TOP essential applications and software when using Windows computers

There are many PC applications, so what are the best free computer software for you? The article will give you the answer.

Whether people just bought a new computer or just reinstalled Windows, the first thing to do is install the application. While there are dozens of great apps out there, knowing what are the must-haves for Windows 10 will make setting up a new installation easier. Let’s take a look TOP essential applications for Windows computers which everyone should install immediately, along with some alternatives.

Internet browser: Google Chrome

It’s no surprise that Google Chrome remains the top browser choice. It’s super fast, includes add-ons like allowing image searches right on Google, and has an extensive library of Chrome extensions. Cross-platform sync allows users to open desktop tabs on their phone and vice versa.

Cloud storage: Google Drive

Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage, shared across one’s Google account with Google Photos and Gmail.

Google Drive offers apps for every platform, so people can take their files anywhere. Sharing files with others is also very easy, plus the service works well with Google’s productivity suite. Whether using it for backups, as a cloud flash drive, or to set up shared folders with others, Google Drive is an essential app.

Stream music online: Spotify

There are many music streaming services on the market, but the essential choice for Windows 10 is Spotify. If you don’t pay, users can still listen to as much music as they want after going through some short ads.

For people who don’t want to be bothered by ads, the Spotify Premium package is really useful. Spotify also has a dedicated Windows app, unlike some of its competitors. However, if the device you are using is a different operating system, you can consider Apple Music or YouTube Music.

Office suite: LibreOffice

Many people think that Microsoft Office is the only toolkit that allows working with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. but that is not the case.

LibreOffice is a great alternative, a completely free and powerful office suite that includes alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc. Once people get used to the few small visual differences compared to MS Office, people will really stick with LibreOffice.

Image editing: Paint.NET

Many people will think of Photoshop when editing images, but there are many free tools that are more accessible. Paint.NET is a must-have Windows application for image editing needs.

It’s much more powerful than Microsoft Paint, but doesn’t overwhelm users with tons of confusing tools. People can easily blur parts of images, automatically adjust photos to make them look better, and add text and shapes to photos with just a few clicks. Many plugins also allow users to extend its functionality.

Security: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Windows 10 includes Windows Defender, an antivirus software that’s good enough for most computers. However, users should install a secondary security program. And Malwarebytes is a great choice. The free version allows anyone to scan their system for malware. In case you want a strong security solution, upgrading to Malwarebytes Premium is well worth it.

Media Player: VLC

For offline video viewing, nothing beats VLC Media Player, which is packed with features and capable of playing nearly any video and audio format. Although you may not use it often, due to the popularity of online video viewing platforms like Youtube, everyone should still download VLC Media Player while setting up their PC.

Screenshot: ShareX

Taking screenshots on Windows is useful for everything, from capturing funny moments to recording important information. The Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch apps only offer a basic set of features, and Share X is a great choice. With countless capture methods, a built-in editor, and other additional tools, ShareX has an impressive free feature set.

Compress and decompress files: 7-Zip

Windows has basic support for simple compressed files, but sometimes users still need a more powerful tool. And 7-Zip is the gold standard for file compression and decompression applications. It’s compact, installs in seconds, is easy to use, yet includes many advanced features.

The only drawback of 7-Zip is that the interface is somewhat outdated. If you don’t like this, you can choose PeaZip – a similar tool with a more beautiful user interface.

Text: Rambox

Rambox is the best messaging app option on Windows. It allows users to add accounts from dozens of popular messaging services, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Telegram, GroupMe, Hangouts, Discord, and more.

The app simply adds a new tab for every service, allowing every chat group to be updated with just one window. Rambox includes some additional features that are more useful than opening these apps in the browser and easily closing all messaging apps.

Clipboard Manager: ClipClip

Clipboard manager is an important application because it saves a lot of time. Instead of just being able to keep one item on the PC’s clipboard, the clipboard manager allows keeping track of the last dozen entries the user has copied.

ClipClip is a great Windows 10 clipboard manager to use. In addition to logging what users copy, the app also allows pinning regular snippets for easy access and creating folders like addresses, emails, etc.

The software also allows users to tweak keyboard shortcuts, turn off clipboard monitoring temporarily when needed, and choose what applications can ignore.

Password manager: Bitwarden

No one can remember all the tricky passwords for all their accounts. That’s why a secure password manager like Bitwarden is needed. In addition to the desktop app, people will need to install the Bitwarden extension in their browser to easily autofill passwords.

Backup: Backblaze

Backing up your PC is essential so you don’t lose all your documents, photos, and other files. Backblaze is a great solution to this problem. People won’t have to worry about choosing what gets backed up, and there’s no limit to backup size either. This is an easy-to-use tool to create local backups of your files.

Although it’s the only app on this list that doesn’t have a free option, Backblaze’s backup capabilities are well worth paying for. If the user loses all his files, the application will pay for itself immediately.

If paying for Backblaze intimidates you, try EaseUS Todo Backup Free. Compared to other free software, this is the most optimal application for backup.

Managed storage: TreeSize Free

Everyone knows the hassle of running out of storage space. That’s why one of the applications that should be installed on every Windows system is a disk analyzer.

TreeSize Free is a simple way to find out what’s taking up space on your computer. People just need to open it, tell the app which drive to scan, and it will sort all the folders on their PC based on capacity. People can then view files that take up space on their computer and delete or move them accordingly.

Scripting: AutoHotkey

If you are a frequent typist and want to bring more automation to your computer, AutoHotkey is the software everyone needs to download. This is an open source tool that supports keyboard operations through customizing user scripts with commands. Users can create text on the fly, enable autocorrect of typos, override certain keys, and create macros to perform certain actions in just a few keystrokes.

With AutoHotkey, everyone’s text manipulation will become faster and more convenient than ever. Although it is quite complex and can be difficult to use at first, once you learn in-depth and grasp how AutoHotkey works, it will become a powerful, essential tool in the software suite for computers running Windows operating systems.

Video editing: Movavi Video Suite

Movavi Video Suite is an all-in-one video creator and editor. Users can create slideshows, record screens, edit videos, convert video formats (to AVI, MPEG, WMV, WAV, MP3, etc.) and apply effects and filters on their computer or desktop.

The developer’s official website includes useful tutorials to help content creators become familiar with the program’s various features. This helps beginners who just want to get acquainted with creating video content. There is also the advantage of having access to over a hundred filters and overlays to use.

Play games: Steam

Steam continues to solidify its position as the leading game store for PC users. This program uses multiple game recommendation engines to determine what players might like and has a huge library of games to experience. It also allows video streaming of up to 4 hours of content using the in-game DVR.

Steam offers cloud storage where saved games can be re-downloaded on a computer from any location. Users can set their profile to Private or Friends Only to limit unwanted messages and users, or choose to Remove from friends list at any time.

Antivirus: McAfee

• Software type: Anti-virus software
• Supported operating systems: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11; Mac OS X 10.15 or later (for McAfee 4.11.1 or later), Mac OS

Uses: The best apps have easy-to-use interfaces, and McAfee is no different. Its interface is great and installation is quite easy. It has excellent virus scanning and malware detection. McAfee offers Wi-Fi network protection and has a VPN, and it can protect up to 10 devices at once.

Device Cleaner: CCleaner

• Software type: Device cleaner
• Supported Operating Systems: This cleaner is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. It is also supported by Mac OS X 10.7.0 and above.

Uses: The cleaner can perform basic cleaning operations such as trash removal (automatically and manually). It is also effective in helping identify and delete corrupted files, analyze drive space, identify duplicate files, support deep cleaning, and wipe deleted files on drives. The cleaner is primarily useful in maintaining a tidy system, but it also has related features that add additional functionality. The program continuously clears the history and cookies of all system browsers so that your online activity is not tracked by website trackers and privacy-invading advertisers. CCleaner is free of spyware, viruses and harmful adware. It helps protect the system by periodically scanning and quickly removing detected threats.