ITworld: Don't buy that security software!

Why buy when a free open source security app might suit your needs? Here are 12 excellent choices.

By Carla Schroder
July 26, 2012

Open source doesn't have to mean free of cost, but thanks to the generosity of open source developers many thousands of great applications are free. Why spend money when you don't have to? Though if you like and depend on an app, nothing says thanks like clicking the "Donate" button.

Open source applications have advantages other than free or low cost. The best security products are open source, for example OpenSSH, OpenSSL, GPG, and the iptables firewall. Most commercial products are for Windows only, or sometimes Windows and Mac, while their open source cousins serve Mac, Linux, Unix, and other platforms. In this roundup we look at some good open source apps for securing and rescuing our data on PCs, and for protecting our mobile devices.

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