Standard Build
As part of our standard build, we have provided you with the following software which is free, open source, or both.
Firefox
Firefox is our recommended web browser. It is more secure and has better privacy protections than Microsoft Edge (Windows) and Safari (MacOS). We have still set the default search engine to Google.com as we find that to provide excellent results, but at the cost of some privacy (Google is tracking you). If you want an alternative search engine, we recommend duckduckgo.com.
Chrome
Google Chrome is an alternative web browser to Firefox. It is more secure and has better privacy protections than Microsoft Edge (Windows) and Safari (MacOS), but as Chrome integrates to all of the services provided by Google's parent company, Alphabet (and they track you all the more), we recommend Firefox over Chrome.
Ublock Origin
We have installed a content blocker extension to the web browsers, Firefox and Google Chrome, called Ublock Origin. This protects you from malicious websites as well as blocks advertisements. Some web sites such as online banking do not work well with Ublock Origin enabled. You can disable Ublock Origin for individual websites by clicking on the Ublock Origin red shield icon in the upper right corner of your browser window and hitting the big power button icon in the drop down menu. To read more about Ublock Origin, please read this article from Mozilla.org: https://addons.mozilla.org/blog/ublock-origin-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-ad-blocker
Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger is a browser extension that stops advertisers and other third-party trackers from secretly tracking where you go and what pages you look at on the web. Some web sites such as online banking do not work well with Privacy Badger enabled. You can disable Privacy Badger for individual websites by clicking on the Privacy Badger badger head icon in the upper right corner of your browser window and hitting the "Disable for this site" button icon in the drop down menu. To read more about Privacy Badger, please read this article from Mozilla.org: https://privacybadger.org/#faq
Desktop pictures from unsplash.com
We set a desktop picture souced from Unsplash.com: "Beautiful, free images gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers. Better than any royalty free or stock photos."
Unsplash photos are made to be used freely. Our license reflects that.
- All photos can be downloaded and used for free
- Commercial and non-commercial purposes
- No permission needed (though attribution is appreciated!)
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free, open-source replacement software suite for Microsoft Office (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation). If you don't already have a working installation of Microsoft Office, you can use LibreOffice to be the default program for opening Word and Excel documents. We have also set LibreOffice to save word processing files as Word and spreadsheets as Excel. See a comparison at: https://www.online-tech-tips.com/software-reviews/libreoffice-vs-microsoft-office-which-is-best-for-you
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
Acrobat Reader is a free PDF reader application which we recommend for best compatibility in PDF viewing and fill out forms. We have set it as the default PDF application.
Zoom
Zoom Meetings is a proprietary videotelephony software program. This application is included to allow connections to online meetings with video, audio, and chat.
AnyDesk
For remote technical support sessions, we use the software, AnyDesk.
Please note that we are only able to connect to your computer via AnyDesk when all five of the following conditions are true:
- your computer is on;
- your computer is connected to the internet;
- you launch the AnyDesk program;
- you give us your "This Desk" number; and
- you click the "Accept" button after we start a connection.
Do not let anyone you don't know access your computer remotely with AnyDesk or any other screen sharing software. We only use AnyDesk as part of technical support service we provide when you call us. We will not call you about remotely accessing your computer. For more information about remote access technical support scams, see: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-report-tech-support-scams
coconut battery (Mac only)
With coconut battery you are always aware of your current battery health. It shows you live information about the battery quality in your Mac, iPhone and iPad.
7-Zip (Windows only)
7-Zip is a free and open-source file archiver, a utility used to place groups of files within compressed containers known as zip archives.
MacRevival Standard Build updated 2023-05-23
