Computer Recommendations and Free Downloads

The College of Mount Saint Vincent recommends that students purchase a Windows laptop. However, desktops and Macs are also acceptable devices on our campus network. Below are our recommended specifications:

Recommended Computer Specifications

Windows
Recommendations
MAC Recommendations Chromebook Recommendations
Windows 10 Professional (64 Bit) macOS 12 Chrome OS version 91 or higher
At least 8 GB of Ram At least 8 GB of Ram At least 4 GB of Ram
At least 250 GB SATA Hard Drive At least 250 GB SATA Hard Drive At least 64 GB of local storage
Intel i5 processor or higher Intel i5 processor or higher Intel processor or ARM processor
Wi-Fi Capabilities Wi-Fi Capabilities Wi-Fi Capabilities
Microsoft Office 365 (can be installed for free as a CMSV student using these instructions: Microsoft Office 365) Microsoft Office 365 (can be installed for free as a CMSV student using these instructions: Microsoft Office 365) Microsoft Office 365 (can be installed from the App Store using your CMSV Microsoft Account)
A 4 year warranty A 4 year warranty A 2-year warranty

Computer Discount Deals

All College of Mount Saint Vincent Students are eligible to receive a 10% discount on computer products from Dell Computers and Apple Inc.  The links to access these discount sites are below:

Free Downloads

The Computer Services department provides its students with some links to recommended software solutions. Downloading these tools may solve some problems that you may be experiencing on your computer.

Free Anti-Virus Tools

Software Reason for Download and Use
Grisoft’s AVG Free Anti-Virus Software Detect and remove unwanted computer viruses and worms
McAfee Stinger Remove viruses attacking Microsoft vulnerabilities
Avast! Free Antivirus Excellent Tool for PC real-time virus protection
Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus Another great free antivirus tool
Sophos Free Anti-Virus protection for Apple computers

 

Free Anti-Spyware Tools

Software Reason For Download/ Use
Malware Bytes Anti-Malware An excellent tool to get rid of computer malware
Combofix Scan for unwanted Malware and Spyware
ADWcleaner Eliminates browser hijacking and re-direction
Ad-Aware Great tool to get rid of many spyware/malware issues
Spybot Search and Destroy Another great tool to get rid of many spyware issues
Malware Bytes Anti-Spyware for MACs Anti-Spyware protection for Apple computers
BiteFinder Adware Removal Tool Another excellent tool for getting rid of MAC Antispyware

 

 Other Tools and Software

Software Reason For Download/ Use
DiskCryptor Protect important files by encrypting files and folders on any drive
Microsoft Office 365 Instructions on downloading and installing Microsoft Office 365 for students
Microsoft Office Training A great site for self-paced training of various Microsoft Office products