Freeware for pcs

But some programs are so helpful that we heartily recommend them to everybody. These free PC programs—a mix of must-haves and delightful auxiliary apps—deserve a place on almost any computer. There are times when a paid alternative makes sense, however. Before you roll up your sleeves and start slinging software around, make sure to snag your web browser of choice.

Browsers are largely free, and mostly fantastic already. For Windows users there is Ghost Browser , which lets you sandbox separate online identities while viewing them all in a single window. Ninite makes loading up a new computer a breeze.

Run the executable, and Ninite installs all of them in turn, and it automatically declines the offers for bundled bloatware so many free apps try to sneak in. No muss, no fuss, no hassle. Accidentally installing unwanted bloatware is one of the greatest dangers of free software, the sanctity of Ninite aside.

For everything else, use Unchecky. The Windows Security software enabled by default in Windows 10 provides solid protection for most users, but no single antivirus utility offers bulletproof protection, especially against the latest and most clever threats.

App launchers let you activate software far faster than navigating Windows, even if you use the Windows key and search for an app by name.

But Launchy can do much, much more: Open any file or folder in mere seconds, shut down your PC, or even kill processes and perform math calculations with the right plug-ins. Launchy is another Windows utility that is unto itself; however, the developers do accept donations, and we highly recommend tossing the developers a few dollars for this excellent program.

A lot of them cost money. You can even encrypt 7-Zip archives with a password to send them securely. If you spend all day unzipping massive archive files then maybe a faster utility like WinZip is worth it. For most of us, however, 7-zip is just great.

Your PC might have a DVD-playing program installed if you bought a boxed system, but if not, the simply wonderful VLC media player can play your flicks and music, and podcasts, and… for free. It can even play some Blu-ray discs with a little fiddling.

This is a program that not only acts as a simple way to capture an image but it also comes packed with all sorts of tools and features. When you really start to tweak the settings and preferences, capturing images is not only easy with Sharex, but the program can help finesse the screenshot to be visually appealing and marked appropriately.

Your days of using the old print screen button are behind you along with having to toss it into an image editor in order to work out the fine details prior to releasing it on the web.

Trust us, using this program will help save you plenty of time. This does both video recording along with being a useful program for streaming gameplay. OBS Studio is open source allowing anyone to help aid in updating the software. Some of the features included in the program is an audio mixer with a slew of filter options, multiple scenes to help record various screens or cameras and a useful docking system making the user interface more seamless to the tools or features most needed.

As mentioned, the software does allow streaming and its supported on the major three platforms that being Twitch, Mixer and lastly YouTube. The Nexus Mod Manager is a software worth downloading if you opt to download and use mods for certain video game titles.

This can also affect your account as well so again we really stress looking into the games and mods before progressing in case of being hit with a banned account.

However, with this manager, you can download mods made available online from other creators. Of course, this manager will only work for a certain number of video games but it seems that some of the more popular open-world titles are included in the mix.

This is a useful program that does a wide assortment of things. For instance, the software will help make sure that your computer is running the latest drivers for the GPU. Another interesting aspect that comes with the software is the optimize game settings which can automatically adjust your games so its running at the best settings for your PC configuration.

Within the program, gamers can see just what components are installed such as RAM, graphics card and the processor. Likewise, there is a decent breakdown of the useful information between all the components such as the temperature, drive speed, and various model numbers. With this software running you can get a better idea of if you need to upgrade something like the CPU cooler or if your case is even pulling in enough airflow.

This is where the program PC Decrapifier comes into play. We find that this is a great tool for a brand new PC as it will help get rid of all the software that is not likely wanted. When you find that your PC is starting to slow down over time, it could mean that you happened to come across too many useless programs that are taking up your precious resources. If this happens to be the case then just pop in this program via a USB drive and let it do all the hard work.

Just as a new PC purchase, PC Decrapifier will hunt down all the programs that are not being used often or are considered junk and recommend uninstalling them. Afterward, your computer will likely be running smoothly once again. Ultramon is another simple but useful tool for gamers. If you own multiple monitors which are likely the case as dual monitor setups have become the norm then you may run into some issues. That might not be the case for everyone but to avoid any inconsistencies or issues in the future you should download UltraMon.

With the software, users can set up a few different monitor configurations as it supports wallpapers, screensavers and helps improve productivity. Even if you already have a configuration setup to your liking, running this software could help unlock even more potential and stability. For those of you who really start to tinker with their gaming PC then you may have opted to do some overclocking.

This is a great way to help improve the speed and gameplay experience with the latest titles that may potentially be a bit too resource heavy for your setup. This is where programs such as Prime95 comes into play. During tests, you should be able to tell if your overclock was a success or if there are any underlying issues that may need to be addressed before you start gaming. Connecting with friends online is easy and there are all sorts of applications and means of going about it.

This is a VOIP software in which gamers can chat via text or voice to friends. Likewise, there are several popular online media personalities and channels that use the application for gamers to join in and talk among themselves. One good one for working with vector graphics is Inkscape.

Another good one is Vectr. Are you someone who needs to write something, but gets distracted easily? Check out FocusWriter and write without distractions. One of the worst things that can happen to your computer is for it to become infected with Spyware.

HijackThis is an awesome program that you can use to find and remove spyware. Another good option is AdwCleaner. One good option is Windows Defender Offline. It also has a portable version you can run off your USB stick. Are you a true nerd and still use IRC? Ever run into the problem where you are trying to delete a file in Windows and it says that the file is in use and cannot be deleted? You can use Unlocker to delete any file that is locked by a process.

Are you always thinking about stuff? Then you should probably use some free mind-mapping software. Wikipedia also has a big list of mind-mapping software. Need to manage a small project, but need some project management software? Check out GnattProject and Taiga.

If you want to play around with virtual machines, download the free and excellent VirtualBox from Oracle. In 19 and 20, I talked about software to backup your computer, but forgot to mention DriveImage XML , an good program you can use to create an image of your hard drive.

Other good disk imaging tools include MacriumReflect and Clonezilla. GNUCash is free accounting and finance software. Ever head of Blender? It lets you create 3D worlds, 3D animations and 3D games. Check it out. If Blender is too complex for you, another great option for sketching in 3D is SketchUp. For space lovers, I always recommend Stellarium , which is basically a planetarium for your computer.

Looking for a really good partition manager? Check out GParted , probably the best not-heard-of partition manager out there. Looking for a file on your computer? Default Windows search sucks? Wish your clipboard could store more than one item at a time? Got a spare computer with some extra storage on it? Want to learn a new language? The best program for Windows in my view is Duolingo. Ever had to split a large file into a couple of pieces? If so, check out GSplit , a nifty utility for splitting and re-joining files.

Been in a situation where you needed to compare two files and see the differences? WinMerge is a cool program that will let you compare and merge two files.

Need to send ultra-private and secure messages from Windows? Your best option is Telegram Messenge r. Or what about merging multiple PDF files together? For the really tech-savvy folks, get Wireshark. Check out PrinterShare. Worried that the data you have saved in the Cloud with Google, Microsoft, etc.

Encrypt it all with Boxcryptor. Ever needed to figure out the RGB value or hexadecimal value of a color that is on your computer screen? ColorPic is a nice utility that lets you determine the hexadecimal RGB color for anything on your screen. If you have a lot of MP3 files, you probably need to edit the tags and metadata so that everything shows up properly in iTunes or your music manager app.

If you have more than one monitor, you can use a program like Dual Monitor Tools to customize each monitor to your liking. Wish you could use Find My iPhone with all your other non-Apple devices? Prey might just be the answer. One of the best ways to keep your computer secure is to make sure all the software is updated. SUMo does this for you. That was probably way more than a hundred freeware programs, but hope you enjoyed it. If you like the list, bookmark it! Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor.