Beyond Hacking

Contents

Free System tools
Free System tools Free Network Monitoring tools Free Virtual Private Networking Free Registry tools Free Task Schedulers Remote Administration tools Related Networking Pages Operating System Introduction Virtual Machines / Emulators Free Linux Operating Systems Linux/Windows combinations Free BSD Operating Systems Other Unix Operating Systems Free Educational Operating Systems More free Operating Systems BeOS / Zeta RiscOS Commercial Operating Systems Java Operating-systems Windows DOS and DOS clones OS Projects Operating System Development Operating System-related sites Related Operating System pages Free Chess Free Checkers Free Go Free Card Games Free Puzzle Games Free Sports Games Free Online Games Free Games for Download Free Music Games Make your own Games Free Dress up Games Fantasy Role Playing Games Free Virtual Pets Cheats Abandonware Games Slowing down old games More Games-related Websites

BackStab	Freeware process viewer for Windows. It shows ALL running processes, not just a selection. You can change the priority of processes, kill/terminate multiple processes, kill/terminate multiple instances of the same program.
CurrProcess	Freeware process viewer for Windows. More informative than the standard Windows task manager!
HealthMonitor	Freeware, open source for Windows. Continously checks system status and can notify the administrator by email or popup message. Runs as a service.
MemScope	Free utility to test the memory chips inside your computer. Suitable for PC.
PC Accelerate	Speeds up the program which is currently active by increasing foreground window priority.
Process Explorer	Freeware process viewer for Windows, which displays much more information on each running process than the built-in Windows task manager.
SIW	Displays detailed system information, such as specs of motherboard, BIOS, CPU, devices, memory, video, disk drives, ports, printers, operating system, active network connections, installed programs and codecs, processes, services, serial numbers (CD keys), users, open files, system uptime, network, network shares, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, memory, page file usage and network traffic.
Startup Inspector for Windows	Freeware program which provides information on the programs that automatically start on your Windows system, and whether these programs are necessary, or whether they are spyware.
Startup Monitor for Windows	Freeware; a small monitoring program, which keeps a constant eye on your system's startup entries. When a change is made, you will be notified and given a choice whether or not to allow the change.
Startup Programs Knowledge Base	When you want to find out what the purpose is of a particular Windows program running invisibly in the background, just lookup its filename in this database.
Task Manager Fix	Free utility to fix the common Windows error "Task manager has been disabled by your administrator".
TopToBottomNT	Powerful freeware taskmanager program for Windows. It not only displays currently active processes, but also drivers, dll's, modules, GDI objects, ActiveX components,.NET modules, etc.
WinDowse	Place your mouse over any window, and WinDowse shows you a large list of data regarding that window, such as: the text, caption, resource ID, process ID, application instance handle, window handle, parent handle, etc.
XXClone	Copies the whole Win NT, 2000 or XP system volume to another disk that will be ready to boot without a restore step. Supports FAT, NTFS, USB-disk, PATA and SATA.

Free Network Monitoring tools
ViewTCP	VIEWTCP is a network monitoring tool that examines TCP/IP activity on Windows. This free utility lists all TCP and UDP endpoints on your PC, including the remote address (along with Domain name of the remote address) and state of TCP connections.

Free Virtual Private Networking
A Virtual Private Network (or VPN) is a private communications network to communicate confidentially over the Internet. A VPN basically is a Local Area Network (or LAN), except that - instead of physical wires - the Internet is used to create connections between computers.
Hamachi	Creates a secure virtual network through the Internet. Freeware for Windows and Linux.
OpenVPN	A full-featured SSL VPN Linux, Windows 2000/XP and higher, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris.
UltraVPN	UltraVPN is a client/server SSL VPN solution based on OpenVPN. It encrypts and anonymize network connections.
VPNTools.com	Website dedicated to providing information on virtual private networking.
WallCooler	Free VPN software for Windows.

Free Registry tools
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner	Free registry repair software for Windows that allows you to clean and repair registry problems with a few simple mouse clicks.
Free Registry Defrag	Free registry compacting program for Windows. It optimizes your registry by removing gaps and wasted space, thus improves the whole system performance.
NT Registry Analyzer	Finds and removes incorrect or obsolete information in the registry.
Registrar Lite	Freeware registry editor with more features than the one which comes with Windows.
Registry repair	This free cleaner tool allows you to fix your registry and optimize your PCs performance.
SpyMe Tools	Free registry scanner for Windows with real-time disk/registry monitor. Can also create dumps of the actual states of registry and harddisks, compare two different dump files so you'll see exactly what changed, backup/restore the registry, and encrypt/password-protect the dump files.
Tiny Watcher	Freeware registry and system monitor for Windows. Tiny Watcher starts by taking a snapshot of important parts of your Windows system; then it tracks changes (every time you log in, or whenever you want to). When a change is detected, you are notified.
WiseClearner	Wise Registry Cleaner speeds up your PC by cleaning your Registry. It removes the junk that accumulates in your Windows Registry. Freeware and shareware versions are available.

Free Task Schedulers
Freebyte Task Scheduler	Freeware for Windows. Small and zero-install utility which enables you to start other programs automatically, periodically and at pre-defined times. This program functions very well in combination with backup software like Freebyte Backup, disk fragmenters, virus scanners and other regularly scheduled system maintanance utilities.

Remote Administration tools
The remote administration tools listed in this section enable you to connect to, and interact with a remote computer's mouse, keyboard and screen, in just the same way as if you were sitting physically behind it.
GenControl	Freeware, open-source remote desktop control program. It allows the authorised administrator to remotely control the desktop of another machine over a Windows-based network. It is packaged as a self contained executable file which can be easily added or removed from a system, requiring no non-standard libraries or other non-standard components.
VNC	VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is open-source, freeware and cross-platform, allowing remote control between different types of computer. For ultimate simplicity, there is even a Java viewer, so that any desktop can be controlled remotely from within a browser without having to install software.

Related Network Pages

Free Encryption and
Computer Security

Free file, disk and email encryption software; free password managers, free data wiping tools, firewalls, computer vulnerability tests.

Free File and
Disk Utilities

Disk catalog programs; backup, compression, split and zip programs; disk search engines, disk management utilities, remote file storage services, data recovery tools, data wipe tools, downloadable boot disks and more.

Free drivers, dll's,
and bios upgrades

Find your missing system file (dll, vxd, ocx, driver, etc.) or BIOS upgrade, and download it for free.

Free Software
created by Freebyte

Free Personal Information Managers, free File and Disk Utilities, free Address Books, free eBook Software and more.

Free Anti-virus Software

Believe it or not, there are many good anti-virus programs you can download and use for free! Also: free firewalls, very useful trial anti-virus program versions, anti-virus software tests, links to specialized anti-virus sites, etc.

Free Anti-Spyware

Free utilities to detect and remove spyware.

Free Technical Support

Free technical support for all computer-related issues: Hardware, software, PC, Windows, MAC, PDAs, Linux, drivers, Modems, dll's, virus.

Free Operating Systems

Free operating systems, such as: Linux, FreeBSD, Windows clones, emulators and much more. Also: interesting alternative commercial operating systems.

Free Programming Tools

Free programming tools for Windows, Linux, etc. Free C++, C, Delphi, Basic, Assembler, Cobol, Pascal, Java, SQL, Databases; links to free compilers, databases, interpreters, IDE's, installers, components, libraries, languages, helpfile generators and more.

Software sites

A large list of freeware sites, freebie sites, shareware sites and software search engines.

Introduction to Operating System

This page contains alternatives to Windows, free operating systems, interesting initiatives for new Operating Systems, commercial Operating Systems, Operating Systems-related sites, Virtual Machines (emulators) which can be used to run Operating Systems inside other Operating Systems and more.

Virtual Machines / Emulators

The software packages listed in this section are able to run one operating system inside another.
For instance, if you have a MAC, you can run Windows or Linux as a 'guest operating system' inside MacOS. In this case, MacOS is the 'host operating system', and Linux is the 'guest operating system'.
Alternatively, if you have a PC which has Windows installed, you can use e.g. Linux, FreeBSD or another edition of Windows as guest OS.
Or when you have Linux installed, you can run e.g. Windows as 'guest operating system'.

VirtualBox

Freeware, open-source virtual Machine for Windows, Linux, MAC. It supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), and OpenBSD.

Xen

A free virtual machine for IA-32, x86-64, IA-64 and PowerPC. It supports various guest operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD.

VMWare Player

Freeware player which runs virtual machines created with VMWare Workstation (directly below). Many pre-built freeware virtual machines are available for download here.
Note from the editor: we found it very difficult to download almost any free appliance due to server-timeout and other connection problems.

VMWare for MAC

Runs Windows, Linux, FreeBSD or other x86 operating systems side-by-side with Intel-based Mac OS X. Not freeware.

VMWare Workstation

Commercial (non-freeware), high-quality PC emulator. Emulates a PC with Bios and hardware.
Virtual platform which enables running more than one operating system simultaneously on one xxx86 computer. Currently one can run DOS, Linux, Solaris, Free BSD, Windows 3/95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. Up to four virtual Ethernet cards (having different network addresses) can each be assigned to each running virtual machine.
Each operating system runs in its own protected sandbox. Each operating system is executed directly by the processor, which gives a fast performance. Three versions available of this VM, one which sits on top of Linux, one which runs on MAC, and one which runs on Windows. Solid and stable but pricy.

Parallels

Low-cost emulator for Windows and MAC. Supported guest operating systems: Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, OS/2, DOS.

Wine

Freeware. Wine is an emulator, running on Linux, allowing you to run Windows applications on Linux without the need to pay for a Windows license (legally).

Bochs

Bochs is a highly portable open source IA-32 (x86) PC emulator written in C++, that runs on most popular platforms. It includes emulation of the Intel x86 CPU, common I/O devices, and a custom BIOS. Bochs is capable of running Linux, Windows, DOS and possibly other operating systems as well.

CP/M Emulator

Freeware application to emulate CP/M-80 ver2.2 on the Macintosh.

DosBox

An open source DOS emulator. It emulates an Intel x86 PC, complete with sound, graphics, mouse, modem, etc., for running many old DOS games that are not compatible with modern Windows PC's.

DosEMU

Emulates DOS on Linux. Freeware.

Emulators and MAC

Emulators for running Windows and other operating systems on MAC OS.

Plex86

Very lightweight Virtual Machine (VM) for running Linux/x86. Rather than implement a full and heavyweight VM which can run all guest Operating Systems (OSes), the new approach is designed to run only Linux VMs, making the new plex86 architecture on the order of 10x or 100x more simplistic.

Free Linux Operating Systems

Linux is a popular free Unix version, initially for the Intel xx86 set of platforms, but now also for other processors: Alpha, ARM, Motorola 680x0, PowerPC, SPARC.
In the server area it has become one of the most popular operating systems. Support for desktop systems is increasing and it has now become a viable Windows alternative.
A variety of Linux distributions are available: one can download several Linux versions for free, or order CD-versions at a small price.

Knoppix

Recommended! You don't have to be a Linux expert to install Knoppix; in our experience this is absolutely the most configuration-free Linux distribution, which runs OK on the majority of computers (including many Laptops).
Knoppix starts directly from CD-Rom , but you can also install it on your harddisk.
The fact that it runs directly from CD-Rom allows you to try it out before actually installing it.
You can download Knoppix here.
Read more in this article on Knoppix.

LinuxQuestions.org

Linux support forums where Linux newbies can ask questions and Linux experts can offer advice. Topics include security, installation, networking and much more.

Linux ISO images

LinuxIso.org
LinuxHelp
LinuxLookup.com
Knoppix mirrors
DemoLinux downloads

These sites offer free Linux ISO-images for download. An ISO is an exact image of a CD, that can be burned again into a disc to create an exact copy of the original CD.
See also:
Some facts about downloading Linux.
Burning a CD from an ISO image.

Linux-Laptop.net

Running Linux on Laptops.

Linux.org

Homepage of Linux.

LinuxArchives.com

Linux software downloads.

Debian

Download Debian for free or Purchase the complete set of Debian CDs from your local Debian dealer

Ubuntu

"Linux for Human Beings" for PC (Intel x86), 64-bit PC (AMD64) and PowerPC.

Mandriva Linux

A Linux distribution that is available for 32bit PC, PowerPC (MAC), and 64 bit processors such as Intel Itanium and AMD Opteron. It includes many graphical administration assistants & wizards that make it intuitive and fun to use while providing all the power and robustness of other Linux systems.

SlackWare

Download Slackware for free or order the CD-Rom set from the Slackware store.
A special edition of Slackware Linux, called ZipSlack can be installed on the same drive (or partition) as Windows. It just needs a FAT (or FAT32) harddisk with about 100 MB of extra free disk space.
BigSlack is more complete than ZipSlack, and can also be installed on a FAT (or FAT32) harddisk. BigSlack needs about 850 Mb of extra free disk space.

Peanut Linux

Small but packed and nice looking Linux distribution, only 210 Mb download installs to 600 Mb on your harddisk.

Puppy Linux

Small Linux distribution, only 60mb in size. Can boot from CD, USB disk and run inside Windows or standalone.

Tiny Linux

Tiny Linux is a small Linux distribution designed especially for old recycled computers.

Sub300.com

"Anything but Microsoft Retail Store" (USA), offering low-cost Linux computers which are devoid of any Microsoft software (the fact that it has become almost impossible to buy a computer without Windows pre-installed is commonly known as "the Microsoft tax").

Xandros

Non-free Linux distribution which offers Windows-compatibility.

Pardus

Linux-based operating system developed by the Turkey Scientific and Techical Research Assocation. You can use it both in Turkish and English.

RedHat

Non-free Linux editions for server computers, sold by annual subscription.

Suse

Non-free Linux editions including support by phone.

Migrating to
desktop Linux

Free eBook in PDF format aimed at assisting those interested in migrating desktop PCs to Linux.
The goal of this eBook is to provide a technical planning reference for IT organizations large or small that are now considering a migration to Linux-based personal computers.

United Linux

Joined Linux initiative from Caldera (SCO), SuSE, Connectiva and TurboLinux. Free single-CD versions for download, or non-free multiple-CD versions to be sent by postal mail.

Linux Standard Base

Organization devoted to keeping all distributions compatible, so that software which runs on one distribution, also runs on the other. These companies are supporting the initiative: Compaq, Caldera, Coral, Debian, LinuxCare, Mandrake, TurboLinux, Read Hat, Suse, VA Linux, HP, IBM, Intel.

Linux Desktops

KDE, stable graphical user-interface included in most Linux distributions.
Gnome, free desktop environment competing with KDE, included in most Linux distributions.
ICEWM, is a free window manager, its goal being speed and simplicity.
XPde, a desktop environment(XPde) and a window manager(XPwm) for Linux. It tries to recreate the Windows XP interface to-the-pixel point.

Linux Journal

Monthly magazine of the Linux community since 1994.

Linux News and forums

JustLinux (forums)
Learn about Linux (forums & news)
LinuxHotBox.com (news)
Fresh Meat (news)
Linux Journal (news)
Desktop Linux (news)

Free Linux Programming

Free programming tools for Linux, Windows and other Operating Systems.

Linux/Windows combinations

Cooperative Linux

Freeware and open-source method for optimally running Linux on Microsoft Windows natively. coLinux is a port of the Linux kernel that allows it to run cooperatively alongside another operating system on a single machine. For instance, it allows one to freely run Linux on Windows 2000/XP, without using a commercial PC virtualization software such as VMware, in a way which is much more optimal than using any general purpose PC virtualization software.

Linspire

Non-free operating system, based on Linux, and capable of running Windows software through emulation (Wine). Hence its previous name 'Lindows'. Because Microsoft did not like the name 'Lindows' it has now been renamed 'LinSpire'.
Price: $ 89.95.

WinLinux 2003

Linux which installs inside Windows 95 or 98. This means that you can run Linux as an application on Windows 95/98. Not free, but only $ 29.95.

Free BSD Operating Systems

PC-BSD

Free user-friendly desktop-oriented BSD-edition. It is striving towards being one of the easiest OS's to install.

BSD home page

BSD, like Linux is based on Unix. A variety of resources for users of the various commercial and freely-available bsd Operating Systems, like FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD.

FreeBSD

FreeBSD is an advanced free and open-source Operating System for Intel ia32 compatible, DEC Alpha, and PC-98 architectures. It is derived from BSD UNIX, the version of UNIX developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It is developed and maintained by a large team of individuals. Very popular Operating Systems for servers.

OpenBSD

OpenBSD is a free, open-source, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like Operating System. OpenBSD supports binary emulation of most programs from SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD, Linux, BSDI, SunOS, and HPUX.

Net BSD

NetBSD is a free, open-source, secure, and highly portable UNIX-like Operating System available for many platforms, from 64-bit AlphaServers and desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices.

BSD-related news

Daemon News

Other Unix Operating Systems

Minix

An open-source, small, reliable and self-healing operating system designed for smaller computers, embedded systems, and applications where high reliability and self-repair are important. Minix was designed initially for educational purposes by Andy TanenBaum.

Solaris

Open-source operating system by Sun, freeware for commercial and non-commercial use. Intel and Sparc versions are available. You can order this OS on CD by Sun by paying only media, shipping and handling costs. Alternatively, to educators, students, and researchers the Aachen University will send a full copy on CD for $20-$30.

GNU Hurd

Open-source (GNU) Replacement for the Unix kernel. The Hurd is a collection of servers that run on the Mach microkernel to implement file systems, network protocols, file access control, and other features that are implemented by the Unix kernel or similar kernels (such as Linux). Currently only available for x86 machines, but will be ported to other platforms. Advantages: free, object-oriented, scalable, compatible.

Free Educational Operating Systems

Junix

A Unix command-line emulator written in JavaScript.

Xinu

Xinu was originally designed as a vehicle for teaching Operating System design concepts and is used by many educational institutions for this purpose.
Xinu is also well-suited for teaching advanced programming concepts such as Concurrent Processing, I/O, IPC and Client-Server Interaction. Major advantages of Xinu are its (relative) simplicity, and that the source code can be modified as needed.

Nachos

Nachos is an educational operating system simulator used for undergraduate, and potentially graduate, level operating systems courses.
Runs on DEC MIPS, running Ultrix, SUN SPARCstations, HP PA-RISC, running HP-UX, 386 boxes, running 386BSD UNIX.
Does not run on Windows, MAC.

More free Operating Systems

Amiga.org

Site for Amiga-enthousiasts.

Aros

AROS is a portable and free and open-source desktop operating system aiming at being compatible with AmigaOS 3.1, while improving on it in many areas.

Atari.org

Atari.org is a non-commercial service dedicated to the Atari home- and personal-computer users as well as the Classic Video Game enthusiasts all over the world. Also: the most up-to-date news, forums to exchange opinions, hints and support, a comprehensive search engine, web-hosting for Atari computer or video-game related pages as well as subdomains and email-forwarding.

BOS

BOS is a 32-bit Operating System where everything has full hardware access and no protection, no multitasking, no paging, etc. It's meant to be like a modern DOS, useful for development of small games or apps that requires hardware control.

BRiX

An open-source operating system project featuring: SMP, preemptive multi-threading, virtual memory, a secure multi-user environment and an easy to use graphical interface.

Dex4u

A fast and free operating system for the PC (Intel, AMD, etc.). Everything in this operating system is focused on speed: the architecture, it's avoidance of virtualization, and it is completely written in assembly.

EROS

'The Extremely Reliable Operating System', originally implemented at the University of Pennsylvania, but now migrated to Johns Hopkins University. The result is a small, secure, real-time operating system that provides orthogonal persistence.

Jazmyn

A freeware open-source 32-bit, protected-mode, multitasking, single-user, operating system which runs on i386 CPU's. Written in C++ and Assembly.

Menuet OS

Menuet is a fully 32 bit assembly written, graphical RTOS for assembly programming & distributed under GPL with the following features:
* pre-emptive multitasking, multithreading, ipc
* graphical UI with 16 M colours up to 1280x1024
* ide: editor/compiler for applications and kernel
* kernel and application sources included (GPL)
* ethernet: tcp/udp/icmp/ip
* http/mp3 servers, 3D maze
* free-form, skinnable application windows
* hard real-time data fetch
* fits in a single floppy
Since Menuet fits to a single floppy, you only need one blank 1.44 M diskette to install it. Your hard disks are not affected in any way.

MonaOS

A free operating system for Intel processors with a small micro kernel (98 Kb). It is neither a POSIX nor a Windows clone and has been written in C++.

Oberon

Oberon is the name of a modern integrated software environment. It is a single-user, multi-tasking system that runs on bare hardware or on top of a host operating system. Oberon is also the name of a programming language in the Pascal/Modula tradition. The Oberon project was launched in 1985 by Niklaus Wirth and Jürg Gutknecht. Although the project was originally targeted towards in-house hardware, the language and system have now been ported to many computer platforms and multiple CPU's.
Freeware, Open Source.

Syllable

A GPL-licensed open source desktop operating system with modest hardware requirements, a 64-bit journaling file system, network support and a GUI.

TAJ

Freeware multi-threaded, multi-user and multi-tasking operating system by Viral Patel (India).

Visopsys

Freeware, open-source operating system for PC's. It is small, fast, has a GUI, real preemptive multitasking, and virtual memory.

BeOS / Zeta

BeOS / Zeta is a very fast, reliable operating system, designed from the ground up for multi-media performance.
For example, it boots under 15 seconds. It can run 10 full-screen MPEG videos simultaneously without any problems. Don't try that on Windows!

Zeta

Non-free operating system based on BeOS. It doesn't intend to compete with Windows, but wants to be an alternative for those wanting to run a second operating system - or those and who find Linux too complicated. Zeta is easily installed, and perhaps even easier to use.

BeBits.com

Tons of freeware and shareware programs running on BeOS / Zeta.

Haiku

An open-source effort to first recreate and then extend a most excellent, once-commercially-supported, closed-source, media-oriented desktop computer operating system called the Be operating system (BeOS).

RiscOS

Homepage of the RiscOS operating system which was originally created by Acorn Computers in 1988. RiscOS runs on ARM-based processors.

RiscOS 5 Overview

Unlike earlier versions, RISC OS 5 runs entirely in the ARM's 32-bit mode making it suitable for the latest ARM processors such as Intel XScale, ARM9 and ARM10 based devices.

IYONIX PC

A complete and fast desktop computer with ARM processor running RiscOS.
More RiscOS computers can be found here.

RiscOS Solo:
the Green computer

A rugged RISCOS computer, which can run on Solar energy. Intended for use within Third-world countries where its ultra-low-power design enables it to be used far away from sources of mains electricity.

Virtual Acorn

You can also run RiscOS on a regular Windows PC using this Acorn emulator.

RiscOS Software
Directory

Large RiscOS software archive.

RiscOS Hardware
Manufacturers

A list of companies which create RiscOS computers and related hardware.

Commercial Operating Systems

MAC OS

The Operating System for the iMac and other Apple computers.
A site with lots of good Mac related links is The Page.

OS/2

Operating system for Intel-based PC's.
OS/2 related sites.

Petros

Petros is a new 32-bit operating system for the PC platform released by Trumpet Software. Non-bloatware approach (KISS), small in size, modular, based on Object Pascal, and only $ 50 USD.
Petros is a system that is intended to co-exist with and complement the existing platforms rather than supplant them.

QNX

Real-time operating system with UNIX-like functionality.

SkyOS

SkyOS is an operating system written from scratch for x86 PC's. As required for a modern operating system, it supports features such as multiprocessor support (SMP), 64-bit journaled filesystem, virtual memory, memory protection, multitasking and threading etc. Additionally, SkyOS has a built-in GUI system named SkyGI.

VAX and Alpha

An interesting initiative is the "OpenVMS and the OpenVMS hobbyist licensing Program". For a few hundreds of dollars you can now own your own (secondhand) VAX or Alpha computer!

Java Operating-systems

Jnode

Freeware, open-source Java operating system with JIT compiler. Also: AWT, Swing, ISO9660, JIFS, etc.

Windows

Although not abundantly fast, stable, and cost-effective, Windows is by far the most wide-spread Operating System for Desktop PCs.

Wine

Freeware. Wine is an emulator, running on Linux, allowing you to run Windows applications on Linux without the need to pay for a Windows license (legally).

litePC.com

Products for customizing, optimizing Windows operating systems. By removing or replacing certain Windows components, performance and stability can be improved.

ReactOS

ReactOS is an Open Source effort to develop a quality operating system that is compatible with Windows NT applications and drivers.

DOS and DOS clones

FreeDOS

Freeware DOS clone, Y2K compliant.

OpenGEM

An opensource graphical user interface for DOS

PTS

Russian MS-DOS clone.

RDOS

Open source DOS clone, free for non-commercial use.

Seal

Open source GUI for DOS.

The DOS Index

Command reference for DOS/Win3.11/95/98/NT/ME/XP/2000

OS Projects

Mega OS

A project to create a new POSIX compliant Unix clone (gnu gpl). The goals are to be as stable, secure, and easy to use as possible,

E/OS LX

Open-source project to construct a free operating system which is able to run Windows and DOS programs, MAC programs, Linux programs and OS/2 programs.

Operating System Development

OSKit

A framework and set of 34 component libraries intended to facilitate the development of new operating systems, or to enhance and extend existing ones. Open source.

ExOS library

MIT Exokernel Operating System library.

OSDev.org

"The place to start for OS developers": newsgroups, message board, links, OSDev ring.

Operating System-related sites

ExtremeTech

Deep technology for enthousiasts and professionals.

FreeOS.com

Forums, articles and opinions related to free operating systems.

Operating System
Documentation Project

History of and information on a large number of operating systems.

OS News

Daily news on Operating Systems.

OS News
discussion forum

Discussions on Operating Systems related subjects.

OS Opinion

Articles and columns on technical- and Operating Systems-related matters.

Review of
Operating Systems

One of the largest lists of Operating Systems, related projects, etc. on the Net.

Related Operating System pages

Free C++ (and C)
Programming

Free C++ IDE's, compilers, libraries, tools, resources and tutorials for Linux/Unix, Windows, MAC, etc.

Free Cross-Platform
Programming Tools

Free programming tools, interpreters and frameworks following the principle 'create once, compile anywhere' or 'create once, run anywhere'. This means that once you have created your program using one of the tools listed on this page, you can compile or run it on multiple platforms without much (if any) adaptation.

Free Programming Tools

Free Anti-Virus Software

Free and non-free anti-virus software, free firewalls, free email protection software, free virus prevention software, tests of anti-virus programs, links to specialized anti-virus sites, information about virus prevention, useful evaluation versions of anti-virus software, etc..

Free Anti-Spyware

Free utilities to detect and remove spyware.

Free Business
and Office Software

Free office suites, word processors, text editors, personal databases, currency converters, accounting software, calculators, document viewers, PDF utilities, etc.

Free Computers

Free used and recycled computers, mostly for schools, non-profit organisations and disadvantaged individuals.

Free File and Disk utilities

Various file and disk utilities.

Free Programming Tools

Free PSION software

Free software for the small PSION handheld computers.

Free Software
created by Freebyte

Free Personal Information Managers, free File and Disk Utilities, free Address Books, free eBook Software and more. All created by Freebyte.com.

Free System and
Administrator utilities

Free process viewers, system analysis tools, network monitoring tools, registry tools, task schedulers.

Free Technical Support

Free technical support for all computer-related issues: Hardware, software, PC, Windows, MAC, PDAs, Linux, drivers, Modems, dll's, virus.

Free Chess

Arasan

Freeware chess program for Windows and Linux.

Bruno's Chess
problem of the day

Everyday a new chess problem; logic puzzles and free chess strategies or tactics.

Chess Guide

Chess portal. Tons of links and information.

Chess-it!

Free chess program for Windows. You get your choice of three sets of game pieces and can configure the playing board from a full palette of colours. Either or both players can be human or computer. Moves are listed as they are made, and you can retrace the sequence backwards or forwards. Save the record of your game and print it for future reference. Version 3.0. Created by Yoto Yotov

Chessville

Chess news, tactical training, openings reviews, games, problem of the week, newsletter and much more.

ChessWise

Free chess lessons, free games library. To access these, you need to register first (free).

ChessWorld.net

This is a friendly online chess club where you can play chess with players from all over the World: compete in tournaments, join teams, learn, keep in touch with old friends and make new friends worldwide.

Cubic checkers

This two-player game is played with eight white and eight black cubes on a checkerboard of 8 x 8 squares. Sides of a cube contain symbols rook, bishop, knight and pawn. The symbol on the top side of a cube determines its power. A player can jump across this opponent's cube to any empty square behind it; after this, the cube is rotated so that it changes its value and thus its power.

En Passant

Excellent chess site with free chess software and resources for chess publishing like chess fonts, diagram utilities, graphics and more.

Free Internet
Chess Server

The Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) is the worlds largest FREE Internet Chess Server where you can play chess, observe games, talk to friends, obtain a rating, and rank yourself among other players from all over the world. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Membership is free.

GameKnot

Free online chess, multi-player or solo. The GameKnot Java applet allows you to play chess in your Web browser.

jChecks

An open source Java chess program designed to introduce the basics of computer chess programming; it also can be used "as is" by chess beginners. It runs on any computer which has Java installed.

NagaSkaki

Freeware chess program for Windows.

Net Blitz

Chess program for Windows, only $ 9.99. You can play a game against a computer or find a server to play chess with others.

RealChess.com

Online/Web chess and E-mail chess. Play chess online in your browser or use the e-mail notification system to be notified when your partner makes his/her move.

Rebel Decade

Freeware chess program for DOS and Windows. It also runs on MAC using SoftWindows.

SchemingMind.com

Online correspondence chess club.

Scid

A freeware database for storing chess games. For Windows and Linux.

SigmaChess

Sigma Chess is a master strength Macintosh chess program for both OS X and Classic Mac OS. The feature set includes: Database support, PGN/EPD support, basic desktop publishing, endgame databases, novice levels, a true perspective 3D board, ExaChess compatibility and much more.
The Lite version is free. The PRO version costs $ 20.

XBoard and WinBoard

XBoard and WinBoard are graphical user interfaces for chess. They display a chessboard on the screen, accept moves made with the mouse, and load and save games in Portable Game Notation (PGN). They serve as front-ends for many different chess services

Free Checkers

Online Checkers

Play checkers online, in your Web browser, without installing any software.

Checkerboard

Very strong freeware checkers program for Windows with many options.

Unlimited Checkers

Java-based checkers game which allows the bord to wrap (optional) so that pieces can jump beyond the board borders, to the opposite side.

Damas

Strong freeware checkers program for Windows.

Checkers

Freeware checkers program for Windows.

Free Go

GoBase.org

Comprehensive Go-site, existing since October 1994. Lots of information on Go, including the Go rules, go Encyclopedia, history of Go, Go study material, online Go servers, Go and computers, daily updated tournament site, etc.

Game of Go Webring

This ring is devoted to the game of GO or WeiQi. Go is one of the oldest games in history of mankind.

Free Card Games

Free online
card games

Play card games online, in your Web browser: Blackjack, Bridge, Canasta, Hearts, Poker, Rummy, Solitaire, Spades, etc.

Download free
card games

Poker, Solitaire, Gin, Hearts, etc.

Cheat Solitaire

Free solitaire game for Windows which allows you to cheat by looking at cards which are faced down, unlimited drawing of cards, unlimited undo, etc.

123 Free Solitaire

123 free solitaire card games for Windows. The freeware version can be found at the bottom of the page.

Card Games

Provides information on rules and information about card and tile games from all parts of the world.

IRC Poker

Greg's Poker client, an IRC poker program to play online with other people.

Free Puzzle Games

Free Puzzle Collections

Puzzle games, puzzle links, geometry puzzles, logic puzzles, math puzzles, etc.

Puzzle Games

Free online versions of many puzzle games, both classics and originals. Non-Java based.

Jigsaw Puzzle Games

Online nature puzzles, photo puzzles, car puzzles, girl puzzles, scramble game.

Internet Anagram
Server

Site about anagrams.

Free puzzles,
card games,
jigsaw puzzles

Traditional games and puzzles running in your Web browser.

Sudokus-Online.com

Free sudoku puzzles which you can play online (inside your Webbrowser).

Free Sports Games

CandyStand

Free online sports games.

Free Online Games

What are "online games"?
Online games are games you can play directly in your web browser without downloading and installing anything explicitely. These games often enable you to play games together with other people! Note: usually your browser has to be able to run Flash or Java.

Arcade 7

Free online Flash Arcade games.

Arcade Games Online

Site listing a lot of free online games which can be played directly in your browser.

ArcadeCity.net

A multitude of free Flash arcade games which you can play in your browser.

Cyber Warrior

Various online Java games.

Flyordie

Developer and publisher of online multiplayer games. The games are free, you can also buy versions with added features, better graphics and sound.

Free Games

Many categories: action games, adventure games, card games, casino games, educational and kids games, etc.

Fun & Gaming &
Entertainment

More than 100 free online games.

G-MAX Skateboarding

Online skateboarding game, plays in your browser.

Gamehouse

Various online games.

Gomoku

Play Gomoku online (free). Gomoku is an extended version of tic-tac-toe.

Humor.ws

Hundreds of free online arcade flash games.

MieNet online games

A daily updated list of online games (free and non-free).

Myspizzle

Free online games.

PlaySite

Free online games: board games, card games, word games, casino games, poker.

Unification Wars

A free online game with over 700,000 members ! You are the leader of an empire, recruit and level up your minister(s) to assist you to expand your economy, military and power by diplomatic or military means.

Free Games for Download

3dcarp

Free carp fishing game/simulator for Windows XP. Note: you need to have Flash installed to visit this site.

c2e

Complex strategy game for Win 9x/NT based on Sid Meier's Civilization II.

Cult

Freeware, Windows. Game based on negotiations and trade in order to solve a case of a barricaded cult. As you play, you wander in the villa, meet the brainwashed cult members (and some reasonable people). You talk to them, find out what they want, and learn to trade items with them for information. You learn a little about the social structure of the cult and even get to save some lives.

Download free games

Free games for download: arcade, card, puzzle, strategy, educational, chess, war, risk, word, kids, etc.

Pyva.net

Free games for Windows.

SL4

An Open Source 6/49 Lotto Database Application based on the South-African National Lottery

Free Tic-Tac-Toe game for Win 9x/NT, but made much more interesting because it has a grid of 11*11 (instead of 3*3).

Free Music Games

Layton Music:
Free Games and Resources

Free music games and resources for teachers and students to download, print, and use.

Make your own Games

Game Maker

Freeware! With this program you can make your own computer games without any programming, including: backgrounds, images, animated graphics, music and sound effects.
If you really want to program, Game Maker has a built-in scripting language.

Free Dress up Games

Dress-up games and on-line paperdolls: create and/or dress-up dolls, people, objects, etc.

American Girl Paper Dolls
dragondropland.com

Dress Up Games
Earth2Jane

Fantasy Role Playing Games

Adventure Quest RPG

Free online fantasy role playing games.

OpenRPG

An Internet application that allows people to play Role Playing Games in real-time over the Internet. Freeware, open source.

RPG Registry

Online RPG database which helps you find other players, games, and special events in your area or using the online game tool of your choice.

The Dark Grimoire

Free text-based role-playing game.

WebRPG

Java application which allows you to connect with other RPG players.

Free Virtual Pets

Neopets

A community of over 70 million virtual pet owners across the world.

Virtual Pet Home Page

Site listing many virtual Pets for download.

Virtual Pets World

Explore your own 3D virtual world, adopt a virtual pet and care for it, and more!

Cheats

Cheat Channel

Free cheat databases for PC-based games covering thousands of games.

Abandonware Games

Abandonware games are games which have been 'abandoned' by their creators, no new versions are coming out anymore.
Mostly these games are more than five years old.

Abandongames.com
abandonline.com
Ghoulzgamez

Home of the Underdogs
Macintosh Garden
Oldgames.org

Slowing down old games

When your old games run to fast on your new computer, you might want to try slowing it down using one of the utilities in this section

The NEW PC
Slow Down Page

Useful page with several utilities which can help slow down your speed-sensitive games.

Mo'Slo

Not free. For Windows and DOS. Slows down the games and not the PC itself.

More Games-related Websites

Computer Games
Free Download

Free computer games downloads, such as: Virtual Sailor, Logic Mahjong, Pix-Fit, Bud Redhead - The Time Chase, Word Link, Cross Sums - Number Crossword, etc.

Free Games directory

Free games directory and search engine.

Gamehippo.com

Over 1000 freeware PC games.

MaMo Gamesworld

A collection of free downloadable games ordered by category.

The Gaming Depot

WomenGamers.Com

Site for Women playing computer games, digital women, the female players movement, etc.