This page lists apps for daily work, networking, monitoring, and self-management.
These are practical recommendations, not strict requirements. Pick tools based on your OS, threat model, and workflow.
Web
| Application | Description |
|---|
| Helium | Best privacy and unbiased ad-blocking by default. Handy features like native !bangs and split view. No adware, no bloat, no noise. Made for people, by people. Fully open source. |
| Firefox | Fast browser for Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile. Tune with Betterfox for stronger defaults. |
| Betterfox | Tuned user.js profile for speed, privacy, and security. Based on yokoffing/Betterfox with personal improvements. |
| Zen | Firefox-based browser with a modern interface and privacy-focused defaults. Tune with Betterfox for stronger defaults. |
| Floorp | Fast, customizable browser with Betterfox-style performance and privacy improvements. |
Terminal and SSH
| Application | Description |
|---|
| PuTTY | Lightweight terminal emulator with SSH, Telnet, and SCP support for remote administration. |
| Termius | Modern SSH client with host groups, cross-device sync, and SFTP support. |
FTP
| Application | Description |
|---|
| FileZilla | Cross-platform client for file transfers over FTP, SFTP, and FTPS. |
Monitoring and system info
| Application | Description |
|---|
| btop4win | Resource monitor for CPU, memory, disk, network, and process usage on Windows. |
| btop | Resource monitor for CPU, memory, disk, network, and process usage across platforms. |
| lm-sensors | Linux utility for reading hardware sensor values, including CPU temperature. |
| HWiNFO | Detailed hardware diagnostics and real-time monitoring for Windows. |
| CPU-Z | Lightweight utility for CPU, motherboard, memory, and GPU details. |
| CPU-G | Open-source system information tool similar to CPU-Z. |
Video recording
| Application | Description |
|---|
| OBS | Open-source tool for video recording and live streaming with advanced scene control. |
Remote access
| Application | Description |
|---|
| AnyDesk | Remote desktop software for support, collaboration, and daily operations. |
| RustDesk | Open-source remote desktop tool with optional self-hosting for stronger privacy control. |
| Parsec | Low-latency remote access platform optimized for collaboration and performance. |
| Application | Description |
|---|
| PowerToys | Microsoft utility suite that adds advanced productivity features to Windows. |
| EarTrumpet | Enhanced Windows volume mixer with per-app audio control. |
| NVIDIA Shader Cache Explorer | Utility for inspecting and managing NVIDIA shader cache data. |
| MPO GPU Fix | Fix utility for MPO-related display issues on supported AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. |
| MAS | Open-source activation and troubleshooting scripts for Windows and Office. |
| PaintDotNet | Release repository for Paint.NET installers and portable builds. |
Notes
| Application | Description |
|---|
| AFFiNE | Collaborative knowledge management and note-taking app. |
| Obsidian | Local-first Markdown note app for building a connected knowledge base. |
| Notion | All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, databases, and collaboration. |
| Karakeep | Self-hostable bookmark-everything app with AI-assisted organization. |
| AppFlowy | Self-hosted cloud backend for AppFlowy with auth, storage, and real-time sync. |
Virtual machine
| Application | Description |
|---|
| VirtualBox | Open-source hypervisor for running multiple operating systems on one host. |
| VMware Workstation | Desktop hypervisor with advanced virtualization features and high stability. |
| VM Manager | Platform for automating virtual infrastructure and managing virtualization workloads. |
Audio
| Application | Description |
|---|
| Audacity | Free, open-source, cross-platform tool for recording and editing audio. |
Network
| Application | Description |
|---|
| Wireshark | Network protocol analyzer for troubleshooting, analysis, and education. |
| Jfscan | Super fast port scanning & service discovery using Masscan and Nmap. Scan large networks with Masscan and use Nmap’s scripting abilities to discover information about services. Generate report. |
