Hey there! I just ordered a $190 laptop computer from the Walmart app. Just needed it for everyday internet purposes and possibly to track finances in Excel. What is the best cost effective way to protect my computer from viruses? And what is the cheapest way to get Microsoft Office without being a student? While I do have some extra money, it’s not constantly coming in at the moment, so I will spend as much as I need to but I would like to be smart about how I spend my money
Most affordable ways to protect my new HP laptop computer and best way to get Microsoft Office without being ripped off?
byu/WhereTFisPiper inFrugal
Posted by WhereTFisPiper
11 Comments
I would recommend exploring free options like Libre office or Google docs. Generally, windows is pretty good at not letting viruses in as long as you don’t visit sketchy websites.
Massgrave
Skip Microsoft office. Unless you specifically need the program, Google docs works just as well.
For security i use bitdefender and it works well for me. You might want to do more comparison for your specific needs though.
I haven’t used an antivirus in awhile. Windows defender does a pretty good job.
As for Microsoft Office, use a free alternative such as Libre Office.
Nice job. A few days ago my friend talked about laptop prices of $800. I told her “I’d never pay over $250 or better yet $200 for a laptop”.
People don’t have any clue, but op does!
To track finances I use google sheets. I also have LibreOffice and it works really nice.
If you have like a day off and have a little bit of patience I would highly recommend installing a Linux Operating System. I have the most basic knowledge of computers and programming and I had no issue with Linux Mint. At such a cheap laptop I wouldn´t expect Windows 11 to work well.
I only use windows defender which comes with the computer.
And Firefox with ublock extension. Other than that just be mindful of what sites you go to and what you download.
if you’d just browsing the internet and using excel, there’s no real reason to worry about viruses. microsoft’s built in antivirus is plenty good for your use case. and yeah, agreed with others on just using an alternative like google sheets.
Office online is free.
Wordperfect is 100 times better than Microsoft Office. You do have to pay, but buy the cheapest version. Sometimes you can get a cheap activation code on eBay.
Built in windows defender will shit 99% of people unless you’re surfing all kinds of shit.
Open officer or use Google work space
If you have student emails you can normally get office for free