Tag: Software

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Must-Have Software On Every Student’s Laptop?

As a student, having the right software on your laptop can make a significant difference in your academic life. From note-taking to research and project management, the right software can save you time, increase productivity, and make studying more enjoyable. 

In this blog, we’ll explore some of the must-have software every student should have on their laptop. Whether you’re a high school or college student, these tools can help you do better in your studies. 

Google Drive

Google Drive is a free cloud-based storage service that permits you to store and access all your documents, and files including photos. It allows you to access all your documents anywhere from any user with an internet connection. It leaves space on the student’s device for important things too.

To begin using Google Drive, the student must create or sign in to a google account. Signing up for an account will additionally let them use other Google services like Gmail and Google docs along with google drive. The user then can type “drive.google.com” into their browser. Next “My Drive” will automatically appear containing uploaded files, Google sheets, slides and docs. Then the user can either upload files or create files in Google Drive.

Creating a file or a folder will make the user as owner by default. By doing so, the owner can control the viewers (To publicly or privately share with particular google accounts) and pass the ownership to another using a Gmail address. 

Google Docs, Google Slides and Google sheets create Google driver’s suite. Google docs is a word processor helping students to write essays and assignments, Google slides is a presentation program letting you make presentations and review lecture notes given by your teacher while Google sheets is a spreadsheet useful for data analysis, statistics and math.

The students can complete their work accordingly and store it in Google Drive while sharing it with the teacher. They can give access to teachers to edit and comment on their work too.

EdrawMind

EdrawMind is a mapping software for students. It helps to insert your ideas, plans and information in mind maps and diagrams. There are options to change the mindmap appearance, add symbols, task due and many more. In addition, students can change the different sections of the diagram as slides. The diagrams can be exported as pdf, images and files enabling you to share them with others. 

Students struggling with studies will find mind maps more convenient to record and study productively. Using different colours or indicators aids them to learn with interest. This app is an efficient way for students and teachers to arrange, organise and present their thoughts. It is easy for students to read, understand and learn too. You can research the app and the way to use it on youtube to find its reliability. The app has a free trial too so try to find out if the app suits your needs.

iStudiez Pro

The iStudiez study planner app for students on laptops helps them to deal with their homework mess, manage assignments and keep track of all the activities in just one platform. Setting classes in iStudiez may be time-consuming but it’s worth it all along. To begin the schedule, enter all the information from your syllabus with the class details, exam dates and holidays. 

Using different colours and icons for different classes will make you read quickly and with ease. 

Listing the specific tasks in the to-do list and noting down the assignments with a due date will save the excuse of forgetting. You can set alarms or notifications to remind you of the day’s class or due assignment. Keeping track of your GPA will let you know the subjects you need to concentrate on. All the app’s data can be supported to sync across devices such as phones, tablets or PC. Remember good planning paves the way to better grades and great achievements.

Grammarly 

Grammarly is a writing assistant beneficial for students to enhance their writing. It’s a well-known and useful app that identifies spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. It doesn’t check only for mistakes but suggests correct grammar, alternatives for specific words and even sentence structure. Although Grammarly points out the above, the user must make changes or ignore them.

It has a plagiarism checker to point out copied content indicating citation to validate the text along with a synonym checker to replace repetition words. As a bonus, it interprets explanations for recommended changes and a statement on the type of mistake you have made. This is advantageous for students to learn and avoid mistakes in exams. 

Students can choose the editing style based on their needs. There are 6 different styles of writing such as business, academic, casual, technical, creative and general.

Grammarly presents different versions with varying features based on usage at multiple prices. Students are allowed to use the app for free but they are to pay and upgrade to Grammarly premium for more features. 

Wolfram Alpha

Utilise the wolfram Alpha website for free to check on units, and formulas, balance chemical equations, data analysis, scientific explanations with facts and many more. Questions are uploaded instantly in the wolfram problem generator for students to answer and test their knowledge. Wolfram Alpha is a great tool for calculating triple integrals and has other calculators such as for BMI, mortgage, equation solver counting to more. Wolfram Alpha’s next version is a paid edition to get access to step-by-solution for calculus, algebra, trigonometry, equation solving and so on.

Cold turkey

Students are more likely to get distracted by online games and social media while performing a task on their laptops. Hence you can temporarily block sites and distracting apps by downloading cold turkey apps to focus on your work.

You can use the default distraction list to import existing categories of websites or create your own custom block lists to add an unlimited number of websites to the block lists. A locked block will prevent disabling the block or extension. It is required to restart your laptop to unlock the block. Frozen turkey is the ability to block the entire computer allowing you to take a tech break which is available only in the paid version.

Conclusion

With the appropriate software, students can plan, organise and concentrate on their studies paving to achieve their academic years with joy. 

There are certain software accessible for free for a certain period or paid to upgrade features. So apps useful and worth paying for can be bought based on your requirements. Find the desktop app beneficial for you in the list above to start doing your work productively. However, if you come across any issues with your laptop while installing software, don’t hesitate to contact Fixsmart. 

 

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What are the Common Laptop Viruses You Should Know About 

A virus is a type of malware designed to spread from one computer to another. It causes damage to digital data and software. Laptop viruses can harm your computer by deleting files, replicating themselves, and damaging programs, leading to further issues. 

Some common symptoms of a laptop virus include a slow-running system, pop-up windows, changes to your home page, and data loss. These viruses can be contracted through everyday activities such as opening spam emails, downloading free games, and sharing music, files, and photos. 

It is recommended to use anti-virus software and a firewall, install anti-spyware software, regularly update your operating system, and only download from legitimate sites. You should also be cautious of opening unknown or suspicious messages to protect your laptop from viruses. It is important to stay informed and take the necessary precautions to protect your laptop from viruses.

Resident virus

A resident virus is a type of malware that embeds itself in a laptop’s memory. Depending on its programming, it infects other files run by the laptop. This type of virus is hazardous as it can even attach itself to anti-virus applications, causing them to infect any files that are scanned by the program. 

Resident viruses can be classified as fast or slow infectors. Fast infectors can cause rapid damage, but they are easier to identify due to their effects. Slow infectors, on the other hand, spread extensively and can go undiscovered for a long time.

Removing a resident virus can be tricky as it hides and stores itself in the memory. In most cases, a specialised virus removal tool may be required to detach the virus from memory, or a professional may need to perform the task with precision. 

It is important to update your anti-virus software regularly. Be cautious when opening suspicious emails and downloading files from the internet to prevent infection by resident viruses.

Multipartite virus

A multipartite virus is a type of malware that infects multiple parts of a system, such as files, memory, and the boot sector. This virus causes significant damage as it can simultaneously affect both the boot sector and program files. 

It is highly infectious and easily spreads by inserting code or injecting itself into laptop resources. Not only does it corrupt files, but it can also permanently delete files from the system. As the virus launches multiple times at different times, the entire virus must be extracted from the system to eliminate it.

A laptop infected with a multipartite virus may show symptoms such as:

  • Automatic formatting of the hard disk
  • Programs and operating systems take a long time to load and boot
  • The absence of drive controllers in the device manager
  • Modifications of word documents from .docx/doc to .dot
  • Continuous changes in application and file sizes

To prevent your laptop from being attacked by viruses, it is important to install a trusted and authorised anti-malware program, back up important files regularly, avoid clicking on suspicious links and websites and update the virus scanner frequently. Also, it is important to practice safe browsing habits and be cautious when downloading files from the internet.

Browser Hijacker

A browser hijacker is a malicious software that modifies a web browser’s settings without the user’s consent and inserts unwanted advertising into the user’s browser. It also redirects the existing page to a website the user hasn’t intended to visit in order to generate fraudulent advertising revenue for its website.

A browser hijacker may also contain spyware to gather the user’s information, such as banking and email-related details. The effects of a hijacked browser can include multiple pop-up advertisement alerts, multiple toolbars on a web browser that the user did not install, and searches being redirected to different websites.

Using a program such as an anti-virus software is recommended to remove spyware. Users can scan and remove unwanted toolbars, and automated tools can automatically delete browser-hijacker-associated files and modifications.

It is important to be aware of browser hijacking and to take necessary action to prevent it. This includes keeping your browser and operating system updated, being cautious when downloading files from the internet, and using anti-virus software to scan and remove unwanted toolbars.

Boot sector virus 

A boot sector virus is a type of malware that affects a laptop mostly through physical media such as infected floppy disks or USB drives. It is a hazardous type of malware that can infect not only the boot sector but also corrupt the Master Boot Record (MBR), resulting in the dysfunction of the entire system.

During startup or before opening software, the virus executes malicious code. Once it infects the laptop, the boot sector virus will begin to infect non-infected drives in the system.

An infected laptop may display a blue screen, or the operating system may not start. The user may also notice text on a black screen with an error message indicating that the boot device cannot be found, which is caused by the virus deleting or modifying necessary boot files.

Using good anti-malware software that can scan the boot sector and remove malicious files is recommended. In case the virus can’t be removed due to extensive damage to the functioning code, the hard drive or floppy disk may need to be formatted to destroy the infection. 

Be cautious when using external storage devices, and keep your anti-virus software updated to protect your system from boot sector viruses.

Conclusion

By staying informed and following recommended prevention tips, such as using anti-virus software and being cautious when opening emails or downloading files, you can help ensure the security of your device. Remember to be vigilant and take proactive steps to protect yourself from digital risks. If you are facing laptop repair or virus issues and cannot solve them on your own, contact Fixsmart, we are great at it.