Articles about Free Software

Freeware supremo NirSoft has released two new tools, FullEventLogView and EventLogChannelsView. FullEventLogView lists all events from your local event logs, the events of a remote system or the contents of a .evtx file.

The program makes it simple to sort the events by time order, group them by type (information, warning, error) and more.

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Vivaldi Technologies has unveiled Vivaldi 1.4 FINAL and Vivaldi 1.4 FINAL 64-bit, a major update to its web browser aimed at those wanting maximum control over their browser’s look and functionality. Vivaldi is developed by a team led by Opera co-founder Jon S von Tetzchner, and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Version 1.4’s headline new feature is support for scheduled themes, which builds on the recent introduction of customizable themes. Other notable changes include greater flexibility over Web panels, and a single-click option for reversing an accidentally closed tab.

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Resizing digital images is easy, but take the upscaling too far and quality begins to suffer with blurring, jagged edges and more.

Reshade Image Enlarger claims to help by using "state of the art… enlargement algorithms to produce crisp-clear resizes" without the "usual blur, jagged edges, loss of sharpness or detail".

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Every browser claims to protect users from hijackers and adware, but their defenses are limited and over time it’s easy for your system to fill with junk. ZHPCleaner is a free tool which aims to help by scanning your PC, detecting dubious addons, toolbars and settings, and removing them on demand.

The program is very convenient to use. There’s no adware, no registration, no need to install anything, not even an archive to extract -- just download and run the single executable, and click "Scanner".

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Popular Wi-Fi scanner Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector has finally hit version 2.0. The release brings support for Windows 10, and introduces the first Mac version.

Compatibility improvements include new support for the Wi-Fi standards 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2. There’s also a Network Vendor column to identify the manufacturer of each network device.

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CSV is a very common format for sharing large amounts of data, mostly because it’s so simple -- you can view the contents almost anywhere, at least in theory.

You may not always have a full-featured spreadsheet on hand, of course, but fortunately there are some excellent free tools around to help you work with your files.

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Powerhouse Explorer replacement Directory Opus 12 has shipped with a long list of major new features. The revamped Rename dialog now includes a macro recorder for quick and easy batch file renaming.

A new image marking system helps you select a group of images from a folder for speedy printing, sharing or whatever else you want to do.

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Rob Wu has released Extension Source Viewer, a Firefox add-on which allows viewing the source code of Chrome and Firefox browser extensions before installing them.

If that sounds familiar it’s because Wu is also the developer of Chrome Extension Viewer, which also now supports both Chrome and Firefox extensions.

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Whether you’re looking for a job, a government contact, maybe researching a company, there are times you’ll want to build a list of potential contacts.

Usually this means checking the top and bottom of a page for contact details, maybe an "About" or "Contact us" page, then copying and pasting the details elsewhere.

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Glogg is an open-source tool for viewing and searching even the largest and most complex log files.

The program opens files very quickly, because it reads data directly from disk and doesn’t try to load it entirely into memory. It’s a smart move which also means there’s no limit on the size of files you can view.

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Can’t remember some obscure HTML tag detail, Apache directive or C++ function? There’s endless technical documentation on the web, so entering a few keywords at Google will probably tell you all you need.

Web-based solutions aren’t always the best, though. You’ll need to be online. Sites may be slow and unresponsive. Documentation quality will vary, and every site works differently.

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OpenShot Studios has shipped OpenShot 2.1.0, the latest release of its cross-platform open-source video editor.

The big news this time is the addition of many animation features, including layers, transparent image sequences and keyframe support.

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On all mobile platforms -- and, indeed, desktop ones -- there are no end of apps and websites that can be used to earn money and other rewards in return for providing feedback. Google, however, has a different idea.

The company has released a new app for Android called Crowdsource. The idea is to improve the likes of Google Maps and Google Translate with input from the likes of you and I. But rather than paying contributors -- or even offering any kind of incentive -- Google is rather cheekily looking for help completely gratis.

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Australian backup vendor Sydneybackups has released SBGuard Anti-Ransomware 1.3.0, claiming it "protects your Windows PC against all known Ransomware malware, such as CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, TeslaCrypt, CryptoXXX, CTB-Locker, Zepto and many others".

How does it work? According to the developer, the program "injects a large number of restriction mechanisms and modifies some core Windows components to prevent malicious behaviors and executions".

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At first glance, Back4Sure might not seem the best choice of file backup software. First released back in 2009, the developer still hasn’t tested it on Windows 10, it doesn’t look promising -- right?

Well, maybe, but don’t rule it out just yet. Older applications might not use toast notifications or display their status in a live tile, but they may still have many advantages.

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