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| ====== Licensed Software ====== | ====== Licensed Software in ECE ====== |
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| Software for use within ECE can be obtained under licenses held by the department or a professor or research group. Some products are covered by site licenses for all of ECE; some by counted network licenses managed within ECE on group servers, which allow a specified number of concurrent users to be running the application or tool at the same time; other products are licensed per user or per machine, and may be purchased by individual professors for their own systems. Some licenses permit use on personally-owned computers as well, but not always; please check license terms of each specific product regarding use on personal PCs and laptops, and use off campus. | ECE uses software from a wide range of sources for research, teaching, and administrative use. License terms generally differ on which of these uses are permitted, and pricing tends to vary between these purposes. When acquiring and installing software, please be attentive to the publisher's terms of use and be sure you are covered by the appropriate license for whichever use you require. |
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| We have two key sources for ordering software licenses within the university: the [[http://sites.utoronto.ca/ic/software|Licensed Software Office]] of the Information Commons, and the [[https://uoftbookstore.com/tech/?|Campus Computer Store]] in the Koeffler Centre (south of the Bahen building). Both are set up to accept FIS payments. | Some titles may be licensed for teaching purposes only, and might require a separate license at additional cost for research use. |
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| | ===== Software Licensed for Research Use ===== |
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| | Software for research use within ECE can be obtained under licenses held by the University, the department or a professor or research group. Some products are covered by site licenses for all of ECE; some by counted network licenses managed within ECE on group servers, which allow a specified number of concurrent users to be running the application or tool at the same time; other products are licensed per user or per machine, and may be purchased by individual professors for their own systems. Some licenses permit use on personally-owned computers as well, but not always; please check license terms of each specific product regarding use on personal PCs and laptops, and use off campus. |
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| | We have two key sources for ordering software licenses within the university: the [[http://sites.utoronto.ca/ic/software|Licensed Software Office]] of the Information Commons, and the [[https://uoftbookstore.com/tech/?|Campus Computer Store]] in the Koeffler Centre (south of the Bahen building). Both are set up to accept FIS payments. Other product licenses may have to be purchased directly from the software publisher. Many titles are licensed on a recurring basis, such as yearly -- either a perpetual license for the version you acquire, then annual maintenance coverage for version upgrades; or annual usage licenses that expire unless renewed, and access to the software ceases upon license expiry. |
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| Outside of the University system, there is a concentration of small computer retailers along College St. and Spadina Ave. Most of these are oriented more toward hardware than software. [[https://www.blogto.com/city/2007/09/college_spadina_computer_stores_the_real_deal/|This BlogTO page]] provides a handy overview of area stores. EE students in particular should check out [[https://www.creatroninc.com/|Creatron]] who carry Arduino, RaspberryPi, and plenty of components, cabling, and tools for electronic / robotics design projects. | Outside of the University system, there is a concentration of small computer retailers along College St. and Spadina Ave. Most of these are oriented more toward hardware than software. [[https://www.blogto.com/city/2007/09/college_spadina_computer_stores_the_real_deal/|This BlogTO page]] provides a handy overview of area stores. EE students in particular should check out [[https://www.creatroninc.com/|Creatron]] who carry Arduino, RaspberryPi, and plenty of components, cabling, and tools for electronic / robotics design projects. |
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| One possible exception is the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Academic Alliance. ECE faculty and current students are eligible for MSDN-AA subscriptions by visiting [[https://ssl.ecf.utoronto.ca/ecf/services/msdnaa|this ECF web page]]. MSDN-AA includes access to Microsoft Windows and most MS developer tools such as Visual Studio, though not all ECE PCs are eligible. See their terms of use for details. Once subscribed to MSDN-AA you'll receive a login and password by email. The support site lets you "order" (for $0) one license for a given edition of Windows; upon "checkout", they present a download link and display your 25-letter activation key, which you should save. This key can activate only one installation of Windows. If you have to reinstall, you may need to contact MSDN. Note that licenses from MSDN-AA do not count as a base license for the Campus Agreement. | One possible exception is the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Academic Alliance. ECE faculty and current students are eligible for MSDN-AA subscriptions by visiting [[https://ssl.ecf.utoronto.ca/ecf/services/msdnaa|this ECF web page]]. MSDN-AA includes access to Microsoft Windows and most MS developer tools such as Visual Studio, though not all ECE PCs are eligible. See their terms of use for details. Once subscribed to MSDN-AA you'll receive a login and password by email. The support site lets you "order" (for $0) one license for a given edition of Windows; upon "checkout", they present a download link and display your 25-letter activation key, which you should save. This key can activate only one installation of Windows. If you have to reinstall, you may need to contact MSDN. Note that licenses from MSDN-AA do not count as a base license for the Campus Agreement. |
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| ==== UofT Microsoft Campus Agreement ==== | ==== UofT Microsoft Campus Agreement ==== |
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| In July 2013 UofT's central administration entered into a broad licensing agreement with Microsoft called the Microsoft Campus Agreement. This agreement provides unlimited licenses at no incremental cost for any university-owned PCs for Microsoft Office, and Forefront Endpoint Protection (antivirus), and //upgrade// licenses for Enterprise Edition of Windows 10 or Windows 7 operating system. Use of MS Windows under the MS Campus Agreement requires a base license assigned to the PC - either from the original COA included with purchase, or a retail license purchased separately for a 'bare' PC ordered without Windows (e.g. from College St.) Details on how the MS Campus Agreement applies to ECE are here: [[ms_campus_agreement]]. | In July 2013 UofT's central administration entered into a broad licensing agreement with Microsoft called the Microsoft Campus Agreement. This agreement provides unlimited licenses at no incremental cost for any university-owned PCs for Microsoft Office, and Forefront Endpoint Protection (antivirus), and //upgrade// licenses for Enterprise Edition of Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system. Use of MS Windows under the MS Campus Agreement requires a base license assigned to the PC - either from the original COA included with purchase, or a retail license purchased separately for a 'bare' PC ordered without Windows (e.g. from College St.) Details on how the MS Campus Agreement applies to ECE are here: [[ms_campus_agreement]]. |
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| UofT faculty and staff have access to the [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|UofT MS Campus Agreement support website]]. You log in with your UTORid and password. Students are not granted access, so groups who have delegated PC support to grad students may need the professor or an RA or PDF to log in to access installation media for them. The site has links with program terms and conditions, installation instructions, and links to download media images for installers for all products offered. | UofT faculty and staff have access to the [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|UofT MS Campus Agreement support website]]. You log in with your UTORid and password. Students are not granted access, so groups who have delegated PC support to grad students may need the professor or an RA or PDF to log in to access installation media for them. The site has links with program terms and conditions, installation instructions, and links to download media images for installers for all products offered. |
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| ==== Mac OS X ==== | |
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| MacOS X has a growing following in ECE as well. Some technical software such as Matlab have equivalent versions for MacOS X; others may be available only for Windows or Unix/Linux. Check with the application vendor for specific requirements. | ==== macOS ==== |
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| The Microsoft Campus Agreement provides licenses for Microsoft Office for Mac. Access the installer via [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|the UofT MSCA page]]. | MacOS has a growing following in ECE as well. Some technical software such as Matlab have equivalent versions for macOS X; others may be available only for Windows or Unix/Linux. Check with the application vendor for specific requirements. |
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| Emulation / virtualization software could allow running a Windows application within a VM on Solaris, Linux, MacOS, but there is always some degree of performance penalty to do so; you need a license for Windows to do this, as well. The MS Campus Agreement deems MacOS to be a valid "base" license for running MS Windows on your Apple computer, whether through Boot Camp, Parallels, VMWare or VirtualBox. Access the Windows installer via [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|the UofT MSCA page]]. | The Microsoft Campus Agreement provides licenses for Microsoft Office for Mac. Access the installer via [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|the UofT MSCA page]]. Mac users can also use Microsoft 365 browser-based office apps through the "waffle" menu on the [[https://webmail.utoronto.ca]] UofT webmail page. |
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| | Emulation / virtualization software could allow running a Windows application within a VM on Solaris, Linux, MacOS, but there is generally some degree of performance penalty to do so; you need a license for Windows to do this, as well. The MS Campus Agreement deems MacOS to be a valid "base" license for running MS Windows on your Apple computer, whether through Boot Camp, Parallels, VMWare or VirtualBox. Access the Windows installer via [[https://microsoft.utoronto.ca|the UofT MSCA page]]. |
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| ===== Security Software ===== | |
| Microsoft Windows is subject to a very wide array of intrusions and nuisance software. It is vital to keep all Windows computers set up and updated with the latest definitions for anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Recent versions of Windows include Windows Defender built in to the O/S, and updated automatically via Microsoft Update. This is a viable | |
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| UofT's Microsoft Campus Agreement includes licensing for Forefront Endpoint Protection for all university-owned PCs: [[http://antivirus.utoronto.ca|antivirus.utoronto.ca]] | |
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| All Windows PCs should also have the following products installed: | ===== Security Software ===== |
| | Microsoft Windows is subject to a very wide array of intrusions and nuisance software. It is vital to keep all Windows computers set up and updated with the latest definitions for anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Recent versions of Windows include Windows Defender built in to the O/S, and updated automatically via Microsoft Update. |
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| * Antivirus software with ongoing updates. The [[http://antivirus.utoronto.ca|antivirus.utoronto.ca]] site has links to recommended products for Windows and Mac for Students and for Faculty & Staff. Follow their links for downloads. The recommended products, including Microsoft Forefront and MS Security Essentials, are available to us at no charge. Microsoft's security products receive their updates through Microsoft Update service, along with updates to Windows and MS applications like Office. | UofT's Microsoft Campus Agreement includes licensing for System Center Endpoint Protection for all university-owned PCs: [[https://isea.utoronto.ca/policies-procedures/guidelines-2/data-protection/antivirus/]] |
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| * SpyBot Search & Destroy - free download from [[http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html|Safer-Networking.org]] | All Windows PCs should also have the following products installed: |
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| * Web of Trust (free edition; plug-ins for MSIE, Firefox and Chrome) - download from [[http://www.mywot.com|mywot.com]] | * Antivirus software with ongoing updates. The [[https://isea.utoronto.ca/policies-procedures/guidelines-2/data-protection/antivirus/|UofT anti-virus info]] site has links to recommended products for Windows and Mac for Students and for Faculty & Staff. Follow their links for downloads. The recommended products, including Microsoft Forefront and MS Security Essentials, are available to us at no charge. Microsoft's security products receive their updates through Microsoft Update service, along with updates to Windows and MS applications like Office. |
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| Windows users should upgrade to the current release to benefit from the latest security features. Windows 10 has substantial security improvements over Windows 7. Microsoft is still issuing updates to Windows 7 for security issues only. No older release of Windows is safe to use on the internet any more - do not run Windows XP or Vista on a system you connect to the internet. | Windows users should upgrade to the current release to benefit from the latest security features. Each major release of Windows includes significant updates to system security and anti-malware features. Windows 10 and 11 are under current support for ongoing system updates; no older release of Windows is safe to use on the internet any more - do not run Windows 7, XP or Vista on a system you connect to the internet. If you have a legacy system that cannot be upgraded from its out-of-support edition of Windows, it is best to keep it off the network; move data off such systems manually by removable media rather than via network. |
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| Keep your system set to allow automatic Windows Updates. If you want to avoid interruption of long jobs, choose "download updates and ask me when to install"; otherwise automatic installation could cause an unattended reboot. | Keep your system set to allow automatic Windows Updates. If you want to avoid interruption of long jobs, choose "download updates and ask me when to install"; otherwise automatic installation could cause an unattended reboot. |
