Finding Free Linux Software - Package Managers and Online

Getting free software for Windows is always a risky proposition. You generally have to think twice before you try out an application. In most cases, the installers or the application itself are riddled with spyware or adware. Though there are exceptions, like in cases of Internet browsers or media players, you have to be sure that the application you're trying isn't trying to sneak anything harmful into your system under the name of free software.

In Linux though, almost all software is implicitly free. Again, there are exceptions in cases of applications with professional versions like Zimbra, Xen, and interoperability applications like Cedega or CrossOver, but the majority of the software is free and open-source. Being open-source, you can be pretty sure that there is no malicious intent on the part of the author. If anything even remotely malicious is found, it is generally fixed or the software forked. With that in mind, we will take a look at a few central places where almost all Linux software is posted to be checked out.

The first stop for Linux applications always has to be your distribution's package manager. Almost every distribution today includes a package manager. This tool allows for the installation/uninstallation/clean-up of applications in your Linux install. These package managers (yum, synaptic, portage, etc) are incredibly versatile applications which check for dependencies, reverse dependencies, version mismatches, best installation environments and many other things to install the application in the best way possible.

These package managers work with repositories (servers where applications and metadata are stored) and install applications. All the distros which include a package manager host their own repositories of applications which are modified and tested to work best on their own distribution. Ubuntu has its own software repositories, Fedora Core has them too, and so do most other distributions being used today. These repositories, or shortened to repos, contain a wealth of applications for every purpose. Since your package manager is very closely integrated into your distribution, the best way to install applications in Linux is through the package manager. Please refer to your distribution's documentation for how to use your package manager.