Internet

Best Free and Open Source Software – Internet

Last Updated on April 13, 2025

Internet & Networking
Internet and networking software has always been one of Linux's strongest areas.
BitTorrent: Console Clients, Graphical Clients - an internet transfer protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P).
Bluetooth iconBluetooth Tools - The Bluetooth wireless technology is a standard for a small-form factor, low-cost radio solution that provides links between mobile computers, mobile phones, other portable handheld devices, and connectivity to the Internet.
Discord Clients - Discord is a instant messaging and VoIP social platform which allows communication through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, and media.
Server iconDNS Servers - Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet’s directory service: It takes a human readable name and converts it to a machine readable “IP” address.
Download Managers (Graphical) - Manages the downloading of files from the Internet. The best download managers help make the process easier and quicker.
Anti SpamEmail: Graphical Clients, Lightweight Graphical Clients, Console Clients, Web-Based Clients, Servers, Notification Tools, Email Encryption Tools, and Anti-Spam Tools - Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving messages using electronic devices.
File ManagerFile Sharing Tools - Many of the tools in this roundup are good replacements for AirDrop, letting you wirelessly send documents, photos, videos, websites, map locations, and more to a nearby device.
File Synchronization Tools ensure that files stored on different devices are kept up-to-date. File syncing has become increasingly popular as businesses and individuals employ cloud computing on a wider scale.
FTPFTP: Graphical Clients, Command-Line Clients and Servers - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a time-honored method of transferring files to and from a remote network site.
Gemini: Graphical Clients - Gemini is an application-layer internet communication protocol for accessing remote documents, similar to HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and Gopher.
Google DriveGoogle Drive Clients - We explore clients for Google Drive, a file storage and synchronization service. Store files in the cloud, share files, and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with collaborators.
HTTPHTTP clients (Command-line) - Besides downloading files, these clients can be used for testing, debugging and interacting with HTTP servers and web applications.
ChatInstant Messaging Clients - Real-time text communication between two or more individuals over a network such as the internet. There are so many different instant messaging clients available.
SSHIntrusion Prevention for SSH - Cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network.
ChatIRC: Graphical IRC Clients, Console Based IRC Clients and IRC Servers - IRC is a type of real-time Internet text messaging. IRC is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but it also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfers.
LDAPLDAP Solutions - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an application protocol for accessing directory services. This protocol is specifically targeted at management applications and browser applications that provide read/write interactive access to directories.
Load BalancersLoad Balancers - Load balancing is defined as the methodical and efficient distribution of network or application traffic across multiple servers in a server farm. Each load balancer sits between client devices and backend servers, receiving and then distributing incoming requests to any available server capable of fulfilling them.
MAC/RBAC ToolsMAC/RBAC Tools - These controls include authentication, authorisation and audit. Mandatory Access Control (MAC) / Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
Mailing List ManagersMailing List Managers - Mailing list software enables users to manage electronic mail discussion and e-newsletter lists. There is a good range of mature open source mailing list software available for the Linux platform.
MastodonMastodon: Graphical Clients, Text-Based Clients, Web-Based Clients - Mastodon is a free and open source microblogging platform similar to Twitter, but with user privacy and decentralization in mind. We explore the finest Mastodon clients.
Matrix ClientsMatrix: GUI Clients, Terminal-Based Clients - Matrix is an open standard for interoperable, decentralised, real-time communication over IP. We pick the best clients.
Network AuthenticationNetwork Authentication Servers - Connection authentication, authorization, and accounting management. There are a few mature, highly proficient, and feature-laden servers.
Network Inventory ManagementNetwork Inventory Management - Collate all network infrastructure data and keep it up to date with these great network inventory management tools.
Network Simulators - Network simulation is a technique whereby a software program replicates the behavior of a real network. It allows for the simulation of different protocols over wired and wireless networks, and supports various network elements, protocols, traffic, and routing types.
Network topNetwork 'top' Tools (Console) - We explore small network tools that derive inspiration from the 'top' troubleshooting tool.
Network Tunnels - Tunnels are a method for discretely transmitting data across a network using protocols that are not supported by that network.
News AggregatorsNews Aggregators: Graphical News Aggregators - Terminal-Based News Aggregators - Self-Hosted News Aggregators - Collect news, weblog posts, and other information from the web using RSS and Atom feeds.
Port Scanners Port Scanners: Graphical Port Scanners and Terminal-Based Port Scanners - A port scanner is a utility which probes a server or host to verify if the virtual ports of a system are open or closed. Ports allow different applications on the same computer to share network resources simultaneously.
Remote DesktopRemote Desktop: Remote Desktop Clients and Remote Desktop Servers - Use the mouse and keyboard to control another computer remotely. These tools offer significant benefits to employees and employers alike.
Single Sign-On - An authentication process that allows users to log in to multiple independent applications with a single set of credentials.
Social NetworkingSocial Networking - Create your own Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. The open source community plays an important role in the social networking space.
SSH Frontends - SSH or Secure Shell is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network.
System MonitoringSystem Monitoring Tools - Real-time incident notification, performance analysis, system health verification, and more with these great system monitoring tools.
Tox ClientsTox Clients - Tox is a peer-to-peer instant-messaging and video-calling protocol that offers end-to-end encryption. We pick the finest clients that use this protocol.
UPnP ServersUPnP Servers - Share your music, photos and videos with your network. UPnP is an acronym for Universal Plug and Play, a collection of networking protocols.
Usenet ToolsUsenet Tools - Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. We highlight Usenet newsreaders suited for discussions and downloading files.
VoIP ClientsVoice Over IP Software - Telephone-like voice conversations across IP based networks. SIP is the most popular VoIP protocol.
Web BrowsersWeb Browsers: Graphical - Lightweight Graphical - Console - The quintessential desktop application that retrieves and presents information from the web. These are full-blown graphical web browsers.
XMPPXMPP: Clients (Console) - Clients (Graphical) - Clients (Web Based) - Servers - Real-time communication using this secure battle-tested protocol. XMPP is also known as Jabber.
Big Data
Big Data is an all-inclusive term that refers to data sets so large and complex that they need to be processed by specially designed hardware and software tools.
Big Data - Data AnalysisData Analysis Tools - Examine huge quantities of unstructured data to find patterns, correlations, and more with these distributed systems.
Big Data - File SystemsFile Systems - We examine storage solutions which are designed to scale out on multiple servers. They support high performance data and offer consistent access to a common set of data from multiple servers.
Big Data - Key Value StoresKey Value Stores - Key value stores refers to a general concept of database where entities (values) are indexed using a unique key. They allow the application to store its data in a schema-less way. Data can be stored in a datatype of a programming language or an object.
Big Data - Native XML DatabasesNative XML Databases - Store data and documents without requiring a database schema. An XML database allows data to be stored in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.
Big Data - Search EnginesSearch Engines - Full-featured search engines through an application programming interface which are designed for performing information retrieval functions on Big Data.
Cloud Computing & Virtualization
Run programs simultaneously on many connected computers.
Cloud DevelopmentCloud Development Tools - Developers need a broad set of powerful tools to use the cloud.. We feature four tools that warrant further investigation.
Cloud managementCloud Management Tools - Automate, monitor, provision, track and tweak cloud computing infrastructure.
Cloud OS Level VirtualizationContainers - An operating-system-level virtualization method for running multiple isolated Linux systems on a control host using a single Linux kernel.
Cloud OS Level VirtualizationContainer Managers - Software which make it easy to find, run, build, share and deploy applications using open containers
Cloud Functions as a ServiceFunctions-as-a-Service - Often known as serverless this is a category of cloud computing services that abstracts server management and low-level infrastructure decisions away from developers.
Cloud InfrastructureInfrastructure as a Service - Virtualised hardware, in other words, computing infrastructure. It's a service model where an organization outsources the equipment used to support storage, hardware, servers and networking components.
Cloud Platform as a ServicePlatform as a Service - Develop new applications or services in the cloud. PaaS solution stacks offers a number of advantages.
Cloud Type 1 HypervisorType 1 Hypervisors - Native / bare-metal running directly on the host's hardware. The hypervisor performs the function of controlling the host processor and resources, determining their allocation to the guest operating systems.
Cloud Type 1 HypervisorVirtualization Tools - This roundup focuses on Type 2 hypervisors. We also include GUI frontends and wrappers to view, access, and manage remote and virtual systems.
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