Software I Use

A while back someone asked me to do a freeware guide for Windows 10 like I have for other Windows operating systems. My heart just hasn’t been in it. While there is excellent free software out there in many cases you get what you pay for. I’m tired of talking about second best software I don’t use. So below is a list of the software I have installed across the 8 PC’s I have scattered across my house.

First you should know:
– The machines ALL default to Windows 7. 4 of these dual-boot Win10.
– I do my day-to-day web activities in an openSUSE virtual machine.
– In that virtual machine I currently use the following browsers depending on mood and circumstance:
Chromium – Firefox – Opera – Tor
– I have a grand total of 2 passwords stored in those browsers.

INSTALLED
7-Zip – Free. Zip utility, file encryption
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC – Free. PDF reader. Not needed in Win10.
Adobe Photoshop CS2 – Free, kinda. Image utility
Adobe Flash Player – Free. horrible, rotten software to play web videos
Audacity – Free. audio editor
Axialis IconWorkshop – Paid. I just use it to convert icons to other image types.
Backup and Sync from Google – Free and Paid. This is Google Drive. Cloud storage
Blue Iris – Paid. Video security software.
CATraxx – Paid. No longer available. Music cataloging software.
CDBurnerXP – Free. CD/DVD burner. ***May try to install unwanted programs. Pay attention during install.
DarkAudacity – Free. Audacity “with a darker more modern theme – and a few small tweaks. ”
dBpoweramp – Paid. Music converter. CD ripper.
Dell Webcam Central – Free for dell computers. Basic webcam software.
Display Fusion – Paid. Multi-monitor software,
EasyBCD – Free (registration). Dual / multi-boot anything.
EasyUEFI – Free and Paid. Manage UEFI from within Windows.
EMDB – Free. Video cataloging software.
FileZilla Client – Free. FTP client.
Google Chrome – Free. Web browser.
HandBrake – Free. Video converter.
HashTab -Free. Display file hashes.
jv16 PowerTools – Paid. I only use this to search the registry and watch for changes.
K-Lite Codec Pack Basic – Free. Video playback codecs. IMHO not needed in Win10.
LastPass Premium – Free for non-premium. I use on PC’s and phones.
LightScribe Software – Free. Laser CD/DVD labeler.
MakeMKV – Paid. Convert bluray to mkv file.
MediaMonkey – Free. Media library player/manager. I only use it for music.
Microsoft Office 365 – Paid. THE Office suite.
Microsoft Security Essentials – Windows 7 basic antivirus.
Mozilla Firefox – Free. Web Browser.
Mp3tag – Free. Edit metadata of audio files.
Mp3/Tag Studio – Free. Edit metadata of audio files. Once great program now abandoned.
Ninite Updater – Paid. Software updater. HIGHLY recommended.
Notepad++ – Free. Opens and edits almost every kind of text / source code file.
RocketDock – Free. Application launcher.
SageThumbs – Free. Adds ability to view thumbnails of multiple file types in Explorer.
Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio – Paid. Audio editing suite.
Stardock Start10 – Paid. Win10 start menu replacement.
SyncToy – Free. File backup and synchronizing software. HIGHLY recommended.
TorGuard (Torguard) – Paid. VPN. I use on Windows, Linux, and Android. https://torguard.net/aff.php?aff=2870
UBitMenu – Free. Put the old menus back in Microsoft office.
VLC media player – Free. Multimedia / DVD player. Does not do blu-ray despite claims to contrary.
VMware Player – Free.Virtual machine player / creator.
Winamp – Free. Music player.
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum – Paid. DVD Ripper. Does not do blu-ray.
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe – Paid. Video converter. Does batches very well.

PORTABLE
Autoruns – Free. THE startup manager.
Bleachbit – Free. Disk cleaner
CCleaner – Free. Disk cleaner. DO NOT USE registry cleaner.
Speccy – Free. System information.
Wise Disk Cleaner – Free. Disk cleaner.

Other
MediaFire – Free and Paid. Cloud storage
Nirsoft – Free. Various tools
Sysinternals – Free. Various tools
Acronis True Image – Full PC image backups.
O&O ShutUp10 – Free. Win10 privacy settings tool

Network Tools
Microsoft Message Analyzer
Wireshark
Nirsoft:
NetBScanner
NetResView
WhoIsConnectedSniffer
WifiInfoView