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Why should I order your web software when I can download free scripts off the Internet?
Great question. And yes, a quick Google search gives you an endless parade of web software to download.

But there are a few things to consider about free software... first, most open source software comes with little or no support -- so when your installation doesn't go smooth, you're stuck. Speaking of installation... most make it kind of difficult to install... forcing you to hire (and deal with the hassles) an expensive programmer. Each and every one of my web software scripts is installable in just a few mouse clicks... perfectly installed (and even double checked for errors) in mere seconds.

Finally, the most common problem with free and open source software is it usually contains buggy or incomplete coding that might crash your website. Even worse, some unethical software publishers purposefully install viruses on your webserver -- that's how they really make their money... installing hidden software that sends spam emails from your own server (this is more common than you think).


Am I renting software or buying it?
You have almost-instant access to grab over $8,000.00 worth of money-making web software to help you convert your website visitors into buyers:

- Rent my entire web software script library
Renting my software might be a quicker and less expensive way for you to convert your current Web site into a virtual 24-hour-a-day salesperson. For just $9, you get full access to test drive every Web software script I've created for a full 10 days by choosing the Premium Membership option. After that, you make the call. Either cancel your membership in our coop (and delete the scripts from your website), or install any (or all) of dozens and dozens of my custom-written software script titles for less than $3.23 a day (billed monthly at $97 USD). Cancel anytime you're not thrilled... no strings, and no catch.


Do you lock in the price of membership?
I do. As everything in life increases in price, I instead reward your loyalty and lock in your membership price. You never have to worry about getting a price increase notice once you're a Premium Member -- never!


How much is Premium Membership?
Currently, a 10-day preview access pass (which gives your full access to test drive any software title) is just $9. Feel free to install my entire library and test it out on your website visitors. When you're thrilled (and I'm confident you're going to be thrilled), do nothing and Premium Members are billed $97 (USD) monthly. Cancel anytime in just a click of your mouse.


I'm on a tight budget -- can I get a cheaper price?
Absolutely! When you agree to prepay a year in advance, your first 2 months of membership is completely free -- that's a 16%+ reduction in price. Click here to send your discount request.


I'm a designer... can I share my membership with my clients?
You bet. Your membership includes a license to install any of my software titles on up to 5 different websites. Click here if you're looking for a license to accommodate more than 5 websites at a time.


Cash is really tight... can you help me out?
You might be interested in joining our top-rated affiliate program. When you recommend just 2 Premium Members, I waive your entire membership fee (or pay you cash via PayPal instead -- your choice).


Read more about joining CGIConnection as a Premium Member for just $9 (for the first 10 days)...









What is the CGI Connection?

The CGI Connection began in July 2001, by John Saya, to enable the typical Internet user to add software like chat rooms and news feeds to their web sites with ease.

At that time, hundreds of hosting companies sprung up hoping to gain the web site hosting market. However, what John soon realized was that virtually none of them made it simple for the average person to run quality software on their web site.

So, over the past few years, the CGI Connection became highly regarded by the "average Internet user" for its easy to use web software. The software here installs itself right to your own web server, with no programming knowledge required.

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What is CGI?

CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. It is simply how the web server communicates with a script or other software on the server itself. It is not a programming language such as Perl, PHP, C++, or Basic.

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Can I use CGI software on my personal computer?

CGI scripts are not meant to run on your personal computer, such as your PC or Macintosh. They must be run from a web site in order to work correctly.

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What is a CGI-BIN directory (folder)?

A CGI-BIN directory is a directory (folder) on a server (or web site) that will allow the execution of a script or other software through the World Wide Web. Generally it is the only location on a server that will allow this. You cannot just create this directory on your web server and expect it to work. It must be activated by the web server software you are running. You should contact your hosting provider if you are unsure if you have CGI-BIN access.

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I don't have CGI-BIN access on my web site. Can I use your software?

Yes! Virtually all of our software packages can be run right from your own CGI Connection account -- on our servers. When you click the "Instant Access..." button under any software item, choose "AutoInstall", then select "My CGI Connection Folder" to install to.

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Is it free to join the CGI Connection?

Yes, it is absolutely free to join. You can make money as an affiliate, as well as download our free software collection. No purchase is necessary. However, purchasing a Premium Membership gives you unlimited access to our new, existing, and updated software collection. You may read our terms of service here.

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Do you sell or rent my account information?

No. Any information you provide to CGI Connection, such as your e-mail address, billing information, etc... is never given out, rented or sold. You can also remove yourself from our mailing list at any time when you login to your account or send an e-mail to [email protected]. You can also view our privacy policy

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I don't know how to program. Can I use the software at the CGI Connection?

Absolutely! In fact, we cater to those that do not know how to develop software, or even install it for that matter. Virtually everything here can be installed automatically by our web site, to your web site. When you click the "Instant Access..." button under any software item, you can choose, download to your own computer, or AutoInstall to your web site.

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What is Perl?

Perl is a programming language that was developed by Larry Wall and is relatively easy to learn. It is an interpreted language which means that the source code must be read by the Perl runtime each time it is executed. So, any machine with the Perl interpreter can run Perl scripts! Because of this, Perl became one of the most popular languages chosen to develop software for the Internet.

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What is Telnet?

Telnet is a method of remotely accessing a server (such as a web site). It is a software program that runs on a computer such as a PC or Mac. You can use Telnet to make and remove directories (folders), create, rename, remove files; change file permissions; get information from the server; manipulate files; etc...

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What is FTP?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the standard method of transferring files to (uploading) and from (downloading) web sites on the Internet. If you have a web site, most likely you have FTP access.

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What is CHMOD?

CHMOD is a program used on UNIX platforms to change permissions of files. Permissions tell the server who is allowed to run, change, or delete files and programs. Usually if you upload a software script to your server, you would CHMOD it to 755. This will allow the owner of the file to read, write and execute; the group owner to read and execute and anyone to read and execute the file. If you were at the command prompt (shell) on a UNIX server, to CHMOD a file, you would simply type: chmod 755 filename.ext

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What is sendmail?

Sendmail is a program that handles the routing of e-mail. It is the most commonly used software for Unix servers to deliver e-mail across the Internet.

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I forgot my username and/or password.

No problem. You can have your username and password e-mailed to you with our automated lookup process. You will need to know either the username you chose when you signed up with us, or the e-mail address you supplied.

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Can I resell the software that I download from here?

All scripts and software can be run on web sites that you own. You cannot distribute or resell them in any way, whether printable, on media, or any other type of medium. Each person that uses the software from the CGI Connection must have their own unique account. Violating this policy will result in account termination and possible legal action.

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Can I use the software on more than one web site?

You can run software from CGI Connection on more than one web site if you personally own and use the web site. If you host web sites for your clients, then each client must have their own unique account with CGI Connection.

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Can I edit or change the scripts I download?

For security purposes many of the scripts available for download at CGI Connection are encrypted. This is mainly to ensure that no additional malicious programming has been added if the script is found elsewhere on the Internet. However, virtually all of the software at CGI Connection is fully customizable for your web site. So, there's usually no reason to edit the scripts themselves, unless you need a custom project developed.

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Why can't I login?

  • You must sign up to be a member.
  • You must be logged in on only one computer. If you login from another computer or browser, your previous login session will be closed.
  • Do not open multiple browser windows and login. Login only one time from a single web browser window.
  • Your login session may have expired. Try logging in again.
  • Your web browser must have Cookies and JavaScript enabled. Please check your web browser settings and turn both of these options on.
  • Your web browser cache may be full. Clear the browser's cache and cookies, then reboot your computer and try to login again.


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Why can't I Download / Auto Install any software?

If you would like to use our Auto Install feature to automatically have our software installed to your web site, follow the instructions below.



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I can't get the software to run. What should I do?

  • If you don't know how to install scripts and software to your web site, you should use our AutoInstaller. Follow the steps above.
  • If you are trying to install the software yourself, make sure you have done the following:
    • Always first make a backup of your files before changing anything on your web site
    • If you are editing the script on your computer with a text editor such as Notepad or Word, be sure to turn off Word Wrapping. Word Wrapping will corrupt the script and make it unusable.
    • Upload the software (CGI or PL files) using ASCII mode with your favorite FTP software. Picture files such as JPG or GIF must be uploaded in BINARY.
    • Most scripts must have their permissions set to 755 to run correctly. Usually your FTP software can do this, or at the Unix command prompt type: CHMOD 755 softwarename.cgi
    • Some web site servers will only run software with a .pl file extension. You may need to rename the script from softwarename.cgi to softwarename.pl
    • The first line in the script must be the location of your Perl interpreter on your server. This is usually #!/usr/bin/perl or #!/usr/local/bin/perl
    • Some of our software requires you to activate them with your CGI Connection username and password first. Just go to the URL where your script is located. For example, http://www.yourserver.com/cgi-bin/softwarename.cgi. After you enter your username and password, you should close your web browser, and follow the instructions on how to use the software on our web site.
    • Our software requires activation first in order to run on your web site. Some web hosting companies block connections called "sockets" to other web sites. Many hosting companies like godaddy.com do this, and it prevents many Perl and PHP scripts from running. You should contact your web hosting company to verify if they are blocking socket connections. If you would like to use software from CGI Connection, your hosting company will need to allow socket connections.


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What is an Internal Server Error (Error 500)?

This is a general error message that your web server sends back that means a script could not run for some reason. Usually you can find out why by checking your web server logs. Other things you can check are:
  1. Location: Did you upload your scripts into the right place? Some web sites servers are configured to run your CGI scripts anywhere. Others will only run it when it is installed in a particular directory or folder, such as "cgi-bin". It is not just a matter of creating a "cgi-bin" folder. This folder must be set up properly by your web hosting company in order for CGI scripts to run. You may need to contact your web host provider and find out if you are allowed to run CGI scripts.

  2. File Upload Mode: Did you upload your Perl script in ASCII mode? Your FTP client may have uploaded the script in binary mode if you did not take any special action. Perl scripts are ASCII files, and since different operating systems have different ways of representing the end of line character (for example: Unix uses a line-feed, Windows uses a carriage-return and line-feed pair), it is important that you set the uploading method to ASCII, so that line-end translation is performed.

    Re-upload the script, this time making sure that it was uploaded in Text or ASCII mode. If you are using a Windows FTP program like WS_FTP, make sure that the radio button "ASCII" is selected and not "Binary" or "Auto". Do not use any auto-detection options since the FTP program might assume the extensions you are using for your scripts are for binary files.

  3. File Permissions: Did you change the permissions on your script so that it can be executed on your web server? In most cases, simply uploading the Perl script to the server does not necessarily mean that it can run. On Unix web servers (like Linux, BSD, Solaris, etc), it is necessary to change the file permissions to indicate to the operating system that the file may be executed. If you have a Unix FTP client, set the permission ("chmod") of the file to 755, which allows the script to be executed by everybody. If you are using FTP software to upload your scripts, you can usually right-click the file that you've just uploaded and choose "chmod" or "permissions", and change them to 755.

  4. Check Modifications: If you actually had to modify the script to configure it, did you introduce new errors into the script? If you are not the author, get another copy of the original script (prior to your changes) and compare it with your current script. Perhaps you forgot to place a semi-colon (";") after a particular variable assignment.

  5. Tracking Errors in the Script: If you did extensive editing of the script (such as to change the HTML code that it prints), then it is possible the error is in the changes you introduced. You will need to check that there are no syntax errors.


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I keep getting "Cannot write to..." errors



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I keep getting "THE REQUESTED URL COULD NOT BE RETRIEVED..." when I try to run any software script from CGI Connection

Our software requires activation first in order to run on your web site. Some web hosting companies block connections called "sockets" to other web sites. Many hosting companies like godaddy.com do this, and it prevents many Perl and PHP scripts from running. You should contact your web hosting company to verify if they are blocking socket connections. If you would like to use software from CGI Connection, your hosting company will need to allow socket connections, or give you a proxy server to use, which will allow the connections. If your hosting company does not allow these connections, you can also install most of our software titles to your CGI Connection account. This will run the software from our web site, but you can still use it on your own web site.

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I AutoInstalled software and cannot login to it

When you AutoInstall software to your web site, the default username and password to login will be set the same as your FTP username and password. Remember, you must first verify the software with your CGI Connection username and password.

Many software items on the CGI Connection require a special variable to be passed to the script to login to it. This is done purposely so that it will make it more difficult for others to use software on your web site without your knowledge. You should check the documentation of the software title you're trying to login to in the software archive.

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How do I view a .TAR file?

A TAR file is similar to a ZIP file, or any other compressed file format that can store multiple files in one. It's generally used for compressing files on Unix file systems, and not Windows or Macintosh. However, there are several programs available for Mac and Windows that will allow you to extract files within a TAR archive:

WinZip for Windows
WinAce for Windows
MacTar for Macintosh

If you are unfamiliar with installing scripts and/or extracting files from a TAR archive, then you should use our AutoInstaller, rather than downloading our software scripts to your own computer.

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What are my options for ordering?

Renting my software can be a quicker and less expensive way to convert your current Web site into a virtual 24 hour a day salesperson. For just $9, you can test drive every Web software script I've created for 10 days by choosing the Premium Membership. After that, you make the call. You can cancel your membership in our coop, or you can install any or all of my software script library as long as you're a member for less than $3.23 a day (billed monthly @ $97 USD).

NOTE: Please be aware that all billing is processed under our parent company, THE WEB POST NETWORK

We accept all major credit and debit cards including: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. At this time we cannot accept personal checks or orders using PayPal.

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Why would I buy just one software script for $300 when I can take advantage of your $9 trial, download everything, and cancel?

When you join the coop, you're agreeing to access my entire library of software scripts for one super-low price of just $9 the first ten (10) days. After that, you make the call. You can cancel your membership in our coop, or you can install any or all of my software script library as long as you're a member for about $3.23 a day (billed monthly @ $97 USD).

At any time, you can send an e-mail at [email protected] and that's it... your membership is closed. In return, all I ask is that you remove the software scripts you installed from the coop library (I find most people are honest about this). Many software titles will no longer function, or will not function fully after your Premium Membership is cancelled.

NOTE: Please be aware that all billing is processed under our parent company, THE WEB POST NETWORK

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Why would anyone rent... isn't that more expensive than buying software?

Actually, that depends.

A large majority of buyers to my site choose renting because it's actually much cheaper than buying... for them.

The average member installs 7 software scripts during their first year in the coop. When you run the numbers, it's easy to see that's cheaper than buying a la carte.

Keep in mind software companies make the bulk of their profits selling upgrades to their new features and enhancements... I know... I do the same.

Offering my entire software script library as a rental was a test I tried back in July of 2002... and I'm glad I did. Everyone wins... my business has doubled and my customers get $8,000.00 worth of money-making software scripts for less than $2 a day.

At the same time, if you're only in need of one or two software scripts, you might consider an outright purchase.

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Do you offer custom programming services?

Yes. Most programming is developed using Perl, and other languages are integrated as needed, such as JavaScript. Our rates are billed at $275 per hour with a one hour minimum. If you would like to have a custom project developed, please contact us.

You will receive a 10% discount on your project if you are a Premium Member

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How do I link to the CGI Connection?

When you join the CGI Connection, you automatically become an affiliate, and gain the ability to make 50% off of each sale and membership you refer to us. You can find out more here.

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Can I really make money linking to CGI Connection?

Yes you can! Infact, you make a monthly residual, recurring income for every Premium Member that you refer, for as long as they remain a Premium Member. Most affiliate programs pay you once. We pay you every month for the same sale! Start generating cash today by becoming a CGI Connection Affiliate.

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If I become an affiliate, can I refer myself?

No. This is strictly forbidden. If you refer yourself, your account may be terminated immediately at our discretion.
Read more about joining CGIConnection as a Premium Member for just $9 (for the first 10 days)...
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