5 Portable Apps for your New USB Drive
Written by Alan Monday, 26 December 2011 03:39
The portable USB drive, or thumb drive as it’s also known, has become common, not just with geeks and tech people, but with everyone from kids using them to turn in homework assignments to grandparents carrying photos of children and grandchildren to show off. With large amounts of storage space that can clip to a key ring the USB drive is the portable storage device of choice. They also make great stocking stuffers because of the size and cheap price, so many of you probably received one this holiday season.
With all of that said, while photos and homework are great uses for your new USB drive, there are many apps you can also run directly from these tiny devices. That’s great when you’re out and about without your laptop or tablet and you want to use a public computer or a friends’ PC. From both a privacy and security standpoint portable apps are winners. You can run them without leaving any trace behind on the computer you used – no user names, passwords, or browsing history. Log into your home computer to access a file, check your email from the web, or do a Google search. Here are 5 portable apps that I find indispensable on my USB Drive.
Version 16 of the Google Chrome browser is now available. The portable version is super small and super fast. Use it to check your web-based email, search, and browse without installing anything on the computer you’re using. Better, it doesn’t leave any trace of what you did behind on that computer.
FileZilla is one of my favorite apps for the computer, and the portable version is just as useful. Set it up to access a home computer or server so that can upload and download files from a remote location via FTP.
Skype is far and away the most popular IP-based communication program in the world. You can use it to chat, send messages, or make audio and video phone calls. You can call people via their PC or land line phone.
OpenOffice is a free, open source alternative to Microsoft Office from Oracle. It comes with alternatives to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. Use it for easy access and editing of documents from any computer. OpenOffice is compatible with DocX which means documents are interchangeable between it and Microsoft Office.
Access and share all of your Dropbox files. This isn’t an official portable app from Dropbox, but it works just as well. It provides complete control of your Dropbox, just as your computer app does.
You can find many more portable apps available for free download over at the Portable Apps website.
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- Set Up Local Access to Gmail Files with GMail Drive
- Windows 8 to Have Built-in Virtual Drive
- Got a New Windows 7 PC Today? 5 Free Apps You Should Install
