PC Users: Essential software?

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
I've been a long time Mac user who just added a Windows PC to my arsenal. It's been quite a few years since I've used Windows and I'm curious about must-have software, especially when it comes to security.

I've seen some on here recommend Malwarebytes. I assume it's worth the annual fee?

Other software suggestions are also welcome: photo/graphics editing, video editing, coding, etc.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
#6
#6
Anything that allows in onto the Darkweb, it's totally safe.
 
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#8
#8
Been using Windows since 3.1. With Windows 10 I don't really use any additional stuff. Their security tools are are fine. I use Chrome. Never had a problem...and I visit some shady sites..
 
#9
#9
I find that the free version of Malwarebytes is quality. I don't know what the annual cost is, but I'd say it's probably worth it.
 
#10
#10
You can never argue with the price for GIMP, and it works fairly well.

Maybe use Virtualbox or something like that for greater security.
 
#12
#12
FLVOL_79 said:
Been using Windows since 3.1. With Windows 10 I don't really use any additional stuff. Their security tools are are fine. I use Chrome. Never had a problem...and I visit some shady sites..
Click to expand...

volnation.onion
 
#13
#13
jvol1 said:
You can never argue with the price for GIMP, and it works fairly well.

Maybe use Virtualbox or something like that for greater security.
Click to expand...

Is there a user friendly tutorial for GIMP? I had it in the past but never became proficient as it was mostly teach myself.
 
#14
#14
CLCVol said:
I find that the free version of Malwarebytes is quality. I don't know what the annual cost is, but I'd say it's probably worth it.
Click to expand...

I think the free version expires, at least mine says it does.

jvol1 said:
You can never argue with the price for GIMP, and it works fairly well.

Maybe use Virtualbox or something like that for greater security.
Click to expand...
I'm familiar with Virtualbox, but how would you use it for greater security?

TheDeeble said:
Is there a user friendly tutorial for GIMP? I had it in the past but never became proficient as it was mostly teach myself.
Click to expand...
I tried GIMP on Mac and Linux and it never was the most user friendly software, but neither is Photoshop.

3rdDegreeVol said:
Notepad++
7 Zip
Filezilla (FTP)
Click to expand...

Good call. I had forgotten about Notepad++. I used it many years ago.
 
#17
#17
Freak said:
I think the free version expires, at least mine says it does.
Click to expand...

You may just be on a trial of the paid version. I've had the free version for years. It does get annoying with the constant requests for upgrading to the pay version, but I can live with that.
 
#18
#18
3rdDegreeVol said:
Notepad++
7 Zip
Filezilla (FTP)
Click to expand...

Windows Explorer in Windows 10 will natively unzip files.

I would second:
Chrome
Added extensions: Flash Video Downloader, Adblock, New Tab Redirect, Image Downloader

Windows Defender for virus protection(it's free, built in, haven't had any issues)

Malwarebytes - Totally worth the money for premium

Other recommendations:
Icaros 3.0.1 - Windows isn't known for properly displaying it's thumbnails, particularly for multimedia files. This fills the gap excellently.

VLC Media Player

CCleaner - Great cache clearing program and offers other useful tools.

Adobe Acrobat Reader - Free(you don't want to use Microsoft Edge to read pdf files)
 
#19
#19
Freak said:
I've been a long time Mac user who just added a Windows PC to my arsenal. It's been quite a few years since I've used Windows and I'm curious about must-have software, especially when it comes to security.

I've seen some on here recommend Malwarebytes. I assume it's worth the annual fee?

Other software suggestions are also welcome: photo/graphics editing, video editing, coding, etc.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Click to expand...

Anti-virus - I use Sophos Home. It's a very simple interface, and you manage your installations from the web. It's basically a stripped down version of the business level product, but it's better than using Windows Defender or AVG Free. It also doesn't have all the ads AVG does, and it has free content filtering, if you're into that.

Anti-Malware - Malwarebytes is good here. Simply downgrade to the free version after installing it, and fun it manually once a week. No real frills here, but its a must in most home user's environment.

Graphics Editing - GIMP is free, and there are a lot of good tutorials for using it. I use an older version of Fireworks that I have had for a LONG time, but its not free. GIMP is also from the open source world.

Video Editing - I really like OpenShot here. It's another open source product, but sometimes it doesn't play well with Windows 10. When it works, its great, but sometimes it doesn't. I've had mixed results. Obviously there is non-free software to do this, but I don't do video editing all that often.

Coding - Aptana Studio and Notepad++ will do nicely here.

Disk Cleanup - The built-in Windows application is fine, but make sure to run it as administrator for the best results. If you want something else to run in tandem, get Bleachbit. I use Bleachbit instead of CCleaner, as I have had many issues with CCleaner over the years, and it doesn't clean as well as Bleachbit, IMO. I simply use it to clean all the cache on the system, and nothing else.

Media Server - Plex is the go to here, if you want to stream anything to any Plex enabled device. I used Kodi when I was on Linux, but after switching to Windows found that Plex does a better job for me now. I stream my HD movies to my Roku's, and it's perfect!

Zipped Files - 7zip hands down. Offers free AES encryption for files, if you so choose.

Directory Statistics - WinDirStat is what I use. It's an amazing little tool to use when you have to find what is chewing up hard drive space on your system.

Software updates - Secunia PSI is a handy little tool that helps you keep your software up to date.

PDF's - I use Foxit PDF for this. I am anti-Adobe Reader, due to issues at clients offices, so this is a great alternative.

Media Player - Obviously VLC Player here, but the built-in Windows Media Player can work in a pinch, even though the quality it produces is terrible now.
 
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#20
#20
Coug said:
Windows Explorer in Windows 10 will natively unzip files.

I would second:
Chrome
Added extensions: Flash Video Downloader, Adblock, New Tab Redirect, Image Downloader

Windows Defender for virus protection(it's free, built in, haven't had any issues)

Malwarebytes - Totally worth the money for premium

Other recommendations:
Icaros 3.0.1 - Windows isn't known for properly displaying it's thumbnails, particularly for multimedia files. This fills the gap excellently.

VLC Media Player

CCleaner - Great cache clearing program and offers other useful tools.

Adobe Acrobat Reader - Free(you don't want to use Microsoft Edge to read pdf files)
Click to expand...

I've used VLC on Mac, so I'm familiar with that one. I'll have to look into Icaros. Thanks.

g8terh8ter_eric said:
Anti-virus - I use Sophos Home. It's a very simple interface, and you manage your installations from the web. It's basically a stripped down version of the business level product, but it's better than using Windows Defender or AVG Free. It also doesn't have all the ads AVG does, and it has free content filtering, if you're into that.

Anti-Malware - Malwarebytes is good here. Simply downgrade to the free version after installing it, and fun it manually once a week. No real frills here, but its a must in most home user's environment.

Graphics Editing - GIMP is free, and there are a lot of good tutorials for using it. I use an older version of Fireworks that I have had for a LONG time, but its not free. GIMP is also from the open source world.

Video Editing - I really like OpenShot here. It's another open source product, but sometimes it doesn't play well with Windows 10. When it works, its great, but sometimes it doesn't. I've had mixed results. Obviously there is non-free software to do this, but I don't do video editing all that often.

Coding - Aptana Studio and Notepad++ will do nicely here.

Disk Cleanup - The built-in Windows application is fine, but make sure to run it as administrator for the best results. If you want something else to run in tandem, get Bleachbit. I use Bleachbit instead of CCleaner, as I have had many issues with CCleaner over the years, and it doesn't clean as well as Bleachbit, IMO. I simply use it to clean all the cache on the system, and nothing else.

Media Server - Plex is the go to here, if you want to stream anything to any Plex enabled device. I used Kodi when I was on Linux, but after switching to Windows found that Plex does a better job for me now. I stream my HD movies to my Roku's, and it's perfect!

Zipped Files - 7zip hands down. Offers free AES encryption for files, if you so choose.

Directory Statistics - WinDirStat is what I use. It's an amazing little tool to use when you have to find what is chewing up hard drive space on your system.

Software updates - Secunia PSI is a handy little tool that helps you keep your software up to date.

PDF's - I use Foxit PDF for this. I am anti-Adobe Reader, due to issues at clients offices, so this is a great alternative.

Media Player - Obviously VLC Player here, but the built-in Windows Media Player can work in a pinch, even though the quality it produces is terrible now.
Click to expand...

Great list and detailed explanation, Eric. Thanks. I hope you and the family are doing well.
 
#21
#21
Freak said:
I think the free version expires, at least mine says it does.

I'm familiar with Virtualbox, but how would you use it for greater security?

I tried GIMP on Mac and Linux and it never was the most user friendly software, but neither is Photoshop.



Good call. I had forgotten about Notepad++. I used it many years ago.
Click to expand...

I make no claims of being a master of computer security. I use MS security essentials, turn off javascript when possible and surfing here on VN, and I also try to avoid shady places on the net after that.

The idea of using a virtual environment would of course be that you could divide your computing activities into safe and unsafe with the unsafe being done in the virtual environment. I'm not actually sure how much protection
this would provide, but you could at least shield your MAC address from prying eyes, and possibly deflect viruses from your real computer.
 
#22
#22
jvol1 said:
I make no claims of being a master of computer security. I use MS security essentials, turn off javascript when possible and surfing here on VN, and I also try to avoid shady places on the net after that.

The idea of using a virtual environment would of course be that you could divide your computing activities into safe and unsafe with the unsafe being done in the virtual environment. I'm not actually sure how much protection
this would provide, but you could at least shield your MAC address from prying eyes, and possibly deflect viruses from your real computer.
Click to expand...
I see what you're saying now. Of course, that would require another copy of Windows, I assume.
 
#23
#23
When I went from Photoshop to GIMP...

d6a1143f571184db25f94613edd43b40af6d3a629221aba00d9efdcfef5efd84.jpg
 
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#25
#25
Freak said:
I've been a long time Mac user who just added a Windows PC to my arsenal. It's been quite a few years since I've used Windows and I'm curious about must-have software, especially when it comes to security.

I've seen some on here recommend Malwarebytes. I assume it's worth the annual fee?

Other software suggestions are also welcome: photo/graphics editing, video editing, coding, etc.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Click to expand...

All I can add to this is I hope you bought a Toshiba :)
 
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