Software
The section below is my list of software that I use by category. I try my best to use Open Source whenever possible. There are great paid options as well.
Computers
Operating Systems: Windows 11 Pro, Windows Server 2022, Proxmox, OpenMediaVault, Ubuntu Server 24.04, Kubuntu, SteamOS
Antivirus: Bitdefender for Windows Computers.
Hard Drive Partitioning: EaseUS, Gparted
Desktop/Android Sync: Nextcloud (Private Cloud Storage)
Media Playback: VLC Player
File Transfer: TeraCopy
Archieve Utility: Peazip
Imaging Software: Ventoy, Rufus, Balena Etcher, Clonezilla
Bulk File Renamer: Rename Master
Patching Updating apps: Patchmypc
Production
Office Suite: Libreoffice
Mail Client: Mozilla Thunderbird
PDF Creator: Foxit
Web Browsers: Floorp or Waterfox and Brave Web Browser (Chrome alternative)
Network Diagrams: Draw.io
Video Editing Software: Cyberlink Power Director 21 on Windows or KdenLive on Linux
Video Transcoder: HandBrake
Audio Recorder: Audacity
File Converter: Pazera
Streaming/Video Capture
Streaming/Desktop Capture: OBS
Streaming Deck: Deckboard
Nikon Camera Software: NXStudio
Capture Card: Generic USB 3.0 HDMI Capture
Mirror Android Device: SCRCPY
Network & Servers Category
Servers: Windows Server 2022 for AD DS, DHCP, DNS
Cache Server: LanCache
Firewall: OPNsense
Network Ad Blocking: Pihole
VPN: Wireguard
VM Server: Proxmox
Network Attached Server: OpenMediaVault with installed Plugins Docker CE, Portainer CE and extra services
Network Tuners: HDHomerun Quatro
VOIP Adapters: MagicJack
TV Smartbox: Android TV on Nvidia Shields (Includes Chromecast Support)
Security Cameras: BlueIris Network Video Recorder and +8 POE Cameras
Doorbell Camera: Reolink
Wake on LAN: WakeOnLAN
File Manager: WinSCP (FTP & SCP)
Remote Computers Management: mRemoteNG (Windows & SSH), Linux I use Remmina
Syncing Files Backups via Network: Nextcloud, FreeFileSync or Syncthing for Retropi
Online or Self-hosted Services
Search Engines: Ecosia
Email Services: Webhost email, Tutanota
Online Storage: Nextcloud
Maps:
Remote Computers: MeshCentral
Secure messaging: Element or Signal
Photo Gallery: Piwigo
Wiki:
Passwords Manager: Vaultwarden
Reverse Proxy: Nginx Proxy Manager
Music Streaming: mStream
eBook Server:
Smart Home: Home Assistant
Network Monitoring: Uptime Kuma
Home Inventory: Homebox
Streaming Server: Plex
Dashboard: Fenrus
Links Management: Linkstack