Have you just bought a new computer or simply reinstalled Windows, and are wondering what applications to install? Below is a list of recommended software, so you can choose the most necessary and best applications on your new computer!
14 Windows Apps You Need on Your New Computer
It's no surprise that Google Chrome is still the top browser choice for many people. It's fast, has a bunch of useful little add-ons for working on the web, like letting you instantly search for images in Google Lens, and has a huge library of Chrome extensions.
Additionally, Chrome's cross-platform sync feature lets you continue viewing and opening web pages you're working on across multiple devices.
However, Chrome is not a completely perfect application, it still has unexpected errors and the most significant of which is consuming a lot of RAM. But the good news is that you still have many other great browsers to choose from, such as Coc Coc, Microsoft Edge, Firefox or Opera.
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Most users need an office suite to work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations... If you think paying for expensive Microsoft Office apps is the only way to get a good office suite, you're wrong.
If you want a free, full-featured Office suite, don't miss WPS Office. This is a powerful and completely free office suite that includes alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Once you get used to some minor differences from MS Office, you'll be able to get your work done with WPS Office.
In addition, you can also consider using LibreOffice or FreeOffice because it is also quite popular. In terms of features, it also has all the necessary support features for regular office users. It's just that its interface is not as beautiful as WPS Office or MS Office.
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If you need an online office suite, you can use Google Docs or Microsoft Office 360.
If you only have one cloud storage service to choose from, Google Drive is the one to install. With 15GB of free storage (across Google Photos and Gmail), it’s a great option for the average individual.
Google Drive offers an app for every platform, so you can sync your files across any device, take them with you wherever you go. Plus, sharing files with others on Google Drive is super easy. Whether you use it as a backup plan, or just to share files with others, Google Drive is a must-have for Windows users.
In addition, if you are a Microsoft fan, you can also refer to Microsoft OneDrive. This is a utility built into Windows, you just need to log in to your Microsoft account and select the folder to backup and store data, Microsoft will take care of everything else. However, the storage capacity is not very generous, for normal users, you can only have 5GB of free storage.
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Years ago, listening to music on your computer meant painstakingly importing and organizing your MP3 collection. But that's no longer the case, as streaming music services have eliminated the need to buy individual physical or digital albums.
There are plenty of music streaming services out there, but we recommend Spotify . Spotify’s ad-supported free plan lets you listen to as much music as you want, and the Spotify Premium upgrade is definitely worth it for music lovers. Spotify also hosts hundreds of podcasts, making it all available in one convenient place.
Spotify also has a dedicated Windows app, while Apple Music requires iTunes and Google Play Music is web-only. However, if you’re invested in either Apple or Google’s ecosystem, the respective music apps might be the better choice.
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Whether you want to try your hand at image manipulation, need a way to blur sensitive information from a screenshot, or want to retouch an old photo, everyone should have an image editing program installed. Photoshop is the gold standard for this, but there are plenty of more accessible free tools out there.
Paint.NET is our top pick. It is much more powerful than Microsoft Paint but doesn’t overwhelm you with a bunch of confusing tools. You can easily blur parts of an image, automatically adjust photos to make them look better, and add text and shapes to your photos in just a few clicks. There are plenty of plugins that allow you to extend the functionality of Paint.NET.
If you find Paint.NET too basic, GIMP is a more advanced solution.
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Chances are you are using at least one messaging service to keep in touch with your friends every day. Currently, for Vietnamese users, Zalo is the best. It supports messaging, video calling, group calling, group chat, cloud storage, task assignment... and many other utilities. Not only that, it also supports multiple platforms, meaning you can completely keep in touch and discuss work whether on your computer or on your phone while on the go.
That’s domestic, but what about international friends and partners? You can’t install every messaging app just to communicate with this and that partner. In this case, Rambox is arguably the most suitable option. Rambox allows you to add accounts from dozens of popular messaging services, including WhatsApp , Facebook Messenger , Skype , Telegram , Discord , and more. You can even add other web apps, such as Apple Music, to it.
By simply adding a new tab for every service you use, Rambox lets you stay up to date with every group in one window. It includes a few extra features that make it easier to manage multiple chat platforms, rather than having to open multiple browser tabs or install multiple apps. This makes it easier to stay focused, and it’s easier to close or minimize one window (instead of half a dozen).
While Rambox's free plan has some limitations, it offers more for free than competitors like Franz.
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Although Windows also provides a basic tool that can read, compress and decompress files, it is not capable enough to meet the needs when there are many different compression formats.
WinRAR may be the best compression software, but 7-Zip is the gold standard in free compression and decompression. Not only is it free, it's also very small, easy to install, and completely silent when you're not using it.
The only downside to 7-Zip is its dated and plain look. If you don’t like its dated look, consider using PeaZip, a similar tool with a more attractive interface.
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Since YouTube has become so popular, you may no longer need to use multimedia players on your computer. However, many people still want and have the habit of watching videos offline to ensure their stability. In this regard, nothing can surpass VLC Media Player.
VLC is packed with features and can play almost any popular video or audio format. While you may not use it often, it's a good idea to have it installed on your computer since it's pretty lightweight.
Additionally, you can consider KMPlayer as a backup option if you don't like using VLC.
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A clipboard manager is a pretty important Windows application, as it saves you a lot of time. Instead of just being able to keep one last copied item on your PC's clipboard, a clipboard manager allows you to manage dozens of copied items at once.
ClipClip is a great Windows clipboard manager. In addition to keeping track of what you copy, it also lets you pin frequently used data snippets for easy access.
The app doesn't have too many options, but there are still hotkeys to control the app: disable clipboard monitoring when needed and choose what the app ignores.
Download: ClipClip (Free)
Windows 10 and 11 come with Windows Defender built in, which is good enough for most users. However, you should still install a secondary security program to supplement it.
No other application can beat Malwarebytes in this regard. The free version of Malwarebytes allows you to scan your system for malware that regular antivirus software cannot catch.
Download: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
See also: 11 best free antivirus software for Windows
Taking screenshots on Windows is useful for everything from capturing funny moments to saving important information. The basic Snipping Tool and Snip & Sketch apps only offer a basic set of features, so you need something better.
You won't find a better free screenshot tool than ShareX. With a multitude of capture methods, a powerful built-in editor, automated steps after taking a screenshot, and additional tools, ShareX has an impressive feature set and won't cost you a dime.
If ShareX overwhelms you, try PicPick.
Regularly backing up your data is very important for every computer user. This ensures that you can get back your important things if you accidentally lose them due to any risks that may occur. There are many software that perform this function well that you can easily find.
In this article, we recommend using SyncBackFree software to synchronize your hard drive. In addition, you can choose other backup software according to your needs such as: EaseUS Todo Backup Free, Genie Timeline, Paragon Backup, Easeus Todo Backup...
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Everyone knows the pain of running out of storage space. That's why one of the useful applications you should install on every Windows system is a disk analyzer.
TreeSize Free is a simple way to manage what's taking up space on your computer. Just open the app and select which drives to scan, and TreeSize will sort all the folders on your PC by their size. You can then see the largest files on your computer and delete or move them accordingly.
Don't waste time manually searching through folders for large files - let this essential utility do the work for you.
Download: TreeSize Free (Free, premium version available)
If you want to automate more of your computer, then AutoHotkey is what you need. It is a customizable scripting tool that allows you to define your own commands, making it as useful as anything you desire.
Some examples of automation include: you can create quick text expansion, enable automatic typo correction, override certain keyboard keys, and create macros to perform certain actions with a few keystrokes.
AutoHotkey can be a little intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a powerful tool to have in your toolkit. Check out our guide to getting started with AutoHotkey: 12 AutoHotKey Scripts to Make Your Life Easier
Download: AutoHotkey (Free)
For Windows 10/11 systems, Driver management is not a big problem. However, if you use Windows 7 or earlier, you may need an additional application to manage device Drivers. You can refer to and use free software called SlimDrivers and DriverMax, which are also great choices.
We have introduced you to the essential applications that Windows 10/11 users should install and most of them are free. If you do not like one of the above options, then surely you have a suitable alternative for yourself. Choose and install the applications that you find suitable to be able to use your computer in the most comfortable way!
Nowadays, malicious links appear more and more and are shared through social networks at a dizzying speed. Just clicking on a malicious link can bring potential dangers to you.
Carrying an entire operating system on a flash drive can be very useful, especially if you don't have a laptop. But don't think this feature is limited to Linux distributions - it's time to try cloning your Windows installation.
Switching the Recycle Bin icon in Windows 11 simplifies wallpaper customization, giving you the look and feel that suits your taste or theme.
This article explains how to change file extensions in Windows 11, as well as discusses the difference between file extensions and file types.
Although it is quite convenient, many people do not like AutoPlay because of security issues. In this guide, you will learn some ways to enable or disable AutoPlay Windows 11.
Depending on the needs of use, users can quickly enable or disable the Language bar on the computer. Below are instructions to enable or disable the Language bar Windows 11.
Luckily, there are some simple ways to detect hidden surveillance software and regain control of your privacy.
Dell provides users with an update solution from TPM 1.2 to TPM 2.0.
When buying a new desktop or laptop, you can save some money by buying a device with basic specifications. You can increase its performance later by upgrading the RAM.
WARP is a VPN that helps you connect to the Internet using Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS while optimizing and securing (i.e. encrypting) your connection. 1.1.1.1 is one of the fastest and most secure DNS options.
In addition to displaying the clock on the Taskbar, on Windows 11, you can adjust to display the clock on the computer screen.
It's scary to see a red light on your motherboard while your system won't boot, especially if your motherboard refuses to tell you why the light is on.
When the Search tool on Windows 10 fails, users cannot search for programs or any data they need.
Microsoft's .NET Framework is a programming platform that includes programming libraries that can be installed or are already included in Windows operating systems. In some cases, your computer cannot install this software. So follow the solution in the article below.
Below is a list of recommended software when installing a new computer, so you can choose the most necessary and best applications on your computer!
Nowadays, malicious links appear more and more and are shared through social networks at a dizzying speed. Just clicking on a malicious link can bring potential dangers to you.
Carrying an entire operating system on a flash drive can be very useful, especially if you don't have a laptop. But don't think this feature is limited to Linux distributions - it's time to try cloning your Windows installation.
Switching the Recycle Bin icon in Windows 11 simplifies wallpaper customization, giving you the look and feel that suits your taste or theme.
This article explains how to change file extensions in Windows 11, as well as discusses the difference between file extensions and file types.
Although it is quite convenient, many people do not like AutoPlay because of security issues. In this guide, you will learn some ways to enable or disable AutoPlay Windows 11.
Depending on the needs of use, users can quickly enable or disable the Language bar on the computer. Below are instructions to enable or disable the Language bar Windows 11.
Luckily, there are some simple ways to detect hidden surveillance software and regain control of your privacy.
Dell provides users with an update solution from TPM 1.2 to TPM 2.0.
When buying a new desktop or laptop, you can save some money by buying a device with basic specifications. You can increase its performance later by upgrading the RAM.
WARP is a VPN that helps you connect to the Internet using Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS while optimizing and securing (i.e. encrypting) your connection. 1.1.1.1 is one of the fastest and most secure DNS options.
In addition to displaying the clock on the Taskbar, on Windows 11, you can adjust to display the clock on the computer screen.
It's scary to see a red light on your motherboard while your system won't boot, especially if your motherboard refuses to tell you why the light is on.
When the Search tool on Windows 10 fails, users cannot search for programs or any data they need.
Microsoft's .NET Framework is a programming platform that includes programming libraries that can be installed or are already included in Windows operating systems. In some cases, your computer cannot install this software. So follow the solution in the article below.
