thefreecountry.com
Free Programmers', Webmasters' and Security Resources
thefreecountry.com
Welcome to thefreecountry.com's collection of free programming resources, free webmasters' resources, free security resources and free utilities.
Free Programmers' Resources
Free Programming Language Compilers
Comprehensive list of compilers for numerous programming languages.
Free Source Code and Programming Libraries
Source code and libraries that you can use in your own programs.
Free Programming Tools and Utilities
Tools to make your programming job easier, such as editors, debuggers, static code analysis, disassemblers,
compiler construction tools and grammars, file comparison, search and replace, help authoring, setup utilities,
resource editors, and lots more.
Programming Documentation
Online tutorials (free), online references (free) and frequently recommended books (not free) for programmers and webmasters.
Free Emulators and Virtual Machines
Run multiple OSes simultaneously, run a Mac OS on a PC (and vice versa), run a PC virtual machine inside your existing PC, etc.
Free Webmasters' Resources
Free Web Hosting and Cheap Web Hosting
Free and budget web hosts where you can place your website, blog, software, video, music, etc.
Free PHP Scripts ||
Free Perl CGI Scripts ||
Free ASP Scripts
Free programs that allow you to add a wide variety of facilities to your website, including forums, polls, counters, search engines,
blogs, wikis, photo galleries, etc.
Free Remote Script Hosting
Free services that allow you to set up a forum, feedback form, search engine, poll, guestbook, counter, gather web statistics, etc, when your
web host does not support scripts.
Free Webmaster Tutorials and Articles
Tutorials on running your own website, earning income from your site, writing your own PHP scripts,
starting a newsletter, search engine positioning, web design, usability, etc.
Other Free Webmaster Resources
Other useful and free webmaster resources that don't fit into the above categories, such as WYSIWYG HTML editors,
validators, DNS, FTP, SSH, and so on.
Free Security Resources
Free Security, Privacy and
Anonymity Tools and Resources
Tools to safeguard your computer (such as antivirus, anti-spyware) and data (backup, recover lost data) as well as to ensure your privacy (eg
encryption, anonymous surfing).
Free Utilities and Applications
Free System Utilities
Free utilities to recover your data, create or manage your partitions, image or backup, and lots more.
Free Multimedia Utilities
Free multimedia tools to edit, capture, process your audio and video, rip your CDs/DVDs, record your TV programs, author your own DVDs or movies, etc.
Free Office and Productivity Applications
Free applications and tools such as word processors, spreadsheets and office suites, image and photo editing software,
free fonts, free translation software and so on.
Tofrodos: Unix to Windows/DOS Conversion Utility
Convert text files to/from Unix and MSDOS/Windows file formats. Free with source code.
New Pages
This Month
- How to Stretch a Background Image to Fill an Entire Web Page (or Column) in BlueGriffon
- How to Change the Message Shown Before the Comments Field in WordPress
- How to Use Google Fonts and Other Web Fonts in BlueGriffon
- Free Geolocation Services
Last Month
Recently on thefreecountry.com...
- Free CAD Software
- Free XML Parser/Generator Libraries
- Free Android Emulators
- Free Social Network / Media Software
- Free JavaScript Minifiers (Minimizers), Obfuscators and Compressors
- Free Image Pop-Up JavaScripts (Where Image Overlays Current Web Page)
- Free Static Code Analyzers (Static Source Code Analysis Tools/Lint)
- Free Royalty-Free Stock Photos
- Free Online Editors and Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
- Free PHP Compilers: compile PHP scripts to native code, .NET or Java bytecode
- Free Embedded Web Video Player Scripts/Code
- Free Image/Photo Slide Show JavaScript
- Free GUI Builders, Application Builders and Rapid Application Development (RAD) Software
Recently on thesitewizard.com...
- How to Make a Button Run a Server-Side Script (eg, a PHP, Perl, or Python Script) (HTML)
- How to Add a (Self-Hosted) Video to Your Website with Expression Web
- How to Prevent Your Website from being Placed in a Frame
- How to Move a Website from Dreamweaver to BlueGriffon
- My Frustrations with Google AdSense
- How to Put Rounded Buttons on Your Website
- How to Close a Browser Tab/Window with JavaScript
- How to Prevent a Directory Listing of Your Website Without Using .htaccess
- How do I Increase/Decrease the Space Between Paragraphs on a Web Page (CSS)
- How Do You Get Access to a Domain Name You Just Purchased? What to Do After You Buy a Domain Name
- How to Redirect Visitors to Another Web Page After a Set Amount of Time
- How to Create a Password-Protected Area for Customers or Members in WordPress
- How to Redirect to Another Web Page in PHP
- How to Add a (Self-Hosted) Video to Your Website with BlueGriffon
- What Happens If My Web Host Goes Out of Business? Or If They Shut Down My Website?
- How to Add a Tooltip in HTML/CSS (No JavaScript Needed)
- How To Make Links to PDF Files Open in a PDF Viewer
- How to Change Font Sizes with JavaScript
- Can I Buy the Capital Letters Version of a Domain if Someone Else Owns the Lowercase Variant?
- How to Check for Broken Links on Your Website
- How to Indent Alternate Lines with HTML/CSS
- Does Using a Web Host Mean that My Files Belong to Them?
- How to Insert a Button into a Web Page (HTML)
- How to Get a Domain Name for Email Only
- How to Add a CSS Rule to Your Web Page
- How to Remove the Underlining from Links (HTML/CSS)
- How to Make a Web Page Always Display the Current Year
- What to Do if Expression Web Does Not Update Some of the Files Attached to a DWT (ie, Template)
- How to Stretch a Background Picture to Fill the Entire Website (or a Column of it) (HTML/CSS)
- How to Add a Shadow to a Box in HTML/CSS
- What To Do If You Do Not Own Your Website's Domain Name
- How to Embed an Image to Get a Self-Contained Web Page
- How to Make a One Column Website Mobile Friendly
- How to Make a Persistent Header, Footer or Image that Stays at a Fixed Position Even When a Web Page is Scrolled (CSS/HTML)
- Can I Create My Entire Website in PDF?
- How Do I Stop Others From Using My Domain Name After I Cancel It?
- How to Put Text Next to an Image and Centre ("Center") Both on a Web Page (HTML/CSS)
- How to Play Music or Audio on a Website with HTML (HTML5)
- How to Make Expression Web Use HTML5 By Default
- How to Hide Images on a Website When It is Viewed on a Mobile Phone
- How to Add a Video to Your Website in HTML (HTML5)
- How to Create a Blog
- What's the Difference Between a Domain Name Registrar and a Web Host?
- How to Create a Coloured ("Colored") Box in HTML/CSS
- How to Back Up Your Website
- Can You Fix a Typo in a Domain Name After You Register It?
- BlueGriffon Tutorial: How to Design a Website with BlueGriffon
- How to Move Your Website to SSL (ie, Convert from HTTP to HTTPS)
- How to Redirect a URL
- Does the Price of a Domain Depend on the Name Chosen? Why do Some Domains Cost So Much?
- Expression Web Tutorial: How to Design a Website with Microsoft Expression Web
- How to Install and Configure Apache, PHP, Perl and MySQL on Windows the Easy Way (with XAMPP)
- Can you register a domain name directly with ICANN instead of through a middleman?
- Free Mobile-Friendly (Responsive Design) Layout Wizard
- How to Make Your Images Mobile-Friendly (Responsive Design)
- How to Make a Mobile-Friendly Website: Responsive Design in CSS
- Should I Use a Specialized Blog Host or Install My Own Blog Software?
- How to Make Links Open in a New Window or Tab
- Dreamweaver Tutorial: How to Design a Website with Dreamweaver CS6
- What Banks Need to Know Before Getting a New Domain Name
- 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?
Recently on HowToHaven.com...
- How to Solve the 0x80092004 Error When Installing a Windows 7 Security-Only/Monthly Update
- How to Record a Game Video
- How to Boot a CD or DVD in Windows 8.1
- How to Change BIOS Settings on a Computer with Windows 8.1 Installed
- How to Shut Down Windows 8 (Full Shutdown and Normal Hybrid Shutdown)
- How to Set Up a Standard User Account (or Limited Account) on Windows Vista and Windows 7 for Daily Use
A While Ago...
- Should You Get a Domain Name with Spaces or Dots In Between to Improve Readability?
- How to Rescue Your Website from the Clutches of a Bad Web Designer or Bad Web Host
- How to Create Rounded Corners for Your Box Borders in CSS
- What is MySQL? What is a Database? What is SQL?
- Free / Open Source Non-SQL Database Servers and Engines
- Free Royalty Free Music and Sounds
- How to Point Multiple Domain Names to One Website: And How to Avoid Search Engine Problems When Doing So
- Should You Choose a Linux or a Windows Web Hosting Package? Is There Such a Thing as a Mac Web Host?
- Is There a WYSIWYG Editor for PHP? Should I Use PHP or HTML for My Website?
- How to Point a Domain Name to Your Website (Or What to Do After Buying Your Domain Name)
- How to Add a CAPTCHA Test to Your Feedback Form Script: Reducing Spam in Your Contact Form
- What Does It Mean to Park a Domain Name? Domain Name Parking Explained
- Is it Possible to Use Microsoft Word or Office to Create a Website? If So, How?
- Is it Possible to Create a Website Without Buying a Domain Name? The High Price of "Free".
- How to Centre a DIV Block Using CSS
- 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
Featured Pages
- How to Create / Make Your Own Website: The Beginner's A-Z Guide
- How to Register Your Own Domain Name
- How Much Does It Cost to Set Up a Website?
- Six Steps to Creating a Search Engine Friendly Website
- Hard Disk Backup and Restore, Hard Disk Image and Cloning Utilities
- Free Partitioning Software - Copy, Create, Move, Resize, Convert, Undelete Partitions
- Free DVD Authoring and Creation Tools
- Free CD and DVD Burners and Copying Software
- Free Antivirus Software
- Free Anonymous Surfing and Proxies
- PHP Tutorial: Writing Your First PHP Script
- Free Customized Feedback Form PHP / Perl Script
- Free C/C++ Compilers, Free Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler
- How to Accept Credit Cards on Your Website
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
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Note: for historical reasons, this What's New column (but not the news feed) also includes information from
thesitewizard.com's news feed
and HowToHaven.com's news feed
.
- A new compiler has been added to the Free PHP Compilers page. This one can compile PHP 7.1 code into a .NET program that can run on Windows, macOS and Linux systems. It is useful if you want to write computer programs in PHP and distribute them in executable form to others.
- New page: How to Stretch a Background Image to Fill an Entire Web Page (or Column) in BlueGriffon. This article deals with how you can use BlueGriffon to stretch a picture that is used as the backdrop of a web page, so that it fills the entire page, column or section.
- A new site has been added to the Free Royalty-Free Stock Photos page. This one provides both free photos and videos which you can use without paying royalties on your own website, presentations, etc.
- A new icon editor for Windows and Linux has been added to the Free Resource Editors, Compilers and Icon Editors page. Icon editors are useful for webmasters wishing to create a favicon for their website as well as programmers who want to make one for their software.
- New page: How to Change the Message Shown Before the Comments Field in WordPress. If you run a WordPress blog, and want to customize the message that is shown in the "Leave a Reply" section of your post (where you visitors enter their comments), this article shows you how, using a method that will allow your changes to persist even when your theme files auto-update.
- New page: How to Use Google Fonts and Other Web Fonts in BlueGriffon. This article describes how you can add Google Fonts and other web fonts to BlueGriffon for use with your website.
- New page: Free Geolocation Services. If you are thinking of customizing your website so that it shows different content for different countries (eg, display prices of goods in the local currency), these free geolocation services may be just what you need.
- A free service has been added to the Free Dynamic and Static DNS Services and Name Servers page. This one provides dynamic DNS for those whose websites are hosted on their own computer and who connect to the Internet with an address that changes each time. To avoid confusion, please note that these are not services that give you free domains. You will still need to obtain a domain name from a registrar. In addition, for the average person who wants to create a website the standard way, you don't need these services.
- Another free service has been added to the Free Web Hosts page. If you want to create a website and don't want to pay for web hosting, take a look at these free hosts on which you can place a site.
- A new site has been added to the Free Mailing List Hosting and Email Newsletter Hosting page. It is useful if you are interested in starting an email mailing list, whether an announcement list or a discussion one.
- A new implementation of Common Lisp for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD has been added to the Free Common Lisp Compilers and Interpreters page. This one can create standalone executables for your programs. (For those wondering, Common Lisp is a general purpose programming language.)
- Updated: How to Make / Create a Website. If you are thinking of designing a website, whether a business or hobby site, read How to Create a Website. The article has been updated with the latest developments on the Internet.
- New page: Can I Change My Website's Address to HTTPS Without Getting an SSL Certificate? This article answers a question asked by a visitor on whether he can simply update all the URLs on his website to "https" without obtaining an SSL certificate, and, if not, why.
- Two more programs have been added to the Free Standard ML Compilers page. Standard ML is a general purpose functional programming language. Both programs added (one is a compiler, and the other an interpreter) are open source.
- New page: How to Make a Button Run a Server-Side Script (eg, a PHP, Perl, or Python Script) (HTML). I was asked by a visitor how he could make a button run a server-side script (such as a PHP, Perl or Python script). This article answers that question.
- A new debugger for Windows DLL and EXE files has been added to the Free Debuggers and Bug Trackers page. (For those wondering, debuggers are software that help programmers track down bugs in their programs.)
- New page: How to Add a (Self-Hosted) Video to Your Website with Expression Web. Find out how you can insert a video into your web page with the free Microsoft Expression Web editor. The video, in this case, will be placed on your website itself (ie, self-hosted) and not on a video sharing site.
- Another lint-type program has been added to the Free Static Code Analyzers page. This one scans your C or C++ program source code for a huge variety of potential bugs/errors. It works on Windows, but can apparently be compiled to run on Linux and other Unix-type systems.
- A new Windows program has been added to the Free Command Line Shells page. This open source software supports backquotes (where the output of a command is inserted into the command line of another), background processing (run programs in the background), aliases, tab completion, extended wildcard/filename-matching, and so on.
- New page: How to Prevent Your Website from being Placed in a Frame. By default, anyone can place your website in a frame or iframe, for the purposes of clickjacking, altering your content, or putting advertisements on your page. This article shows you how to prevent this, using both the older backward-compatible method as well as the modern officially-recommended one.
- New page: How to Move a Website from Dreamweaver to BlueGriffon. I was asked by a visitor how he could move his website from Dreamweaver to the free BlueGriffon web editor. This article answers that question.
- A new program has been added to the Free CD, DVD and Blu-Ray Burning Software page. This one can not only create data discs but also audio CDs, rip (ie, copy) music from CDs, make ISO images, burn ISO images, create multi-session discs, erase discs, etc. It's useful for those who find the built-in facilities provided by Windows too limited.
- Two more software have been added to the Free Programmer's Editors page. These text editors collectively feature things like bracket/brace matching (so that you don't have mismatched brackets in your code), syntax highlighting, project management, search and replace, file comparison, hexadecimal viewing, column editing, code folding, JSON/XML/SQL formatters, etc.
- Another open source program for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux has been added to the Free Secure Password Managers and Password Savers page. Password managers are used to store (and automatically type, if you wish) your passwords for the varous online sites (eg, email, social media, etc) that you are a member of, allowing you to use different, complicated and secure passwords for each site without worrying that you will forget them.
- New page: My Frustrations with Google AdSense. This article details my increasing frustration with Google AdSense. And no, it's not about what you think.
- A new program has been added to the Free Text Search and Replace Utilities page. This open source utility for Windows can search and replace text across plain text files, Word documents, PDFs, using literal queries, regular expressions and even phonetic searches.
- New page: How to Put Rounded Buttons on Your Website. I was asked by a visitor how he could create rounded buttons. This article shows you how to add round corners to your buttons and, if that's what you really want, insert buttons that are completely circular.
- Another web statistics program has been added to the Free Web Statistics and Web Log Analyzers page. If you have created a website and want to see how it is performing (eg, the number of visitors for each page, the browsers they use, etc), the programs listed here will do the trick.
- A new program has been added to the Free File Managers and Graphical Shells page. This one works on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD. Although all modern systems have their own file managers (eg, Explorer on Windows), these third party software offer convenient features such as built-in file comparison, the ability to open two folders side by side to facilitate easy copying/moving, and so on.
- New page: How to Close a Browser Tab/Window with JavaScript. This article answers a question on how to close a browser window or tab using JavaScript.
- An open source RSS reader for Mac OS X has been added to the Free Standalone News Feed Readers and News Aggregators page. There are also many RSS/Atom readers for other systems listed on that page (such as Windows and Linux ones).
- New page:
How to Prevent a Directory Listing of Your Website Without Using .htaccess.
A visitor asked me if there was a way to stop her web server from showing a directory listing of the folders on
her site, without having to create a
.htaccessfile. This article gives 2 alternative solutions.
- If you are looking for a way to scan your PHP source code for potential bugs before you even test it, take a look at the latest program that has been added to the Free Static Code Analyzers page. This one works on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other Unix-type systems. For those who don't use PHP, that page also lists static analyzers for C, C++, Objective C, JavaScript, Fortran and Java.
- New page: How do I Increase/Decrease the Space Between Paragraphs on a Web Page (CSS). One of my visitors wanted to know how to change the distance between paragraphs on a web page. This article addresses that question. It also deals with what to do when you change the spacing between lines (eg to double-space it), and the gap between paragraphs becomes too wide.
- A new C++ library has been added to the Free Sockets Libraries page. Such programming libraries let you write apps that can connect to the Internet to do various things. For example, you can use it to implement an automatic update facility, or if you write a game, to connect to a game server so that multiple people can play with each other, and so on.
- New page: How Do You Get Access to a Domain Name You Just Purchased? What to Do After You Buy a Domain Name. I was asked by a visitor how he could "get access to a domain" that he had just purchased. This article answers that question.
- A new version control package has been added to the Free Source Code Version Control Software page. (Version control software are typically used by programmers to store multiple versions of their source code in a space efficient manner. You can also use it to store multiple versions of other types of documents and files.)
- New page: How to Redirect Visitors to Another Web Page After a Set Amount of Time. This article answers a query as to whether there is a way a visitor can be given a certain amount of time to read a web page, following which the latter is replaced with a new page.
- New page: How to Solve the 0x80092004 Error When Installing a Windows 7 Security-Only/Monthly Update. If you were unable to install the most recent Windows Update (eg, either the security-only or monthly quality one) on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 because of a stop error 0x80092004, this article shows you how to solve it.
