Whether you just bought a new PC or just reinstalled Windows, the first task you'll likely do is install essential applications. Although there are dozens of amazing Windows software out there, knowing which ones to have for Windows 10 makes setting up a fresh Windows installation easy. So we have collected the most important and best Windows essential software in one place to be your reference in installing the most important Windows 10 software for your PC.
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| 15 Programs & Apps for Windows 10 for Any New PC |
In no particular order, let's go over 15 essential Windows 10 apps that everyone should install right away, along with some alternatives.
Google Chrome Internet Browser
Unsurprisingly, Google Chrome is still the best choice for an Internet browser. It's fast to browse, includes a few amenities like letting you instantly search Google for an image, and it has an extensive library of Chrome extensions. Use cross-platform syncing that allows you to open desktop tabs on your phone and vice versa, and you'll have a great all-purpose browser.
However, Chrome is not without flaws. Many people want to avoid extensive Google tracking in Chrome, and it also consumes a lot of RAM. But the good news is that you have plenty of other great browsers to choose from, such as Firefox and Opera.
Download Google Chrome
Download Firefox Browser
Download Opera Browser
Google Drive cloud storage
Use distributed storage and access your records from any place. If you choose only one cloud app service, Google Drive is the one you should install. It offers 15GB of free storage, which is shared via your Google account with Google Photos and Gmail as well.
Google Drive offers an application for each significant stage, so you can move your records to any place. In addition to syncing files you put into your dedicated Google Drive folder, the desktop app makes it easy to back up folders on your computer and external devices, too.
In combination with OneDrive which comes built into Windows 10 or another free cloud storage service, you can get plenty of storage space and logically separate your files by service.
Download Google Drive
Office suite (Office alternative): LibreOffice
You will likely need a tool that will allow you to work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations at some point. You might think that paying for Microsoft Office is the only way to do this, but that is far from the truth.
No Windows user should go without LibreOffice. It is a powerful and completely free office suite that includes alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and more. Once you get used to some of the small aesthetic differences from MS Office, you will get to know your work with LibreOffice.
Download the Office LibreOffice suite
Paint.NET photo editor
Whether you want to try basic photo manipulation, need a way to blur sensitive information in screenshots, or want to retouch old photos, everyone should have photo editing software installed. Photoshop is the highest quality level for this, yet there are a lot of free devices that are more available.
Paint.NET is one of the essential Windows applications for your photo editing needs. It's much more powerful than Microsoft Paint, but it doesn't overwhelm you with a lot of confusing tools. You can easily blur parts of the image, automatically straighten images to make them look better, and add text and shapes to your images with just a few clicks. Lots of plugins allow you to extend their functionality as well.
Download Paint.Net
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Protection and security: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Windows 10 incorporates Windows Defender, which is an adequate antivirus for most clients. However, it is wise to keep other security software on your device.
For this, you cannot ignore Malwarebytes. The free version lets you scan your system for malware that your antivirus might not have caught. It is smarter than traditional antivirals. It pounds dangers on 40% of gadgets that as of now have another antivirus introduced.
Download Malwarebytes
VLC media player
Thanks to YouTube's ubiquity, you probably don't watch local videos very often. However, everyone still has to keep a powerful video player on their desktop when they need to play media files locally. Even if it's not one of the things you think you can download to a new computer right away, it will come in handy someday.
VLC Media Player has been proven for many years to be the best program for playing movies and media files that you can rely on without having to download other software. VLC Media Player packs a lot of features and is capable of playing almost every type of file, video, and audio extension that you can imagine.
