Finding the right tool for the right job can be a daunting affair, which is precisely why I maintain this list. It’s my own way of keeping track of the best (or least expensive) software for that special task or project. Maybe you’ll discover something you didn’t know was out there. Better yet, maybe you’ll even save some money. Each name links directly to the software homepage.
Updated: 5/25/11
____________________________________
Understanding ‘Portable’ software. This is simply a term used to describe software that can run off a USB drive. Most developers nowadays create a portable version of their program, or make it portable right from the get-go. This results in two flavors of portable software. The first kind must be installed or unpacked to a USB drive just as you would do on a PC. The other takes the form of a fully self-contained exe file. This second type is great since you can literally copy it over to a USB drive, no installation required. Just double-click and it runs. The important thing is that whatever the type of portable version, all of the software in this list will run just fine on your main computer.
____________________________________
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading my other post titled Understanding Free Software, before browsing this list
1by1 Music Player – A super slick alternative to Windows Media Player. Fast startup, simple to use, no bloat…just plain awesome
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
7-Zip – A top-notch compression utility for opening/creating zipped files and many other types of compressed files
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Audacity – Record, edit and mix audio tracks in multiple formats
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
BerBible – An ultra-portable bible with integrated search
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
CCleaner – Clean out the junk that inevitably accumulates
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
CDBurner XP – Create compilation CDs, backups or ISO files
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
ClamWin Antivirus – Free, cross-platform antivirus. Features a clean, minimalist interface, regular updates and uses fewer system resources than any other antivirus product I’ve ever used.
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
Clementime – It’s a timer. Simple, functional and portable.
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
Convert for Windows – A wonderful and tiny unit and measurement converter that covers just about everything
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
CPU-Z – Get detailed info on your CPU, RAM and Motherboard
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
DateInTray – Put a handy little calendar right in the system tray
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
Defraggler – Simple defragmentation done right
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
dsCrypt – Easily encrypt individual or multiple files
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
DSynchronize – Create a backup set of your data, and then keep it nicely synchronized using this outstanding utility
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows
Eric’s Movie Database – A great program for keeping track of your movie library, ratings, and which movies you’ve lent out
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Eraser – Powerful file shredding for sensitive documents
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Everything Search Engine – Windows’ built in search feature is no match against the amazing speed of this tiny search utility
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
ExplorerXP – A nice replacement for Windows Explorer that offers a little more flexibility and functionality
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows XP
FastStone Image Viewer – An all around excellent tool for managing and working with all manner of image files
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows XP
Firefox – The browser that’s fast, secure and customizable
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
Foxit Reader – Lightweight, fast-loading, user-friendly alternative to the much heavier and slower Adobe PDF Reader
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Ubuntu)
GIMP – Highly polished, robust alternative to Adobe Photoshop
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
HDD Health – Monitor the health of your Hard Drive
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
HWMonitor – Keep an eye on system core temperatures
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows
JavaRa – Great tool for keeping Java up to date, cleaned up, and improving the overall security of your computer
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Karen’s Computer Profiler – Detailed information right at your fingertips. While there be sure to check out Karen’s other works. I love your stuff Karen!
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Lupas Rename – Super handy tool for bulk renaming of files
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware – Spyware protection that’s easy to use and keep up to date. Thank You Malwarebytes.
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
Media Player Classic – A tiny media player that can handle just about any kind of media: music, video, DVDs and a whole lot more
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Miro – Subscribe to any number of video feeds or podcasts and then let Miro download, organize and play them back for you
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
Mp3tag – A lite but powerful utility for managing MP3 tags
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
MyUninstaller – A more powerful tool for uninstalling unwanted software. While there be sure to visit the many other great tools from Nir Sofer. Thank You Nir.
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Partition Master Home Edition – Easily setup and manage partitions without having to reformat your Hard Drive
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows
PDFill Writer – Export documents and webpages to PDF
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
PDF-XChange Viewer – An alternative to Adobe Reader that’s lighter, snappier and packed with just as many useful features
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Photofiltre – A friendly photo editor that I can’t recommend enough. Thank You for this Great software Antonio.
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
PStart – A handy Start Menu for launching USB apps
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Secunia PSI – Keep your computer secure and up-to-date by seeing which programs are outdated and vulnerable
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
SnoopFree Privacy Shield – A specialized deterrent for screen capture type malware
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows XP
SoftMaker Office 2008 – Unquestionably the best office software I’ve used since MS Office XP. It’s light, snappy, intuitive and elegant. Works with Windows and Ubuntu.
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner/Average
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Ubuntu)
SpaceSniffer – Easily compare which programs or files are taking up the most space on your hard drive
• Portable version: Yes
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Spybot Search & Destroy – Proven spyware detection and prevention from a community of dedicated developers
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Startup Monitor – Runs quietly in the background, preventing malicious software from adding itself to Windows startup
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows
Thunderbird – Retrieve, read, manage, organize and archive your email with a single client…that’s also customizable
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
TrueCrypt – Create an encrypted virtual drive for sensitive data and documents. Can also be installed to USB drives.
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac, Ubuntu)
Unlocker – A highly specialized tool for those times when Windows refuses to let you work with certain files
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Power Users Only
• Operating System: Windows
Volumouse – Control Windows volume using the mouse wheel
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Average
• Operating System: Windows
Walyk Wallpaper Changer – Change your desktop wallpaper at the click of a button, or set it to choose one at random intervals
• Portable version: No
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Windows
WordWeb – Quickly pop up a dictionary/thesaurus using a simple hotkey combo. Can also perform Wikipedia searches.
• Portable version: Yes (Installation Required)
• User Level: Beginner
• Operating System: Cross-Platform (Windows, Mac)
