WHAT ARE SOME BROWSER PLUG-INS THAT WILL AID IN MY ONLINE EXPERIENCE?

Plug-ins are software that add functionality, such as viewing a document, listening to audio or playing a video, to your web browser. Their purposes range from adding music, video and animation to webpages to allowing users to access files that weren’t designed to work through a web browser.

Below is a list of essential and most common plug-ins. The process for downloading and installing a plug-in depends on its maker, so follow the directions on the plug-in maker’s website.

All of the plug-ins listed here are available to download for free. Some offer advanced versions of their plug-ins for a fee, but in most cases the free version is all you’ll need.

USEFUL PLUG-INS

Adobe Acrobat Reader

This program allows you to read Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. This is a stand-alone application as well as a plug-in, which means you can use it to read PDF files that you have saved to your computer without using your web browser.

Adobe Flash Player

This player is needed to view Flash multimedia files. Most web browsers will have some version of this plug-in. Flash is used to create items such as virtual tours and animations.

Adobe Shockwave Player

This player is needed to view Shockwave multimedia applications. Shockwave is very close in functionality to Flash, but used when more advanced features are needed, such as online interactive courseware or demonstrations.

Java Plug-in

This plug-in is used to run Java applets (short application programs for performing simple, specific tasks) and applications through the web browser. It is only for Windows systems. The Mac OS X has Java built in, so the plug-in is not needed. Sorry, there is no Java plug-in for older versions of the Mac OS.

OTHER USEFUL PLUG-INS

QuickTime

This plug-in is used to view QuickTime movies. QuickTime is a video file format created by Apple computers.

Windows Media Player

This is used to play many different media file formats.

WHICH ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE SHOULD I USE?

You have two choices when it comes to antivirus software—commercial software, which will have support from the publisher, or freeware, which is good if you are on a tight budget but may lack the bells and whistles that come with the commercial products. Several choices from each category are listed below.

Commercial antivirus software

Norton Anti-Virus
McAfee Antivirus

Freeware antivirus software

AVG Antivirus
BitDefender

HOW CAN I LIMIT POP-UPS AND SPYWARE?

Pop-ups are annoying, and spyware can slow your system performance to a crawl and leave you exposed to hackers. Here are a couple of applications to keep you in control of your computer.

Ad-Aware

Malware Bytes

WHAT PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE WILL AID IN MY ONLINE COURSE?

Microsoft Office 365 – This free software is available through your student email account.