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Record and keep TV, music, software and ebooks – without paying a penny

Let’s face it, free online stuff is ten a penny. Enter just about any noun into a search engine followed by the word ‘free’ and you’ll be inundated with web pages all promising the perfect free version of whatever you want. But there are two tricks to this. The first is distinguishing the best options from the sub-standard, the fake and the downright dangerous. The second, much harder trick is to circumvent the restrictions placed on free content.

Take the BBC’S iplayer, for example. Millions of us use it every week, but the Beeb’s 30-day maximum limit (see screenshot below left) on how long we can keep its programmes after downloading them to our PCS, phones and tablets means the clock is ticking if you want to watch them at your leisure. And it’s no use at all if you want to keep them long term to watch again and again.

In this feature we’ll show you how to use clever software that lets you bypass the BBC’S time constraints, so you can download and keep whatever you want, for as long as you want.

A deluge of adverts is another side effect of free online stuff. We’ll show you how to download Youtube videos without adverts and explain how to remove adverts when recording music from Spotify and internet radio stations.

Missing those TV classics from yesteryear? We’ll explain where you can watch them online. And we’ll tell you about the secure websites where you can safely download ebooks, puzzles, games, desktop themes, Microsoft Office templates, fonts, manuals and more – all for free.