Tom's Guide: 45 Free and Useful Windows Applications

Once you've got Windows installed on your new machine, you'll no doubt still have a few things to tweak and change before your computer starts to feel like home (like installing your browser of choice, for example). There are tons of great applications out there that can improve your PC experience and a huge amount of them are free. The Tom's Guide team has managed to narrow their favorite free apps down to under 50 in today's '45 Free and Useful Windows Applications.'

For many software developers and publishers, nothing is better than a paying customer. Money is always a great reward, and some of the most widely used software today was the end result of significant time and capital investment.However, there are hundreds of software developers and publishers who willingly make their work available for free. Some of them are complimentary programs offered with paid products or services. Others are reincarnated free versions of formerly commercial software. In many cases, freeware providers just want to make a meaningful contribution, without any expectation of compensation or financial reward.Here are 45 different free applications, programs, and utilities for Windows. We hope you find them as useful as we do!45 Free and Useful Windows Applications

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  • killerclick
    And not a Metro app in sight. Good job Jane!
    Reply
  • JustAnotherNoob
    Well, what do you expect when an article is just a repost...
    Check out the comments inside the story, the first are a year old, then this article was reposted as "new" a few months ago. And now it is sold as "new" for the third time. They didn't even bother to check if the recommendations are still valid/usefull.
    Anyone know any good tech sites with real news?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    JustAnotherNoobThey didn't even bother to check if the recommendations are still valid/usefull. Anyone know any good tech sites with real news?
    Yes, all the recommendations are still valid and useful. I use many applications on this list. Want some real news? Try this
    Reply
  • bystander
    JustAnotherNoobWell, what do you expect when an article is just a repost...Check out the comments inside the story, the first are a year old, then this article was reposted as "new" a few months ago. And now it is sold as "new" for the third time. They didn't even bother to check if the recommendations are still valid/usefull. Anyone know any good tech sites with real news?An article like this doesn't have to be new to be posted. It is useful information for those who may have not seen it before.

    EDIT: sorry killerclick, I had the wrong quote.
    Reply
  • skaz
    Some honorable mentions I'd like to throw out....

    FastStone
    HandBrake
    SyncToy
    VirtualDub
    WinMD5
    RainMeter
    Reply
  • _Cosmin_
    PLEASE FIRE JANE! PLEASE !!!!
    These are only links to other posts... nothing new at all !
    Reply
  • bystander
    _Cosmin_PLEASE FIRE JANE! PLEASE !!!!These are only links to other posts... nothing new at all !It doesn't have to be new to be useful!
    Reply
  • Graham_71
    I would recommend the following

    comodo dragon (Google Chrome) with added security
    comodo ice dragon (Firefox) with added security
    comodo internet security
    Synchredible
    classic shell
    Pegasus Mail
    PeaZip
    oovoo
    Nitro Reader 2
    Emsisoft Emergency Kit
    Reply
  • fkr

    this is the only sight I have gone to for freeware for as long as I remember.

    tech support alert
    Reply
  • wilem_WAR246810
    holy crap I discovered I had 10GB worth of Skyrim save files with TreeSize lol
    Thanks Jane!
    Reply