Downloads
I have not been sponsored by any of the following downloads
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
An alternative to using Internet Explorer. Although both browsers have their advantages, the overriding consunsus seems to be that Firefox, simply is better. You will instantly notice how much faster it is than Internet Explorer, and the more you use it, the more you will notice improvements. It's the browser I primarily use to test this website.Webmaster Downloads
Gallery: Your photos on your website
A link to the official downloads page for Gallery. This is the open-source program that I use to host photos in the photos section of this site.
phpBB
A link to the official downloads page for phpBB. This is the open-source program I use for the forum.Anti-virus/Anti-spyware
AVG Free
A link to the download page for the best free virus protection available, including the optional AVG toolbar.
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that is transmitted without your knowledge to compilers and sold to advertising companies. Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware. The link will take you to the official Spybot S&D download page.
Ad-Aware free
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware detects Spyware, Adware, Trojans and Hijackers. The products offered are Ad-Aware Pro, Ad-Aware Plus, and my own personal favourite Ad-Aware free, with the latter available to download for free as the name would suggest. This link takes you to the official Lavasoft download page of Ad-Aware free.Multimedia
Windows Media Encoder
If, like I was, you were having trouble hosting videos online because the file size was too large, the Windows Media Encoder might be what you need. In using this program to change a video from an .avi file to a .wmv file, it's size was reduced from 386mb, to 57.1mb. This is just one of the useful components of Windows Media Encoder. The link will take you to the download page on the official Windows Media website.
Any Video Converter (free version)
Windows Media Encoder is good for converting most file types. However, if you've downloaded an .flv file from Youtube at Save Vid for example, then Windows Media Encoder won't be of use to you. Any video converter encodes a wider range of file formats. Note it is also available for download from File Hippo.
K-Lite Codec Pack (full)
Again, if you have a file of less mainstream format, you may not be able to play it in default Windows Media applications like Windows Media Player. You could convert the file using Any Video Converter above. But if you don't want to edit the content at all, and only want to view the media, then that's a lot of hassle to go through. So instead, try the K-Lite Codec Pack. It includes codecs to play a range of all media formats that you're likely to use (including .flv), making a lot of the media content available online, much more accessible. Note that this download includes Media Player Classic. An open-source media player with an interface mimicing an older version of Windows Media Player. So it will be simple to use with anyone familiar with WMP. To the best of my knowledge, K-Lite Codec Pack doesn't have it's own download website. So this link will take you to the download page on File Hippo.Cleaning
