Recommended software for MScAC students

Please keep your laptop up to date on security updates so as to avoid security incidents. Please ask if you'd like any assistance with or advice about this, or anything else about the configuration of your computer.

Various accessories are available for use with your laptop computer. In general, please let me know what you need and I'll see if I can get it for you.

The following software is useful and/or recommended:

• For MS-Windows, anti-virus software (crucial):
  MS-Windows comes with "Windows Defender", but your vendor might have turned it off; please make sure it's turned on and getting updates. You might have to remove a "trial version" of some other anti-virus software to do this. I can help with this (or anything else) upon request.

• If you want anti-virus software for Macintosh (not absolutely crucial like for MS-Windows, but still likely a good idea for most users), the best recommendation I've heard is for ClamXav from http://www.clamxav.com/download.php

• Firefox web browser, which we recommend in preference to IE/Edge for security reasons. (Personally, I also use Firefox for Macintosh.) Get the latest version from https://www.mozilla.com, specifically from https://www.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/browsers/
  An alternative is Google Chrome.

• For MS-Windows, Thunderbird e-mail reader, which we recommend in preference to Outlook for security reasons. Get the latest version from https://www.thunderbird.net

• For ssh, you can just use the 'ssh' program from the command-line. This is now also available in MS-Windows.

• A possible GUI file transfer client (using sftp over ssh) is Cyberduck, available for either Macintosh or MS-Windows.

• We can provide you with any version of Microsoft Office under a silly licence with many restrictions. Please contact me to get started. Alternatively, "Libre Office" is a Microsoft Office clone which is free software (and in fact there are free alternatives to most commercial software you may be accustomed to, and I can help you with this upon request).

• Some other Microsoft software, mostly compilers and such tools, is available through the "Dreamspark" programme.