Essential Apps You Should Install on a New PC Running Windows or macOS

It's amazing the amount of those applications that are immediately installed on my systems after a rebuild. As a 25+ year veteran Windows power user I can tell that someone who knows what they are talking about came up with this list.

A couple that I would like to throw in the list are: Internet Download Manager, GreenShot and SumatraPDF, 7-Zip (might have been mentioned), TreeSize, Angry IP Scanner, CDBurner XP (make sure to select 'more download options' from the downloads page and get the installer 'Without installCore'), DAEMON Tools, Tftpd64 for those pesky FTP firmware updates for routers and WAPs and such. Then there are sometimes applications for me like Audacity and GIMP.

Also I can't wait to see what new things I can find in the comments here over the next few days.
 
Original poster knows his/her stuff. I agree on almost every (Windows) recommendation made. The ONLY change I'd throw in is along with a password manager, Lastpass (best alternative being BitWarden), everybody should always have an adblocker installed for Chrome or Firefox now-a-days. Adguard is the best protection vs use of system resources I've found and I've tested plenty of them. Simply google "adguard chrome" or "adguard firefox" to get the free extension (don't download the paid app).
 
Oh, I strongly disagree with many of that SW. MalwareBytes? Really not necessary.
I would made it light:
7zip
Media Player Classic -BE
XnView (free versions of Zoner Photo Studio before they crippled it)
foobar2000 (for me the folder player is the way to go)
LibreOffice if not MS Office
Web browser with uBlock Origin
Adobe Acrobat Reader (its the only one 100% compatible and without any printing issues)

You can use native Windows Apps for music, photos and videos, but they are rather very simple, I dunno why MS is not making them better. Video app needs better subtitle support. And I completely resign on ID3tags for music, so folder-based player is a must.
 
Digitalzone said:
Oh, I strongly disagree with many of that SW. MalwareBytes? Really not necessary.
I would made it light:
Click to expand...
Making it light, makes it too personal. There is nothing wrong with the list. The list does seem to cover a good majority of all most used applications. You may not agree with MalwareBytes. But it is used by many, and is a good software.

I'm happy Total Commander made the list. Aside from Browsing and Gaming that is one software I use the most. I don't know how many others use Total Commander, but I love it.
 
The headline is nonsensical

There is no such thing as a "NEW" PC!

The last "Personal" computer from Intel was Sandy Bridge
The last "Personal" O.S. from Microsoft is a Volume Licensed copy of XP without the online activation malware (The one Microsoft claims is NOT LEGITIMATE)
The last "Personal" revision of XP was Service Pack 2

Installing ANYTHING from Microsoft after XP-SP2 permanently removes the "Personal" in Personal Computing

Sure, I can run Microsoft's Spyware Platform 10 on a Sandy Bridge, but that is not the definition of a "Personal" Computer

Does the author not understand common definitions?

With TPM, Trusted Boot, Online Activation, Backdoored Encryption, Backdoored Firewalls, Extortionary Licensing Tactics, Blackmail Licensing, Closed Source, DRM Spyware & malware in Spyware Platform 10, Personal Computing is a bygone era

When Microsoft claims that Windows 10 is the most secure version EVER, they are not lying, they are just not finishing their sentence
It the the most secure spyware platform ever made for their partners, just not for the end users

Need another clue?
You have paid for your own enslavement!
 
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Chrome is the marketing arm of the google advertising empire . No one serious about enjoying a web experience should consider it . Firefox is still the best mainstream browser , and Opera is a good alternative
 
Jasonistheking said:
For coding, I use Visual Studio Community Edition. I've been able to test against the Enterprise edition (I'm a CS student) and I haven't noticed many differences to my needs. The Community Edition has fit the bill and is free for most people.
Click to expand...
Generally Enterprise edition enables things like Test Cloud/Profiler and other expensive tools. Community Edition is pretty fully featured for the free version. They make you sign in with your microsoft account to "re-verify" your Professional/Enterprise license on a regular basis and before this is completed VS reverts to identifying as "Community" edition.

I've built the same Xamarin mobile projects while running as "Community" edition when I haven't noticed the re-verification prompt and its all worked without issue. Even the Xamarin agent connection to the Mac OS version to build and deploy iOS.
 
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As a Soda Stereo listener, I'm pretty sure Spotify/YouTube are two great ways to discover and reach to new musicians/bands. And happy to see Vivaldi/Discord being recommended; I support both projects, since their early development.

Abrazo a la distancia, Julio.
 
I have many PDF files to read, what is the recommended reader ?
Adobe PDF reader had the bad reputation of not being secure...
 
I use Firefox almost extensively. The only Addon is the Avast Weblink scanner. Hi reliability and view ads too.
 
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