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security All computers should be in defensive mode when connected to the internet. Please ensure you have installed and maintained: · updated antivirus software · updated personal firewall software · updated anti-spyware & anti-malware software · updated operating system software · updated application software Only one antivirus and one firewall solution should be installed on a single computer (as they may conflict with each other), however, a number of anti-spyware tools are recommended (as none detect 100%). An integrated internet security suite is preferred but free products are available for personal home use. Zone Alarm is a limited functionality version of a personal firewall program free for personal home use and not for profit charitable entity use. AVG Antivirus is a limited functionality version of antivirus software free for personal home use. Windows Defender is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. This product is already installed if you are running Microsoft Vista (any version). Spybot Search & Destroy is a well regarded anti-spyware / malware tool. Updates are available free for Microsoft software products. It may be wise to configure your programs to download updates automatically if available. web browser Internet Explorer 7 provides improved security and usability over previous versions. This product is already installed if you are running Microsoft Vista (any version). web plug-ins Web plug-ins are add-on programs that interact with your web browser and provide extra functionality and access to some web content (usually multimedia). Adobe Flash (Tip: deselect Yahoo Toolbar option unless you want this as well) and Adobe Shockwave players are common examples of multimedia plug-ins. Apple QuickTime with i-Tunes may be required for some content. To play QuickTime format without the whole Apple suite, try QuickTime Alternative. Tip: use the Lite version & keep Microsoft Media Player - the full version includes Media Player Classic (more third party software that does what your existing software does) media player Windows Media Player is Microsoft's all-in-one media player. It is included with the Windows operating system but there are updated versions available for XP users. This product is already updated if you are running Microsoft Vista (any version).
You
may need to install a codec (coder/decoder) to view dvds in Media
Player. If you are running Microsoft XP try this one.
If you are running Vista Home Basic or Vista Business try this one. If you are running Vista Home Premium or
Vista Ultimate you already have a dvd codec installed. office
suite Open Office is an open
source office suite free for everyone. It opens Microsoft Office files
and is easily configured to save its files in Microsoft Office formats.
Open Office allows you to export files directly to pdf format also (see
below). These binaries
(installable software) are in development. They may not be fully stable and
should be used with caution. We make no claims about them. pdf
reader Many
text files on the internet are in portable document format (pdf). You
will need a pdf reader to open these files. Adobe
Acrobat Reader is free. There is a User Guide available (guess what format it's in). pdf
writer To
create pdf files you will need a pdf writer. Primo PDF or PDF
Creator are free. voice
over internet protocol (voip) VOIP allows users to transmit and receive voice data over
their broadband connection. Skype
is a software based voip product that requires no additional hardware (other
than a headset). It’s free and easy to download and use, and works with most
computers. It provides an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) facility and this
version is video equipped also. If you're interested in hardware based (read independent
of computer) voip products contact us for more information. There are a
number of voip providers in the market such as GoTalk, MyNetFone and Engin. media
portal Media
Portal is open source software ideal for turning your PC into a very
advanced media centre. It allows you to listen to your favorite music
& radio, watch and store your videos and DVDs, view, schedule and record
live TV as a digital video recorder and much much more. video to
dvd For
those wondering how to make their video movies dvd player friendly, try Sothink
Movie DVD Maker. mov to
avi What
the? If your camera takes video in .mov (quicktime) format then you'll
need to change that to import to Windows Movie Maker. Mpeg Streamclip is a powerful video
converter for pc and mac. It will batch process also. folder synchronisation & backup These programs are useful to help you keep portable
storage devices in sync with your computer and for maintaining backups.
Syncback is the
pick of the freeware products. GoodSync is free for personal use and easy to use. password
management Access
Manager is a free for private use software solution that keeps all your
passwords in one, simple to use list. It offers fast, easy and secure
password management. One 'Master Password' is all that is needed to
access all your passwords and private information. data
security TrueCrypt is open source
software that encrypts, locks and password protects your data. Ideal
for portable storage devices. Not the most intuitive interface but has
a good user guide. ftp
client FTP
(file transfer protocol) clients are programs to help transfer files to and
from the internet using ftp servers. Filezilla
is an open source product free for everyone. hardware
drivers Drivers
are software programs that allow your hardware components to communicate with
your system. driverguide.com
or drivers.com are good starting points if you're looking for
hardware drivers. freeware
& shareware Freeware
is software made available free of charge (sometimes with restrictions eg.
personal use) where the author retains the copyright. It cannot be
altered or sold. Shareware is software that is made available for a small
charge (sometimes a donation). Increasingly it refers to software made
available free of charge for a trial period but payment is required for
continued use. There are many sites providing freeware & shareware. download.com is well regarded and considered safe, clean and reliable. open
source software Open
Source software is free. Generally the source code is available to
programmers to view, edit and modify. Linux is an example of an open
source operating system. (compare to Microsoft Windows) beta
versions These
are as yet unreleased versions of software which are still in trial
mode. In the early beta versions, some bugs and glitches may be
encountered. User feedback is used to polish the product before
commercial release. We use the beta products on this page without
problems but can make no warranty about their use. copyright
& trademarks Windows
Vista, Windows XP, Media Player, Microsoft Office, Windows Defender,
Microsoft Update and Internet Explorer are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. Acrobat
Reader, Adobe Flash and Adobe Shockwave are registered trademarks of Adobe
Systems Inc. Apple
QuickTime and i-Tunes are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. link
warranty We
use the links on this page regularly but can make no warranty about their
use. Always
exercise caution when downloading and installing files from the internet. Please
report broken links or suggest more useful downloads. dnc
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