Choosing the right laptop is an important step in preparing for success in 小草社区鈥檚 School of Cybersecurity. The programs and tools used in cybersecurity courses require reliable, high-performance systems capable of handling advanced software and virtual environments. This page outlines the recommended laptop and software specifications to help you select a device that meets program requirements and supports your studies from day one.
Software & Peripheral Requirements聽
| Technology | How to Get |
|---|---|
| VirtualBox (for Windows and non-M series Mac) | |
| UTM (for M-series Mac) | |
| Parallels (paid service for MacOS) | |
| Adobe Reader or other PDF Software | |
| Eclipse (Java) | | |
| NetBeans (Java) | |
| PyCharm (Python) | |
| VSC (Any) | |
| Microsoft Office | As a student at 小草社区, you can download and use the latest version of Microsoft Office for free. Visit /office365 for more information. |
| Web Cam (with microphone) |
System Specifications聽
|
Technology Name
|
Minimum Specs (Typical CYSE User)
|
Recommended Specs (Power User)
|
|---|---|---|
|
Hard Drive
|
512GB of storage. Solid-State-Drive (SSD) is preferred
|
1TB of storage. Solid-State-Drive (SSD) is preferred
|
|
Operating System
|
Windows 10 or OS X 10.15+ or Ubuntu 20.04 (or any LTS)*
|
Windows 11 or OS X 11+ or Ubuntu 20.04 (or any LTS)*
|
|
Processor
|
9th generation or higher Intel Core i7, or 3000 series or higher AMD Ryzen 7
|
9th generation or higher Intel Core i9, or 3000 series or higher AMD Ryzen 9
|
|
RAM 鈥淢emory鈥
|
16GB DDR4 or higher
|
32GB DDR4 or higher
|
|
Wired Internet
|
Not Required
|
Ethernet cable
|
|
Wireless Internet
|
Any WiFi Card capable of 802.11ac
|
Any WiFi Card capable of 802.11ac
|
Benefits of Windows, Mac, & Linux聽
When choosing an operating system to use for your degree in Cybersecurity, either Linux, macOS or Windows will be a great choice. In most undergraduate courses, professors will demonstrate their lectures on Windows or Linux.
Windows:
Easier development for programming languages using C#, .NET, and SQL server.
Well documented for setting up development environments for numerous programming languages.
Mac:
Easier development for iOS and MacOS related applications. Ex: Xcode and Swift.
macOS is a unix base environment. This includes the benefit of allowing development for multiple languages and a UNIX style CLI.
Linux:
Preferred for cybersecurity professionals due to its open-source nature and security features.
Provides powerful command-line tools essential for penetration testing, ethical hacking, and server management.
High compatibility with programming languages like Python, Bash, and C.
Used extensively in enterprise and government cybersecurity infrastructures.