Browsers · Anti-Virus Software · File Zippers · Search Aids Multimedia Plug-ins · Image Viewers · Download Aids Password Aids · Off-line Browsing · File Viewers THERE'S A GOLDMINE of good software available on the Internet at no cost. Some of these free programs do the job of software that might cost you thousands in a shop. And some of the free downloads just aren't available anywhere except through the Internet. Increase your Net-surfing pleasure by visiting one of the sites we've listed, below, and grabbing yourself some updated Internet software and utilities. Many of the programs listed are "freeware" - they are yours for the taking at no cost, and they come with no restrictions. They are fully functional. Other listed programs are "shareware" - they'll cost nothing to download and install, and they should work perfectly, but you'll be asked to pay a registration fee if you want to continue using the software after a specified evaluation period. Some unregistered shareware programs stop working after a set number of trial uses. Don't let this discourage you from trying them out. Click on the name of the software that interests you. The download site will open in a new window. Close the window to return to our site. We've listed sites for software to run with various versions of Windows. The download site may steer you to a different location for software that runs under Apple and other operating systems.   Browsers Browsers are the programs you run to surf the Net. Netscape Communicator or Navigator The newest version of the popular Netscape package which is bundled with an email function, a simple web page composer and other utilities. Opera An excellent, fast browser from an independent Swedish company. Much favoured by users of Linux or Unix operating systems, also great with Windows. Microsoft Internet Explorer The newest version of the ubiquitous - and excellent! - browser that came bundled with your version of Windows.   Anti-Virus Software There are many, many more virus myths than infections on the Internet, but you should use a scanner that guards your computer against infection from the Internet or any other source. Anti-Virus Software at Tucows For South African users - or others! this is an excellent site for selecting from a range of famous-name and lesser-known but also highly effective software.   File Zippers Many downloaded programs have to be decompressed or "unzipped" before you can install or run them. It's also useful to have a utility to compress or "zip" a big file onto two or more 3.5" diskettes if you want to take them over to a different computer. PKZip The best-known and most widely used zip/unzip package. WinZip Another widely used and popular zip/unzip package.   Search Aids If you find it tedious to access the various search engines, why not install a program that searches the major search engines for you all in one go. Web Ferret Conducts multiple, simultaneous searches by scouring numerous search engines for Internet sites. It adds a "Find Web Pages" command to the Windows "Start" button.   Multimedia Plug-ins Some cutting-edge, hi-tech websites feature multimedia such as sound and video which require add-in software that isn't necessarily built into the Microsoft or Netscape browsers. RealPlayer For streaming audio and video. Microsoft Windows Media Player Also for streaming audio and video. Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Players For websites which are heavy on animation effects.   Image Viewers If you download a picture from the Internet or get one on a disk, you want to be able to view it or print it later. Irfan View A very small, easy-to-use program for viewing images or converting to various formats. It opens some files that not even Adobe Photoshop can read. ThumbsPlus An excellent package for viewing, cataloguing and converting images - view them all as a set of "thumbnails".   Download Aids Invaluable if you spend a lot of time downloading music, software or other files from websites. Download Accelerator Hunts for the best download sites and connects to up to four of them at the same time. It really does speed up the process and it supports resumption of interrupted downloads.   Password Aids Useful if you subscribe to password-protected sites, do a lot of on-line shopping or fill in many on-line forms. Gator Remembers your user name and password for multiple sites and automatically logs on for you. Stores your name and contact information and automatically fills in on-line forms for you.   Off-line Browsing Reduce your connection time by saving websites to your hard drive and viewing them later at your leisure. Web Stripper Downloads up to 10 files at a time - much faster than you could read them on a web page - and includes a facility to look for and download any updates to a saved website.   File Viewers Many sites contain documents which you can download for reading or printing ... brochures, manuals, newsletters, reports and so on originally produced with word-processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing or other programs. Here's the globally used package that lets users read all types of documents in one "transportable" format: Adobe Acrobat Reader It doesn't matter what program was used to produce the document. If it's been saved in Acrobat format and you have the reader, you can read it. 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