Free software on USB enables portable computing
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By
Scott Dunn
USB flash drives are good for more than just storing and transferring files — with the right software, your flash drive can become a tiny computer. Fortunately, you can find plenty of great software that not only runs on a USB flash drive, but is also completely free. |
To maximize your flash drive, get a suite
In Part One of this article in the Oct. 11 issue, I described the fastest USB flash drives, which are necessary for portable software to run well. Once you have the USB drive you want, and you've installed the necessary software, you can plug the drive into any machine and have all the applications and data you need at your fingertips.
In this issue, I'll tell you about the best free software for flash drives. I'll also explain how to use a flash drive with relative security on any computer.
These days, portable software (sometimes called flash-drive compatible software) is available from an array of sources. In many cases, these products are assembled into suites. The major offerings are from PortableApps, winPenPack, and U3. You can also download and install individual portable applications wherever you find them.
Having tested all the major offerings, I recommend that you combine two sources to get the best free software for your flash drive:
• Use the Portable Apps suite. PortableApps has a solid collection of open-source and free software. I found its menuing system, however, to be less than the best.
• Add the winPenPack menu. Fortunately, a highly customizable program launcher from winPenPack can easily be installed along with a suite of software from Portable Apps.
PortableApps
For ease of installation, there's nothing like downloading a whole collection of applications that are designed to run from a flash drive. The suite from PortableApps suite comes in two editions: Standard (260MB) and Lite (105MB).
The free software in the Standard edition includes portable versions of an office suite (OpenOffice), a browser (Firefox), an e-mail client (Thunderbird), a calendar and task manager (Sunbird), antivirus software (ClamWin), instant messaging (Gaim), and a game (Sudoku). The Lite version is almost the same, but replaces the many functions of OpenOffice with AbiWord, a word processor.
The suite also includes a built-in backup function and a launching menu that appears in the system tray. (On many computers, you must first start the launcher manually through Explorer after inserting your flash drive.) If you only want this menu and the backup utility, you can download just that from PortableApps as well; it consumes only 1MB when installed.
Although PortableApps has its own special format, you can add any app that's on your flash drive to the PortableApps launch menu (regardless of format). To do so, click Options, Refresh App Icons. Unfortunately, this function adds all .exe files to the menu, whether you want them all there or not.
To download any or all of these portable software programs, visit the PortableApps site.
winPenPack
A different collection of portable applications is available from winPenPack, an Italian company. The company's site offers plenty of free applications grouped into various suites or collections (in both English and Italian). The site features its own customizable, pop-up menu launcher, which I found superior to PortableApps' offering. You can download the menu system by itself or as part of a software collection.
Just as PortableApps offers Standard and Lite suites, winPenPack provides a variety of software packages. The company calls these Essential, 1GB, Expert, School, and Web. The site also includes instructions for assembling your own personal set of apps. You can see a list of the applications in these suites by visiting the Doc/Help page and clicking Applications Lists. Then click the suite whose contents you want to see.
Because the product originates in Italy, you may need to apply an English language pack after installation.
A few of the winPenPack apps I tried seemed underpowered, but the sheer breadth of available product categories (Office-style applications, graphics, Internet, multimedia, security, system utilities, and more) was impressive. And I liked the ability to customize the hierarchy of menus and submenus in the program launcher, which you can use with any folder or application, not just winPenPack collections.
For information on creating your own set of portable applications, visit the personal winPenPack page. To install the launcher separately from any other software, visit the download page. Change the language widget in the upper-right corner to "English" if it's set to "Italian."
If you don't find winPenPack's launcher to your liking, another free, customizable pop-up launcher is PStart, from Pegtop software.
U3
If you have a U3 drive and are satisfied with the available U3 software, installing a U3 app is as simple as clicking the U3 icon in the system tray (the area of the taskbar near the clock) and clicking Download Programs. The list makes it easy to spot the free programs from trial or shareware versions.
Do-it-yourself
A final (and more laborious) option is to use your favorite search engine to find apps that are designed to run from flash drives. Popular sites for portable freeware include Andrew Lee's Portable Freeware collection and the portable freeware page of the NedWolf site. SnapFiles also has listings for such products, but these are mainly small utilities rather than mainstream applications.
How to reduce the risks of flash computing
If you plan to use your flash drive with any public computer, you're exposing yourself to a variety of risks. Using a public computer is never 100% safe and private, since a PC used by others might have keylogging software capturing your passwords and other data. However, you can take some steps to limit the dangers from viruses, keyloggers, and loss of the drive itself.
Use antimalware software. The risk of acquiring viruses, spyware, or other malware from a public computer is high, so take care to install one or more antimalware products on your flash drive. Antimalware programs are available in all of the collections discussed above. You can also find other portable antimalware products online.
In addition, once you return home, you should use any virus scanner that's installed on your desktop machine to scan the flash drive before using any application on it.
Don't use online banking on a public PC. If you log on to a banking application that allows money to be transferred from your account to payees, this is just what keylogging software is looking for. Either carry a laptop that you regularly scan for spyware, or find some way other than an Internet café to do your banking remotely.
Protect your privacy. Privacy on a public computer is also a concern, especially if you're working with sensitive documents. One strategy for protecting your data is to use a portable encryption program like TrueCrypt, as discussed in the Aug. 2 and Aug. 16 newsletters.
Another option is to use an archiving program that can encrypt the compressed files it creates. For example, the program IZArc2Go fills that bill and is designed for flash drives as well.
To use the files you encrypted, you'll have to copy them from the encrypted folder to work on them. When you're finished with the work files, copy them back to the encrypted folder. Then destroy the work copies using a shredder utility, such as CyberShredder or Ultrashredder.
Make backups. Finally, protect yourself against accidental loss of the drive itself by making backups of its contents. If you're making the backup to your desktop system, you can use whatever software you have on that system (including any that might be built into your version of Windows). In addition, backup utilities are found in all the portable-application collections discussed earlier.
Flash drives make it easy to take both your work and applications with you wherever you go. Although they're not as secure as taking a laptop with you, they're much easier to transport. With the right precautions, you can reduce your risks and get the ultimate in portable computing.
Readers Richard Cobb and "Brad" will each receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for their help in researching this topic. Have a tip about Windows? Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.
Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He is also a contributing editor of PC World Magazine, where he has written a monthly column since 1992, and co-author of 101 Windows Tips & Tricks (Peachpit) with Jesse Berst and Charles Bermant.
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