List of software to be installed on a fresh windows installation

Well, everytime I do this, I do miss something or something else. So, this time, I decided to make a list.

1. AVG anit virus free version http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free
   
2. FireFox http://www.getfirefox.com
   
3. FDM http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm
   
4. 7-zip http://www.7-zip.org/
5. Acrobat reader http://get.adobe.com/reader/
6. JRE/JDK http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
7. Amok CD/DVD burner http://www.amok.am/en/freeware/amok_cd-dvd_burning/
8. Openoffice http://download.openoffice.org/
9. Flash plugin http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
10. vlc client http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html
11. DivX http://www.divx.com/en/software/download/start
    

Optional software

1. notepad++ http://sourceforge.net/projects/notepad-plus/files/
2. utorrent http://www.utorrent.com/downloads
   

If you have a Linux system on the network, get:

1. WinSCP http://winscp.net/eng/download.php
2. Putty http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

If you have a Linux machine on network and/or if you are a power user/developer:

1. Cygwin http://www.cygwin.com/
2. Eclipse http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
   

Painful learning

If you are installing XP on Acer aspire 5740, change the drive mode from AHCI to ATA in BIOS.
Else, you will get the STOP 0x0000007B(0xF78DA63C,0x0000034,0X x0000000,0x0000000) error with the notorious blue screen.
Thanks a lot to the guys at this forum: http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156593

Ok, second painful learning, do not delete your favourite distro's iso image to create space for movies :(

Linux worms!

I was always with the group which argued that the Linux does not have worms and virus since it is not popular. Someone who is bent on paining the maximum number of people can easily do it on Windows OS family since it is the most widely used desktop OS. If tomorrow Linux replaces Windows, I feel, the same fate awaits Linux also.

http://dronebl.org/blog/8

I feel, it is a clear indication that if economy of volumes justifies, black hat hackers will find a way into your Linux system. All that talk about weak passwords etc is impractical since when you reach masses, a number of them will still have vulnerable passwords. In a way Linux has an advantage over windows since the people are more knowledgeable today than in the past as many of them have learned their lessons the hard way using Windows. Even today, I usually find many a edge device with default password. All I can say is, I see a good market for SELinux and related technologies.