Software Tips

Because I worked 6 years in the development of Internet Banking software, I am very concerned about the quality and reliability of computers and their software. One single virus attack could destroy months of work, and it could even ruin a whole company. Therefore, I am listing my recommendations here, taken from experience.

Great Free Software

Surfing: Mozilla 1.x

Most hackers and viruses will attack Internet Explorer and Outlook, simply because so many people use it, but also because there are many built-in security problems. Therefore, if you use another browser and E-Mail software, your PC will be much safer. Furthermore, Mozilla can switch off banner-popups permanently, and you may open websites in fast and comfortable "tabs" instead of windows.

Mozilla is available for download here.

I recommend to configure the following details:

edit->preferences->navigator->tabbed browsing: check "middle-click or control-click of links in a web page", and "control+enter in the location bar". tabbed browsing is a great feature, you don't want to miss it after a short time.
edit->preferences->privacy & security->popup windows: select "suppress popups". you may create a list of exceptions for the few websites where you really need them.

a blocked popup notification! double-click on the symbol to extend the exception list.

E-Mail: Netscape Messenger (Communicator package)

For email, I recommend the 4.7x series. it's easy to configure, you can easily find and back-up your email archive files. it does not support all those viruses written for Outlook.

If you installed Netscape 7.01 already, you may also use this for EMailing - it's just as comfortable. but, it provides more features, like multiple email addresses per user - making it also a bit more complicated to configure and maintain.

Download Netscape Communicator 4.79 here.

Music Player Software: WinAmp

WinAmp plays mp3 files and streams from the web, and that's it. it does not require registering at websites, and it does not open unexpected hidden connections to strange servers. no, WinAmp is installed within seconds, simply plays mp3 files, and since version 3.x, it even plays videos.

download WinAmp here.

Word Processor: OpenOffice Write

What do you really want from a word processor? you want to enter a text, give it a nice layout, some fonts and images. then you want to print it. job done.

I don't know how many functions OpenOffice Write has beyond this, because i simply want to enter and to print a text. In anyway, it's free, it can read and write MS Word documents, and there is a chance that Macro Viruses written for MS Word may not work at all!

download the whole OpenOffice suite for free here.

Spreadsheet: OpenOffice Calc

I'm not a spreadsheet expert, i only use the fundamental functionality. But again, it's free, and it's probably incompatible to MS Excel Viruses.

By the way, OpenOffice is not only available for Windows, but also for Linux.

OpenOffice Impress, Draw, Math, HTML Editor ...

So, if you are using your computer "only" to

write text documents

do spreadsheet calculations

create presentations

draw vector images

create and edit html webpages

create large mathematical formulas you may do this all for free, no matter if you're using Windows or Linux.

download the whole OpenOffice suite here.

Need Commercial Support?

there is also a low-priced commercial version of OpenOffice, for companies who need commercial support. this is the StarOffice suite, available for purchase here. A portal site with further informations is available here.

Fundamental Security Tools

Virus Protection: Norton Anti Virus

is something evil biting through your files? even for experts, it is very difficult to identify a virus, as long as it's working quietly in the background. only a virus scanner can ultimately tell. there are many on the market, and many may do the job, but Norton's Anti Virus gave me a good impression. deep file scans, even of .zip and email archives, permanent updates of virus definitions... that's just how it should be.

Anti-virus software must be commercial, as the vendor has to finance a lab where they analyze hundreds of new viruses every day, to give to you permanent updates. So it does cost some money, but still it is far more cheap than the working time you would have to invest once your computer would be infected.

Firewall: Norton Personal Firewall

is some hacker connecting to your Windows? unfortunately, Windows is extremely vulnerable to internet attacks - there are just too many security bugs in the operating system itself. most firewalls may do a good job - there are even some for free. but as i'm using Norton's Anti Virus, it's recommendable to use their firewall too - they work together perfectly.

more informations about both products are available at the Symantec website.