Examples Of Open Source Software

In the networking environment there are many types of software, a lot of this is closed source, however, for just about every piece of closed source software this is a free open source alternative. Some of the more popular ones are as follows:

Closed source: Microsoft Windows
Open source: Linux

Possibly the best known open and closed source software on the market today. The free Linux system offers increased simplicity and ease of use as well as improved security than the Microsoft alternative. From a networking point of view Linux is based on the Unix system which was initially developed for Networking. Microsoft offers no such networking pedigree however does offer networking solutions. The closed Microsoft windows system it often criticized for its lack of effective security whereas Linux systems are considered a much more secure operative system

Closed source: Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari
Open source: Firefox

These are examples of web browsers, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari, although coming as standard and with no extra charge on many computer systems, are not free. However Firefox is freely distributed to the public free of charge. Firefox has become so popular in recent years that many websites have release figures from Google statistics stating that Firefox has overtaken internet explorer as the most popular web browser visiting their site.

Closed source: Lime Wire
Open source: Frost Wire

These Peer to Peer file sharing programs are very popular with music downloaders however they do come under some criticism in that they often cause problems with the system they are installed on and may introduce malicious software to the computer. The open source version, Frost Wire claims to be more secure and will lead to less problems than its closed source alternative.

Closed source: Norton Antivirus
Open source: AVG Antivirus / ClamAV

These programs offer security against viruses. There is a lot of free antivirus software available on the internet however Norton antivirus is popular as it offers piece of mind that you may not get with a free piece of software. Many people would prefer to dip into their pockets on an issue such as virus protection as they may not trust a free piece of software quite as much and the cost of a closed source antivirus software is relatively small.
- Clam AntiVirus is an open source (GPL) anti-virus toolkit for UNIX, designed especially for e-mail scanning on mail gateways. (CLAMAV.net)

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