Free File: Recuva

My Windows desktop is often cluttered with icons and files. In the past, I’ve occasionally deleted things I needed and not realized it until after emptying the recycle bin. If this has happened to you in the past, I have a free file to recommend that you’re going to love.

Recuva, by Priform, makers of the most-excellent CCleaner, is a program made to recover files you’ve accidentally deleted from your hard drive of USB flash drive. During our recent Summer Reading Program at the library I accidentally erased an audio file I’d been working on with the kids. Not too long after the incident, I installed Recuva and it managed to recover all but 15 seconds of the audio. It found two Word documents I needed as well.

As with Priform’s other products, Recuva is a completely free download. You may acquire it via Recuva.com. Should you have any questions on how to use the program, feel free to comment on this post.

Filed under: Free File

Hunters of Kentucky to Release Free Historical Kentucy Game

People my age will have fond memories of the game Oregon Trail. It, unlike most games, actually attempted to teach you something while you had fun. A group called Hunters of Kentucky hopes to do the same with a new game they are developing called Virtual Frontiers: Daniel Boone and the Hunters of Kentucky.

“In 1774 and 1775 the first permanent settlements were established in Kentucky just as the American Revolution dawned,” the game’s website states. “It was in this world turned upon its head that settlers such as Daniel Boone, James Harrod, and Simon Kenton would attempt to settle their new frontier … Virtual Frontiers is a 3D adventure game that gives players the opportunity to explore this world first hand, guided by historical quotes and observations to assist them.”

A demo of Virtual Frontiers may now be downloaded from the Hunters of Kentucky website (www.huntersofkentucky.com). The full game may also be downloaded from the site in March for free. Hunters of Kentucky hope to educate more than make a profit.

Filed under: Free File

Free Web Design Tools

Several patrons have requested that the library offer a class on the subject of web design. The subject is one near and dear to my heart as I have an e-commerce background so I am happy to oblige those aforementioned requests. In March, I’ll be conducting two sessions – Web Design I & II – and cover the basics of HTML code and WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) visual editors.

The reason behind this blog entry is to encourage those interested in design to try out Nvu, the WYSIWIG editor we will be using in class. It’s a surprisingly robust free alternative to Dreamweaver, the industry standard WYSWIG. Dreamweaver’s suggested retail price is $399.00 which inspired me to seek out a cheaper option.

We’ll also make use of Paint.net which I recommend trying as well. It’s a free image editor you can use to color correct photos and produce logos for your website.

Download Paint.Net
Download Nvu

Feel free to download both programs and play around with them. If you plan on signing up for the class, this will give you a good jump start on thing as I intend on focusing primarily on the both of them. Once you’ve used them a bit come back and tell us of your experiences in the comments.

Filed under: Free File

BlueCoat’s K9 Web Protection

Those interested in applying a web content filter to their home computer should check out BlueCoat’s K9 Web Protection. It is a tool I’ve used myself for several months now and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. Best of all, it’s completely free for home use.

There are several levels of security you can set. Their preset levels tend to be a little too constrictive but they’ve thankfully provided custom settings. You can tell it you want to block out adult/mature content, hate speech, illegal/questionable activity, and a variety of other topics just by clicking a few boxes. You may also enter in keywords you wish to block. Don’t want guests who use your computer to install a specific program? Simply type it in to the keyword blocking section, apply it, and save. Now access to the site that hosts that particular program will be denied.

The major negative aspect of the program is the same with every web content filter. It’s not an exact science. There are words and phrases that have both good and bad meanings which means a filter will sometimes block something that is harmless. If that ever happens K9 Web Protection provides a blank to enter your administrator password on the page it displays when something is blocked and allows you to unblock a specific site permanently.

This program does require a minimal amount of set-up after installing. Right away, you’ll be given a strict level of security and will be unable to browse very many websites before logging in to K9 and tweaking the settings. I’d recommend doing that immediately after installing the program.

To download the program or read more about it visit BlueCoat’s official website by clicking here.

Filed under: Advice, Free File

Google Releases Web Browser

Google recently tossed their hat into the web browser game with the announcement of Google Chrome. They hope to draw attention away from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox with this minimalist browser. I’ve been using an early version of it for a few days and can vouch for their claims of it being faster. It even seems to do things more quickly than my beloved Firefox.

A beta version of this browser is currently available through Google.com. By beta, they mean the program isn’t quite ready for prime time but close enough to allow some members of the general public to use it and give them feedback. I’ve had no trouble with the beta whatsoever but am hesitant to recommend using it as a full-time browser just yet. I will say that it’s definitely worth trying out in its current form.

As a side note, I’ve also been using a beta version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. They’ve drastically improved this browser over its previous incarnation. Be advised, though, that if you install this beta that it replaces whatever version of Internet Explorer you’re currently using.
In the future I’ll do an in-depth review on my experiences using both of these.

Click here to download Google Chrome Beta

Click here to download Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Beta

Filed under: Free File, News

Tools for New Computer Users

I’ve implemented two new tools in my Computer Basic classes that I thought I’d share with those unable to attend.

1. Typing Fast Typing Tutor – This program is a great way to build keyboarding skills. It starts at a very basic level and gradually works its way up. You will be given a breakdown of your accuracy and speed at the end of each lesson. There’s also a game for those who enjoy that sort of thing. The program is a product of the open source community which means it’s absolutely free.

Click Here to Download

2. Mouse Exercises @ SeniorsNet.org – Anyone that finds certain aspects of using a computer mouse difficult should visit this website and run through their exercises. It’s a quick and easy way to get used to the mouse that requires no download whatsoever.

Click Here to Visit Mouse Exercises @ SeniorsNet.org

Filed under: Advice, Free File

Grisoft Releases AVG Free 8.0

Grisoft has released a new version of my personal favorite anti-virus program, AVG Free. This, for those who don’t know, is a 100% free anti-virus software that works incredibly well. The company does offer a paid version of the product with a few advantages over the free version, however, for home use, AVG Free works quite well. I’ve been using it on my home computers for quite some time now and have managed to stay secure.

One thing that I have disliked about past versions of AVG Free was the user interface. Its old, clunky looking interface has been modernized and is now more pleasant to the eye. Those who’ve used Norton’s Anti-Virus in the past should have an easier time adjusting to the new AVG interface as it shares a similar look to some of Norton’s products.

In the coming weeks I’ll have a full review up of AVG Free 8.0. But, if you wish to check it out on your own, click the link below.

Download AVG Free 8.0

Filed under: Free File

Apple’s Safari 3.1 for Mac and Windows

Apple released a new version of their Safari web browser on April 1 for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. It’s a bare bones, lightening fast way to surf the internet. This is definitely worth a look for those who find using Firefox and Internet Explorer cumbersome. I, however, am still partial to Firefox.
Click Here to Download Safari 3.1

Filed under: Free File

Free File: CCleaner

A magazine article recently made me aware of a wonderful little program called CCleaner. It is a freeware “optimization and privacy tool” that removes files from your system that are not needed. This includes cookies, temporary files left by program installers, and other little bits of junk that can clog up your hard drive. It’ll help free hard drive space and make your Windows box faster.

It also contains an uninstaller and possibly the easiest registry editor I’ve ever used. If you’re not familiar with the Windows registry, though, I’d stay away from that part. It is easy, but, if you mess around with your registry much then you could create even more problems with your PC.

Download it here.

Filed under: Free File

Free File: Abi Word

I make no bones about my love for the open source software community. Its members, bless them, have produced a countless number of fantastic utilities that are just as useful as their for-pay counterparts. Open Office, as I’ve mentioned in the past, is a great suite of office programs (word processor, slide maker, spreadsheet, etc) that can write and edit files that work in Microsoft Office.I’ve recently discovered another free program worth checking out. Abi Word, much like the word processor in Open Office, can write files compatible with Microsoft Word. Although it doesn’t offer a complete suite of programs like Microsoft Office, it does have one big advantage; a grammar checker.

Due to the difficultly of writing the code, many free word processors forgo adding one. There are a few add-ons to Open Office that attempt to mimic Microsoft Word’s grammar capabilities, however, they seem to come up short.

Abi Word is the open source word processor that comes with an active grammar checker. It is still far from perfect, but, in my opinion, it is a massive step in the right direction. Hopefully the days of forking over $500-600 dollars for office programs from Microsoft will soon be far behind us.

Download It!

Filed under: Free File