EverythingĮverything is a free app that massively speeds up search on your Windows PC by indexing the names of all the files on your computer. The app also allows you to choose privacy-friendly DNS services such as Cloudflare DNS or AdGuard DNS, which will block trackers and malware automatically. You can easily check and block these using Portmaster. Some of these connections take place to check for app updates and other useful tasks, but some of these pings are unnecessary, too. In practice, it shows you a list of apps that are contacting various servers on the internet and allows you to stop them from doing so. Portmaster is a useful firewall app that lets you stop apps and services from phoning home. We have a handy list to help you with that, too. Take the time to go through its suite of tools to find the ones you’ll use the most. Microsoft PowerToys is a set of tools that adds advanced features, such as window management, locating your mouse cursor quickly, and a Spotlight-like search function to your PC. It also has some basic batch processing and editing capabilities. IrfanView: If you want an image viewer, look no further than IrfanView. Get this if you don’t want your browser to open all PDF files. SumatraPDF: This is a fast and lightweight PDF reader. 7-Zip is free, and supports all popular compression formats such as zip, rar, and 7z. It plays every video file you can throw at it, and has been rock-solid for decades.ħ-Zip: It’s the best app to compress and decompress files (for most people). VLC Media Player: If you watch videos on your PC, you should get VLC Media Player. Get these add-ons, and you’ll never look back. How to Delete Your Twitter Account If Elon Musk Was Your Last Strawĥ0 of the Most Controversial Films Ever Madeįirefox: Although Chrome and its derivatives have taken over the internet, we still recommend Firefox for its excellent balance between new features and privacy. Some apps are so ubiquitous that you won’t need much convincing, so I’ll throw those out there first. Here are 16 such apps everyone should download on a new PC. But if you only stick with what you know, there are likely some hidden gems you’re missing out on. Of course, you probably have a list of apps you install by default. One of the best parts of buying a new PC is deleting all the bloatware and replacing it with your favorite programs. Photo: Sompetch Khanakornpratip (Shutterstock)

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