Free Windows software you use and recommend

[Reality]

I thought it would be helpful to create a thread for discussing free Windows software that everyone uses that they also recommend others check out.

There are some rules here ..

• Do NOT post information or links to any demo or trial (time-limited) software
• Do NOT recommend a paid version of any software
• Do NOT post information or links to sites and services as this thread is only for Free Windows software
• Do NOT post information or links to non-Windows software
• Do NOT post information or links to illegal files or file that perform illegal actions
• Be sure to add comments to your links so people know what it is
• Most importantly, include links to the software so people can find it quickly!

 

[Reality]

These are some of the applications I use and recommend (in no particular order) ..


WinDirStat -- Helps you identify which directories on your drive(s) are taking up the most space

AIMP -- Awesome audio player for MP3 and other audio files that finally replaced my old school WinAMP

GhostWriter -- Great distraction free text editor for creative writing

VLC -- Great video file player with a lot of features and built-in codec support

CCleaner (Free Version) -- Great tool for clearing unused data and wasted space from your drives; be sure to uncheck cookies and other things you don't want removed

MalwareBytes (Free Version) -- One of the best malware/adware removal tools available

Visual Studio Code -- Very good development editor by Microsoft


What are some Windows applications you recommend?

 

[Reality]

Remember to provide links to the software!

 

[Tabascocat]

Whatever is already installed on my computer out of the box

 

[Roadtrip635]

Here's a couple I use

Daum PotPlayer I used VLC for video for years, but started having some issues with it and switched to PotPlayer. I like it much better, it's faster, lightweight, plays everything and has tons of customization options.

GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program, a free and open source image editor. Not as good(hey, it's free), but very similar to Photoshop, great for image manipulation and creation. I use it to make the sigs I use here at CZ.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

A couple I use for cleaning as I have found CCleaner and the Disk Cleanup tool that comes with Windows doesn't get everything.

Wise Care 365
https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-care-365.html


Bleach Bit
https://www.bleachbit.org/

Both free!

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

These are some of the applications I use and recommend (in no particular order) ..


WinDirStat -- Helps you identify which directories on your drive(s) are taking up the most space

AIMP -- Awesome audio player for MP3 and other audio files that finally replaced my old school WinAMP

GhostWriter -- Great distraction free text editor for creative writing

VLC -- Great video file player with a lot of features and built-in codec support

CCleaner (Free Version) -- Great tool for clearing unused data and wasted space from your drives; be sure to uncheck cookies and other things you don't want removed

MalwareBytes (Free Version) -- One of the best malware/adware removal tools available

Visual Studio Code -- Very good development editor by Microsoft


What are some Windows applications you recommend?

Was on a website tonight{wasn't unscrupulous in the least}and noticed the screen turn red with a warning, I immediately x'ed out of the website and ran a full scan with Windows Defender and nothing turned up.
D/L and ran Malwarebytes and it detected 4 items.

 

[speedkilz88]

Bitdefender Free Antivirus Software (virus protection)

Photoscape Photo Editing Software (similar to gimp, photoshop - more basic, easier)

 

[Supercowboy1986]

DDU - display driver uninstaller
https://www.wagnardsoft.com/

I use this whenever I want to install new gpu drivers and remove the old ones. Great for clean installs.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

These are some of the applications I use and recommend (in no particular order) ..


WinDirStat -- Helps you identify which directories on your drive(s) are taking up the most space

AIMP -- Awesome audio player for MP3 and other audio files that finally replaced my old school WinAMP

GhostWriter -- Great distraction free text editor for creative writing

VLC -- Great video file player with a lot of features and built-in codec support

CCleaner (Free Version) -- Great tool for clearing unused data and wasted space from your drives; be sure to uncheck cookies and other things you don't want removed

MalwareBytes (Free Version) -- One of the best malware/adware removal tools available

Visual Studio Code -- Very good development editor by Microsoft


What are some Windows applications you recommend?

When I used to setup computers at work we would have CCleaner on all of them and Malwarebytes as well. Great tools for computers.
Thankfully we have another company that handles all of our computers now so I no longer have to do that.

Went in to find a free version to Norton's Ghost but it appears they either no longer have it up for download or it is Trial versions as best.

Not sure they would work correctly now but it was a great tool to make one complete hard drive with everything (windows, office, ccleaner, malwarebytes, adobe and all programs you wanted) on one hard drive and just go and copy it to all other hard drives so you did not have to worry about installing everything again and again. The only thing you had to do was change the computer name and network ID.

Probably have similar programs like that now but I would not know which ones were good vs bad.

 

[TheBigEasy]

Executor -- Customizable utility that I use in conjunction with Locate32 (see below). Can be programmed to create keyboard shortcuts for anything your mind can think of. Think of the Google search bar on an android phone but with a lot more capabilities than just searching the net. The program window can be any size that you want to make it. Mine looks similar to the Google search bar and is positioned in a corner of my desktop. By creating a Locate32 shortcut, I am able to enter a symbol and then the name of a file that I'm looking for. Example - ". Cowboys". Entering this results in the opening of Locate32 along with any file name consisting of the word 'Cowboys' that are located on any of the 6 drives I am connected to. The total time it took to run the search, and display results, was under one second. In addition to file searching, I have created shortcuts to open a web browser, to launch programs, to shutdown/restart the 'puter, etc..

Locate32 -- FAST File searching program. If anyone, who has more than one hard drive and spent time waiting for Windows' File Explorer to finish searching for a file, this program is a godsend.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

FreeFileSync (Windows, Linux, Mac)
File copying, backup
https://www.freefilesync.org/download.php

CherryTree (Windows, Linux)
Hierarchical note taking
https://www.giuspen.com/cherrytree/

LibreOffice (Windows, Linux, Mac)
Office suite
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

GoldenDict (Windows, Linux)
Multiple dictionaries, definitions & foreign languages
(There are free dictionaries available, example word.net)
http://goldendict.org/download.php

 

[Reverend Conehead]

A couple I use for cleaning as I have found CCleaner and the Disk Cleanup tool that comes with Windows doesn't get everything.

Wise Care 365
https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-care-365.html


Bleach Bit
https://www.bleachbit.org/

Both free!

I didn't realize there was a Windows version of Bleach Bit. I use it in Linux. Good to know. Gonna get the Windows version for my Windows PC. Thanx for the tip.

 

[Juggernaut]

Interesting thread. I appreciate the recommendations. Most of the programs that came to my mind when I first read the title are already mentioned above in this thread. I look forward to checking out the programs I'm not familiar with though. Thanks.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I nearly forgot a great tool.

SharpKeys (Windows)
Key remapper. Lets you remap your keyboard. I used it to swap the Ctrl and Caps Lock keys. Other uses -- German keyboards have the Z and the Y swapped.
Since I'm used to American keyboards, I could use this utility to swap Z and Y back to their American locations if using a PC in Germany. Would save me major headaches.
It works by editing the registry. I use it at work. It's good because if I need to set it back the way it was, I can.
https://sharpkeys.en.softonic.com

 

[Quickdraw]

TeamViewer Free edition - I'd be flying to Florida at least twice a week to support my mother if it weren't for that program.

https://www.teamviewer.us/

This software allows you to remotely connect to another computer.

 

[Reality]

TeamViewer Free edition - I'd be flying to Florida at least twice a week to support my mother if it weren't for that program.

Need to include a link and notes on what it does

 

[nobody]

Libre Office - A free alternative to Microsoft Office. (woops, didn't see Conehead already mention it...still, it's a useful one so I'm leaving it.

I also use CCleaner and Malwarebytes.

Defraggler Is a pretty good defrag program.. Tip: Don't defrag solid state drives. It reduces their lifespans and isn't necessary.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Libre Office - A free alternative to Microsoft Office. (woops, didn't see Conehead already mention it...still, it's a useful one so I'm leaving it.

I also use CCleaner and Malwarebytes.

Defraggler Is a pretty good defrag program.. Tip: Don't defrag solid state drives. It reduces their lifespans and isn't necessary.

That's all right. It's cool to encounter another LibreOffice user. I dumped Microsoft Office back in 2007 when they changed the interface to The Ribbon, which I hated. I also use some plug-ins for LibreOffice that help make it better. One is named Language Tool. It adds the ability for LO Writer to check your grammar. I don't really need that when I write in English, but it helps me a lot when I write in French, which isn't my native language. Here's the link:

https://extensions.libreoffice.org/extensions/languagetool

 

[Quickdraw]

Open Office is sort of like Microsoft office but "free". It's also compatible with MS Office in case you have that at work but want to use the free open office version at home.