5 Sites To Find Fun And Free Massively-Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)

Though possibly the most popular, the world of MMOs spans far beyond the realms of Everquest and World of Warcraft. There are hundreds to thousands of well-developed and even free online games for you and all of your friends to enjoy. You’ve just got to know where to look.

It could take forever to go through each individual website of every MMO you may be interested in to check out screenshots and gameplay. However, I’m here to share five MMO directories that I’ve had plenty of luck with in narrowing doing the choices.

These directories do all the work for you and present the most enjoyable, sustainable, and free games to the user. All you’ve got to do is make the decision on which to play or download.

Despite the name, Free MMORPG List features much more than just massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games. It’s first on the list because it’s probably my favorite. The site features categories for free, action, strategy (or RTS), kids, simulation, sports, browser-based, and social games. The site features 28 pages of games in total with a dozen of games displayed per page. The listing of each game offers a high-quality description, screenshot, and immediate links to download and visit the game’s official website.

If you’re specifically searching for a MMORPG, What MMORPG is the absolute best resource you’re going to find online. What MMORPG takes this MMO genre and breaks it down into subgenres of fantasy, horror, modern, space, superhero, historical, racing, and so many more.

You can also narrow games down to their cost (free included), their play style (PvE vs. PvP), their developer, and their artistic style (2D, 3D, etc.). This is a very extensive resource. Game listing pages also include ratings of every game, contributed by players like yourself.

F2P Games is 100% dedicated to bringing you MMOs that are completely free. This directory also separates free browser-based games. F2P Games also includes a very interactive and informative forum where you can go to get all the latest user-contributed F2P news.

This directory contains a little over 100 games for you to choose from. It’s got a simple list style: not as descriptive as the rest in this list, but you can browse and choose what you want quickly.

This directory has the benefit of having one of the better eye-pleasing designs compared to the rest. Not much sets MMO Games.com apart from the rest, but they do have specific categories for mobile and Facebook games.

The site features MMOs in general with a slight bias towards the MMORPG genre.

The Indie Game Database is a lot different from the previous directories we’ve mentioned. This website currently features 757 games, all created by indie developers. Not all of them are free and not all of them are MMO. You will be able to narrow down your selection using their filters though.

This directory is really cool and unique and a refreshing change from the rest. I managed to find one of my favorite indie games ever, Altitude, using this very website.

We’ve wrote before on MMO Hut, a similar directory. We’ve also whipped up a nice little article showing you three of the very best MMOs to try out. Got any more suggestions on where we can go to find these games, or fun and free MMOs in specific? Share them with us in the comments!

Tagged: mmo • mmorpg • multiplayer games • online games • video games

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Monitor your PC with BlackBox

BlackBox Security Monitor displays an add computer wizard on first run which can be used to add the local PC or another PC in the network to the list of monitored systems. The add computer menu is available from the program’s main interface at anytime should the need arise to add additional PC systems. It is furthermore possible to monitor all or only specific users of a system.

Monitoring other computer systems in a local area network is always a delicate matter. Those administrators who understand the risks, both legal and technical, associated with monitoring other systems might find BlackBox Security Monitor useful in this regard. The free software program is available for download after a short registration process on the developer’s website. The monitoring software combines monitoring of various PC activities, reports and an alerts and warnings system under its hood. It supports monitoring of websites visited, program launches, web searches, emails sent and received, keystrokes, instant messenger chat logs and screen captures of the computer desktop.

The program lists all monitored computer systems and users in the left sidebar. Reports and the getting started page are listed there as well. Selecting a user or computer displays the relevant information on the right side. Both the user and computer listings display the information in a tabbed interface divided into sections like programs, websites or emails. Date and time are presented on the screen with options to take a look at a specific date or time frame to see the activities during that time.

Several reports can be created after clicking on the reports entry in the left sidebar. Among them options to list the most popular websites, programs and web searches. Some alerts can be configured to instantly notify a user by email or cell phone on specific activities including program launches, web mails or websites visited.

BlackBox Security Monitor is a handy and powerful tool for security monitoring. It is designed to collect information from multiple computers and report it to one central location – on the computer where BlackBox Security Monitor is installed. BlackBox Security Monitor offers enterprise grade functionality, currently for free. The program is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Why You Should Not Attempt Computer Repairs On Your Own

Many of us know the horror of finding out something is wrong with the computer. It is a horror like none other. After all, it is not uncommon to think of our computers as a natural extension of our everyday lives; we use them to interact with our loved ones, to shop, to take classes, to fulfill our job functions . . . these days it is hard to find any one aspect of our lives that is not affected by our relationship with computers. Unfortunately, computer repairs can cost a lot of money. When you consider the hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of dollars you spent on your beloved techno-friend, it may be tempting to try and cut repair costs by brushing up on your knowledge and attempting the repairs yourself. Whatever you do, do not give in to this temptation, or else you may find that your computer problems become much more than you’d initially bargained for. Here are some reasons why you should not attempt computer repairs on your own.

Guarantee. When you pay a shop to repair your computer, that repair should come with a guarantee (if you are smart and shop around for a reputable computer repair service). This means that if your computer is still not repaired after the job is done, you have the chance to either return for service or be reimbursed. However, when you attempt to repair your computer yourself, there is no guarantee on your work, and you could end up putting a lot more time into fixing problems that you created.

No room for error. Basically, if you break your computer, you have no one to blame (or pay for it) but yourself.

Warranty. By going into your computer, you automatically void the warranty on certain computer parts that are only guaranteed if they are handled by a professional. That means that perfectly good parts, in perfect working order, might need completely unrelated repairs down the line, but that those repairs won’t be covered by a warranty because you chose to open your computer with your own, uncertified hands.

Know-how. This is perhaps the most obvious, but there are so many people out there who seem to completely forget about this all-important fact: you are not a professional. You don’t necessarily have the skills or the know-how to repair your computer, no matter how many Google searches you do.

Sure, you mean well . . . but unfortunately, when it comes to repairing computer problems, it is not the thought that counts. Your computer’s health is a big deal. Don’t risk its health care on an amateur.

About the Author: Bernardo Sartorius loves working with computers. He has done plenty of repairs for those who have attempt to do a recover partition project or install hardware without help. Treat your computer with care and it will last quite a while!

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Are You Lazy With Your Laptop?

As I sit here writing this post on my laptop, I am trying to do everything in my power to stop myself falling into the trap of the kind of person I am about to describe. In fact, I am slowly starting to realise that, despite my criticisms, everyone is guilty of being lazy with their laptops in one way or another. Laptops were designed to improve the productivity and efficiency in our everyday lives. From razor thin laptops promising us the personification of cutting edge technology to notebooks packed with clam shelled charisma, enabling us to work whilst enduring those claustrophobic commutes; we owe a lot to our laptops.

Unfortunately though, we’re all human and some of us have that unruly gene causing us to take things for granted. Olympians, scientists, Beyonce… they all have far superior chromosome construction to the rest of us mortals and probably don’t fall fail of the technological slobbery we’re accustom to. So take comfort in the fact that if you’re reading this, you’re probably part of the majority. So sit back, balance that laptop carefully on the corner of your armchair, stuff your face with food and comfort eat your way through a few home truths.

Your Desktop Is Full Of Files

If your desktop is starting to look like a communal trashcan of Microsoft Office documents, you’re falling at the first hurdle in laptop maintenance. Modern laptops are meant to save time, and having a desktop full of files means you’re wasting hours of your life hunting down what exactly it is you’re looking for. It’s the equivalent of owning an office full of filing cabinets and filing your paperwork under the carpet. Just stop it. Now.

You Never Move Your Downloaded Files

I bet you’re too scared to even look in your downloaded files folder because you can’t face the fact that one day, you’re going to have to filter through all of those .exe files and PDFs and actually find something you were meant to file somewhere safe. Tut, tut. Get into the habit of removing all of those installation files after you’ve installed the software. It’s not hard. Oh and if you’re going to download Katy Perry songs illegally, at least make an effort to file them away somewhere appropriate. Such as the recycle bin.

You Leave Your Laptop At Home

It’s 8.27 and you know you should have left your house at 8.15. You rush around in and out of rooms, checking that that your hair looks pretty and that you’ve your keys and railcard. You peer knowingly across the room at your laptop sitting on the couch, just outside of its home, the laptop case. You quickly scan the room to see if you can spot the charger. You can’t. You then erase the last five seconds because you can’t be bothered to go through the process of finding your charger and putting the laptop in its case and then the agonising final step of putting the case in your bag. C’mon son. You could have got a head start by working on the train but now you’ll be late and have to catch up.

You Throw Your Laptop Away When The Screen Is Broken

At the first sign of visual disturbance you bury your head, instantly decide it’s an unsolvable problem and resign your laptop to a life gathering dust in a cupboard, or worse yet, you kill it off. This is what’s wrong with our generation. We need to learn how to overcome problems and not buy our way out of them. Ever had a spot between your eyes? Ever battled with a coldsaw on your top lip after a few heavy nights? We don’t just go and hang people because a few minor imperfections. Take your laptop to a specialist and see if it can be fixed, better yet, learn about how to fix laptops yourself.

You Torture Your Laptop’s Battery Life

You’re sitting watching X Factor on your laptop, draining both your soul and battery life simultaneously when a little pop up message informs you that you’ve got less than 20% battery life left. This is a common occurrence and you know that 20% will see you through at least five of Simon Cowell’s ‘darling’ fuelled escapades. Before you know it, you’ve sat through five Motown karaoke covers and another message pops up from your laptop, desperately informing you that it’s on its last legs and only has 5% of life left. Your laptop has thrown its last flare and yet you’re glancing across the room at the laptop charger, sitting just feet away. You can’t be bothered to lean over and put your laptop on life support and so instead you concern yourself with idiotic mathematics, trying to work out whether five per cent of battery life will be enough to last the last 10 minutes of the show. Your laptop charge runs out before the show ends, you close the lid, sigh and fall back asleep.

You Postpone Updates

Windows is giving you FREE updates to improve the performance of your laptop but rather unwisely they also give you the chance to postpone those updates for 10 minutes, or a few hours. You click 10 minutes because deep down you know it’s best to update your laptop and you’ll be done what you’re doing in a few minutes. Before you know it, those 10 minutes have passed and your laptop kindly asks again if you’d like to update. You’re addiction to looking at ninja cats on YouTube takes over and you feel you’re going to be there for a while. You postpone for a few hours and then repeat this process on a daily basis. Then you complain when your laptop is running slow. Stop moaning, get off YouTube and update. Simple.

When Everything Messes Up You Hold The Power Button Down

This is like overdosing on sleeping tablets when you can’t handle a week’s worth of washing up. Sort of. You’ve let problems build up on your laptop and eventually your computer can’t handle it and freezes. Instead of playing it cool and taking a look at task manager and your computer performance to see what’s happening, you hold down the power button and assume this will solve all of your problems. You’re wrong. You’re temporarily avoiding the real issue, and if your computer has crashed it’s likely to be something that will come back to haunt you at some point once again. Deal with it.

 You Don’t Clean Your Screen Or Keyboard

You wash yourself every morning (hopefully). When your house is looking a little grubby you give it a spring clean (hopefully). So why the hell are you shouting, eating, spitting and coughing all over your laptop and just leaving all that bacteria, dirt and crumbs to breed, colonise and infest your screen and tracks between your keyboard? It’s disgusting. You’re not a 14 year old boy so grab the Domestos and some screen wipes and clean up your act. You’ll feel better for it and so will your laptop.

You Never Shut Your Laptop Down

How would you feel not sleeping for 7 days? A little tired right? Probably won’t be able to get things done as quickly? You might even crash and hibernate for days on end. You get my point. Rather than falling into the habit of constantly closing your laptop in a rush and never properly shut it down, get into the habit of giving it some sleep. Yes those 45 excruciating seconds of load up time when you switch your laptop back on are difficult to handle, but new laptops are designed to last, so start thinking of their long term health. Well done.

 

Applets & Features in Windows 7

1. Problem Steps Recorder

As the local PC guru you’re probably very used to friends and family asking for help with their computer problems, yet having no idea how to clearly describe what’s going on. It’s frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and Windows 7 will include an excellent new solution in the Problem Steps Recorder.

When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then click Start Record. If they then work through whatever they’re doing then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress, take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML file when they’re finished, ready for emailing to you. It’s quick, easy and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time.

2. Burn images

Windows 7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had for years – the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it couldn’t be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is created.

3. Create and mount VHD files

Microsoft’s Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you’d like to mount. It will then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied or written just like any other drive.

Click Action > Create VHD and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it, select Initialise Disk, and after it’s set up right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again, you’ll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other, where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning software or do whatever you like. But it’s actually just this VHD file on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with others. Right-click the disk (that’s the left-hand label that says “Disk 2? or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it.

The command line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk’s maximum size. Don’t play around with this unless you know what you’re doing, though – it’s all too easy to trash your system.

4. Troubleshoot problems

If some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don’t know why, then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or ‘Troubleshooting’) to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your settings, clean up your system and more.

5. Startup repair

If you’ve downloaded Windows 7 (and even if you haven’t) it’s a good idea to create a system repair disc straight away in case you run into problems booting the OS later on. Click Start > Maintenance > Create a System Repair Disc, and let Windows 7 build a bootable emergency disc. If the worst does happen then it could be the only way to get your PC running again.

6. Take control

Tired of the kids installing dubious software or running applications you’d rather they left alone? AppLocker is a new Windows 7 feature that ensures users can only run the programs you specify. Don’t worry, that’s easier to set up than it sounds: you can create a rule to allow everything signed by a particular publisher, so choose Microsoft, say, and that one rule will let you run all signed Microsoft applications. Launch GPEDIT.MSC and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker to get a feel for how this works.

7. Calculate more

At first glance the Windows 7 calculator looks just like Vista’s version, but explore the Mode menu and you’ll see powerful new Statistics and Programmer views. And if you’re clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu instead. This offers many different unit conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?), and spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more.

Don’t take any Windows 7 applet at face value, then – there are some very powerful new features hidden in the background. Be sure to explore every option in all Windows applets to ensure you don’t miss anything important.

CALCULATE MORE: The new Calculator is packed with useful features and functionality

8. Switch to a projector

Windows 7 now provides a standard way to switch your display from one monitor to another, or a projector – just press Win+P or run DisplaySwitch.exe and choose your preferred display. (This will have no effect if you’ve only one display connected.)

9. Get a power efficiency report

If you have a laptop, you can use the efficiency calculator to get Windows 7 to generate loads of useful information about its power consumption. Used in the right way, this can help you make huge gains in terms of battery life and performance. To do this you must open a command prompt as an administrator by typing ‘cmd’ in Start Search, and when the cmd icon appears, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.

Then at the command line, just type in ‘powercfg -energy’ (without quotes) and hit Return, and Windows 7 will scan your system looking for ways to improve power efficiency. It will then publish the results in an HTML file, usually in the System32 folder. Just follow the path it gives you to find your report.

10. Understanding System Restore

Using System Restore in previous versions of Windows has been something of a gamble. There’s no way of telling which applications or drivers it might affect – you just have to try it and see.

Windows 7 is different. Right-click Computer, select Properties > System Protection > System Restore > Next, and choose the restore point you’d like to use. Click the new button to ‘Scan for affected programs’ and Windows will tell you which (if any) programs and drivers will be deleted or recovered by selecting this restore point. (Read our full Windows 7 System Restore tutorial.)

11. Set the time zone

System administrators will appreciate the new command line tzutil.exe utility, which lets you set a PC’s time zone from scripts. If you wanted to set a PC to Greenwich Mean Time, for instance, you’d use the command

tzutil /s “gmt standard time”

The command “tzutil /g” displays the current time zone, “tzutil /l” lists all possible time zones, and “tzutil /?” displays details on how the command works.

12. Calibrate your screen

The colours you see on your screen will vary depending on your monitor, graphics cards settings, lighting and more, yet most people use the same default Windows colour profile. And that means a digital photo you think looks perfect might appear very poor to everybody else. Fortunately Windows 7 now provides a Display Colour Calibration Wizard that helps you properly set up your brightness, contrast and colour settings, and a ClearType tuner to ensure text is crisp and sharp. Click Start, type DCCW and press Enter to give it a try.

13. Clean up Live Essentials

Installing Windows Live Essentials will get you the new versions of Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery and others – great. Unfortunately it also includes other components that may be unnecessary, but if you like to keep a clean system then these can be quickly removed.

If you left the default “Set your search provider” option selected during installation, for instance, Windows Live will install Choice Guard, a tool to set your browser home page and search engine, and prevent other programs from changing them. If this causes problems later, or you just decide you don’t need it, then Choice Guard may be removed by clicking Start, typing msiexec /x and pressing [Enter].

Windows Live Essentials also adds an ActiveX Control to help upload your files to Windows Live SkyDrive, as well as the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant, which makes it easier to manage and switch between multiple Windows Live accounts. If you’re sure you’ll never need either then remove them with the Control Panel “Uninstall a Program” applet.

14. Add network support

By default Windows Live MovieMaker won’t let you import files over a network, but a quick Registry tweak will change this. Run REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live\Movie Maker, add a DWORD value called AllowNetworkFiles and set it to 1 to add network support.

15. Activate XP mode

If you’ve old but important software that no longer runs under Windows 7, then you could try using XP Mode, a virtual copy of XP that runs in a window on your Windows 7 desktop. But there’s a big potential problem, as XP Mode only works with systems that have hardware virtualisation (AMD-V or Intel VT) built-in and turned on. If you’ve a compatible CPU then this may just be a matter of enabling the option in your BIOS set-up program, however some high profile brands, including Sony Vaio, disable the setting for “security reasons”. And that blocks XP Mode from working, too.

One solution has emerged, but it’s a little risky, as essentially you’ll have to alter a byte in your laptop firmware and hope this doesn’t have any unexpected side-effects. Gulp. If you’re feeling brave then take a look at the Feature Enable Blog for the details, but don’t blame us if it goes wrong.

A safer approach might be to use VirtualBox, a virtualisation tool that doesn’t insist on hardware support, but then you will need to find a licensed copy of XP (or whatever other Windows version your software requires) for its virtual machine.

16. Enable virtual Wi-Fi

Windows 7 includes a little-known new feature called Virtual Wi-Fi, which effectively turns your PC or laptop into a software-based router. Any other Wi-Fi-enabled devices within range – a desktop, laptop, an iPod perhaps – will “see” you as a new network and, once logged on, immediately be able to share your internet connection.

This will only work if your wireless adapter driver supports it, though, and not all do. Check with your adapter manufacturer and make sure you’ve installed the very latest drivers to give you the best chance.

Once you have driver support then the easiest approach is to get a network tool that can set up virtual Wi-Fi for you. Virtual Router (below) is free, easy to use and should have you sharing your internet connection very quickly.

If you don’t mind working with the command line, though, maybe setting up some batch files or scripts, then it’s not that difficult to set this up manually.

Applets & Features in Windows 7, 6.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings

Extend Life for Windows XP

Microsoft extended the life of Windows XP with another 10 years, during which period the company will retain the option to downgrade to the most popular operating system. By 2020 consumers will be free to migrate from Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate to the “good old” version of Windows XP Professional. Will downgrade option is only supported on computers sold with installed Windows 7. Support for Windows 7 Professional is scheduled to continue until 2020 and version of Ultimate – by 2015.

Released back in 2001, Windows XP still enjoys very high popularity. Currently the system is installed on 74% of corporate PCs. Microsoft has again extended the deadline for downgrade from Windows 7 of XP, so that the current announcement is the second of its kind. Originally Remand was limited time for transition to XP until six months after the release of Windows 7. Criticism by Gartner giant forced to extend to 18 months, until release the first service pack (SP1) for Windows 7 in April 2011.

Meanwhile, Microsoft released a public beta version of SP1 for Windows 7. The package contains all updates released to date, and some adjustments based on feedback.  Today the term also ending support for Windows XP SP2. Users who wants to receive free updates, should install the last package Windows XP SP3 – it will be maintained until April 2014.

Google+ Pages Showing in Google Search Results

Sometime back, Google added Business Pages to Google Plus and looks like the next step for them is to integrate updates from these Google+ Pages into the main search results.

Brian Pasch was searching for the word “Toyota” on Google and noticed that posts from the official Google+ Page of Toyota USA were also appearing in the search results. He later added that page to a Google Plus circle and, since he was logged in, Google was then including that circle name in search results as well.

If Google decides to extend this experiment to other Google+ Pages, it will be good news for page owners as they can have more screen estate (visibility) on the front page of Google. And with all these recent changes, you can no longer afford to ignore Google Plus.

PS: The Google+ Page for Digital Inspiration is here.