Lesser Known Apps Everyone Should Install on a New Windows PC

One of the best parts of buying a new PC is removing all malware and replacing it with your favorite programs. Of course, you probably have a list of applications that you install by default. But if you only stick to what you know, you’re probably missing out on some hidden gems. Here are 16 such applications that everyone should download on a new computer.

First, the essentials

Some apps are so common that you don’t need much persuasion, so I’ll toss them out first. They are

• Firefox : While Chrome and its derivatives have gained popularity on the web, we still recommend Firefox for its excellent balance of new features and privacy. Get these add-ons and you’ll never look back.
• VLC Media Player : If you are watching videos on your PC, you should install VLC Media Player. It plays all the video files you can throw at it and has been reliable for decades.
• 7-Zip : This is the best app for compressing and decompressing files (for most people). 7-Zip is free and supports all popular compression formats such as zip, rar and 7z.
• SumatraPDF is a fast and lightweight PDF reader. Get this if you don’t want your browser to open all PDF files.
• IrfanView : If you need an image viewer, check out IrfanView. It also has some basic batch processing and editing capabilities.

PatchMyPC

Whether it’s a new machine or a clean install of Windows on an old PC, PatchMyPC is a must. It shows you a list of useful apps and lets you choose the ones you want to use on your PC. Once selected, you press one button and PatchMyPC installs all applications in one go.

It also installs these apps in the background so you can continue working or playing on your PC without any interruption. Even if you’ve already set up a machine, you can always use PatchMyPC to quickly update all of your applications. It even automatically updates apps that require manual installation every time they release a new version.

Microsoft PowerToys

Microsoft PowerToys is a set of tools that adds advanced features to your PC, such as window management, quick location of the mouse cursor, and Spotlight search functionality. Take the time to browse through its toolbox to find the ones you’ll use the most. We have a handy list to help you do just that .

Portmaster

Portmaster is a useful firewall application that allows you to prevent applications and services from calling home. In practice, it shows you a list of applications that communicate with various servers on the Internet and allows you to prevent them from doing so.

Some of these connections are used to check for app updates and other useful tasks, but some of those pings are also unnecessary. You can easily check and block them with Portmaster. The app also lets you choose secure DNS services like Cloudflare DNS or AdGuard DNS, which will automatically block trackers and malware.

All

Everything is a free application that greatly speeds up searches on your Windows PC by indexing the names of all the files on your computer. It returns results quickly . If you remember a certain file name or file type but don’t know where you saved a document on your PC, Everything can help you find it quickly.

ShareX

Want an upgrade from the standard Windows screenshot tool? ShareX is all you’ll ever need. It doesn’t look great, but it works incredibly well and is very customizable. You can set up ShareX for complex workflows, such as uploading screenshots to multiple cloud locations at the same time, or use it to simply save screenshots to the clipboard.

The app also supports screen recording, GIF capture, and screenshot scrolling. If you feel like its tools are overwhelmed, check out our guide to easily setting up ShareX .

MusicBee

If you have a personal music library, you should check out MusicBee . It’s great to help you manage and play songs from your own music collection. I’ve used it to stream hi-res audio files from a home server and it’s been a great experience so far. The app adds large libraries fairly quickly and even quickly scans the library when you add new music.

Caliber

Caliber is the best app for bibliophiles, especially those with an e-book reader. It can manage a large library of e-books and convert them to the right formats for almost any e-book reader.

It works especially well with the Kindle, and you’ll find yourself using it to send all your e-books from your PC to your e-reader. Caliber is also a handy ebook reader app for those who prefer to read books on their PC.

Obsidian

If you want a good free writing app for Windows, check out Obsidian . It has a neat interface, including a convenient, distraction-free writing mode. The app supports Markdown, making it a great choice for those who publish their words online.

You can also use Obsidian as a journaling application and you can learn more about it from this guide .

Bitvorden

Everyone should use a password manager, and Bitwarden is the best free option for most people. Its free tier has just about every feature you’ll ever need from a password manager, and the app is available on all popular platforms, meaning your passwords will be available on all of your devices.

If you’re not already using a password manager, it’s hard to find a better option than Bitwarden . If you’re willing to pay for a better app experience on Apple devices, document storage, and better password sharing features, then 1Password is a great alternative.

FXSound

FXSound is a great free equalizer and volume control app. It contains many useful equalizer presets that optimize the sound output for different types of sound. For example, its movie preset automatically increases the volume of dialogue and mutes other sounds. Many modern movies have incredibly low dialogue volume for some inexplicable reason, and FXSound makes it easy to fix this.

Ventoy

You should always keep a bootable USB drive handy because you never know when you’ll need it. If your computer is infected or its hard drive fails, you can use a bootable USB drive to boot your preferred operating system and troubleshoot.

Ventoy is a great app for this because it only requires you to format your USB drive once. From there, you can copy as many OS disk image (iso) files as you want, and you will be able to boot into any of the operating systems you have copied to the disk.