another powerful imaging software. It comes bundled with a large number of system rescue, recovery
and backup distributions, like SystemRescueCD.
Remastersys
Remastersys is very handy application that allows you to clone and backup your Linux distribution, including
root, home, other partitions, and all personal, custom configuration to a fully deployable, bootable live CD.
Remastersys works for several distributions, including Ubuntu and its derivatives, like Linux Mint and Klikit
Linux.
Browsers
*Firefox
IEs4Linux
This is an excellent utility that enables you to run Internet Explorer on Linux, using WINE for emulation; it
offers Internet Explorers 5 through 7, including Flash, making invalid the excuse of not switching to Linux
because your favorite site only loads in Internet Explorer.
Opera:Opera is another solid browser. It is light, fast and includes built-in mail and a torrent client.
Console (Terminal) utilities
Guake
Guake is a semi-transparent drop-down console that you can use instead of your standard shell programs by
having it always ready at the tip of your fingers. Guake allows you to work faster and with more fun.
Terminator
Terminator is a console (terminal) utility that allows you to freely manage the layout of several windows
inside a single frame, thus maintaining an unobstructed view of all workspaces.
Yakuake : is a project very similar to Guake, except that is intended for KDE desktops.
Emulators
DOSBox is an x86 PC emulator, complete with graphics, sound, mouse, and modem, allowing you to run old
DOS-based games that are no longer supported by modern operating systems. It also supports IPX and Serial multiplayer modes.
QEMU is a multi-purpose processor emulator, with many additional features. For example, you can use it to
create virtual machines or virtual hard disks and convert them.
WINE is not an emulator, according to the official information. It is a translation layer or a program loader,
capable of running Windows applications on Linux and other UNIX-based systems.
Encryption
TrueCrypt is a powerful, cross-platform real-time on-the-fly encryption software. It can be used to create
encrypted volumes (file containers), encrypt entire partitions or drives, and even encrypt the entire operating
systems (Windows only). TrueCrypt supports standard and hidden volumes and can run from portable devices.
Forensic tools
BackTrack is one of the more popular distributions in the white hat circles. It is specially suited for
penetration testing, with more than 300 tools available for the task. Like both Helix and Protech, BackTrack is
based on Ubuntu. This means good stability and hardware detection and a whole lot of software that can be
easily obtained.
Helix is a dedicated rescue, recovery and incidence handling distribution, with both pure Linux live CD and
in-vivo Windows modes. Helix can be used for system diagnostics, profiling, auditing, security checks, data
collection, malware analysis, and a range of other Infosec tasks.
FTP clients
FileZilla is a fast, popular, cross-platform FTP client, although there's also a server module, albeit only for
Windows. The program supports FTP, SFTP and FTPS.
HTML editing
Bluefish is a powerful, multi-language editor, intended for use mainly by programmers and web developers. It
supports many programming and markup languages and focuses on dynamic and interactive websites. Some of the
many features included are unlimited undo/redo, automatic tag closing for HTML and XML documents, syntax
highlighting, and numerous external plugins.
KompoZer is a simple, lightweight WYSIWYG HTML editor, a continuation of the Nvu project. KompoZer solves a
number of bugs that existed in the previous incarnation and introduces new features. It is very easy to use,
even by people who have little knowledge of web languages.
Image manipulation
Digital cameras
gtkam
gtkam is a simple utility that supports numerous devices. In most cases, you should just plug your camera and
start using it.
Image suite
GIMP
GIMP is a powerful, comprehensive image manipulation program. It offers an extremely wide range of tools for
graphic editing of images, although it does require extensive knowledge to be fully utilized.
Viewers
F-Spot
F-Spot is a photo management program for Gnome desktops; the program supports numerous file types and allows
easy editing and tagging of photos, simplifying cataloging of large batches of images.
GwenView
GwenView is a fast, east-to-use image viewer for KDE desktops, with quick-edit features that make it ideal for
lightweight manipulation of images, compared to the more serious GIMP. GwenView also allows you to tag your
images, rate them or present them in a slideshow.
Web cameras
Cheese Webcam Booth
Cheese is a very simple, powerful web camera utility that should work well and out of the box with most camera
devices, including built-in gadgets in laptops. It takes very little effort to setup and configure, it can
capture stills and add custom graphics to pictures.
Instant Messaging & Video conferencing
Ekiga (formerly GnomeMeeting)
Ekiga is a Voice over IP (VoIP), IP Telephony, and Video Conferencing application that allows you to make audio
and video calls to remote users with SIP or H.323 compatible hardware and software. It supports many audio and
video codecs and all modern VoIP features for both SIP and H.323. It also integrates nicely with web camera
devices.
Kopete
Kopete is an Instant Messaging program for KDE; Kopete supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Gadu-Gadu,
Novell GroupWise Messenger, and more, as well as message encryption and archiving. Kopete also works with web
cameras
Pidgin (formerly GAIM)
Pidgin is a multi-protocol client and will allow you to connect to several networks, without using several
(often) bloated and unneeded IM programs. GAIM supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, Silc,
GroupWise, SameTime, and Zephyr networks.
Skype
Skype is a VoIP, video conferencing and instant messaging software that uses a proprietary format for
communication. In return, it offers encryption and good quality of service.
Conversion tools - all categories
ffmpeg is a Jack o' all Trades conversion utility, available on Linux and other operating systems, capable of
converting just about anything to anything. It is a command line utility.
Desktop recording & presentation
software
recordMyDesktop
recordMyDesktop is a simple, friendly movie recording software, which allows you to easily create high-quality,
impressive animations of your desktop.
XVidCap is another interesting, useful desktop recording software.
Wink is a tutorial and presentation creation software. It allows you to capture screenshots of the actions you
take on the desktop, wrap them into an animation and export them as beautiful, classy Flash, PDF or even
executable packages.
Players - Audio
Amarok is an excellent media player. Although it is mainly intended for KDE desktop, it will work well on other
platforms. Some people argue whether the Amarok 2.0 is indeed better than the older Amarok 1.4, so you should
check for yourself before deciding.
Rhythmbox.
This is another great Linux music player. It works with a range of media formats and will naturally "plug in"
to Web radio stations. For example, you can stream music from Last.fm
directly into Rhythmbox.
Players - Video
MPlayer is a highly versatile media player for Linux, with a very good support of audio and video formats. It
will play most MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, VIVO, ASF/WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, NUT, NuppelVideo,
FLI, YUV4MPEG, FILM, RoQ, and PVA files, supported by many native, XAnim, and Win32 DLL codecs. You can watch
VideoCD, SVCD, DVD, 3ivx, DivX 3/4/5, and even WMV movies.
Players - all categories
Miro
Formerly known as Democracy Player (which featured in the last collection), Miro is a good-looking Internet TV
platform; the player incorporates video RSS feeds, automatic downloads of videos, BitTorrent, and other
exciting features
VLC is an amazing open-source, cross-platform player, supporting a staggering collection of supported media
formats, including Audio, Video and Flash. It should be one of your top choices whenever it comes to playing
any sort of media. It is also a region-free DVD player.
Office applications
LaTeX-based text processors
Kile is a KDE frontend for the almighty LaTeX text processing language. The application look good and has many
useful features. Using LaTeX allows you to create stylish, professional-looking documents in half the time it
will take you by conventional means of office utilities.
LyX
Alongside Kile, LyX is another tremendous, powerful LaTeX GUI. It allows you to create impressive documents in
HTML, PS or PDF format rendered with unbeatably beautiful Computer Modern fonts. LyX is also available for
Windows and is a little less difficult to use, in my opinion.
Office programs & suites
AbiWord
This little word processor is much more powerful than it seems. It is lightweight, fast and has lots of rich
features. AbiWord supports numerous file formats, including DOC, DOCX, ODT, and RTF. It is also extensible with
plugins. Best of all, AbiWord comes with the ultra-sexy Computer Modern fonts included by default!
OpenOffice
OpenOffice is a powerful office suite, with word, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, and other
applications. It runs on Linux, but you can also use it on Windows as a replacing for Microsoft Office. Like
Firefox, OpenOffice has
extensions, which further enhance its capabilities.
Partitioning software
GParted is a partitioning software that can be run from live CD or inside installed systems. It can be used to
create, resize, move, delete, reformat, or check partitions, including NTFS filesystem. GParted is robust,
reliable and safe. I have written a thorough, detailed tutorial about GParted.
Peer-to-Peer sharing
aMule is the Linux version of eMule, a highly popular and successful P2P sharing application. While it may not
be as fast as most BitTorrent clients, you're more likely to find less popular, older content than anywhere
else. Using aMule takes patience, but it is rewarding. aMule uses ED2k servers and the KAD network.
Rescue & Recovery
Super Grub Disk
Super Grub Disk is intended to run from a floppy disk or CD and is used for system rescue. Most importantly, it
can be used to restore boot loaders, including GRUB, LILO and even Windows boot loader.
SystemRescueCD
This is a live CD specifically geared toward rescue and recovery. The tools package includes some of the most
important tools available for Linux user, like GParted, PartImage, Grub, Lilo, sfdisk, TestDisk, and more.
Network scanners
nmap is probably the most popular network scanner in the whole world. It was even used with surprising accuracy
by Trinity in Matrix against a Windows 2000 in a successful attempt to discover vulnerable services and gain
entry. nmap is a command-line utility, but it can be used with a GUI; there are several versions available,
including zenmap and others
Rootkit tools
chkrootkit
chkrootkit is a shell script that can check the system binaries for signs of rootkit modification. It is a
useful tool in an environment that requires lax firewall rules and multiple installations from external
sources.
rkhunter
Like chkrootkit, rkhunter can be used to check system files for unwanted changes. The two tools complement each
other nicely.
Traffic sniffers
Wireshark (formerly Ethereal)
Wireshark is a powerful packet collection and analysis suite, capable of capturing network data on all levels
of the TCP/IP stack. It can collect data from Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, PPP, and loopback, supports hundreds of
protocols, has rich traffic analysis filters, and can be enhanced with plugins.
Virtualization
Kiwi
Kiwi is a system imaging software for
openSUSE. It is a tremendously versatile
program that allows you to create custom-build images of openSUSE or other Linux distributions and convert them
to virtual machine images, live CD/DVDs, bootable USB images, PXE thin install, OEM preload images, Amazon
machines, and even migrate existing physical installations. Kiwi uses the extremely simply Image Creator and
Product Creator wizards to manage image building, making it a breeze for just about anyone to roll professional
custom distributions in a matter of hours.
VirtualBox
VirtualBox is a versatile, cross-platform virtualization software that allows you to run multiple guest
operating systems on top of your existing desktop. VirtualBox is a must for software enthusiasts, testers and
researchers, or people who want to try new operating systems without altering their existing setups. One of the
possible uses is to run Windows software that has no alternatives on Linux.
VMware Player
VMware Player is a simple, adequate virtualization solution for desktop use. It is less powerful than either
VirtualBox or VMware Server (see below), but it allows home users to test new operating systems or new software
for their existing platforms in guest machines, without altering their base setup. It also comes included in
numerous repositories, so it is quite easy to install and maintain.
VMware Server
VMware Server is another powerful desktop virtualization software. Alongside VirtualBox, it makes a great combo
for exploring and testing new stuff. VMware Server has many useful features, including the ability to connect
to remote machines, a mighty network stack, and offers 3D
support for DirectX on Windows guests, complementing OpenGL on VirtualBox.
credits:
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/new-cool-list-linux.html
