Topical Articles and News
Ramblings, ravings and juicy gossip about various topics
Topical Articles, News and Juicy Gossip
This section of the site contains articles about various topics and news items.
Topics and News
- The Return of thefreecountry.com
- Nimbda Worm: Defending Your Site From the Nimbda Worm
- What is default.ida? Defending Your Site From the Code Red II Worm
Free Programming Resources
- Free Source Code and Programming Libraries
- Free Compilers and Interpreters for Programming Languages
- Free Programming Tools
- Free Online Programming Documentation, Frequently Recommended Programming Books
- Free Emulators and Virtual Machines
Free Webmaster Resources
- Free Perl CGI Scripts
- Free PHP/Perl CGI Script Hosting
- Free PHP Scripts
- Free Web Hosts, Budget Web Hosts
- Free Tutorials and Articles for Webmasters
- More Free Webmaster Resources
Free Security Software and Sites
- Free Spyware/Adware/Trojans/Keyloggers/Hijackers Removal, Detection and Prevention Tools
- Free Antivirus Software
- Free Secure Deletion Tools, Disk and File Wipe Utilities, Destructive Erasing Software
- Free Anonymous Surfing
- Free Encrypted Email, Encrypted Chat
- Free Encryption Software, On the Fly Encryption, Steganography, Public Key Encryption Software
- Free Personal Firewalls
- Free HIPS (Host Intrusion Prevention Software) and Application and System Monitoring Utilities
- More Free Security Software and Sites
Free Utilities and Software Tools
- Free Video Editors (Free Video Editing Software)
- Free DVD Authoring and Creation Software
- Free Digital Audio Editors, Free Sound Editing Software
- Free Data Recovery, File and Partition Recovery, Undelete and Unformat Utilities
- Free Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities
- Free Image Authoring and Editing Software, Free Drawing and Painting Programs, Photo Editing Tools
- Free Partitioning Software (Copy, Resize, Move, Create, Convert, Undelete Partitions)
- Free Fonts for Programmers, Webmasters and Designers
- More Free Applications, Utilities and Software Tools
New Pages on thefreecountry.com
- Free Image/Photo Slide Show JavaScript
- Free GUI Builders, Application Builders and Rapid Application Development (RAD) Software
- Free Mail Servers (Email Servers / Mail Transfer Agents)
- Free File Synchronization Software
- Free / Open Source Non-SQL Database Servers and Engines
- Free Royalty Free Music and Sounds
- Free Autorun/Autoplay DVD and CD Menu Creation Software
- Free 3D Software Box Image Makers
- Free DVD and VCD Players, Free Movie and Video Playing Software
- Free DVD Authoring and Creation Software
- Free Antivirus Software and Free Online Virus Scans
New Pages on thesitewizard.com
- How to Add a Contact Form (Web Form) to Your Website Using Dreamweaver CS5.5
- How to Efficiently Manage a Multi-Page Website with Dreamweaver CS5.5
- How to Reserve a Domain Name. Do You Need a Web Host if You Want to Reserve a Domain for Future Use?
- What's the Difference Between a Content Management System (CMS), a Blog, a Web Editor and an Online Site Builder?
- Dreamweaver CS5.5 Tutorial: How to Design a Website with Dreamweaver CS 5.5
- How to Create Automatically Numbered Lists, Bullet Point Lists and Definition Lists in HTML
- HTML Tutorial - Learn to Design a Website using HTML
- Should I Learn HTML or Just Use a WYSIWYG Web Editor? Pros and Cons of Using a Visual Web Editor vs Learning HTML
- How to Centre a Background Image or Photo on Your Web Page Using KompoZer
- How to Create Rounded Corners for Your Box Borders in CSS
- What is MySQL? What is a Database? What is SQL?
- How to Add a CAPTCHA Test to Your Feedback Form Script: Reducing Spam in Your Contact Form
- How to Point a Domain Name to Your Website (Or What to Do After Buying Your Domain Name)
- How to Install Apache 2.2 on Windows Vista
- What is HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and Perl? Do I Need to Learn Them to Create a Website?
- How to Design a Two Column Layout for Your Website Using CSS
New Pages on HowToHaven.com
- How to Set Up a Standard User Account (or Limited Account) on Windows Vista and Windows 7 for Daily Use
- How to Slipstream Windows XP Service Pack 3 to Create an Integrated XP Setup Disk with SP 3
- How to Back Up Your Hard Disk in Windows
- How to Securely Prepare Your Old Computer for Disposal
- How to Work Around the Missing Up Arrow Button in Vista's Windows Explorer
- How to Create a Bootable "Live" Windows Rescue CD
- How to Delete Undeletable, Locked, Busy or Currently In-Use Files in Windows
- How to Record or Save Streaming Music or Audio
Popular Pages
- How to Create/Start Your Own Website: The Beginner's A-Z Guide
- How to Create a Bootable Windows XP Setup CD/DVD on a Preinstalled Windows System
- Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities
- Free Spyware/Malware Removal, Detection and Prevention Tools and Sites
- Free Antivirus Software
- Free Device Driver Backup and Extraction Utilities
- Free DVD Authoring and Creation Software
- Free DVD/CD Emulators, Free Virtual CD/DVD Drives
- Free Data Recovery, File and Partition Recovery, Undelete and Unformat Software
- Dreamweaver CS5 Tutorial: How to Design a Website with Dreamweaver CS5
- How to Design and Publish Your Website with KompoZer
What's New
Stay Updated (Free)- Keep track of what's new on thefreecountry.com with your news reader
by pointing it to
thefreecountry.com's news feed
.
Note: for historical reasons, this What's New column also includes information from
thesitewizard.com's news feed
and HowToHaven.com's news feed
.
- Have you ever had to cut and paste multiple things from one window to another and wondered if there was a more efficient way to do things? Check out the Free Clipboard History Managers and Extenders page where another clipboard manager has been added. These clipboard extenders provide a variety of facilities that make life easier for the frequent computer user.
- If you are looking for a way so that you can more efficiently work with multiple folder windows open on your computer, check out the latest addition to the Free File Managers and Graphical Shells page. These file managers usually provide a multi-tabbed dual pane window that let you easily work with files in 2 (or more) folders (such as to copy files between those folders, rename multiple files in one go, etc).
- New page: How to Add a Contact Form (Web Form) to Your Website Using Dreamweaver CS5.5. Find out how you can add a feedback form to your website using the Dreamweaver CS5.5 web editor. This is the final chapter of the Dreamweaver CS5.5 tutorial, so if you have are considering creating a website with this editor, the complete tutorial is now available online.
- A new BASIC compiler for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux has been added to the Free BASIC Compilers and Interpreters page. You often hear it said that learning computer programming is harder these days because of the complexity of today's systems. Whether or not you agree with this, the new BASIC compiler allows you to take advantage of the simplicity of the old days to learn to program while at the same time giving you the scope to use modern computer technologies like multimedia and the Internet in your program. It does this by emulating the QuickBasic and QBasic of the DOS years, and adding modern programming facilities to the mix.
- Are you thinking of starting your own website? If so, a new free (and open source) web editor has been added to the Free HTML Editors and WYSIWYG Web Editors page. This one is written by the author of the well-known Nvu web editor (now defunct), and works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. If you have been waiting for a modern, updated free web editor, check this out.
- What happens if your computer gets infected with a virus that your usual antivirus program cannot clean? Or if you're asked by your friend to clean his/her badly infected system? You may want to try the bootable recovery CD from Microsoft that is now listed on the Free Antivirus Rescue CDs and DVDs page. And yes, it's free, as are the other recovery solutions listed on that page.
- How to Make / Create Your Own Website: The Beginner's A-Z Guide (Updated). Find out how you can create a website with this complete beginner's guide written in plain English. It takes you through all the steps of making a website, including designing the site, putting it on the Internet, collecting credit card payments and putting advertisements.
- Write your own text adventure game, role playing game (RPG), "choose your own adventure" game or the like, with the newest development system added to the Free Games Development Kits and Programming Libraries page. The language is similar to the C/C++ family of languages, but includes numerous convenience features designed specifically to make it easy for you to develop interactive fiction. You can also use multimedia (graphics, animation, sound effects, music) in your game. This game development kit has been used to develop numerous commercial games over the years.
- New page: How to Efficiently Manage a Multi-Page Website with Dreamweaver CS5.5. When you create a website, you not only want an easy way to design multiple pages, but you also want a way to automatically update all the pages on the site should you make a change in the original design. Find out how you can get Dreamweaver to do this tedious and mundane work for you in this article.
- A new Common Lisp compiler has been added to the Free Common Lisp Compilers page. This one includes a compiler, runtime system, debugger, profiler and code coverage tool, allowing you to write, test and debug programs using the Common Lisp programming language.
- Teach children computer programming the fun way by letting them create computer games on either the XBox (using only the XBox game controller) or on the PC (using a mouse and keyboard) with the newest entry on the Free Educational Programming Languages - Teach Kids Programming page. This free software, from Microsoft, comes complete with lesson plans. You don't even need to be a parent or teacher to use this. Why not create a game or two during the New Year holiday season?
- Are you thinking of getting rid of your old computer perhaps because you bought a new one this Christmas? A new software has been added to the Free Secure File and Disk Deletion Utilities page that will allow you to securely wipe the data from your old hard disk, so that you can safely dispose of it or give it away. Remember that deleting your files is not enough; anyone can run a data recovery program to undelete them. To prevent thieves from stealing your personal information, you really need to destructively erase it using a free disk wiping tool.
- New page: How to Reserve a Domain Name. Do You Need a Web Host if You Want to Reserve a Domain for Future Use?. How do you go about reserving a domain name for a future website? Do you need to get a web host or do some other special thing? This article answers those questions.
- Do you want to create or edit a PDF file? For example, you may want to do this if you're thinking of taking advantage of the digital revolution and publishing your own ebook. If so, you may be interested in the latest freeware to be added to the Free PDF Converters, Editors and Printer Drivers page. You can even create password-protected PDF files with this program.
- New page: How to Customize the Navigation Menu on Your Website with Dreamweaver CS5.5. A website's navigation menu is the set of buttons on every page that links to important pages on the site. Learn how to customize this menu with the Dreamweaver web editor to add, delete, and modify the buttons as well as to change their colour ("color"). This is chapter 6 of the Dreamweaver CS 5.5 tutorial.
- The source code for the famous Doom 3 game from id Software is now listed on the Free Games Programming Libraries, Free Game Engines and Source Code. It's there for the benefit of the programmers who want to learn how big game developers do things, and tinker with the code. Personally, I think it's easier to just write your own game using one of the game engines (also listed on that same page). I mean, even the famous game engines like Unreal can be obtained for free from that page, so you can already use cutting edge stuff without the headache of deciphering other people's code.
- A new instant messaging (IM) computer program, that allows you to communicate "live" with others on the Internet, has been added to the Free Instant Messaging (IM) Software page. This program supports a wide range of popular protocols, including AIM, Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, ICQ, etc, so you can simply use one program to chat with others even if they are using different software.
- New page: How to Change Your Words and Images into Clickable Links in Dreamweaver CS5.5. Find out how to make images and text into clickable links using the Dreamweaver CS5.5 web editor. This is chapter 5 of the Dreamweaver CS5.5 tutorial.
- Are you thinking of starting a website where your users or visitors can freely add or modify pages just like the pages on Wikipedia? The newest entry on the Free and Open Source PHP Wiki Scripts page lets you do just that. The program doesn't even require you to have a MySQL database. Wiki-based sites are useful when you want (or need) your visitors to help you do the work of updating your website.
- A new easy-to-use software that can emulate a CD, DVD and Blu-Ray drive has been added to the Free DVD/CD Emulators, Free Virtual CD/DVD Drives page. In layman's language, such emulators are just computer programs that pretends to be an actual CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drive. It can load ISO files as though they are real CDs, DVDs or Blu-Ray discs, so that you can play them on your computer or run programs from them. This new free software can also create ISO files from real CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray disks, freeing you from the need to keep a particular disk in your drive all the time.
- New page: How to Change the Background Colour and Set a Background Image for Your Website in Dreamweaver CS5.5. Learn how to change the background colour ("color") of your website, or if you prefer, use a picture as the background with the Dreamweaver CS5.5 web editor. This is chapter 4 of the Dreamweaver CS 5.5 Tutorial.
- The latest addition to the Free Educational Programming Languages - Teach Kids Programming page is an integrated development environment that teaches a subset of the Java programming language in a friendly way. If you're looking for a way to teach children, teenagers, or even yourself, a programming language, this is a good way to start since it's not only easy to learn, but you also get to learn a language that can be used for real world programming tasks.
- A new software library has been added to the Free Graphics Libraries and Source Code page. If you are writing a graphical application, and don't want to reinvent the wheel, this one lets you write an application that runs on multiple platforms like Windows, Mac OS X, MacOS Classic, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and even game consoles like PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube/Wii.
- New page: How to Change Fonts, Text Size and Text Colour in Dreamweaver CS5.5. Find out how you can change fonts, put text in bold or italics, underline words, and change the text size or colour ("color") using the Dreamweaver CS5.5 web editor. This is chapter 3 of the Dreamweaver CS 5.5 tutorial series.
- Are you sure that your data is safe? What happens if your hard disk crashes? Or if your system is infected by a virus? The best way to protect yourself against unforeseen mishaps is to back up your computer on a regular basis. Do this with one of the software listed on the Free Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities page, where another new program has just been added.
- A new interpreter has been added to the Free APL Compilers and Interpreters page. For those who don't know what APL is, it is a programming language sometimes used for writing statistical, financial, scientific and business applications.
- Are you thinking of making a screenshot (ie, capturing a photo of your computer screen) or a video recording of the things happening on your monitor? Check out the Free Screen Video Recorders and Screen Capture Software where another software has just been added. These programs allow you to take digital photos or make a video of the stuff appearing on your monitor without requiring you to invest in a camera or the like. And they're all free.
- Have you ever taken photos of some scenery and wished there was a way to merge them into a single panoramic picture? If so, take a look at the Free Panorama Photo Stitching Software page, where a new open source program has been added.
- Do you have a file that you want to send to someone, but find that it's too big to send it by email? Or do you want to put up a document or file online for others to download, but don't want to go through all the trouble to set up a website just for this? If so, check out the Free File Storage Hosting page, where another free file sharing site has just been added.
