Free Software

We have evaluated all of this software and found it be free of any viruses and malware

Because many people have now changed over to the world of digital photos, we have assembled some great software for dealing with the digital world that will make your life a little easier. All the software noted here is used by BIOS and is highly recommended. Some of the software has a higher learning curve that others, but for the most part is easy to use and highly recommended.

We have also included some recommend software titles both free and commercial to give your computer an oil change and keep it firing on all cylinders. Spyware is so prevalent on the internet now and in some ways as bad as viruses. We want you to be able to come back a visit with us frequently and you can't do that is your computer is virus and spyware laden and all but disabled.

Most of what you find here is FREE, but of very high caliber, so don't let the word 'free' scare you away.

If you feel the software you download from the different sites listed here is beneficial, a small donation on your part to the individual designers is always appreciated by them and makes the cost of ongoing development a little easier to swallow.

"MIR.net" We use this great piece of software all the time and find it most excellent. What we especially like, is that it leaves your original photos un-scathed and make a new folder (selectable) for your resized photos. Re-sizing of hundreds of photos is just a few clicks away. Read the Help files !

Jim Willshers "Bulk Rename Utility" This is a new find for us and we like what we see. Many digital cameras attach far too much useless data to the names they assign to the photos. Jim's program allow you to batch rename your photos to simpler names (eg: BVM00001 to 001) You can change the prefix or suffix names if you like, you can start numbering at any digit and you can choose padding (eg: 01 or 001 or 0001 ) Very Flexible and Very Cool. Jim also offers a great little conversion calculator you may also be interested in. While you are on Jims site, check out his great photos of Scotland's diverse landscapes. If you like Jims software, lay some on him.

LEARNING CURVE: Moderate - Installs at "C:\Program Files\Jim Willsher\Bulk Rename Utility"
QUALITY: Excellent
PRICE: Freebie !
GET IT

When it come to keeping track of your photos and doing minor touch ups it is hard to beat the free program offered by Google called Picasa.

"SpyBot" This great little piece of software removes tons of spyware that may be lurking on your computer and currently looks for over 5000 known spyware nasties. Spyware is bad stuff and causes your computers performance to suffer and tracks your movements on the internet. Make sure you upload any updates after you install the program and when you have scanned your computer for "Spyware" you can then use the "Immunize Feature" to keep the nasties off of your computer. If you like it, belly up and make a donation to Patrick.

"Spyware Blaster" Once installed and set up, this software does not have to been run again, other then doing the occasional updates of its database. This software does not look for Spyware already on your computer, but instead prevents it from being installed on your computer at all ... very good preventative medicine and work in conjunction with spyware removing tools such as SpyBot or Ad-Aware.

"Ad-Aware" Another great spyware removal tool offered up from Lava-Soft. We find that using this application along with SpyBot covers just about all of the major known spyware programs and sends them packing. Do we have a preference ? No, not really, they are both fine products and we have used them both.

"Virus Protection" For those who cannot afford virus protection software or just wish to do a test drive,
Grisoft offer a very good FREE virus protection program.

"Firewalls" Firewalls are designed to keep 'Hackers' and unscrupulous companies from gaining access to your computer while you are surfing the net and gleaning private information etc. Zone Alarm makes a VERY GOOD Free firewall for those who cannot afford a commercial product or just wish to do a test drive. It does not have all the bells and whistles of the version that they sell, but it does an really effective job of keeping the intruders at bay.The link will take you directly to their download file with the usual security warnings.

For all parents, grandparents and concerned adults that allow children access to their computer this freebee blocks internet access to pornography sites, sites with nudity, violence, strong language, chat rooms, and potentially harmful sites. This software has basic filters you can select to cover the above and you can add sites you wished blocked and sites you wish to allow. Click the picture for your copy.

If you have ever been considering doing a family tree, this is a great program. The free version does not support all features, but enough of these features are available to get you started and if you like it, the price to unlock the program to enable the full version is reasonable.

When you first run this program it may appear daunting, but trust me it is very intuitive and makes it very easy to start generating a family tree profile. The report features are very good and there will be a learning curve, but you can learn as you go quite easily.

Once you have downloaded the installation file and go to install it, you will be asked for a password and you can use the word 'family' for a password and the installation should proceed. Click on the picture to get your copy.

Whenever new mail arrives, it will automatically be tested by SPAMfighter. If it's spam, it will be instantly moved to your spam folder. If you receive a spam mail that is not detected, click on a single button, and the spam mail is removed

Slawdog Smart Shutdown is a free, commercial-quality shutdown utility for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista. The program is based on an easy 1-2-3 interface and has an immense number of shutdown options. It allows you to shut down, log off, reboot, lock, turn off, hibernate, disconnect from the Internet or network, enter standby mode in Windows, and shut down and reboot computers in your network--all both manually and automatically. Its built-in Smart Shutdown technology can shut down your computer if you are inactive for a specified period of time.

Karen's Replicator offers advance backup features to ensure you important files are backed up automatically. This program is easy to set up and features a lot of great functions. Don't wait until your hard drive crashes, start your backups today. Click in the picture to get your copy

WeatherEye offers features such as current weather conditions for Canadian, US and International cities, short-term and long-term forecasts and Canadian weather alerts* ensuring you stay on top of the weather anytime, anywhere. You can check local weather instantly with the click of button in your tray.

Many people receive emails with attachments sent by friends that are designated with the file extension .PPS These are power point presentations and are very common way to present great looking slideshows. The only problem is that if you do not have the Microsoft Office Suite installed, you will not be able to play them. The solution for this is to download the Microsoft 2007 Power Point Player. For some reason, Microsoft did not include all the necessary files for this player and you cannot open such presentations from your email directly in Power Point 2003 version and are force to save the attachment on your desktop or other folder to view it from there. The link presented here for downloading the Power Point Player is for Power Point 2007 and Microsoft may have corrected this problem in this version. If not, there is a small program to install the necessary missing files to be able to play the presentation directly from Outlook or Outlook Express. You can download your copy here if the newer Power Point Player will not function in the Outlook Email Clients directly.