How many times have you tried installing FireFox in your office computer and got screwed by user account limitations? How many times have you tried installing messenger at your institution's computer lab and got humiliated by the administrator? Well, with portable applications, you can use your favorite applications anywhere. Just extract them to the hard disk or your flash drive, double click the main exe and you are good to go! There is absolutely no need to install and no private information or registry entries are left in the public computers. Portable versions of FireFox, Messenger, 7-Zip and many more have been developed.

Portable FireFox

Mozilla FireFox is a feature rich, easy to use, fast and efficient web browser which makes Internet Explorer a piece of shit. Tabbed browsing, in built pop up blocker, phishing filter, Live bookmarks, improved security features and faster web page loading times make FireFox a must have for every PC user.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable FireFox 2.0.0.2

Portable ThunderBird

Mozilla ThunderBird is an outlook like e-mail client and a feed reader. Easy to use interface, RSS support, Junk mail and Phishing filters, automatic updates and advanced security are some of the notable features of this application. With Portable thunderbird you'll be able to carry your POP3/IMAP mail accounts, adress books, RSS feeds and account settings, everywhere you go.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable ThunderBird 1.5.0.9

GAIM Portable

GAIM is an instant messagin application which can integrate services from multiple instant messaging networks. For example, you can use GAIM to connect to your Yahoo messenger contact and AOL contacts at the same time. The all in one integrated interface supports AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and Jabber accounts and contact lists.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! All your IM settings and buddy lists are self-contained, so it leaves no personal information behind on the machine you run it on.

Download GAIM Portable 2.0 (B5)

Portable VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player (formerly known as VideoLan Client) is a versatile media player application which can play a wide range of audio and video file formats including (but not limited to) MP4, DivX, MP3 and DVD. It even supports some internet streaming protocols allowing you to watch live or interactive streaming content anywhere.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract place it on your USB, iPOD, Memory stick or external hard drive and run from anywhere!

Download Portable VLC Media Player 0.8.6a

Portable OpenOffice.Org

OpenOffice.org is the open source alternative to Microsoft Office suite. Although MS office outperforms OpenOffice in terms of features and user friendlyness, OpenOffice is a good alternative if you seek a lightweight office automation suite with fairly good features. OpenOffice.org suite contains the following applications:

  • Writer – a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
  • Calc - A powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
  • Impress – the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
  • Draw – lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
  • Base – lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within OpenOffice.org
  • Math – lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.

In short, there is an alternative for every app that comes with MS office suite.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract place it on your USB, iPOD, Memory stick or external hard drive and run from anywhere!

Download OpenOffice.org Portable 2.0.4

Portable SunBird

Mozilla SunBird is an open source, cross platform calendar and personal task management software which is developed by the creators of Mozilla FireFox.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. Download, extract and run! No personal information is left behind after you run it so you will never have to worry about security.

Download Portable SunBird 0.3

Portable 7-Zip

7-Zip is a compression utility for Windows such as WinZip and WinRAR. It supports most archive file formats including (but not limited to) RAR and ZIP. It even features it's own 7Z file format which has better compression ration than that of RAR and Zip. Some of the notable features of 7-Zip:

  • High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
  • Supported formats:
    • Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
    • Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS
  • For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
  • Self-extracting capability for 7z format
  • Powerful File Manager

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. You can take your file archiver with you and work with your compressed 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR files and more on the go.

Download 7-Zip Portable 4.43 (R2)

OperaUSB

Opera is another popular web browser which has great features (we think that FireFox is better, but that doesnt mean Opera is shit). It has all the standard web browser features such as RSS compatibility, download manager, bookmarks manager, tabbed browsing and more.

The portable version is identical to the full packaged version except that you dont need to install it. It leaves no personal information behind and does not write to the system registry.

OperaUSB is available for use with USB flash drives, hard drives and all SmartDrives using U3 technology.

Download Opera 9.1 for USB

Download Opera 9.1 for U3-USB

Windows Live Messenger : Khalid Edition

Windows Live Messenger Khalid Edition is a Live Messenger clone which supports all features that are supported by WLM, features the same UI (with minor differences such as icons) and above all, it doesnt require administrator rights to install.

You can install this using the setup program as it works will most limited user accounts. Similarly, you can install this to your home PC and just copy the installation directory to your flash drive or external hard drive. You can then double click the main exe and run the program from anywhere, anytime.

Download Windows Live Messenger Khalid Edition 5.0 (CNET Download.com Download)

EnJoY!


8 Comments

  1. Vishkid // 2/27/2007 12:51:00 PM  

    Thanx a lot - this was a most usable and useful list!

    Portable apps roxx.

  2. koolb // 3/04/2007 06:37:00 PM  

    Very useful post. But read http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/FirefoxMyths.html fist, before accepting the comments on Firefox. This article has proven something with facts and figures.

  3. Lightning_Struck_Tower // 3/05/2007 02:22:00 AM  

    koolb,
    thanks for the link. Indeed it's interesting. However i don't agree with the IE being more secure and faster than FF :D

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  7. Hohenzollern // 8/15/2024 12:17:00 AM  

    Are there any software or tools you’d recommend for organizing the workspace? I’m not so much looking for time management options, but more for convenient solutions related to setting up and organizing the workspace.

  8. RED ARROW // 8/15/2024 01:11:00 AM  

    One of the tools that didn’t seem obvious to me at first but that I use all the time is the unspot system for booking workspaces and office spaces. It’s a lifesaver when I suddenly need to hold a business meeting, event, or even a large conference. It’s also super convenient to book ahead and clearly schedule the meeting in the calendar.