Starting University

Hi guys I'll be starting Uni this autumn and have a couple questions regarding software for my Windows notebook:

1) We get a free antivirus program called "Sophos" - worth using that or should I switch to Kaspersky?
2) How do I backup my documents the best way possible?
I was thinking about hooking up an external HDD I have and automatically make periodic backups - which program is best for that?
I was also thinking about saving important documents on cloud storage - is Google Drive good enough for that or should I use something else?
3) What other "essential" software should I be using as a student - what should I look out for?

Thank you in advance

 

1) Sophos was decent last time I checked, but it's up to you whether you want it or not.

2)The absolute best backup solution would be backing up to an external drive, to the cloud and some type of long term off site storage too. However, I doubt you'll go that far, so stick with the cloud provider of your choice and an external drive. Syncing documents to the cloud isn't really a backup, so you definitely want something else.

3)There is no magic list of software that are essential for students, but at least a suite that includes a word processor and so on. The classic choice would be MS Office University, but you could go with Libre Office or even LaTeX.

 

Thanks for your quick reply

I'll have LaTeX since I'm an engineering student and one of my modules even includes programming for LaTeX

Why is syncing documents to the cloud not a real backup?
Aren't the documents saved in case something goes haywire?

So which software should I use for the backup? And which cloud provider? Is Google-Drive decent enough?

 

Yes, the documents are "saved", but restoring older versions may or may not work. If you accidentally delete something, it's usually possible to recover it, but given the nature of cloud backups that sync, if something gets corrupted, it will sync and you may be able to restore to a previous version or you may not in some rare cases. That is why I always like to keep an offline version backup just in case murphy's law hits and everything that can go wrong goes wrong. Note that you can also store files and not have them sync if you'd like. Google drive is decent if that is what you are currently using, stick to that. If you want an independent backup solution, crashplan would do: Online Data Backup - Offsite, Onsite, & Cloud - CrashPlan Backup Software.

Personally, I just keep some files on my OneDrive and on externals as well. There are some more sensitive files pertaining to my PhD that I keep completely offline and backup both on externals at home and at my office.

When I was an undergrad, I had a friend who lost a whole project due to a hard drive failure and a simple external backup would have fixed it. Cloud would probably have worked too, but I always want a backup of the backup just to be safe.

 

Thank you

So CrashPlan Backup is for backing up to my external harddrive?
Sounds good
Does it do that automatically at set periods or do I have to automatically back it up?

And I am not currently using any Cloud Storage I was just thinking about using Google Drive since I have a gmail account.
Should I go for Google Drive then or go somewhere else?

 

1> That sounds all good but have you consider MSE that is free and integrates with your Windows and a bigger Plus it will set your Windows Update to AUTO update and you don't have to worry about updating it yourself. Beyond that use this link to PC hosts edit that will help block most of the hidden ads and pops that you will encounter on the internet and that will provide you another safer level to browse and do what you need to do without having to fight those pops.

Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck (as much)

The creator has instructions on how to install it and also when you do edit the PC *hosts* file make sure to do change its attributes to "READ-ONLY" that will prevent further redirects should websites try to take over your URL links.

2> Ext USB hard drive or USB memory stick depending on big your project or reports are. Cloud is good but that is only good as long as you have internet connection to it-loose your internet and you can consider any cloud basically worthless if you need it. So have plenty of redundancies for backup should you need to do a PowerPoint and find your cloud is dead that will not look good for your evaluations. You Windows if I think should have sync feature as well but you might have to look into that to be sure it does but that will depend on what version of Windows you get. Get at least Windows Pro or Ult and no lower if you want to have more access/controls to features.

3> MS Office 2013 a **MUST** nowdays. Get Windows Pro or Ultimate and no lower if you want more access/control to feature you wants. Keypass-free password keeper-you be suprised how handy it comes. I use it for my hundreds of sites and password and you can on it password protect the file so only you can access it and it can also be portable and you can use the sync feature to sync both the computer stored file to the USB file and you will have it on the go. But last MSE(Microsoft Security Essential) is a plus in my mind. Oh and get something like PDVD or WinDVD Pro so you can watch videos if you need some relaxations. Skype as well to keep in contact. Beyond that stay aways from *TOOLSBARS* those are security hole for virus/malware to get through they sound and nice but don't believe that for a moment.

 

Thank you too

I'll think about MSE but I am kinda a computer geek so I know how to keep pop ups etc away

My main question is which services I should be using - which backup programs and which cloud storage providers are best - etc.

MS Office yeah I'll probably get that for a student discount so that sounds good as well

 

Crashplan can backup to another computer, the cloud, an external or any combination of the three. Note that it is a paid service more for peace of mind and easier backup management. You can achieve the same results on your own. I just thought I'd mention is as a possibility. That doesn't mean you have to go with that.

If you are already tied to google services, google drive is fine. I am personally tied into MS services as in I own Windows computers tablets and a windows Phone 8 so I use OneDrive for most of my stuff. Anything related to my identity or finances I keep local though and I would enver trust it to the cloud without first encrypting it.

 

Okay thank you.
But as far as I read I can use the program that backups to an external for free, right?

If not, which program can I use which is freeware and good with backups?

 

Windows in itself has a built in backup utility and there is always good old copy/paste if you are disciplined enough not to need an automated solution. In other words, you have a lot options, just pick the one fits your style best. You can experiment too.

 

If you use LaTeX, I recommend you look into a dedicated editor. WinEdt is the editor of choice for many, but it's not free, although some universities may have a campus license. Another option that has become viable recently is TeXnicCenter, which is free. The LaTeX distribution to install these days is MikTeX. If you want hardcore programmable graphics capabilities for LaTeX, look into Asymptote. Other accessories you probably want if you use LaTeX are Ghostscript and Ghostview Postscript processor and viewer. Ideally you'll get the Professional version of Adobe Acrobat from your University, but if not you'll want at least the free Reader.

Some other pieces of software to consider for an engineering student: Matlab, if you get it for free or can afford it, Mathematica, and WinPython (free). A free alternative to Matlab is Octave. Oh, and don't forget, as a college student you'll get the professional version of Microsoft Visual Studio for free through their DreamSpark project.

P.S.: I disagree on that one, kind of: It depends on what you need. The 2013 version sucks almost as bad as Windows 8.x in some respects, and I'm not talking about the idiotic uppercase labels, and that atrocious Modern theme. For example, there will be no desktop search capabilities for your email. On the other hand, if you use Outlook for email via an IMAP server then, yes, Outlook 2013 is probably what you want, since all previous versions had severe performance issues with IMAP.

 

MS Visio is a very useful and easy to learn software for creating any technical diagrams/schematics. Ask your uni staff if the uni provides students with DreamSpark account. For educational purposes, most Microsoft software can be downloaded from DreamSpark free of charge with 2-years licenses.

Oracle VirtualBox for virtualization purposes (if you're into IT).

 

Steam.
Other than MS Office (or some other similar program) + software you use daily, there aren't any other things to recommend. After you start your studies you will be told what else do you need. Wait until then.

 

Thank you guys

 

What's wrong with Office 2010, or even 2007? I have all three and I don't see any difference as a student, other than the styling differences in the applications themselves.

As for Windows versions, I don't see the point in getting Pro (unless you need the networking features and the like) and especially not Ultimate (basically, it's Pro + languages + Bitlocker). I have 7 Pro on one of my laptops and 7 Ultimate on my desktop (Pro came with the W520, and Ultimate is the same price as Pro at my university, both very cheap), and there isn't any practice reason to get Ultimate imo. Perhaps Bitlocker would be an okay reason, though for the price of Ultimate, it's not a great encryption solution when things like TrueCrypt (RIP) are out there.

 

There is nothing wrong with Office 2010 imo. I'd avoid 2007 if possible though, 2010's UI fixed some gripes I had with 2007.

Also, windows 8 pro has bitlocker, win 7 pro does not.

 

Office 2007 was definitely crap. As for 2010/2013 editions, can't say anything negative about them.

 

Aside from the ribbon screaming at me, I rather like Office 2013, it has a fair amount of small extras that are quite nice to have over 2010. It doesn't beat LaTeX when it comes to putting equations in documents though.

Also, the student version of MATLAB isn't that expensive.

 

We'll also be using MATLAB later on, so I'll have to get it eventually!

Thanks guys

 

Then wait until you need it and get the latest version.

 

No but have you tried looking for Student Office 2010....you don't find it anymore...let's be realistic Office 2013 is what they want to have currently and how you can forget to notice they don't sell Student Office only the latest offer to student at Discount is something you forgot to take into consideration.

For you that is fine but not for a Student I like them to have more control of what they want to install and customize and that is what Pro/Ultimate gives them. Practical yea keep hitting the koolaid on that one ok. If your just about encryption then you can keep your TrueCrypt I rather have the Student have choices not your choices. I have Windows 7x64 Ult Sp1 on all my laptops and Desktop and family computers and that gives more options and control to fix problems easier.

I do know OpenOffice has problem inputing equations into Documents...unless they fixed it that last I tried it didn't like equations correctly and that was like 3 yrs ago and then dumped OpenOffice and went back to M$Office and never looked back. Also M$Office for all it's expense everyone is trying to be like them even Google cloud tries to look like them.

 

As far as OpenOffice (and LibreOffice; there was a split recently), I've not had issues with inserting simple equations in documents (divisions, summations, etc.). However, I haven't tried converting said documents to .docx (I usually go for .pdf for conversions, regardless of the office program used).

You're right about the "everyone trying to be Office" thing, though. MS has a strong networking effect with Office and just about everybody and every business deals with .docx, .xlsx, etc. It seems that .pdf is the only fool-proof document that everyone can use, though not all businesses want their documents in that format.

 

Since 2007, Office has had a decent equation editor. However, LaTeX still does equation formatting for PhD dissertations and such better than Office. You can do it in Office too, but centering an equation with the number to the right involves jumping through hoops in Office. Still, not everyone knows how or wants to use LaTeX in which case, I'd recommend MS Office first. Also, it isn't that expensive if you're a student.

 

I use only MBAM as real time protection and few other online/cloud scanners when I suspect virus infection.

For my needs as computer science student Dropbox works great - access from everywhere and for documents free 2gigs is simply wonderful and unlimited space (think about it how much you should type to fill it).

I use it mainly for storage/backup/sharing service for my university projects and lecture notes. Many of my colleagues use Google Documents, so this is a option, too.

Essential software for me was:
General usage: Microsoft Office 2007 (essentials are Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint), Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash player, WinRar,
Java IDE - which I preffer to use Jetbrains IntelliJ IDEA(Community edition) instead of suggested by my lecturer JCreator and/or Eclipse and NetBeans
C/C++ IDE - Orwell's updated version of DevC++, instead of suggested by my lecturer CodeBlocks and/or Visual Studio
C#/ASP.net IDE - Visual Studio


Later I discovered general text editor called Sublime Text 3 which I fell in love with and this little tool became my 1st choice when it comes to writing code.

But I must point that, when it comes to the IDE's these are personal preferences.

Good luck!