Articles about Free Software

Buy a lightweight entry-level laptop for the road and it’s likely to ship with a small drive. A 128GB SSD is often the norm and you’ll soon find yourself battling the system for storage space.

Using the cloud is one option, keeping files away from your computer and downloading on demand. Realistically though, how much space would these use and you’ll require a solid internet connection just to be able to access the data. Not always ideal away from the office.

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Japanese developer PGN Inc has released FireAlpaca 2.0, a major new release of its free paint app for Windows and Mac users. The app is aimed at wannabe painters with a variety of drawing tools coupled with advanced features such as layer support.

Version 2.0’s headline new feature is the addition of a separate 64-bit build for Windows PCs, but it also improves its layer support along with some minor tweaks and adjustments.

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We all back up our data, right? That's what everyone does! But of course, that's far from true. Most people don't get much further than thinking about putting a backup plan in place, promising themselves it's something they'll sort out one day -- and, all of a sudden, it's too late.

Deleting files by accident is easily done. If you're tinkering with partitions, it's also scarily easy to wipe out the wrong one! These are just two of the ways in which you can lose files, and if you don’t have a backup to hand, you're going to need help from a data recovery tool. Here we look at five of the best free options to help bring your files back from the dead.

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Nearly every company deploys network monitoring tools which enable the IT team to keep a constant eye on remote servers. Downtime costs money.

Of course, network monitoring isn’t limited to remote servers. It can be used to manage your local network and that’s why a tool such as O&O Software’s O&O Syspectr can come in handy. You can use this tool to remotely manage PCs on your network, automatically deploy software updates, check drives for potential issues, remotely shut down and check for unauthorized access.

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Canadian VPN provider TunnelBear Inc has released TunnelBear 3.2 for Windows. TunnelBear, also available on Mac, provides users with both free (500MB/month) and paid-for VPN plans.

Version 3.2 features a completely rebuilt VigilantBear component and comes with the promise of improved reliability when switching networks as well as some other tweaks and bug fixes.

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In the world of media playing software, VLC is a perennial favorite -- and with good reason. This open source tool is one of the most feature-packed players out there, and it has just received a huge and long-awaited upgrade with the release of VLC 3.0 'Vetinari'.

Many software releases are described as being major or significant, but VLC 3.0 really is a huge release -- it's a truly massive update from its predecessor. Available for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebooks and Windows Phone, just about everyone can take advantage of the power of this incredible player.

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Burnaware Technologies has released BurnAware 11.0 Free, BurnAware 11.0 Premium and BurnAware 11.0 Professional, the latest builds of its free and paid-for disc burning products for Windows.

Version 11’s new headline feature is the addition of a tool to view and extract files from ISO images. It’s accompanied by an option to associate ISO files with BurnAware as well as support for incorporating HD audio tracks into compact disc compilations.

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It’s a valid question. In 2018, how many people buy a brand new drive and then partition it, splitting the drive into smaller chunks?

There’s a reason why this is beneficial. You could store your photos on a single partition and then simply backup the entire partition. Assigning a drive letter to each partition can improve productivity. If you know all your work is on your "V:" drive, then it simply makes it easier to locate the drive and find your files.

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The Document Foundation has unveiled LibreOffice 6.0 64-bit and LibreOffice 6.0 32-bit, a major new release of its open-source office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux.

LibreOffice 6.0 adds a host of new and improved features, including support for OpenPGP signing and encryption, an ePUB filter and a new icon set. In addition, Writer users gain a powerful new spell-checking tool with professional-grade features.

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If you have a large garden in need of a re-design, this can end up costing far more than you realize. Factor in a landscape designer, hiring a horticulturist and builders to lay paving flags, the costs soon add up.

You might be tempted to tackle this yourself. Problem is, you still need to hire a designer to interpret your ideas and, frankly, this might not save you much money at all.

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Many of us rely on free basic security, thinking that it offers comprehensive protection against the latest threats. Indeed, many free security tools do not include real-time protection, only running on demand.

With the rise of ransomware, it’s proving to be an easy way to obtain a quick release fee from individuals. No-one wants to lose their data and, if you work from home, you cannot afford to spend time trying to recover your data or paying for a professional to fix your PC. Many will pay the ransom to secure their encrypted data.

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dotPDN LLC has unveiled Paint.NET 4.0.20, the latest version of its popular -- and powerful -- free image editor for Windows PCs.

Version 4.0.20 introduces Dark Theme support, so the app interface switches to match Windows’ own Dark Theme when evoked. The update also offers vastly improved support on High DPI displays, adds Explorer thumbnails for TGA and DDS image types and includes a host of bug fixes and minor improvements.

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Although Microsoft officially ended the free Windows 10 upgrade offer last year, it is still possible to get the new operating system completely free of charge by using a simple trick.

The software giant provides Windows 10 for free to anyone using assistive technologies, and doesn’t require you to prove you have any kind of disability in order to make use of this upgrade offer. However, all good things must come to an end, and Microsoft is set to close this free upgrade route.

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Opera Software has released Opera 50.0, the latest version of its Chromium-based browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.

As befitting such a landmark release, Opera 50 is packed full of new features. Chief among these is the addition of an anti-Bitcoin mining tool, but there’s also support for both Chromecast and Oculus Rift VR headsets, better protection for browsing sessions after crashes, and a major upgrade to its VPN service.

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Microsoft officially called time on the free Windows 10 upgrade offer in 2016, but allowed anyone using assistive technologies to continue to upgrade to the new OS without paying a penny.

This offer worked on an honor system -- you weren’t required to provide any proof that you used assistive technologies in order to make use of the deal -- allowing anyone to continue to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Microsoft finally closed this loophole on December 31, 2017, except (whisper it) the site, and the deal, are still available.

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