Useful Software

Buying a PC is expensive enough without then having to pay out more for the software you need to actually do anything useful. Thankfully not all software is as expensive as you might think, and there is a also wide range of free software available as well.

Listed below are some of the most popular applications that will help you get the most out of your new PC.

Whilst we make every effort to ensure that the information provided here is acurate, Bishop David Sheppard Primary School does not offer any endorsement of the products or services listed on this page. We can take no responsibility for information, services or software provided by external sources and all such services or applications are downloaded or accessed at the users own risk.

Really Useful Links

Software4Students is a programme designed with Microsoft to help students and parents access professional versions of software for home use.

Keeping Secure

It is important that all computers that access the internet or files transfered from other sources are protected by some form of security software. The big question is, do you pay or do you go for a free option?

For most users, a free solution should provide all the protection you need. However, they do not give full protection from all threats, have limited or no support and are often slow to update with new threats and in most cases, support is limited to online Forums.

Below are some of the leading free applications. Others are available.

Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft’s security essentials package has proved to be successful and increasingly popular.

Avira Antivir
Antivir provides a thorough and fast software protection.

Avast!
Alwil’s Avast! home edition offers all the features you’d get with a paid-for program.

AVG Free
AVG has a long history of providing free anti virus. It’s protection is reasonably thorough.

For those who prefer to pay and get the additional support it offers, the following is a list of the most popular paid-for solutions (others are available):

A FREE online service that lets you control the websites that are accessible on all Internet-connected devices in your home, from laptop and desktop computers to gaming consoles and mobile phones.

More information about how to keep you and your children safe online

Essential software

Software essential for viewing or using web pages and other applications.

Adobe Acrobat Reader
For viewing Acrobat and PDF files.

Foxit
A fast, free alternative to Acrobat Reader

Adobe Flash Player
For viewing online animated content.

Java
Java is used by many online services. It allows you to play online games, chat and view images in 3D, just to name a few.

Office Suites

On your PC...

Microsoft Office 2010
The latest release of the world’s most popular office suite. Includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
Allows users with Office 2003 (or older) to open and edit files created with Office 2007 and 2010.

Open Office
Free, Open-source software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more.

Or in the cloud...

Google Docs
Create and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations online. Requires a Google account.

Microsoft Office WebApps
Free online version of Office Applications. Requires Windows Live account.

Zoho
A wide range of online-applications.

More online resources...

Internet Browsers

Although it is the most widely used, Internet Explorer is not the only web broswer available. Why not try these instead.

Google Chrome
Considered to be the fastest browser for loading and viewing pages. Very simple to use and secure.

Mozilla Firefox
Produced by the Mozilla open source project, Firefox is the second most popular browser.

Safari
Developed by Apple, Safari is the default browser for all Apple products, including the iPhone.

Opera
Opera is known for originating many features later adapted by other Web browsers.

Useful Software

FreeFile Sync
Very easy to use tool for synchronising files between your computer and your USB or external Hard Drive.

YouTube Downloader
Not only allows you to download audio and video from YouTube, but will also convert files from one audio/video format to another.

FreeMake Video Converter
Convert video free to AVI, MP4, WMV, MKV, SWF, FLV, 3GP, MPEG, DVD, Blu-ray, MP3, iPod, iPhone, iPad, PSP, PS3, Android, and more. Also allows editing of video clips.

FreeMake Audio Converter
Convert audio free to MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, AAC, M4A, OGG, convert audio to MP3 player, iPod, iPhone, iPad, PSP, and more

Audacity
Free software for recording and editing sounds. Allows multi track editing.

Image Resizer
This free tool from Microsoft enables you to resize one or many image files with a single right-click.

Easy Thumbnails
Easy Thumbnails is a popular free utility for creating thumbnail images from a wide range of formats.

The Gimp
Free image manipulation software. A good alternative to Photoshop.

VideoLAN VLC
A free application that plays most multimedia files, DVDs and Audio CD.

WinAmp
The free media player that plays mp3 and other audio files, syncs your MP3 players and more.

iSpring Free
Lets you create web-ready Flash presentations direct from PowerPoint.

7-Zip
Compression tool - a free alternative to WinZip.

Windows utilities and tools

TreeSize
Find out where your precious disk space has gone!

Defraggler
Great for defragging your computer hard drives.

Recuva
Restores files that have been accidentally deleted, including the Recycle bin.

CCleaner
Removes unwanted files from your system. Also includes a registry cleaner. NOTE: all cleaners must be used with care as changes to the system registry can result in irreversible damage to the PC.

Free Email

The majority of internet service providers (ISPs) will give you a free email account when you sign up with them. But, these accounts will often be closed down if you change providers, so it is always a good idea to get yourself an email account from elswhere, one that you can use anywhere. There are several free services but we have listed below the three most popular.

Gmail (Google Mail)
Easy to use and integrates with a number of other services.

Hotmail / Live Mail
A free email service from Microsoft that also gives you access to Windows Live applications.

Yahoo Mail
Limited functionality but useful for people who use Yahoo search and applications.

On-Line Applications and Resources

Not all the software you need has to be installed in the computer. A growing number of applications are internet based, often referred to as “the cloud”. These applications are accessed over the internet using your web browser. Below is a list of some really useful free online applications.

Zamzar
Free online service that supports conversion between a wide variety of different file formats.

PDF to Word
Quickly and easily create editable files from PDF/Acrobat documents online.

Aviary.com
A free suite of powerful online graphic creation tools.

Prezi.com
Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas.