Must-have Programs that Everyone Should Download on their Computer
Have a new computer, and don't know what to install? These are the must-have programs that everyone should download on their computer. This article was based off on various Reddit threads i read about great programs that everyone should know so I decided to compile everything up and make an article about it.
But before everything else, i just want to remind you that, DON'T FILL UP FOR PC WITH CRAP THAT YOU'LL NEVER USE. Like this shit here:
People, clean your desktops and uninstall programs that you are not using or those that you probably don't even know how it got there (PUPs). You will see a significant increase in your pc's speed, plus being organized will also save you time and will increase your productivity.
Moving on, here's the list:
There are lots of people who recommend 7-Zip but I guess it's just because it's free compared to WinRar.
Link
They are basically almost identical in features but I find WinRar much easier to use and less confusing. And about the free thing, WinRar's evaluation copy of the app offers all the features that you need, you don't actually need to buy it, plus it won't really bug you if you don't buy the premium. There's even a meme about people who actually buys WinRar are crazy (I agree, though. Just why?).
2. Ninite
Link
Have you ever had that scary moment where you accidentally deleted a very important file? Save yourself the heart attacks and install this software. This is the best file recovery tool out there and also works for USB devices.
1. Clover
Link
I was pretty amazed when i first used this app. Basically, as said on the description above, it gives windows explorer the multi tab functionality like chrome's. This will be of great use if you are someone who open lots of folders at once, like me. This will prevent confusion and it looks better than having to see all those folders open!
2. QTtabbar
Link
There had been reports that Clover is unstable in windows 10 and may occasionally trigger an antivirus software. With that said, QTtabbar is a great alternative for clover
3. Everything
Link
The threads I've have lots of suggestions about file browsing apps but so far, this one was one of the most suggested so I went to their website, downloaded it and actually tried it, it was great. What is Everything, anyway? It's a much more powerful computer search app compared to Windows search that some times takes forever to search only to find out it haven't found the file you're searching. Additional points would include, it has a small installation file and doesn't take up much resources. You can visit their website to know more about this app's features.
1. Ublock Origin
Link
Ublock Origin is a chrome extension that blocks advertisements. It's like adblock but it's better than that. AdBlock was good before but lately, it just misses lots of ads, that it's not worth using anymore now that there's Ublock Origin which is much more powerful. In case you don't know, Ublock Origin can successfully block youtube adverts, once you've install this, you're probably going to forget what it's like to watch adverts before watching a youtube video and you can pause the extension, in case you really need to. Just click on the it's icon on the upper right side corner of chrome, where chrome extensions usually appear.
2. Hover Zoom+
Link
Hover Zoom+ is another chrome extension that enlarges an image in mouse over in almost every site you know. It works in facebook, reddit, twitter, instagram, most educational websites, amazaon,etc. This extension is of really great help and saves you great time, you don't have to click on images to enlarge them. Tip: There's a feature of Hover Zoom that's not well known to a lot of its users, if you're viewing an album, hover to one of the images and use the arrow keys to move through the album.
Warning: Make sure you install Hover Zoom+. There had been reports that Hozer Zoom is not safe for you devices and actually steals information from you.
3. OneTab
Link
Are you like me who tortures my laptop by opening lots of tabs at the same time? This extension is perfect for us. How it works (from their site): Whenever you find yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once. When your tabs are in the OneTab list, you will save up to 95% of memory because you will have reduced the number of tabs open in Google Chrome.
1. BitDefender
Link
There's this article that tested various anti-virus programs, here's the link. It basically convinced me to try it, compared to avast, avira, norton and avg that i have tried before, this one's probably the best. Here's a statement from that article, that I greatly agrees on: "Not only does Bitdefender Antivirus Plus have nearly perfect malware-detection scores, but it also offers the most value, with a strong selection of extra tools. You'll find a built-in password manager, a secure browser, unique protection against encrypting ransomware and automatic profiles that optimize Bitdefender's impact on your system, depending on whether you're working, watching a movie or playing a game."
The free version is only great, it does the job that it's intended to. And one more think I really like about Bitdefender... the UI's really nice!
2. Malwarebytes
3. Hitman Pro
Link
This piece of awesome software here takes care of almost all the other software's misses'. The downside is, it's paid but have a 30 day free trial. But the paid version is VERY worth it though.
4. ADW cleaner
Link
From BleepinComputer's review:
Despite of all those new media players out there, VLC is still my favorite. It works pretty well and have tons of great features. I just recently discovered that you can convert media files in here. And, from my experience, VLC manages subtitles very well and the best thing from it is that if you have a shitty speaker or the video's audio is also shitty, you can increase the volume up to 200%.
2. MPC-HC
Link
MPC-HC is second to VLC for me. The biggest reason why I installed this is because VLC takes up too much memory and MPC-HC is much lighter and it supports .mkv files, unlike VLC. I
3. Spotify
Link
Spotify gives you access to millions of songs, it has a very nice UI and the paid version is also very cheap. I recommend you the paid version as the free version is very annoying because of the ads and the limited skips. The paid version allows you to download the songs so you don't have to search them up individually on youtube and convert them to mp3 like a mad man or search them up on google.
They have very great playlists for all kinds of purposes and moods. They have for workout sessions, study sessions, music to help you sleep, etc.
Link
Basically, a more powerful version of paint.
2. SHAREit
Link
The invention of this software was a like a blessing to the world. File sharing had never been easier because of this! It was first popularize as a mobile app but now it has a pc version and it works just great. Now, transferring files from your phone to your pc is easier, you don't have to use a usb cable or the sometimes unreliable bluetooth. Transferring from one laptop to another have also been easier, no need for USBs.
3. LastPass
Link
LastPass is simply a password manager but dominates on all of the other password managers. Why? Easy to use, has many other great futures, it's free, has great UI, etc.
With LastPass, you can keep all your passwords in different sites in here and even different accounts.
4. f.lux
Link
f.lux is like twilight or bluelight filer (mobile apps) but for your pc. It's pretty simple and straighforward. It adjusts the light display of your computer depending on the time of the day. It can automatically do this by simply entering your location. This is great for people who stays almost 24 hours in front of the computer, plus, it's scientifically proven that having filters like what f.lux offers actually helps you better, being exposed to blue light that your devices (like your pc) gives out does the opposite.
5. CCleaner
Link
This is like a default software for all my laptops and pc and I always recommend other people to install it too. It's idiot friendly, anyone can use it, you don't have to be a genius to use this. It's a pc cleaner that cleans your pc's junk files. The great thing is, you can customize what are the ares it can clean and it also has great additional features such as the duplication finder and registry fixer. It also automatically monitors your pc, if junk files is already building up, it would immediately notify you. Plus.... great UI.
That's the end of this list, there are probably more great softwares out there but we'll settle this for now. I might do a part two to include all those that I've missed out. And if you have other suggestions, you can leave them here on the comments!
But before everything else, i just want to remind you that, DON'T FILL UP FOR PC WITH CRAP THAT YOU'LL NEVER USE. Like this shit here:
People, clean your desktops and uninstall programs that you are not using or those that you probably don't even know how it got there (PUPs). You will see a significant increase in your pc's speed, plus being organized will also save you time and will increase your productivity.
Moving on, here's the list:
FILE MANAGAMENT
1. Winrar and 7-Zip
From Wikipedia, WinRAR is a trialware file archiver utility for Windows, developed by Eugene Roshal of win.rar GmbH. It can create and view archives in RAR or ZIP file formats, and unpack numerous archive file formats
There are lots of people who recommend 7-Zip but I guess it's just because it's free compared to WinRar.
 |
| 7-Zip's main interface |
They are basically almost identical in features but I find WinRar much easier to use and less confusing. And about the free thing, WinRar's evaluation copy of the app offers all the features that you need, you don't actually need to buy it, plus it won't really bug you if you don't buy the premium. There's even a meme about people who actually buys WinRar are crazy (I agree, though. Just why?).
2. Ninite
Ninite is a package management system offering that
lets users automatically install popular applications for their Windows
operating system (Wikipedia). Ninite is not actually a software but a web service, but nonetheless, every useful considering the topic of this article. If you're tired of all those websites where you are supposed to download a software and then there's just lots of adds or lots of download button that you don't actually know what's the real one, Ninite is the perfect and safest way of downloading and installing software. All you have to do is choose what softwares you want to download and then that's it, Ninite does all the job for you, downloads it and installs it all on its own. Plus, Ninite also automatically updates these softwares for you, for somehow who has no time to do such things or often forgets to, this is is really helpful.
3. Recuva
Have you ever had that scary moment where you accidentally deleted a very important file? Save yourself the heart attacks and install this software. This is the best file recovery tool out there and also works for USB devices.
FILE BROWSING
Who knew there are apps for file browsing?1. Clover
Link
I was pretty amazed when i first used this app. Basically, as said on the description above, it gives windows explorer the multi tab functionality like chrome's. This will be of great use if you are someone who open lots of folders at once, like me. This will prevent confusion and it looks better than having to see all those folders open!
2. QTtabbar
Link
There had been reports that Clover is unstable in windows 10 and may occasionally trigger an antivirus software. With that said, QTtabbar is a great alternative for clover
3. Everything
Link
The threads I've have lots of suggestions about file browsing apps but so far, this one was one of the most suggested so I went to their website, downloaded it and actually tried it, it was great. What is Everything, anyway? It's a much more powerful computer search app compared to Windows search that some times takes forever to search only to find out it haven't found the file you're searching. Additional points would include, it has a small installation file and doesn't take up much resources. You can visit their website to know more about this app's features.
WEB BROWSING
Since, most of you probably know about the browsers such as chrome, mozilla, etc. I'll only include in this list those (mostly extensions) that improves web browsing that are not very well known.1. Ublock Origin
Link
Ublock Origin is a chrome extension that blocks advertisements. It's like adblock but it's better than that. AdBlock was good before but lately, it just misses lots of ads, that it's not worth using anymore now that there's Ublock Origin which is much more powerful. In case you don't know, Ublock Origin can successfully block youtube adverts, once you've install this, you're probably going to forget what it's like to watch adverts before watching a youtube video and you can pause the extension, in case you really need to. Just click on the it's icon on the upper right side corner of chrome, where chrome extensions usually appear.
2. Hover Zoom+
Link
Hover Zoom+ is another chrome extension that enlarges an image in mouse over in almost every site you know. It works in facebook, reddit, twitter, instagram, most educational websites, amazaon,etc. This extension is of really great help and saves you great time, you don't have to click on images to enlarge them. Tip: There's a feature of Hover Zoom that's not well known to a lot of its users, if you're viewing an album, hover to one of the images and use the arrow keys to move through the album.
Warning: Make sure you install Hover Zoom+. There had been reports that Hozer Zoom is not safe for you devices and actually steals information from you.
3. OneTab
Are you like me who tortures my laptop by opening lots of tabs at the same time? This extension is perfect for us. How it works (from their site): Whenever you find yourself with too many tabs, click the OneTab icon to convert all of your tabs into a list. When you need to access the tabs again, you can either restore them individually or all at once. When your tabs are in the OneTab list, you will save up to 95% of memory because you will have reduced the number of tabs open in Google Chrome.
ANTI VIRUS AND ANTI MALWARE
This section was probably the hardest to compile. There are lots of popular antivirus out here, but these here are the only ones that you actually really need (from testaments of lots of people, and from personal experience). A line up these anti-virus is enough to keep your pc safe and virus free!1. BitDefender
Link
There's this article that tested various anti-virus programs, here's the link. It basically convinced me to try it, compared to avast, avira, norton and avg that i have tried before, this one's probably the best. Here's a statement from that article, that I greatly agrees on: "Not only does Bitdefender Antivirus Plus have nearly perfect malware-detection scores, but it also offers the most value, with a strong selection of extra tools. You'll find a built-in password manager, a secure browser, unique protection against encrypting ransomware and automatic profiles that optimize Bitdefender's impact on your system, depending on whether you're working, watching a movie or playing a game."
The free version is only great, it does the job that it's intended to. And one more think I really like about Bitdefender... the UI's really nice!
2. Malwarebytes
Helps you to get rid of the viruses that most anti virus miss. There's a paid version and it's really great, but the free version is also great. It's like your second and more in-depth line of defense.
3. Hitman Pro
Link
This piece of awesome software here takes care of almost all the other software's misses'. The downside is, it's paid but have a 30 day free trial. But the paid version is VERY worth it though.
4. ADW cleaner
Link
From BleepinComputer's review:
"AdwCleaner is a free program that searches for and
deletes Adware, Toolbars, Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), and browser
Hijackers from your computer. By using AdwCleaner you can easily remove
many of these types of programs for a better user experience on your computer
and while browsing the web."
I have so much love for this software,it saved me many times before when my pc was full of adwares and the many times my browser was hijacked (when I was still stupid ). I can attest to how great this software is, and... its free and very light weight!
MUSIC/VIDEO
1. VLC media player
Despite of all those new media players out there, VLC is still my favorite. It works pretty well and have tons of great features. I just recently discovered that you can convert media files in here. And, from my experience, VLC manages subtitles very well and the best thing from it is that if you have a shitty speaker or the video's audio is also shitty, you can increase the volume up to 200%.
2. MPC-HC
Link
MPC-HC is second to VLC for me. The biggest reason why I installed this is because VLC takes up too much memory and MPC-HC is much lighter and it supports .mkv files, unlike VLC. I
3. Spotify
Link
Spotify gives you access to millions of songs, it has a very nice UI and the paid version is also very cheap. I recommend you the paid version as the free version is very annoying because of the ads and the limited skips. The paid version allows you to download the songs so you don't have to search them up individually on youtube and convert them to mp3 like a mad man or search them up on google.
They have very great playlists for all kinds of purposes and moods. They have for workout sessions, study sessions, music to help you sleep, etc.
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Paint.NET
Link
Basically, a more powerful version of paint.
2. SHAREit
Link
The invention of this software was a like a blessing to the world. File sharing had never been easier because of this! It was first popularize as a mobile app but now it has a pc version and it works just great. Now, transferring files from your phone to your pc is easier, you don't have to use a usb cable or the sometimes unreliable bluetooth. Transferring from one laptop to another have also been easier, no need for USBs.
3. LastPass
Link
LastPass is simply a password manager but dominates on all of the other password managers. Why? Easy to use, has many other great futures, it's free, has great UI, etc.
With LastPass, you can keep all your passwords in different sites in here and even different accounts.
4. f.lux
Link
f.lux is like twilight or bluelight filer (mobile apps) but for your pc. It's pretty simple and straighforward. It adjusts the light display of your computer depending on the time of the day. It can automatically do this by simply entering your location. This is great for people who stays almost 24 hours in front of the computer, plus, it's scientifically proven that having filters like what f.lux offers actually helps you better, being exposed to blue light that your devices (like your pc) gives out does the opposite.
5. CCleaner
Link
This is like a default software for all my laptops and pc and I always recommend other people to install it too. It's idiot friendly, anyone can use it, you don't have to be a genius to use this. It's a pc cleaner that cleans your pc's junk files. The great thing is, you can customize what are the ares it can clean and it also has great additional features such as the duplication finder and registry fixer. It also automatically monitors your pc, if junk files is already building up, it would immediately notify you. Plus.... great UI.
That's the end of this list, there are probably more great softwares out there but we'll settle this for now. I might do a part two to include all those that I've missed out. And if you have other suggestions, you can leave them here on the comments!
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