As we travel in this land of Information Security, each of us searches for the quintessential free lunch. For the nominal price of a drink, you are permitted to devour today’s food dejour and thusly remain alive to fight another fire. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, one cannot help be influenced by the area’s history. Rudyard Kipling wrote of San Francisco,

No man rose to tell me what were the lions of the place. No one volunteered any sort of conveyance. I was absolutely alone in this big city of white folk. By instinct I sought refreshment, and came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.

Influenced by the history, technology and people of the area, I bring you Free Lunch. A regular column posted here on the nCircle blog, we intend to highlight information security free tools. No doubt some of these products will reside in the same shelf as the day old bread, but others may surprise, perhaps even delight.

FAQ / Ground Rules

Why are you doing this?
We all have the same goal – to get the job done with as few resources. I’m in IT and Information Security and thus a real world subscriber. I feel like sharing my pain and joy with you.

Does the product need a specific shareware, freeware or other license?
Free Lunch contains the important word, free. Ideally, the items reviewed should have a GPL or Creative Commons license allowing commercial and non-commercial entities unrestricted usage.

How can I submit my product, idea, etc for the free lunch menu?
I provide no guarantee that your idea will be used or that your email will even be read. Nonetheless, the best way to submit your idea is to email freelunch shift key + 2 ncircle.com.

Where can I enjoy the free lunch?
Check out the category archive on my blog.

Are free lunches limited to software?
Not at all. I’m open to learning and using all sorts of tools, software, hardware, processes and methodologies. Hint: software, which doesn’t work well on FreeBSD, OSX or XP probably won’t be looked at.

On what areas do you rate products?
Currently, the free lunch will cover feature sets, ease of use, documentation and community vibrancy.

Are these ratings an endorsement of nCircle?
Absolutely not. As with all information posted to the nCircle blog, the opinions expressed are solely the opinions of the poster and should not be construed to represent nCircle or its management.