The software available on your computer can be critical. Over the years, I’ve found that these particular tools have given me the best bang for my buck out of all of them out there. Here’s what I suggest checking out:
A VPN for Privacy
A VPN is short for Virtual Private Network, which allows you to mask your internet protocol (IP) address so your online actions are untraceable. Any connections made with a VPN are secure and encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about being watched from your internet service provider (ISP) or any other external source.
VPNs are great to get around various blocks countries may put on your access of the internet. In this regard, I highly recommend paying for a reputable VPN rather than relying on a free one, as it’s only your best guess as to what a free VPN is doing with your data.
VeraCrypt for File Encryption
I know this tool isn’t very well-known, but VeraCrypt’s functionality can be a live saver if you are ever the victim of a theft. If you have files like tax forms that you don’t want others easily accessing, VeraCrypt can be used to store them in a segmented part of a hard drive that is password-protected. This adds another barrier towards people accessing information you’d rather keep private.
Git for Version Control
If you do any sort of coding, using Git for version control will save you a lot of time. Heck, I host my blog’s files on Github and then the website is deployed through Netlify, giving me more control over my content than using a tool like WordPress.
Git is great because: * You can access previous versions of code if you make any mistakes * You can easily collaborate with others to work on projects together (no more emailing current versions of the project to other people!) * It’s free
In short, I highly recommend becoming familiar with the basics of Git.
Dropbox for Miscellaneous File Storage Online
As much as I love Git, it’s not appropriate for hosting every type of online file. When you’re just needing to share notes or something less technical, Dropbox works well for storing files and sharing with others. Before I knew Git, in grad school I had a shared folder where classmates and I could access and add files as needed. It was a great sharing resource for helping to get work done.
OneNote for Writing and Note Taking
I went my entire collegiate education without using OneNote, only being exposed to it after taking a job with my current company. I really wish I could go back and tell myself to use it when I was in undergrad. OneNote was a MUCH better organization tool than how I organized notes in Google Docs and handwritten notebooks, and offered much more organizational flexibility that I would have benefited greatly from.
However, they say the second best time to plant a tree is today, so I use the tool consistently now to document and organize various projects. I’ve divided up my work into a few different OneNote Notebooks:
- Personal Notebook (journal, miscellaneous tasks, etc)
- Professional Notebook (resume, cover letter, etc)
- Game Development (game design documents, learning resources, etc)
- Work Notebook (anything work related goes here)
How it makes sense to break them up is up to you. If I were still in school I would create a new Notebook for each semester of school I was in just so I always knew where my notes were.
Conclusion
Overall, these are all tools I wish I had used more thoroughly when I was younger for some reason or another. I’m hopeful that you can all benefit from these sooner than I was able to!