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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Office, Productivity, Freeware, Windows x64

Easily install popular programs after a reformat with Smart Installer Pack

At work, I usually either use a drive imaging program to load the operating system and applications onto a machine. If I'm reformatting a customer's machine, I use WPI (Windows Post Installer) to silently install programs. At home, however, I'm a little less cautious when I reformat and often forget to back up my program installers.

That's when something like the Smart Installer Pack might come in handy. It's a pre-packed set of popular applications that you'd likely want to install on your own system (or a friend's) after a fresh format.

It includes a host of apps like Firefox, Chrome, OpenOffice, Winamp, Skype, Daemon Tools, Picasa, Winamp, Thunderbird, Adobe Reader and Flash, WinRar, Rocket Dock, CCleaner, and more. Everything downloads in a single file, so you won't be cluttering up your drive with a bunch of separate installers.

SIP has two drawbacks. First, the installers are interactive, not silent, so you'll have to click through manually. Second, there are a few apps I'd normally install instead - like 7zip and Sumatra PDF. Shortcomings aside, this is still a handy way to get a system up and running quickly with a solid group of commonly-used programs.

Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware

Zfone: Secure, encrypted VoIP from PGP creator

ZfonePhil Zimmerman, creator of the popular PGP encryption system, has released Zfone, an app that adds secure encryption to any SIP-based VoIP client like Gizma, Wengo, or Ekiga. The encryption protocol, which Zimmerman has submitted as a standard draft to the IETF, is exclusively peer-to-peer, meaning it does not rely on public key infrastructure for security. Zfone is currently available for free for Mac OS X and Linux, with a Windows version due in April.

[Via Boing Boing]

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