Portable Applications: Software -- And Security -- On The MovePortable Applications: Software -- And Security -- On The Move

Using a public computer is something most of us do from time to time. So is leaving data that might come back to haunt us if it falls into the wrong hands. Here's an easy, reliable, totally free way to ensure that you never again walk away from a strange computer wondering whether an identity theft or hacker will make you pay for an innocent mistake.There is really just one sure way to avoid getting burned by an insecure computer -- don't use it. If that option isn't practical, here's another that is almost as good: PortableApps.com. Currently, this community-developed site hosts about 50 free, open-source applications, tweaked (when necessary) to run entirely from a USB drive or other portable storage device, without writing or installing anything -- and without leaving any of your data -- in a persistent form on the host system.

Some of the products in the PortableApps lineup may be new and unfamiliar to many users; others, such as the Mozilla Firefox Web browser and Thunderbird email client, are now household names. Either way, these tools often deliver surprisingly rich feature sets when you consider the fact that they are completely portable and don't install anything on the host system.

As a couple of folks commenting on one of my previous posts noted, PortableApps is also good for trying out some of the included applications before installing them permanently. If you want to kick the tires on OpenOffice.org, for example, without having to worry about uninstalling or deleting anything, the portable version of the popular office suite version gives you a safe and easy way to do it.