Windows continues to be the most popular operating system for the vast majority of PC users in the world. Such a global success of this system was largely due to very solid software support from developers. Here, on our resource, any user can download programs for Windows 7, 8, XP and 10 for free.
The complete library of free software for Windows 7 and 10
Of course, software can be needed for a variety of purposes. Someone wants to update their system with interesting novelties and new versions of utilities, and someone just installed Windows on their computer and is trying to create a convenient software environment in their system. The catalog of our resource contains many different software solutions of various directions, both commercial and free:
- office packages;
- programs for working with graphics, images and multimedia;
- optimization software for the operating system;
- database applications;
- various tools for developers;
- emulators;
- programs for converting and converting files;
- a rich selection of text and html editors;
- programs for communication with people.
Almost any visitor will be able to find a software product, including for, that will meet his needs. And it doesn't matter what type of user you are - web developer, gamer, movie lover, office worker, designer. Here, in the catalog of free programs for Windows, a complete package of solutions is presented. If the program you need turns out to be paid, then you can easily pick up a free analogue for yourself, since we have similar ones linked by links. For example, Microsoft Office - Open Office, Adobe Photoshop - GIMP.
Useful software for Windows 7 and other versions
Great emphasis is also placed on the relevance of the presented software. Most of the available programs in the catalog are the latest and most up-to-date, and we regularly check our software for updates. Many complex programs can be downloaded both together and by individual components. For example, several Microsoft Office suites of different years of release are available at once. Some elements of this assembly (the same Word) can be downloaded offline. Among the graphics software, stands out the 6th version of a powerful software product from Adobe - Photoshop CS. The user can check the compatibility of his system with the proposed software solution, since each position in the catalog has short descriptions with a set of system requirements and functionality. This will protect you from potential conflicts in the system and will allow you to briefly familiarize yourself with the properties of programs.
The best programs for Windows 10
A large number of users today use the Windows 10 and 8.1 operating system on their computer. It is for them that we have prepared a huge number of free programs and games. With us, the owners of this OS will be able to download any free application in one click. Software for Windows 10 is periodically updated and versions of existing programs are updated in parallel.
The seventh generation operating system from Microsoft is the most popular operating system of all currently in existence, and, of course, the most successful of the Windows family. This is the last "AXIS", which was not a fully optimized tool for working with a computer, requiring modifications and configurations. Starting with Windows 8, the procedure for installing and configuring the operating system has become subject to most average users, and the system itself has received many useful tools for working with documents and files by default. In the case of Windows 7, users had to install the most necessary programs for the computer on their own.
Let's deal with the package of the most necessary software, which must certainly be present on any modern or not the most modern PC running the legendary Seven.
Uninstallers
Perhaps the first of the most necessary programs that are recommended to be installed immediately after installing / reinstalling Windows 7 are uninstallers. The seventh generation OS is representative of the old line of systems, when they could be easily "spoiled" by installing an excessive amount of unnecessary programs, utilities and games. Therefore, users are advised to use special uninstallers that allow you to remove existing programs without a trace, restoring the computer to the state it was before installing unnecessary software.
And among the programs of uninstallers, two obvious leaders can be distinguished:
CCleaner;
Uninstall Tool
Both solutions allow you to perform complex removal of programs from your computer, however, unlike its opponent, Uninstall Tool refers to paid software. However, it is not so difficult to find a key or a crack for home use of software on the Internet.
As for Ccleaner, this tool is also able to qualitatively and completely remove programs installed in the system. In addition, "softina" also has a set of functions for cleaning the computer.
Programs for media files.
Of course, when it comes to what programs are needed for a computer with Windows 7, we must not forget that at home, computers are often used for entertainment. And entertainment, first of all, is watching movies and TV series, listening to music. And in order for all this to be played correctly, the system must have not only the appropriate players, but also codec packs. This will probably be news to fans of newer members of the Windows family, but versions that were released before Windows 8 were by default able to play far from all media file formats.
Therefore, first of all, the most necessary programs for Windows 7 are tools such as K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. This software includes all the necessary codecs to play most media formats known today. In addition, the software includes a simple, concise and fast media player "Media player Classic", which is indispensable when watching video files.
Archivers
Next on the list of necessary programs after reinstalling Windows 7 are archivers. This, as they say, is our everything, because most of the files downloaded from the Internet are packed into archives. And, which will again become news for users of newer versions of Windows, Seven by default is not trained to open files in the “.rar” format, etc.
Therefore, it is recommended that immediately after installing the OS, think about installing the following software to choose from:
winrar;
7zip.
These two options will be enough for you, because these are unprecedented leaders in the field of unpacking any archives. As for the leadership among these two software "giants", WinRar certainly wins the battle for leadership, but this "software" has one drawback - it is paid. However, there is no need for users to even think about activators or cracks here, because the software does not require a mandatory purchase, and users can continue to use it for at least decades. The only inconvenience will be an annoying window notifying them that the program needs to be purchased.
If you do not want to see such pop-up information on the screen of your PC, then you should consider installing the 7zip archiver.
Web browsers
Of course, we must not forget that without which today it is really impossible to imagine any computer, laptop, tablet and even smartphone. We are talking about a web browser, about the program that allows us to access the Internet. And here the answer to the question of what browser programs are needed after installing Windows 7 has three options:
Mozilla Firefox;
Opera;
Google Chrome.
We strongly recommend that you do not pay attention to other analogues, such as the browser from Yandex, Amigo and other dubious software solutions. Often this software is assembled on the basis of Google Chrome, and will bring nothing but annoying ads and unnecessary plug-ins into your life.
The choice should be stopped at the recognized by users, world-famous, convenient and reliable browsers, which we have listed above. All of them have their own advantages. However, for the average user, it is almost impossible to distinguish any significant differences between such software. Therefore, the choice can be made in favor of the most attractive browser interface in terms of its parameters.
Work with documents
Even if the list of the most necessary programs for Windows 7 is selected for a home computer, text editors must be present in it. And among the most suitable options are the following:
Microsoft Office is an application that includes all the necessary tools for working with text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, etc. It is offered for use only for a fee, but you can always find solutions for using the software in the form of license code generators and cracks;
Libre Office is a completely free analogue of Microsoft's office software package, which includes all the most necessary tools for editing text, working with spreadsheets and presentations.
These two options will be more than enough for both home and work use.
Antivirus
The last of the list of the most necessary programs for Windows 7, we want to mention antivirus software. If in Windows 10 the regular “Defender” is at a high level and, in principle, does not require replacement by any analogues, then the standard “Firewall” of Windows 7 from anti-virus software, alas, has only a name and requires a mandatory replacement.
Avast antivirus can be noted as the most suitable options for use. This is shareware software that offers a full range of tools to reliably protect your computer from malware, trojans and other "evil spirits" that are so often found on the Internet.
The free version includes all the functionality you need to use your computer safely. The only thing that users need to use the Avast software for free is to provide their email address to complete the registration procedure.
This was a list of the most necessary programs for Windows 7, which are necessary for correct and comfortable work on a computer or laptop running the legendary OS. As for the further optimization of the system, here the software should be installed solely at the discretion and needs of users. This applies to graphic editors, instant messengers, cloud systems and services, remote support utilities, email clients and other software that can be found on the Web.
We recommend that you do not overdo it with experiments and do not install too many unnecessary programs on your PC, as this may affect the speed of the computer in the future.
On a “clean” newly installed Windows, for normal operation, it is simply necessary to install many more programs, because without them, as you understand, there is nowhere. Let's try to compile a small list of the most necessary programs for a computer, without which, the full use of a computer is simply impossible. Please note that in the article, in the description of any program there is a link to its working version
So...
The most necessary and important program is your anti-virus protection.Usually it is divided into 4 categories: antivirus, firewall, comprehensive protection and computer scanning programs. I prefer complex protection consisting of antivirus + firewall. At the moment I use one of the free ones - Avast! I would recommend using only the most proven antivirus programs: Kaspersky, Norton, ESET(nod32), DrWeb, Avast, Panda, McAfee and other popular ones. In general, a matter of taste. If you don't want to pick up some Trojan, be sure to install it!
Next, install the archiver. Since most files on the Internet are in archives (.rar .zip .7z), we will definitely need an archiver program. I suggest using two at the same time: WinRar and 7Zip.
Their differences can be described in one line: winrar- a beautiful and advanced archiver, but with 7zip it's free. Well, as a bonus - only the archiver 7zip opens .7z format archives
Next on the list we will have disc burning software(although in recent years I have begun to doubt its necessity more and more ... I use disks once every 3 months). dominates here Nero, the most popular program for burning discs (few people are confused by the fact that it is paid). As a free alternative I can advise ImgBurn or shareware Ashampoo Burning Studio- the functionality is smaller, but for its main task - recording discs, it is more than enough.
Further... we need Office. And most likely - Microsoft office(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.). I think you should not paint - you yourself know perfectly well what it is. For lovers of free software, I can advise open office or even better libreoffice- they are almost as good as the brainchild of Microsoft, and they work with Microsoft formats without problems.
Now we will consider codecs. What is this thing for? And so that when watching your favorite movie, you, dear readers, do not have any problems. Without them, many video and audio formats simply won't play! Most Popular Codec Pack - K-Lite Codec Pack. By the way, a very good video player is installed with it - Media Player Classic.
Video viewer essential for any PC user. Even if you have a brand new home theater, you often have to watch a variety of videos on your computer - from clips to video seminars. This task is excellent KMPlayer and Quick Time Player.
We listen to music- Using the standard Windows Media Player, it’s simply impossible to listen to music, no matter how hard the developers try ... 2 of the most popular players are suitable for this purpose: winamp and AIMP. The second player consumes less resources, and besides, it's free. But even here it is a matter of taste and habit. For example, I use two.
I will also advise universal players which both video and audio files are read without problems: GOM Media Player and VLC media player- they read all formats and by the way they are completely free!
We must not forget that we need .pdf file reader. In this format, many books, articles, and other literature are published. Here I recommend Fox Reader, as a replacement for a cumbersome (and even, as it were, paid) monster adobe reader. You may need Adobe Photoshop and view photo albums ACDsee Pro
Text recognising- here is the best program, of course ABBYY FineReader, however, there are free analogues, for example CuneiForm
Don't forget about utilities to keep your system clean - Uninstall Tool and CCleaner. As a result, we have an extensive list of programs - and at least two dozen of them will definitely come in handy for you...
Still, I finally decided to write this long-awaited article by many readers. As you understand from its name, below we will talk about the best free software for computer, without which I personally cannot imagine my digital life, which are installed on all my computers for many years and which have never let me down.
There will be few pictures and a lot of different links, but I hope that all of them will be useful to you, so, as they say, do not switch ...
I want to say right away that absolutely all the programs described on the site I like (hundreds of them) and I personally checked (run in) them all - this is the main principle of the site.
Health while working at the computer
First place is free f.lux computer program, which helps me to preserve my vision for many years when working at the monitor in long evenings and nights. I can’t even imagine what would have happened to my eyes without her help. It eliminates the welding effect of the night screen - automatically adjusts the color temperature of the monitor (not to be confused with brightness).
This indispensable program works wonderfully in all versions of the operating system, up to Windows 10.
There are also excellent alternatives - also free SunsetScreen programs and (the second one is generally a "bomb").
You will find a few more and no less useful computer programs for maintaining health when working at a computer in the corresponding section of the site. "Health and computer" I urge you to pay attention to them.
Computer Security
Virus protection now provides my computer completely free antivirus 360 Total Security, which is equipped with five (!) Protection algorithms. In addition, it has an excellent digital garbage cleaner and a system optimizer built into it - the original solution of the manufacturers, I should note.
I draw your attention to the fact that with proper fine-tuning, any antivirus can be the best for you. For example, I used the paid ESET Nod32 and the free Avast! for a long time! Free Antivirus - both of them saved me many times from the invasion of malware.
I can't keep silent about the free anti-virus scanner Dr.Web CureIt, which brought hundreds of computers of my friends and acquaintances back to life.
I advise you not to forget about a good firewall(firewall) - it also plays a huge role in ensuring the security of your operating system.
You will find descriptions of other free and effective means of protecting your computer from viruses in the Security section of the site.
Programs to speed up your computer
There will be multiple winners in this category...
Let's start by speeding up the computer. Here my leader will be AnVir Task Manager - a powerful manager of tasks, processes, startup, services and services, a virus and spyware detector and destroyer. It was thanks to this magical program (and a couple of other tricks) that I was able to speed up computer startup up to 9.2 seconds- this is my personal record at this point in time (with Windows 7).
The site has a section in which I came across a lot of useful articles on this topic.
What acceleration of a computer can be without periodically cleaning it from digital garbage (logs, "tails" of once deleted programs, etc.). Here my reliable and trusted assistant is the legendary "cleaner" CCleaner. This is the most "long-playing" program on my computers - I have been using it from the very beginning of my computer life.
In addition to her, there a whole bunch of great "cleaners", but CCleaner is my favorite.
After cleaning the system, let's optimize its work - I consider the Advanced SystemCare program to be the leader in this matter. This is a whole combine that has collected a bunch of useful tweaks and utilities under its roof.
Very convenient and understandable program. It can fully optimize the performance of your computer. There is also a manual mode - you yourself indicate what and where to improve in the system.
Described on the website other great optimizers, such as ToolWiz Care .
I continue to list the best free computer programs that I have been using for many years ...
Programs for convenient work at the computer
There are also a couple of leaders in the nomination ...
The most amazing free computer program that has incredibly speeded up and improved my computer work is StrokesPlus. It allows you to control your computer with mouse gestures.
Just a magical free program, I'll tell you - it monstrously optimizes the interaction with Windows Explorer. I can't imagine my computer life without it.
There is an alternative to this program - gMote , but I like the first one much more.
The second best free program that greatly improves the convenience of working at a computer, I think Clover. It adds tab functionality to Windows Explorer (remember browsers). As in the previous case, this greatly increases the speed of navigating through folders.
This program works fine in Windows 7, but there are a number of questions for it in the top ten - a similar (but not so simple) utility called QTTabBar helped me out. With its help, I implemented tabs at the bottom of the window and enjoy the convenience.
my favorite browser
I clearly feel how many readers have tensed up and are already stretching their fingers to start chilling on this topic in the comments to the article. Therefore, I emphasize PERSONALLY MY FAVORITE BROWSER is Mozilla Firefox.
I “sat” on Google Chrome for a couple of years, I really liked the version of Opera called Vivaldi ..., but the Fire Fox suits me best for its flexibility, functionality and the presence of add-ons for all occasions. In terms of speed, today all browsers are like rockets.
Whatever Internet browser you use - do not forget about best ad cutter. It will save your nerve cells, speed up surfing the net and protect you from clicking on fake links.
Program for automatic driver installation
It is no secret that the fast and high-quality operation of all computer components depends on the availability of up-to-date drivers in the system.
The most convenient, simple, safe and high-quality free computer program that automatically scans your system with lightning speed, finds the best driver versions suitable for your long-suffering computer and updates them, is Snappy Driver Installer (SDI).
Hello dear friends! In today's article, I will tell you about all the necessary programs for a computer, without installing which work on it will be very difficult or simply impossible.
To fully use all the features of your computer friend, you need to install the necessary programs on it.
All the necessary programs must be on your computer or laptop, no matter what activity you are doing on it. They significantly expand or improve the functionality of your device.
After installing an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) on a computer, you have access to a certain number of programs built into it (the number and versions of programs depend on the version of the installed OS). As a rule, the functionality of these programs is limited.
To use all the features of the software, we are advised to purchase it (for money, and a lot of it) 🙂 There are many ways to get around these restrictions, or use free software.
The list will contain both paid and free programs that have similar characteristics and perform the same task.
Each program will be analyzed separately. The pros and cons of the programs, their brief description, links to developers' sites for downloading them will be indicated.
All the programs below work only under Windows OS (versions for each program will be indicated separately) So, let's get started ...
Regardless of whether you bought a new computer assembly (with a pre-installed OS), purchased individual components and assembled the computer yourself, or simply reinstalled the operating system, you need to install drivers for the hardware in your computer to get started.
To see if all the drivers are installed on a computer with a preinstalled OS, you need to click the "start" button, then the "control panel" tab, then for Windows 7 select "device manager" from the list that appears, and for Windows XP click "system" and select there "device Manager".
This (or not this) :) menu will appear:
It should not have any red or yellow icons. If they are not there, then all devices are installed and working normally. If there is, then you need to determine the problem by the name of the device, and try to fix it.
Drivers for desktop computers come on discs (CD or DVD)
For laptops, they can also go on disks (when buying a laptop without an OS installed). If the operating system is installed, then more often the drivers are located in a special folder (software distributions, drivers, etc.).
Driver installation order
If you install drivers from a disk and there is an option for automatic installation, you can use it.
This is the best way for an inexperienced user. The disadvantage of this method is the installation of unnecessary programs (various temperature sensors, fan speed control, etc.) that come with the drivers.
If you know what you need to install, then in the disc menu you can uncheck unnecessary programs and put only the necessary ones. Below I have given an example of a disk menu from my motherboard:
Drivers can be installed both automatically and manually, which gives us the opportunity to install all individually or only the drivers we need.
It is desirable to install drivers for each device separately with a computer restart and in a certain order (desirable, but not necessary).
- Chipset
- Sound
- Video
- All other internal devices, and after them peripherals (printer, scanner, etc.)
As soon as we have earned all the devices installed or connected to the computer, we can proceed to install the programs that are so necessary for our work or entertainment.
Archivers
To continue the further installation of the necessary programs, we first need to install the archiver, since almost all software distributions are packed into archives.
The most popular paid archiver is WinRar.
In my opinion, WinRar has the only drawback, it is paid, but it works out 100% of the funds spent on it. This is a great and reliable tool for storing, transferring and protecting any of your files. Whether it's a photo, text document or video. If you do not feel sorry for the money, then this is the best option.
WinZip is also a paid archiver, but WinRar is twice as expensive. In terms of functionality, it is in no way inferior to WinRar, but the usability suffers. Because of these two shortcomings, its rather low popularity affects. Comparative characteristics of these two archivers, you can see.
Now let's move on to the free and very popular 7Zip archiver.
7Zip has all the necessary functionality and is considered one of the best programs for fast compression, storage and transfer of important information. The main advantages of this archiver is the presence of its own 7z compression format, which is ahead of WinRar in terms of speed and compression ratio. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions of the program.
Each of the presented archivers will provide you with everything you need for fast and productive work.
Antivirus
And now let's talk about the next type of necessary software - antiviruses.
Antivirus software is one of the most sought after and popular among all computer users.
Antivirus is considered one of the most necessary programs, not only because of its extreme practical usefulness (with proper configuration and proper application), but simply as a necessary attribute of a normal computer, although many users do not pay any attention to the operation of the antivirus. They believe that if the antivirus is installed, then this is enough. Works, updated, well, okay. Many simply have no time or are not interested in learning at least a little about the capabilities of their antivirus installed and the minimum necessary settings so that it works much more efficiently.
You can afford not to be well versed in Word, Excel and other fairly important programs for everyday work at the computer, but you cannot afford to be irresponsible about your data on the computer.
If the antivirus fails to prevent the threat, then you (under certain circumstances) may lose important documents, photos, etc., and no one wants this. If you do not have copies of data destroyed by a virus, then consider that you have lost them almost irretrievably.
Therefore, choosing a good antivirus that is right for you is a rather difficult task, even for an experienced user, and even less knowledgeable, even more so. Below I will give and briefly describe the most popular anti-virus programs and give links to developer sites.
And remember, there is no perfect antivirus, regardless of whether you choose a paid or free program.
The most popular paid anti-virus program in Russia is deservedly considered Kaspersky Anti-Virus. It has two of the most popular packages representing basic and optimal protection. You can see more details about the capabilities of these products. There are also versions of the program for mobile phones, tablet computers and Apple products.
If you decide to purchase Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky Total Security, then by clicking on this link, you will receive an ORFO spell checker as a gift.
Behind him, in descending order of popularity, are Dr. Web and Eset NOD32. These programs are paid. Their functionality is quite enough to provide the user with good protection against various computer viruses.
Also Dr. Web provides an excellent free virus detection and removal tool, Dr. Web CureIt!
Of the free antiviruses, I would like to highlight avast! Free Antivirus. It provides excellent protection against most existing pests and is simple and easy to use. There is a more powerful paid version called avast! internet security. At the end of 2013, the most powerful version of the antivirus appeared - avast! Premier.
Also, many users use less popular, but not much inferior to their advanced counterparts in finding and destroying malicious code, antivirus programs. These include: AVG Anti-Virus Free, Comodo Antivirus, Avira. All of them are free, but at the same time they provide reliable protection for your computer. McAffe antivirus is very good. It is often installed by default on laptops. By clicking on the picture below, you can learn more about this antivirus. Site in English. To enable any other in the upper right corner, select the special menu item.
A paid antivirus can differ from a free one, both for better and for worse. Algorithms for searching and detecting malicious code are different, and you don't know which virus will get to you. It may be that a simple antivirus can easily catch an unexpected guest, and his fancy fellow will let him through. Choose what suits you best, install, configure and surf the Internet safely.
By the way, I myself have been using the free version of Avast for more than three years, and I am quite pleased with its work. Viruses, of course, slipped through, especially Trojans, but running a full computer scan and using the Dr. Web CureIt! (once a month is enough) solves this problem. The article describes in detail about this and other programs for quickly and efficiently scanning your computer for viruses.
After you and I have protected our computer from the unwanted effects of various malicious programs, we can calm down a little, think and decide. What should we install next? What programs do we need the most?
To do this, ask yourself. What do you do more with your computer? Work or play. After answering it, you will know exactly what to put in the first place, and I will move on to image viewers.
Image viewers
Image viewers or simply "viewers" are an integral part of any computer, because without their capabilities, you will never be able to view your photos or drawings. The lack of such a necessary program in the daily activities of the computer greatly limits your ability to use the unlimited potential of the computer.
All modern operating systems have a built-in viewer for graphic images of almost any format, and it does an excellent job of simple viewing and for many it is enough, but for some users more functionality is needed. For this category, many different (both paid and free) programs have been specially developed to view a huge variety of graphic formats.
Once the most popular paid image viewer ACDSee, it quickly lost ground to its free counterparts.
Thanks to the emergence of full-featured free programs for viewing all kinds of graphic formats, users have a choice, and there is no need to use paid image viewers.
These programs will allow us to view documents and read e-books in popular formats such as PDF and DjVu.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is the most powerful PDF reader and editor. Its capabilities far exceed the requirements of the average user and it is too "heavy", so I advise everyone to install a simple and fast-loading Foxit PDF Reader. This free program is enough to view any documents or books.
WinDjView is a fast and extremely easy to use program for viewing DjVu files. The DjVu format allows you to save printed documents and images with excellent quality in files much smaller than the original ones.
Separately, I would like to highlight such a program as STDU Viewer.
I have been using it since 2015 and am very happy with it. It easily replaces all three previous programs.
Her virtues:
- Reads all major image, book and document formats (see supported formats);
- Light weight;
- Free for non-commercial use;
- Can replace several utilities.
Disadvantages:
In fact, it has one drawback, it is a less convenient and practical interface when working with files and less functionality when working (unlike specialized software), so to speak, a fee for versatility. But many bells and whistles are unnecessary (like me, for example), I looked through the document and forgot. So I strongly advise everyone to add this software to the list of necessary, more than anything else.
Video players
To view videos in a variety of formats, we need to install a video player on the computer.
Here I will give only free video viewers, since there is no need to use paid video players, due to their high price and absolute uselessness for the average user, for whom simplicity and ease of use are more important than fancy functionality.
- probably the most popular video file player for the vast majority of users. The popularity of Media Player Classic is justified by the fact that this player is present in such a popular codec pack as the K-Lite Codec Pack, which will be discussed below. Its capabilities are quite sufficient for normal viewing of movies and video materials, unpretentious and easy to use.
Media Player Classic once again confirms that for most users, speed and ease of use are important, and additional features go by the wayside. Also, this player can be downloaded separately. It is called MPC-HC, which essentially does not change anything. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions.
Next comes a more beautiful and modern video player. This video / audio player has built-in codecs, which allows you to watch video movies (including DVDs) and listen to music without installing any third-party codecs. KMPlayer has advanced video settings that can significantly improve the quality of the video being played, as well as changeable skins to change the look.
And finally, I will present a powerful and very easy-to-use media player.
VLC is a free, open source, cross-platform player for any audio and video information. It, like KMPlayer, has built-in codecs for playing audio and video files. Supports a huge number of formats and various streaming protocols.
To play video on your computer, you can use any of the programs presented here, making a choice based on your aesthetic needs. The capabilities of each of them are enough for use in most everyday tasks.
P.S. I myself constantly use all three multimedia players, depending on the format, the quality of the video file being launched and the mood :). For ordinary DVD Rip movies, Media Player Classic is sufficient, and for watching videos and movies in Full HDTV, I use VLC media player. KMPlayer can play quite well both DVD and HDTV, although I rarely use it, I like it for its excellent design and features.
Audio players
For high-quality playback and listening to music, we need to install a program for playing audio files.
Above in the article, multimedia players were analyzed that are more suitable for playing videos, although all have the ability to play audio files. Using them to listen to music is not very convenient, so I will tell you about audio players that are specially designed to perform this function with the highest possible convenience and quality.
The first representative of this class of programs is the very popular, beautiful and convenient audio player Aimp. In December 2015, the fourth version of this player was released. The player is absolutely free, and it is very pleasing :).
The Aimp player won back, and firmly occupied a niche, the former very popular and high-quality WinAmp music player.
Thanks to its free, beautiful appearance (it is possible to change skins), user-friendly interface, high-quality sound reproduction, functionality and constant updates, it has won the hearts of many users around the world. If you choose Aimp, you will never regret it. Ideal solution for home use.
It has a modest interface, but at the same time it has huge opportunities for expansion, customization and playback of high-quality sound.
The theoretical possibilities of Foobar2000 for high-quality processing of audio files exceed the capabilities of professional audio equipment.
It has a huge number of plug-ins.
An excellent player for those who like to play around with sound settings. It is also very well suited for use in office computers, as it consumes very little RAM and has the ability to adjust the transparency.
It is a fast, very small size (490kb in the archive), but at the same time a powerful and flexible tool for listening to music.
Supports major audio formats WAV, OGG, MP1, MP2, MP3, AIFF.
Due to the extremely spartan interface, using Evil Player is not very convenient, but it does an excellent job of performing its main function.
For a home where several people usually use one computer, it will be inconvenient, and it is very suitable for listening to background music in the office.
Codecs
The most popular, stable, versatile and necessary set of codecs for viewing and processing audio and video files is undoubtedly .
Thanks to the existence of five package options, any user can choose the one that suits him in terms of its functionality.
Basic(Basic) - contains the necessary components to play all popular audio and video formats.
standard(Standard) Same as the base version, plus the very good and essential Media Player Classic Home Cinema discussed above, and a built-in MPEG-2 decoder for playing DVDs.
Full(Full) same as the standard set, plus MadVR, GraphStudioNext and a few additional DirectShow filters.
Mega(and so it is clear) the same as the full package, plus ACM and VFW codecs for encoding and editing video, a few additional DirectShow filters and tools.
Previously, there was a special 64-bit version of the codec designed to work in 64-bit operating systems, but now it is built-in by default and you do not need to download anything separately.
To view full descriptions of the composition and features of various versions of the codec, follow the link above.
It is a set of the most necessary codecs for watching video in the most popular formats and listening to audio files.
The package includes such popular codecs as ffdshow, DivX, XviD, x264, h.264, Windows Media 9, MP4, MPEG4, MPEG2, AC3, DTS, Flash Video Splitter, many filters, various plug-ins and other auxiliary tools for working with video and audio files.
This is a universal free application developed by Adobe Corporation that allows us to view pages with dynamic (interactive) content, beautiful special effects and video clips, play flash games.
Flash technology is very common on the Internet, and using a computer without a Flash player installed, you will not be able to fully use all the possibilities of the modern Internet.
This software is simply necessary to install on any computer.
For instructions on installing Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer, Opera and Mozilla Firefox browsers, click here.
Adobe Flash Player is already built into the Google Chrome browser. Updated automatically.
Office programs
It is the most essential set of office applications created by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X operating systems.
This package includes software that allows you to prepare documents of varying complexity. Allows you to work with various types of documents: texts, spreadsheets, databases, etc.
Microsoft Office occupies a leading position in the word processor market, and its formats are the standard in the workflow of the vast majority of enterprises.
The most popular Microsoft Office applications are Microsoft Office Word for working with text data and Microsoft Office Excel for working with tabular data. But these applications are quite difficult to master on their own, and in self-study, we use the capabilities of these programs by 10-15%. Therefore, if you want to surprise your friends, girlfriends, comrades and work colleagues with an advanced level of Word proficiency, to do your work more efficiently and faster, I advise you to go.
Microsoft Office is an excellent product for processing text and tabular data, but its main disadvantage is the price.
The 2013 version costs about 15,000 rubles. This is a very large amount for us, therefore, in home computers, the vast majority of users have unlocked versions of this program, which is so necessary for many, unlocked in various ways.
Now consider the free office program OpenOffice.
It is the most popular free office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases, and more.
Supports many languages and works great on all personal computers.
OpenOffice is completely free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
The OpenOffice office suite has less functionality and usability, so it will not replace Microsoft Office in enterprises, but for home use it is more than enough.
A simple text editor can also be a very good option (especially for owners of laptops and tablets).
Browsers
(read as Internet Explorer) is a browser developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is included in the package of all operating systems of the Windows family, and thanks to this, it remains one of the most popular web browsers on the Internet today.
For most users who need the Internet occasionally, it will be enough, but for those who spend a little more time at the monitor in search of information and entertainment, a more flexible and customizable tool may be needed.
In general, the latest versions of Internet Explorer are comfortable and work quite well when properly configured.
At the moment, Microsoft is very actively promoting its Microsoft Edge browser, which comes with the Windows 10 operating system. According to user reviews, it is quite good and outperforms Internet Explorer.
Although the package includes many modules, the most common application from this package is Nero Burning Rom. It is responsible for writing, erasing, copying and cloning disks. Nero Burning Rom has established itself as the fastest, most convenient and high-quality disc burning program. Supports recording of all existing discs and formats. The downside of the program is that it is paid, but it is cheaper than Ashampoo Burning. It is the best choice for burning discs among all programs of this class.
On this I want to end the description of the set of necessary programs for any computer running operating systems of the Windows family, and move on to not so necessary, but sometimes necessary software.
Such software includes programs for scanning text and images, translators, downloading files and torrents, communicating on the Internet, cleaning the operating system, convenient work with files and defragmenters. Now about everything in order ...
Convenient file handling
The most popular program for convenient work with files is . This is the best dual pane file manager. It has all possible options for convenient work with multiple files. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions of the program.
A good option would be to use a free file manager. In terms of stability and functionality, it is inferior to Total Commander, but for many it will be enough.
Internet communication
Programs designed for communication via the Internet are divided into those that allow you to talk through a microphone with the ability to connect video communications via a webcam, and simple communication using text. Almost all modern programs support all these options for interaction between users.
The brightest representative of this segment is Skype.
Skype allows you to communicate for free to all Internet users, regardless of their location. It is possible to call any mobile operator or landline number at very low rates.
Easy to install, clear and easy to use, Skype is a must-have for those users who want to use the Internet to the maximum.
A good replacement for Skype can be the Mail.Ru Agent program, but it has a big minus, this is a lower communication quality than Skype. Otherwise, this is a fairly comfortable and high-quality product. It has millions of fans, thanks to the promoted instant messaging service ICQ (better known as ICQ). When downloading the agent (and other programs), be careful. Be sure to uncheck the box before starting the download, otherwise a bunch of any digital badies will fly into your load. With all due respect to Mail.ru, they do not disdain for the sake of a penny to clog our computers with very annoying and, most importantly, absolutely unnecessary software.
Downloading files and torrents
All modern browsers have a built-in module for downloading files from the Internet, but their functionality and ease of use do not satisfy many users. An alternative to the standard methods of downloading information from the Internet can be programs specially designed for this. They are easily integrated into all major and popular browsers, have significantly greater functionality, speed and reliability.
The best program of this class is .
Download Master is a convenient and highly efficient tool for downloading any files. It will provide you with a high download speed, the ability to continue an interrupted download from the point of connection failure, a convenient interface for managing the program and downloaded files.
There is a portable version of Download Master Portable, which, being written to a USB flash drive or a portable disk, will allow you to download from any computer connected to the World Wide Web. All versions of Download Master are free.
Another good program for downloading files from the Internet.
In terms of its functionality, Free Download Manager is in no way inferior to Download Master, but loses in ease of use, although many people like it, just because of its simplicity and the presence of only the necessary controls.
The following program is a torrent downloader. If you do not understand what is at stake, then read what torrent files are.
µTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients in the world.
The advantages of this program are its small size, convenient and intuitive interface, and most importantly, it is absolutely free. I advise everyone who downloads large amounts of data from torrent trackers.
Cleaning the operating system
To keep the operating system in good working condition and remove unnecessary files and programs from it, we just need a program.
CCleaner is the best free program to optimize your computer's registry and files. After finishing your work, you will see how much faster and more efficiently your computer will work.
CCleaner will instantly free up valuable hard disk space, while you can be sure that the program will work correctly and reliably. The program will not delete any necessary files. Built-in support for the Russian language, the small size of the program and a clear and simple interface make CCleaner an indispensable assistant, both at home and at work.
Recently, to optimize and clean up the operating system from various garbage, I began to use Advanced SystemCare. Great replacement for many cleaners.
Defragmenters
Very fast, powerful and reliable defragmenter.
Auslogics Disk Defrag allows you to optimize the file system, placing both system and regular files to speed up your computer. Supports running in the background. Free for commercial and home use.
There is also a portable version of Auslogics Disk Defrag, which can be written to a USB flash drive or removable disk, with the further ability to run the program on any other computer without installation.
Optical text and image recognition
If you frequently work with text and graphics data, you may need such necessary software as programs for text and image recognition.
It is a leader in the field of optical data recognition and has all the necessary functionality for quickly and easily converting paper documents into electronic editable formats. It defines and allows you to convert to documents of various formats, both textual and tabular data, and images. It does all this with maximum speed and quality. It does not matter to her the type of document being defined, whether it is a photograph of a book or a plain text document. ABBYY FineReader will detect the data in both documents with the same quality. There is a built-in spell checker. The downside of the program is its cost.
For those who are not ready to pay for the ABBYY FineReader OCR program, there is its free counterpart CuneiForm.
The functionality and quality of CuneiForm is inferior to ABBYY FineReader, but it copes very well with scanning simple documents and images. Any printed fonts are recognized.
The results of the work can be translated and edited in any office programs and text editors, and then saved in popular formats.
To improve the quality of recognition, CuneiForm uses a dictionary check. The standard dictionary can be extended by inserting new words from text files. Suitable for everyone who needs optical data recognition from case to case.
Text translators
The electronic dictionary is the most powerful package for translating text from one language to another.
It comes in home and professional versions, which differ in the set of dictionaries. Each version has the ability to connect additional dictionaries. It has a huge standard database of words and popular phrases. It has the highest quality automatic translation of the text, selecting the translation of words according to the meaning and content of the translated material. ABBYY Lingvo is a very high-quality paid product that has far left its competitors, both paid and free, far behind. It is simply necessary for everyone who studies foreign languages and translates texts.
NeoDic is a free program for contextual text translation. It will help you cope with the translation of unfamiliar words by simply hovering the mouse cursor over the desired word or phrase. This type of translation is very convenient to use when viewing information on the Internet. The program supports the Russian language, has a small size and many settings that allow you to change the program to suit your needs.
This concludes my review of the necessary programs for your computer. The set of software presented above is sufficient for the full use of all the main features of the computer that the vast majority of users use, at home or in the office.
You can download them from official sites (this is not always convenient), using the links provided in the article, or go to the useful resources page and select the one you like from the listed directories of free programs, search and download the desired program from it.
If you liked this article, then maybe you will be interested in my other materials. To view all blog articles, please follow the link to. The author of this article and the blog Computer for Everyone is Alexander Osipov. See you on the pages.
