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Self-managed Windows
Access to the School's computing services
A Windows PC can access many Informatics computing services:
- Connect your machine to the University's WiFi and to the Informatics wired network (either in the Informatics Forum or in Appleton Tower).
- You can use the Remote Desktop service.
- Using ssh from Windows describes how to login to a School machine from a Windows machine.
- AFS for Windows describes how to access files stored in the Informatics AFS filesystem.
- You can securely access the network from outside using a VPN.
- Print from your machine.
Windows licences (and other Microsoft software)
If your desktop or laptop was purchased by the School, it may already be licensed to run a Windows operating system. If so, it should have a Microsoft licence label somewhere on the case giving details of which Windows version for which it is licensed.
If your machine doesn't have a Windows licence, or you want to run a different Windows operating system, you will need to obtain a Windows licence. You can read Microsoft Licensing for details on the various routes for obtaining Windows licences.
All students and staff in Informatics can download a variety of Microsoft software - take a look at the Microsoft Licensing page for details.
Anti-virus software
The University recommends Windows anti-virus software to help you protect your home and work desktop PCs from being infected with malware.
Backups
If you keep University files on your computer, you should make backup copies of them, in case your computer breaks or is lost. We run a network backups service.
Further Information
You can find information on how to access various Informatics services from your Windows machine by selecting the Windows topic from the Choose a topic option in the right sidebar. The self-managed topic might also be of interest.