Must have software for Windows
I happened to reinstall the OS on my system (yet again) and there is a set of software that I install after every OS re-install. In fact I have a “Must Have” directory which has all the software’s that I use on a day to day basis.
Here is my list of “must have” applications for Windows. I am also mentioning it in the order of install of these applications.
Kaspersky Antivirus
The first thing to do after reinstalling an OS (or before you connect to the Internet) is to install a good Antivirus and a AntiSpyware application.
I currently have a 2 year subscription of Kaspersky and its one of the best AV applications that I have used so far.
There are a lot of quality free Antivirus software out there, but this has been one area where I am not willing to take risk by opting for a free alternative. I’ve had bad experience using some of the free alternatives and even some of the paid ones such as Norton gave me a lot of trouble.
Kaspersky takes the least amount of memory and CPU and also does the best job when finding/detecting viruses. No wonder its rated in the top in almost all the Antivirus reviews !
For spyware, as of now I am relying on Windows Defender which comes pre-installed with Vista ! Not sure if I am taking a risk here 
Mozilla Firefox
Unfortunately the OS (Windows XP/Vista) does not come pre-installed with this powerful browser and I do have to install it separately ! 
Also thanks to the continuous updates, I always download the latest version rather than choosing the installable in my “Must Have” directory !
Few years back if you happened to visit a browsing center, you would only find IE installed on all the systems. When I used to ask about Firefox, I always used to get “What is that” expression ! Now I see that Firefox is also installed by default. Yes more users are now aware of this browser and rightly so !
I am not going to explain the choice of this browser; If you are a Firefox user you know the reason, if you are not, you better switch and start using Firefox !
And if you also happen to reinstall your system OS every now and then, do remember to backup the bookmarks via the Bookmark Manager !
WinRar
This is again a shareware application, but I do have a registered copy of WinRar and its way better than WinZip. Especially while handling the CAB or the JAR files I find WinRar very useful. 7Zip is a free alternative if you don’t want to shell out money for WinRar.
Free Download Manager
When it comes to download managers, you again have a lot of options. I have tried most of them and have finally settled on Free Download Manager. It has the best user interface and does not run any Ads !
I do find the community options annoying is one feature that I turn off during the installation.
Do remember to run the “Optimization master” (found under options menu) to get the best download experience possible via FDM !
Launchy
If you are keyboard junkie then you would definitely like Launchy. It’s one powerful application launcher and have written more about this app in my earlier post.
Read my earlier post on Launchy !
FeedDemon
I hate web based RSS readers, they are slow and UI is sluggish compared to the desktop based readers. Of the desktop based readers, I love FeedDemon for its simple yet powerful user interface and the synchronization feature ! What more, its free and a must have if you don’t like Google Reader
Read my earlier post on FeedDemon !
VLC Media Player/iTunes
Ah ! I hate the inbuilt Windows Media Player ! I end up seeing the “codec” error almost every time I play a video (which is not AVI ! ).
This is when VLC Media Player comes to my rescue ! It’s a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, etc) as well as DVDs, VCD’s, and various streaming (RTSP) protocols.
I also install iTunes to manage my iPod and the loaned iPhone !
Notable Alternative: Zoom Player
Google Talk
Google Talk is the only IM client that I use ! Yes I’m done with Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger ! Google Talk is light on memory and has almost all the features I need from a IM client; Presence, Chat History, Sharing files etc. And I love the way it delivers IM even though I have logged in from more than one location !
CCleaner
This app might not be required as soon as you re-install the OS, but does come in handy over the period of time. The default “Disk cleanup” feature in Windows does almost nothing compared to CCleaner ! And yes it does the cleanup work pretty fast too !
TextPad
TextPad saves you the pain of installing an editor for every other file format ! Want to open a CSS file, PHP file, HTML file, a properties file or even a file with no extension, TextPad comes in handy.
Notable Alternatives: Notepad++ and PSPad
Windows Live Photo Gallery
Live photo gallery is one of the applications from the Live family that is worth loading. No Google love here;I prefer this app over Picasa for a number of reasons !
Read my earlier post on Photo Gallery to know why !
µTorrent
If you download a lot of stuff from torrent a lightweight BitTorrent client is a must ! Even though I don’t download much data from Torrent sites, I have used µTorrent a couple of times !
The install size is pretty small and even the memory usage is pretty low compared to the other BitTorrent clients !
Foxit PDF Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a pain to use; its slow and more often than not it freezes the browser (including Firefox). Though there are extensions in Firefox to avoid this, nothing has been done to improve the Reader loading speed. It’s one of the reasons I have settled on Foxit for opening PDF documents. Its amazingly fast and its a must have if you open a lot of PDF documents !
Read my earlier post on Foxit !
Note: The below mentioned applications might make more sense if you author a blog
FileZilla
There are a lot of quality FTP clients for windows and I have settled on FileZilla for its simplicity. You have a site manager feature, if you do connect to a lot of different FTP servers and transferring of files between the server and client is damn easy (Even drag and drop onto the server is supported)
WinSCP
WinSCP is a free SFTP and SCP client for Windows. Unlike FTP clients, there aren’t many quality clients out there supporting SCP on Windows. When I edit any of the files on my server I always do it via WinSCP. Editing a file on the server opens the same on a SCP editor and a save on the file automatically puts back the file on the server.
WinSCP also has come in handy for me to transfer files between my iPhone and the PC !
The good thing about WinSCP is that it does come with a standalone version which can be copied and run from your USB drive !
Windows Live Writer
Almost every blog writer has fell in love with this Microsoft product ! Live Writer simplifies the task of writing and publishing posts !
Read this to know why Live writer rocks !
The following is the other list of software that I install and have mentioned separately since they are not the “must have”
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SharePod - Used to copy songs between iPod and PC
What does your list look like ?
Popularity: 6% [?]
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
my list is almost the same (except for the blogging tools and the free alternative of AV). But as far as a download manager goes, I prefer Flashget. Atleast when i lasr used both these (i.e. when i was still using windows
), i found flashget a better alternative to FDM.
i think Free Download Manager is not that much good you should try Internet Download Manager.
Same with Utorrent .Bitcomet is good
looks a cool list….but i would like idm instead of fdm and notepad++ instead of textpad…neways good post.
really awsome list……co-incedently i was trying to figure out what next for my uncles new laptop
you could have split this into two posts….
Some comment copy/paste from digg (I’m sleepy and lazy at the same time, sry :))
For Firefox the downThemAll extension is works great, no need for the DL manager, though that can come handy sometimes.
Get a G15 and you won’t need Launchy ^-^
GoogleReader is a bit more useful than feedDaemon, IMHO, plus it’s always with you
I’d include the Java and Flash redist. packages, and foobar2000 or Songbird (it’s at 0.6 beta, getting coooler by the moment!444 ;] ) And jkDefrag and IrfanView for making sandwiches and coffee.
Plus where’s Thunderbird.. sometimes Gmail is just not an option.
And why not use AVG Free instead of Kaspersky? I’m having absolutely 0 viruses for the last few years anyway (:
Harish/Shitu,
Will definitely try FlashGet and Internet download manager ! A comparison post is coming up soon
Harish, which AV are you using ?
Abhishek,
Yes I have mentioned notepad++ as an alternative. Its just that I have been introducted to Textpad first and more comfortable with this app. I have tried out PsPad, looks more featureful !
Anand,
Glad to know that the timing of the post was right
PAStheLOD,
Remember trying downThemAll extension, not sure why I didn’t continue with it, will checkout again.
G15 ? 100$ Nah will stick to Launch for now
Also looks more of a gaming keyboard !
Regarding mail client, I have always found it easier to use Gmail rather than a client especially if you access mail from multiple computers.
(especially the synching of lables etc)
When Gmail did come up with IMAP support, I quicky switched to a desktop client but found it way too slow
Thunderbird is one of my favorite, I liked Windows Live Mail too ..
AVG free, how is the CPU and memory usage of this AV ?
Yeah, gaming benefits the most from the G15, but the LCD and the volume potmeter is cool even if you don’t game
Ah, IMAP is a little frustrating with Gmail, but with Tbird you have a ton of filters, otherwise you wouldn’t have.
I personally don’t use AVG Free, but last time I checked (installed on other ppl’s box) it needed resources next to nothing.
Must have software for Windows — Online Diary…
I happened to reinstall the OS on my system (yet again) and there is a set of software that I install after every OS re-install. In fact I have a “Must Have” directory which has all the software’s that I use on a day to day basis….
STUMBLED!
Nice list, I have most of them.
VOTED for this post at:
http://www.newsdots.com/software/must-have-software-for-windows-mdash-online-diary/
My list mostly matches yours.
You are indeed a brave soul to live without a separate anti-spyware program. It’s usually one of the first things I install on a new PC. I personally use Spybot Search & Destroy. It’s been around for a while, and detects other types of malware infections as well.
I have used AVG Free for a while as well. Resource usage is quite low, and it will detect any virus I throw at it. Disable the startup scan and you’re all set.
Long live G-Mail!
This is an excellent post.
I already use some of these softwares. I use Norton though because it came with the laptop and I just keep renewing the subscription. I use Flashget for downloads. I use Bloglines beta as my feedreader. I am a satisfied user of WinSCP & µTorrent. Can’t believe I used the resource hog Azureus earlier.
I wanted to try Windows Live Gallery after you wrote about it first but the live universal installer refuses to install it on my comp for some reason.
I don’t like kaspersky I use avast instead, apart from that I use almost all of the other softwares you mentioned. Great list.
PAStheLOD,
Will definitely check on AVG Free Edition.
TechAddict,
Yes I am relying on Windows Defender to protect me ! Also I am assuming that Vista is more secure that XP
Raj,
Even I had NAV which came with the laptop, but after trying out Kaspersky I feel that its way better than NAV.
Regarding Windows Live, check if the following KB article is of some use
Ralph,
Not sure why you didn’t like Kaspersky ! Will definitely check on Avast.
I use AVG anti virus and Zone alarm as a firewall. But since i hardly log on to windows, ive been fortunate enough to have not been affected with a virus for atleast a year (i havent reinstalled windows for more than a year, which in itself is a record atleast for me :D)
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