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| Freeware Downloads |
| On this page: Reviews of a few programs we either
use ourselves or have favourable experience of. Some are fairly well known, others less
so. Where possible, we have provided deep links direct to the original suppliers' download
pages. There's also a link on the toolbar above to filehippo.com - a useful site which carries the latest updates for many... |
brand-name freeware and free-trial programs. There's also a link above to PC Utilities - a gigantic, 500 pages+ repository of freeware from the magazine's past cover disks. However, do not install more than one anti-virus or firewall app or suite as they may conflict. And back up your registry and image your C: drive before installing spurious apps - as a precaution against trouble. |
| Anti-Virus | Firewalls | Graphics | PDF Reader | HTML Tools |
| 1. Anti-Virus | ||||
| a) AVG Anti-Virus Free | Tech note:- | |||
| "The best software in use today." Result of a vote by readers of PC Pro magazine in
December 2007. "AVG is just as good as the best-known commercial anti-virus program and is free for home users. It also has low resource requirements and won't slow down computers." (Computer Shopper, Jan 2006.) "Why is AVG Free so good? It gives you many of the features you would expect to find in a commercial product, and you get regular updates for free too. You would be a crazy fool not to install this application." (Practical Internet, Jan 2003.) Why is it free for single users? Well, with endless accolades like those above appearing in computer magazines, in online forums, and from many satisfied individuals, this generates immeasurable free publicity for AVG which must help them considerably when selling the Pro version to businesses and network users. In fact, so pleased have we been ourselves with AVG's performance on standalone personal computers that, for years, we have made a point of recommending AVG Pro to our IT and business contacts (PMD, 7/08).
AVG Free download page
If this link fails to work, go straight to FileHippo (use tab at top of this page) where you will find a link to the latest version. AVG remains as good as ever and now includes powerful trojan-detection capability which may prove to be just what you need if you are ever unlucky enough to follow one of the many links in search engines unknowingly pointing to deliberately booby-trapped or innocently infected websites. Some search engines are aware of the problem and you will sometimes see warnings of possible risk against some of their links. But that is hopelessly unreliable because the bad guys will always be one step ahead. So, for added safety, irrespective of which anti-virus program you use, we also recommend that people should temporarily disable Java, JavaScript and ActiveX in their firewall (or browser) settings whenever using search engines because they have become the main pipeline for the delivery of malicious software (PMD, 30.5.07). ActiveX had become such a dangerous vehicle that it was finally disabled by default in the version 7 release of Internet Explorer. But this led to an increased use of malicious JavaScript so, if you leave that enabled when following links in search engines, or email, or anywhere else, you do so at your peril (PMD, 1.7.08). |
If you already have a different anti-virus program from AVG on your
PC, it would be safer to stick with it, and just keep that one updated. Trying to uninstall some
mainstream anti-virus programs (AVG excepted) can cause major trauma to your system and internet
connection. If you must change, due, say, to dissatisfaction with or obsolescence of your existing tool, you should image your C: drive with drive-imaging software first, to ensure you can flick the system back to how it was
if necessary. Similarly, it is not wise to install a second anti-virus program next to any existing one due to a risk of
low-level conflicts. If that advice leaves you feeling trapped into your current anti-virus vendor, that is probably how they
would like it to be. However, you at least now know there is a first-rate alternative when you next
reinstall Windows or buy a new computer which has no anti-virus program or internet security suite
pre-installed. In the latter case, be sure to enable a quality firewall before ever connecting to the internet - and make AVG the only site you visit (to get the download) until
after AVG is installed. Upgrading from AVG 6 and/or AVG 7 to AVG 8+ - online forums show plenty of people managed to screw up the upgrade to AVG 7 and, no doubt, it will be the same with AVG 8+. People fail to allow for the fact that anti-virus programs are hooked in to the system at very deep levels compared with run-of-the-mill programs. Here is a safe procedure that has never failed us once. Download AVG 8x Free to your desktop. If the setup file has a long or irregular name, right-click on it and rename it simply as setup.exe. Disconnect from the internet. Switch off all peripherals like a printer, scanner, webcam etc. Scan your entire system one last time with AVG 6 (or 7) to ensure it is virus-free. If you have any reason to suspect your machine is still infected with malware, also scan your C: drive with things like Spybot Free, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and a rootkit revealer to ensure the system is super-clean. Once satisfied, restart the PC into Safe Mode. This will ensure you are disconnected from the internet (if you failed to do so earlier) and will also prevent the usual background stuff from causing conflicts with the install. Once in Safe Mode, use the Task Manager to end any still running processes which, by name, are AVG-related, if any. Then use AVG's own uninstaller to remove the old version. If, instead of AVG 6 or 7, you have some debris remaining from a failed attempt to install AVG 8, remove that instead using AVG 8's own uninstaller if available, otherwise via Windows' Add-Remove Programs applet if AVG 8 is showing in there. If, after that removal, AVG 6/7 and/or AVG 8 still appear in the Control Panels' list of installed programs, ignore it - that is just a leftover from a now-orphaned harmless entry in the Windows' registry. While still in Safe Mode, manually delete the old Grisoft folder, and any AVG shortcuts which have been left behind in the Start menu or on the desktop. Restart into normal mode so the Windows' registry can fully update itself. Restart back into Safe Mode > open the Control Panel and double-click 'Add or Remove Programs' > browse to the (renamed) AVG setup.exe file > begin the install. If you are using XP or Vista and you find it blocks this install in Safe Mode, come out of Safe Mode and use the Control Panel to add the program in normal mode. The foregoing method is convoluted, admittedly, but it will avoid any of the problems which hasty install attempts have sometimes caused other people. |
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| 2. Firewalls | ||||
| a) ZoneAlarm Firewall | Tech note:- | |||
| "ZoneAlarm is the web's premiere free firewall. It is
a robust, easy-to-use application that will give you the maximum protection for nothing."
(Practical Internet magazine, Jan 2003.) By providing a free version, ZoneAlarm gains many tributes from single-users and in computer magazines which, in turn, helps ZoneLabs to sell its Pro version to businesses. |
ZoneAlarm download page |
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| b) Outpost Firewall Free 1.0.1817 (2002) | Tech note:- | |||
| Years have passed since we first featured Outpost Firewall Free 1.0
(from 2002) on here. It provided great security for Windows 98 machines, ran happily in tandem with AVG Free anti-virus, and caused
no slowdown in performance
or in bootup time. But the good days have gone. Much stronger firewalls are needed to give the
same degree of protection for the more vulnerable XP or Vista systems. A wonderful feature thought to be unique to Outpost firewalls is that they include a feature called Web Blocking. This allows you to temporarily block dangers like ActiveX, Cookies, JavaScript and Java before you use a search engine, thus reducing the chances of infection from booby-trapped web pages to virtually nil. After ver 1.0, however, Web Blocking was subsequently included only in the Pro versions of Outpost. We have found Outpost 3.51 Pro (with Web Blocking), together with AVG, has kept our XP machines clean. Something later would be needed for Vista. We have tried Outpost Firewall Free 2009 but it lacks the Web Blocking feature so, as a freebie, it has no more appeal than, say ZoneAlarm or Comodo. |
1) Do not try to install or uninstall any firewall while still
connected to the internet. Always disconnect first so you are not left unprotected, not
even for a few seconds. Once you are offline, you should also temporarily disable any other
protective software which is running, such as anti-virus real-time scanning or the Windows'
firewall if enabled. Such precautions will ensure a trouble-free install of the firewall. 2) Never try to run two different software firewalls at the same time on the same PC as conflicts between the firewall rules in one program, default or customised, and those in the other, would risk causing complete mayhem, slow running, or permanent breakage of your internet connection. That stipulation includes disabling Windows own firewall if you are about to install and use a different one. 3) The Pro versions of Outpost allow different levels of 'Web Blocking' to be set up, called 'configurations'. So, you can be protected by a really strong config when using a risk-laden site like Google but, with just a few clicks, you can change to a loose config when using a pedantic but safe site like Hotmail. This is internet security at its best if you have the willpower to apply it. |
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| c) Comodo Firewall | Tech note:- | |||
| This firewall first appeared circa 2006 and has continued to be touted as the best freebie
in quite a few computer magazines in the years since then. It is regarded as very strong and highly configurable, but it lacks the 'Web Blocking' feature found in the Outpost Pro range, so is not one we have used ourselves. |
Before installing a software firewall read our general safety-first notes, in this RH column directly above. |
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| 3. Graphics | ||||
| a) Color Cop - a superb color-picker tool - ideal for web designers and digital-image manipulators | ||||
| Color Cop is a minuscule utility that will show you the RGB or Hex value of any color anywhere on your computer screen. Even if you already have the better-known eyeDropper color picker, you will still find that the non-incursive way in which Color Cop's pipette and magnifier work will prove a far nicer option in most instances. If the screenshot on their download page looks iffy, do not be put off by that. This is one thoroughly cool tool when the need to use it arises. Most definitely one of the best mini-apps ever written for anybody who works with images or web design. | Tech note:- Color Cop's window has no toolbar so, to get to its Settings' menu, you have to remember to right-click anywhere on its window. If Color Cop ever malfunctions in any way, delete its .dat file and reboot. That will reinstate the prog's default settings. |
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| 4. PDF Readers | ||||
| Foxit Reader | ||||
| Foxit Reader, first mentioned here 9/07, was then at v2.1. Foxit Reader is a superb substitute for Adobe Acrobat Reader as it comes without any of the bloat, slowness, jerkiness, insistence on updating IE first, and other annoyances. It's like a breath of fresh air when needing to open PDF files. | Tech note:- Lately, Foxit Reader has started to come pre-packaged with an Ask search bar, some Yahoo stuff, and browser configs, so take care during the install procedure not to miss the provided opportunities to decline the irrelevant add-ons. |
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| 5. Web-design utilities | ||||
| a) Bhaum Text/HTML Editor - a superlative, enhanced text editor |
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| There are literally dozens of free Notepad-like text editors to
choose from and we have tried them all. At least, all the lightweight ones, that is, those
small enough to fit on a floppy disk (i.e. under 1.44MB). We found one called Bhaum
(pr. bough-m) to be literally head and shoulders above the rest if one wanted a massive amount
of readily accessible functionality crammed into a tiny file-size and a smart-looking, colourful
interface. Uniquely, Bhaum includes dual-purpose toolbar buttons. Left-click
any button and it will do what it is supposed to do - but right-click the same button and it can perform a different
task instead. This is an absolutely brilliant toolbar space-saving concept. Why no other programs have
ever copied the idea beats us. There is an HTML toolbar which can be toggled on or off
to appear along the bottom of the window, and the bar even auto-wraps so that all the toolbar
options remain visible at all times without ever needing to maximise the window size.
How all this functionality was squeezed into something so small and fast really was quite amazing. Bhaum is a superb companion to Notepad as it is a powerful text/HTML editor with no limit
on file size. Bhaum is superb for carry out any minor offline tweaks to existing .htm files.
It is significantly better for that purpose than Notepad, and is a lot quicker than opening
a big WYSIWYG web editor and an entire site just to make small isolated tweaks. Keep Notepad
- we would never say dispense with that tool. Simply put a shortcut to Bhaum next to each
of Windows' shortcuts to Notepad, and add it to the right-click menus for .htm and .txt files.
Then you can always choose either Notepad or Bhaum - whichever one of them will be best for
the job in hand. Bhaum was written for Windows 95/98, and carries a proviso in its ReadMe
file that "Some functions may not work on Windows NT/2000". That is a shame
because it certainly looks an absolute picture in XP compared to Notepad - see
what we mean. The only problem we have experienced ourselves with Bhaum in XP is, if you open
an existing html file to tweak it in some small way, especially a big file, and then click Bhaum's
Word Wrap button, this will sometimes completely destroy the source code in Bhaum's window. That
is obviously a pretty serious defect so, in all honesty, we have to say this is a tool more for
anybody still doing their web editing on a Windows 98 machine, not XP. We have not had cause to try Bhaum in Vista so, if any readers have, we'd obviously like to hear from them. Bhaum is a Korean word with no sound precedent in English for the 'haum' bit. For an anglicised pronunciation, rhyme the 'hau' part with the 'ow' in cow, now and bow, hence Bhaum sounds like bow-m and bough-m. |
Tech note:- To install Bhaum to Windows 98, download the zip file to your desktop > right-click on it and choose your 'scan for virus' option (just routine). Right-click on the zip file again > choose the Extract here... (or equivalent) option > double-click on the setup.exe file to start the installation > follow the prompts. The web pages on our site were not created with an HTML editor like Bhaum but by WYSIWYG editors. This is because the squishy tables we use throughout are far too complex to be coded by hand. However, the HTML and CSS code of every single page was, at sometime, tweaked with Bhaum when needing some minor correction or alteration. Bhaum proved indispensable and unrivalled not only as an html tweaking tool but also as an enhanced text editor. That is why we used to recommend it. There has been no two-way means of communicating with the author of the program since 2002. So, if you ever have trouble with anything to do with Bhaum, drop us an The application does have a few minor imperfections, even on Windows 98. Like the odd spelling and grammar mistake which the author knew about but could not be bothered to fix. Those errors did not affect the integrity of the tool and never spoiled our use of it. It has not been possible to download a functional Bhaum from the author's badly neglected website since 2002, nor a mythical successor dubbed Henshoo from either there or any other site claiming to have Henshoo. However, the following link for the genuine Bhaum was still functional when last tried in May 2009. But remember, to be on the safe side, we are not really recommending it for XP, only for the dying breed of Windows 98 users. |
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| b) CSE HTML Validator Lite | ||||
| After you have installed CSE HTML Validator Lite and, via its toolbar,
applied Options > File Associations, you will be able to right-click on any of your htm files to open it in CSE's
window, where you can edit the file just the same as if you had opened it in Notepad. However, you will find it has some
nice added features like syntax highlighting, a spell checker and, on its toolbar, the all important
Validate button. CSE scans a document in the blink of an eye and, in a panel across the bottom of
its window, CSE reports all the syntax errors it finds. You can correct the errors right there and then, in CSE, there is no need to transfer to
Notepad nor a WYSIWYG editor to do it. You will be gob-smacked by the sheer variety and volume of real errors and associated errors this tool will uncover in the syntax of your web pages - and we do mean gob-smacked. In fact, you can put the pages of any top website through the online version of the CSE scanner and the picture is always the same. Even the Home page of the leading search engine, which only uses basic plain HTML, flagged up quite a few syntax errors when we first ran its URL through CSE's online scanner on 7.7.07 (same on 9.9.09). Web designers get away with these accidental mistakes because their flawed code can still look 100% okay in a browser. That is because browsers have enough knowledge and flexibility programmed into them about HTML to know what was really meant most of the time. But the errors are still there nevertheless. Hence, validating your HTML is not so much an absolute necessity, but more a case of pride in your work. Either way, though, it is always very satisfying when you eventually arrive at CSE Lite's ultimate accolade, a message which will state "Congratulations! Even the Standard and Professional editions would not have found any errors or warnings." To see their actual "Congratulations..." message in full, copy the URL of this page and paste it in the online scanner at html validator. After that, type in some big-brand URL, say www.google.com or www.facebook.com, and see if you still get the same desirable "Congratulations..." message. One thing you must NEVER do with CSE, no matter how tempting, is to change the default settings of its 'Validator Engine' as a means of stopping CSE flagging up particular things as errors, even if you know they are not really errors. If you were to water-down the default options, that would mean a page appearing to you to be free of errors offline in CSE will not look that way to any of your web viewers if they run your same page through CSE's online validator. They will see the page has faults. A workaround, in this situation, could be to cloak any troublesome sections of code with CSE's special start and end IGNORE tags i.e. <CSEIGNORE> and </CSEIGNORE>. Anything inside these tags will not be reported on by CSE. If you do resort to that, we advise adding an ordinary comment in the <HEAD> section to remind yourself, in the future, and to inform any diligent viewers, why the IGNORE tags were applied. Finally, use IGNORE tags very sparingly. The ideal is to have no errors in CSE and no IGNORE tags either. |
Tech note:- You will, admittedly, need to be as clever as Alan Turing to decipher, and clear, every last one of the red, yellow and green problem messages that the Lite version throws up. Some of CSE Lite's red messages, and all of its yellow messages, will state the exact line number and nature of the fault - making it easy to pin down those errors. However, CSE will frequently alert you to other errors somewhere in the code by generating multiple associated red messages for each such fault, none of which will be stating the true line number for the fault. The key to cracking this enigma, we can exclusively reveal, is to clear each yellow message first because that will also clear any phantom red messages associated with it. Then, if you are still left with further phantom red messages, the answer is to check the HTML code not just in the stated line numbers (which are usually erroneous) but in the lines on either side of the stated lines. Look especially for missing characters like an absent slash After you have cleared all the yellow and red messages you will probably be left with a green message-count giving no information other than a total number of additional items found. To unravel this problem of green error or comment messages but no line numbers, the best way is to work on a copy of the page, deleting sections bit by bit, until you trace a section that reduces the green message count. You can then undo (restore) the last section you deleted and look through it for the fault. If you can't identify the fault, you can narrow it down further by temporarily surrounding sections of HTML in the guilty section with CSE's special 'ignore' tags <CSEIGNORE> and </CSEIGNORE> and re-validating the page. If the green message count reduces, you know a fault was in the section of HTML you just told CSE to ignore. When you have cleared that fault, remove the 'ignore' tags - don't leave them in, that would be cheating, and untidy. However, if you are not a budding Alan Turing, we have to admit this may prove too much of an enigma. In that case, you could always do a good thing and buy the Standard or Pro version as they will not hold back on giving you the line numbers containing errors in all instances. But try the Lite one first, in conjunction with the above clues, to at least get a feel for the tool. |
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| c) StatsMachine - a smart, formatable, concealable, text-based hit counter for websites | ||||
| Most hit counters are image-based, and can seriously slow down a page download, especially if the counter is unsuitably placed in the first screenful of the page. However, StatsMachine offer a smashing text-based alternative and that is what we recommend. Not only because of speed, but because it can be styled to any particular type, color or size of font of your choosing so that it blends in with the overall design of your page. Or, if you want, you can make it invisible to anyone except yourself simply by making the text-color for the numbers the same color as the background color behind the counter. That is the kind we now use on this particular site. So, for a counter that is image-free, ad-free, cookie-free and cost-free, look no further than StatsMachine. | Tech note:- Conventional image-based hit counters invariably look out-of-keeping with a page's design style and, therefore, can make your pages look very amateurish to every single visitor. StatsMachine's text-based counters avoid the unprofessional look because the text and numerals can be styled and coloured to blend in with a page's overall style and color scheme. You can see an example at the bottom of this particular page, where a (non-working) counter (the green bit) is seamlessly blended into a full-width, squishy bottom-banner. You could not ask for a slicker implementation of a visible counter than something on those lines. |
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| Menu Top Contact |
| Disclaimer: The authors of this web page are not connected in any way with any of the third-party software programs referred to or advocated herein and cannot be held responsible for any problems you may experience as a result of installing or running any of the said programs. | ||
| Started 29.8.03 Last amended 28.9.09 (dmy) | ||
| Computer Freeware Section Copyright (C) 2003-2009 PM Designs All Rights Reserved | ||
| Trademark Acknowledgements |
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