WEB BROWSERS
Google's Chrome
web browser
probably the safest browser, fast, and automatically
keeps the ever-vulnerable Adobe flash player updated.
Best to
install it using the network installer
here:
http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/landing_chrome.html?hl=en
Firefox
4.0 Web browser
is another good
option
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/
Adobe
Flash Player
Flash is needed on a lot of web sites, and is
frequently updated to more secure versions. The latest one for IE and
Firefox is version 10.2.153.1
Download the IE (ActiveX) and
Firefox manual installers
here:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/191/tn_19166.html#main_ManualInstaller
PDF
PDF-xchange-viewer
Recently
found this program, it reads PDFs, but also lets you annotate them,
so it's good for filling out forms, for example. Smaller and faster
than the huge Adobe Reader
program.
http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer
PDFCreator
I
install this on almost every computer I work on. It installs a
"virtual printer" that shows up in your list of printers.
When you print to it from any program, it creates a PDF file of
whatever you were printing. Good for systems with no real printer.
You can then transfer your PDF to a system that has a printer, or
just save the PDF.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
FILE
COMPRESSION
PeaZip
This program will open or create any
kind of compressed file you run into. Similar to WinZip, but free.
Just be careful when installing it to deselect the optional
toolbar.
http://www.peazip.org/
CD/DVD
CDBurnerXP
If
the system has a CD or DVD Burner, but no software for using it, this
is a good program for a Windows XP machine. (I haven't had as much
luck with in on Windows 7)
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
ImgBurn
If
you just need to burn ISO files to CDs or DVDs, this is a simple
one-purpose program. (Good for say, burning an Ubuntu ISO file to
CD)
http://www.imgburn.com/
IMAGE
MANIPULATION
Picasa, from Google
This is an excellent
program for managing digital photos, and doing simple cropping and
editing.
http://picasa.google.com/
Paint.net
Painting
/ Drawing / Photo program similar to Photoshop. Built using .net
framework. Note that it requires .net 3.5 SP1 on Window XP SP3 as a
minimum
http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
Dot
Net Framework 4 installer:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=0a391abd-25c1-4fc0-919f-b21f31ab88b7
Dia
A
flowcharting, diagramming program sort of like
Visio
http://dia-installer.de/index.html.en
Inkscape
A
vector-graphics based drawing
program
http://inkscape.org/download/?lang=en
MEDIA
PLAYER
VLC VideoLan Player
This program can play pretty
much any sound or video file that
exists.
http://www.videolan.org/
OFFICE
SUITE
LibreOffice 3.3.2
This is the better and newer
version of what used to be called OpenOffice.org. Contains a word
processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and more. Compatible
with reading and saving Microsoft Office file formats.
Download
both the main program installer (which is multi-language) and the
separate help packs in whatever languages you might
need.
http://www.libreoffice.org/
EDUTAINMENT
Tux
Paint
A children's drawing program with many options, sound, and
an add-on pack of image stamps. Download the main program and the
"stamps" add-on
http://www.tuxpaint.org/
Childsplay
A
variety of educational games in one program. Click through to the
"childsplay" section to get to the download. Supports
different languages.
http://www.schoolsplay.org/
ANTIVIRUS
/ ANTISPYWARE
Computers in Africa are infamous for being
infected with viruses. I would use your flash drive sparingly, and
load software from CDs. (You are likley to encounter infected
computers that will try to write viruses to your flash drive as soon
as you put it in)
Microsoft Security Essentials
Free
antivirus program from microsoft. Simple, quiet, and effective. Of
course, needs internet access to update
definitions.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx
McAfee
Stinger
A small program that doesn't need internet access to run.
It checks for many common
viruses.
http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/how-to-use-stinger.aspx
Microsoft
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT)
Another standalone
program that scans for a subset of common viruses, doesn't need
internet
access.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en
SuperAntiSpyware
An
antispyware program. You can download a standalone portable version
that doesn't need internet
access
http://www.superantispyware.com/portablescanner.html?tag=SAS_HOMEPAGE
Spybot
Search & Destroy
Anti-spyware program that has been around a
long time. Download the main program, version 1.6.2, and the
"detection updates" so you can have updated
definitions without internet access. I like this one because it can
give you more information about what it
finds.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
LINUX
Ubuntu
Live CD
I would download and burn a CD copy of the current version
of Ubuntu 10.10 Desktop edition so you can boot a computer and use
it, get online, etc, without worrying about
viruses.
http://www.ubuntu.com/
WINDOWS
XP service packs
Only Service Pack 3 is supported by Microsoft
anymore, so consider bringing SP2 and SP3 if you run into computers
that aren't updated to XP Service Pack 3 yet.
You'll need SP2 and
SP3 (As it is recommended to do SP2 first if the computer is at SP1
or lower)
Note that these are pretty large, although both SP2 and
SP3 would fit on a single CD.
Windows XP Service Pack 2
(SP2)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=049c9dbe-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a
Windows
XP Service Pack 3
(SP3)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en