What to install on a brand new computer?

So, I got volun-told to ‘set up’ my mother’s friend’s new computer… Tommorrow. Apparently I “know all about this computer stuff” which is news to me.

I need some advice as to what to install on a brand new computer. I configured my parents and sister’s computers so that they’re pretty safe… But I also know the level of the users. This person doesn’t seem to be a high-level user… Or even on the same level as my sister (which is not… good…) And I’m not always going to be around to help, so I need it as user-friendly but still secure as possible.

I have no idea as to the specs of the computer. I can only assume it’s Windows XP. I’m not even sure if this person has high speed internet, so I’m going to put as many essentials on to CD as I can, and hope for the best.

I’m not sure whether the fresh install of XP will be SP1 or SP2 (I’m really hoping SP2, but again, I’ve got pretty much no info on this thing) Just in case, I’ve ordered an SP2 CD, but that won’t arrive for “4-6 weeks”… So can I download SP2 stand alone? I’ve looked around Windows Update, but it doesn’t want to let me do that.

What I have so far:
Firefox/Thunderbird (With certain Firefox extensions)
AdAware/Spybot/Microsoft AntiSpyware
AVG AntiVirus Free edition

That’s about all I can think of right now. Throw me a bone and help me give this computer a decent start in life. Thanks folks.

You’ll just end up confusing them when you install too much software. I’d actually uninstall a few things or at least remove the desktop icons for various ISPs if they aren’t going to use one. Computers are coming more loaded now so aside from a good antivirus you may not need much. Make sure it has Adobe Acrobat reader and the media player has all the extensions it needs. Maybe install quicktime. If they’re like a lot of typical new users just put the icon for solitaire on the desktop and they’ll never need anything else.

Sygate personal firewall

Full XP SP2 download.

OpenOffice
Paint Shop Pro
Eudora
CuteFTP

and Timbuktu so you can access their computer remotely and fix their problems :stuck_out_tongue:

A winzipping utility like WInZip. Acrobat Reader is a must have too.

A unzipping utility like WInZip. Acrobat Reader is a must have too.

Just for fun, after installing Windows, install Linux. You can easily dual-boot and you will find lots of free applications for it. You can always get rid of it if you don’t like it.

If they’ve got DSL or cable, a hardware broadband router is an absolute must. Fresh computers are being attacked within a minute of being connected these days by legions of auto-scanning “bots” looking for new victims.

I assume you’re talking about a router that includes firewall functionality? Is there a specific reason why you would consider a software firewall less secure?

A software FW won’t be up and running at the instant the PC is booted - as an example, my work PC runs a managed version of Zone Labs and it’s not active for a good minute after I log in. Not a problem in our corporate environment as we have layers of defense elsewhere, but could be a hazard at home, given how fast the attacks are coming. I can’t dig up a cite, but I saw something about the average time before attack is now 14 seconds.

Another benefit of a hardware FW is it handles the DHCP tasks and frees you from needing to install the ISP’s DHCP software - typically something like Enternet. On an older PC, not needing the extra software can make a significant improvement in performance.

Making it mindlessly easy to share the broadband is always a nice thing.

Interesting; I use Sygate Personal firewall on two different machines and it is always up and running before the machine has established a connection (on the machine that has a USB broadband modem) and before the machine has grabbed established a network connection (on the machine that connects by ethernet to the cable modem). I have no idea how true it is (it does sound counter-intuitive, I must admit), but I’ve heard some people say that a well-configured software firewall could be superior to the kind of basic firmware versions you get built into small routers, because a software firewall is easily updatable (and possibly some other reason too, that I can’t recall).

If they’re an average user I agree with going through and taking out all the rubbish like the various online service offers, virus protection offers and well you get the idea.

I found with average users its great to organize the desktop and startbar i.e. putting your word software, excel etc in an ‘Office’ folder. Showing them this ealry on will stop them from getting a cluttered desktop.

Agree with the winzip and adobe acrobat suggestions. A free and easy picture viewer is called I-View. It doesn’t try to take everything over by association, never looks for money and is very easy to use.

Good luck!

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Lucky

Thanks for everything folks.

Got everything you suggested.

Wish me luck.