What are the most necessary programs for a computer? The best free programs for every day Software programs for windows 7

18.03.2016

When installing or reinstalling Windows you will need to reinstall the most necessary programs for your work. If you are doing this for the first time, a trivial question may arise regarding what programs are needed?

There is no single list for everyone. The set of preferred programs varies from person to person. In this article we will talk only about the most necessary ones, including those that you will use from the first seconds of working with a brand new operating system. So ?

Start with drivers

A newly installed Windows 7 system on a computer can immediately open many different formats and types of files. However, installing the same system on a laptop, you may encounter difficulties. It may not contain suitable drivers for various devices. For example, for a video card. And here you may stumble over the problem of performing some operations that are familiar to you. In this case, full communication with the computer will become impossible.

There are two ways out of this situation. The first thing is to find the disk that usually comes with any computer or laptop. If your computer has been upgraded, this disk may not be suitable. For a laptop, there is the following option - download drivers from the manufacturer’s official website. The company, as you understand, is indicated on the case and, most likely, written in rather large letters, and the model, most often, is written on the bottom of the laptop after the name of the manufacturer with the note “ Model».

If the above option does not suit you for some reason, use the program, which you can download from official website. This program will automatically select the necessary set of drivers for your computer.

There is another, most difficult and time-consuming option - searching for each driver on the Internet manually. To do this, we recommend that you have patience and a good antivirus.

CompDude warns : If you are looking for drivers yourself, selecting each one separately, be sure to download them only from the official website of the manufacturer of a particular component or device.

Install antivirus

Having sketched out a list of necessary programs, do not rush to download and install them. Everything has its time! First, you should make sure your computer is protected by installing an antivirus. Before installing an antivirus program, you should not use the Internet or visit any sites that you are not confident in. Having caught a virus on the network, you may need to go back to the very beginning, namely, to the beginning of installing Windows 7. Use only trusted sites, consult with friends. Make sure the downloaded version of the antivirus is up to date. Outdated software will not be able to protect your computer from modern viruses. If possible, update the antivirus database.

You can find out more about what antiviruses exist, which one is best to choose for your computer and laptop, as well as where to download suitable antivirus software at .

Specialists Microsoft regularly release updates for Windows, which also includes all sorts of improvements, bug fixes, etc. Installing such updates will increase your computer's security against threats that are constantly trying to ruin your life. However, this is far from the only reason why you simply need to care about updating the system. Many programs require the latest versions and improvements. They may slow down, not work, or not install at all. Versions with built-in updates and basic software are not uncommon on the Internet. Having installed one of these assemblies, you may not need to update the system in the near future. However, it is extremely difficult to find a high-quality assembly that can meet all your expectations.

Codecs for audio and video
operating system Windows 7 includes a standard set of codecs for video playback and audio playback. However, these codecs do not support all formats. You are likely to encounter difficulty playing some video files or music. To increase the number of formats, you will need to install an additional codec package. One of the most complete collections is, which you can download at this link. This collection includes a pretty good Media Player Classic. Thanks to it, all popular file formats will be available on your computer.

Still, what programs are needed for a windows 7 computer?

You have done minimal system preparation: installed codecs, drivers and antivirus. Now let's look at the programs needed to open and work with all the files that the average PC user might need.

1. 
   A browser is a program for searching all kinds of information on various websites. Thanks to it, you can download the necessary program, find your favorite movie or music, send a letter, communicate on social networks and exchange multimedia files. When installing Windows 7 the browser will be installed automatically Internet Explorer. Its functionality is not suitable for every user. However, thanks to it you can download from the Internet any convenient one for you.

On our website you can find an article about what browsers exist for a computer and, after reading , choose the one that suits you best.

1. Microsoft Office.

This software package was created for editing and creating text documents, tables, presentations, etc. Most users cannot imagine a computer without programs Excel And Word, which are the main subroutines Microsoft Office presented on official website.

If you don’t have enough money to buy this program, use its free analogue OpenOffice.org, or other software with similar functionality.

1. Audio and video player.

Although this is not mandatory, it is still desirable software, since few people are satisfied with the functionality of a standard media player integrated into Windows OS.

Suitable for watching videos WinPlayer or VLC , supporting all current video formats. The ability to play them is limited only by the capabilities of your video card and the performance of the PC as a whole.

But for audio playback, the good old one, well known to everyone, will be quite enough or alternatively, AIMP . If you like to listen to music in lossless formats, we recommend using a simple and convenient Foobar 2000 , which can be downloaded from this link.

This program will help you view images that are stored on your computer. Internal, similar system program Windows 7 , of course, will be able to open all pictures and photographs, however, the abundance of its capabilities is extremely small. This forces users to look for additional programs such as ACDSee Photo Software or others similar. The first is a professional program that allows you not only to open and view, but also to edit images. The second is free, however, many photography lovers sympathize with it. You can download it at official website.

1. Foxit Reader.

The program is designed to view files in pdf format. Almost all modern companies produce their catalogs, drawings, documents, and brochures in this format. Programs from Windows, working with pdf does not exist today. A competitor to modern and nimble Foxit is a well-known program Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download from this link.

Download Foxit Reader you can on official website.

1. Archiver.

A proven archiver designed to reduce file volume. This program will help you send files by email by combining them. You do not need to send and drag individual files into the letter, just transfer the archive created in advance. The competitors of this program were free 7- Zip, WinZip and others.

You can download the trial version at developer website.

Thanks to this program you can burn data to CD and DVD media. These media are losing their popularity every year. This is facilitated by the growth of information on the Internet, hard drives and Flash media. A standard Windows 7 program such as Windows Media can burn music discs, DVDs and CDs. Windows DVD Studio will help you create a DVD video disc. This is where the functionality of standard Windows programs ends. For those who want to have a little more options, we recommend installing Nero Buring ROM or Ashampoo Burning Studio . These are the most convenient and quite popular programs in this area. However, for an ordinary user, a free one is enough, which you can download from here.

A program that creates virtual emulation of a CD/DVD drive. This program will be able to open images of game discs and programs you found on the Internet. A disk image is a complete copy of a laser disk with information recorded on it. Such a disk should be inserted not into a mechanical drive, but into a virtual drive that works in a similar way. - a free, fairly popular program. An analogue of this program is Alcohol 120% and derivatives.

Download DAEMON Tools Lite you can by this link(official site).

1. Skype.

A program for instant exchange of data and messages, as well as video messages. You will be able to make video calls to users from all over the world, as well as write text messages to them, exchange multimedia files, and organize conferences.

You can read more about Skype, as well as where to download it, here . If for some reason this program does not suit you, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with it.

1. Punto Switcher (optional).

A unique program for automatically switching languages ​​on your keyboard. The most popular keyboard layouts in our country are Russian and English. If necessary, the user can change the layout himself using hot keys or the language button on the desktop. However, rapid parallel communication on social networks, Skype and ICQ can make you make an involuntary mistake. Russian text will be typed in English layout. The result will be something similar to “dfjnkjdfldf”. The program will automatically track the writing language and, if necessary, independently change the layout. You can download this utility .

The programs we have reviewed are useful, but not required. If codecs, drivers are installed, an antivirus is installed, the system is updated - everything will work. The specifics of the work and your preferences will help you understand what programs are needed for a windows 7 computer? The list we present may differ greatly from the list of programs you need.

You don’t always have to pay for high-quality, useful and functional software - many programs for a variety of everyday purposes are distributed completely free of charge. Free programs can help you perform a variety of tasks without significantly falling behind their paid counterparts. The review has been updated as of 2017-2018, new system utilities have been added, as well as, at the end of the article, some entertainment items.

This article is about the best, in my opinion, completely free useful programs that can be useful to every user. Below I deliberately indicate not all possible good programs for each purpose, but only those I have chosen for myself (or ideally suited for a beginner).

Previously (before 2018), I indicated Media Player Classic as the best media player, but today my recommendation is the free VLC Media Player, available not only for Windows, but also for other platforms, supporting almost all common types of media content (has built-in codecs).

With it you can easily and conveniently play video and audio, including via DLNA and from the Internet

WinSetupFromUSB and Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive (or multiboot)

CCleaner to clean your computer from junk

Perhaps the most popular free program for cleaning the registry, temporary files, cache and much more on your Windows. There is a built-in uninstaller and other useful tools. The main advantage, in addition to efficiency, is ease of use even for a novice user. Almost everything can be done automatically and it is unlikely that you will spoil anything.

XnView MP for viewing, sorting and easily editing photos

Earlier in this section, Google Picasa was listed as the best program for viewing photos, however, the company has stopped developing this software. Now, for the same purposes, I can recommend XnView MP, which supports more than 500 photo and other image formats, simple cataloging and editing of photos.

Every second Russian-speaking user is, of course, a Photoshop master. By hook or by crook, he installs it on his computer in order to one day crop a photo. Is this necessary if the graphic editor only needs to rotate a photo, place text, combine a couple of photos (not for work, but just like that)? Do you do at least some of the above in Photoshop or is it just installed?

According to my estimates (and I have been using Photoshop in my work since 1999), most users do not need it, many do not use it at all, but want it, and have been planning for several years to one day learn how to work in this program. In addition, by installing unlicensed versions you not only suffer, but also risk.

Do you need an easy-to-learn and high-quality photo editor? Paint.net will be an excellent choice (of course, some will say that Gimp will be better, but it’s unlikely to be easier). Until you decide to do photo editing in a truly professional manner, you won't need more features than the free Paint.net has. You may also be interested in the ability to edit photos and pictures online, without installing programs on your computer: .

Windows Movie Maker and Windows Movie Maker

What novice user doesn’t want to make a great family photo on their computer, containing video from their phone and camera, photos, overlaid music or captions? And after that, burn your film to disk? There are many such tools: . But, probably, the best simple and free program (if we are talking about a completely novice user) for this would be Windows Movie Maker or Windows Movie Studio.

There are many other video editing programs, but this is the one that can be used right away without any prior preparation. .

Data recovery program Puran File Recovery

On this site I wrote about many data recovery programs, including paid ones. I tested each of them in different work scenarios - when simply deleting files, formatting or changing the partition structure. The popular Recuva is very simple and easy to use, but it only works successfully in simple cases: when recovering deleted data. If the scenario is more complex, for example, formatting from one file system to another, Recuva does not work.

Among the simple free programs for data recovery in Russian that have shown the best efficiency, I can highlight Puran File Recovery, the recovery result of which is perhaps better than in some paid analogues.

AdwCleaner and Malwarebytes Antimalware programs to remove malware, Adware and Malware

The problem of malware that is not a virus (and therefore is not seen by antiviruses), but causes unwanted behavior, for example, pop-up advertising in the browser, the appearance of windows with unknown sites when opening the browser, has recently become very relevant.

In order to get rid of such malware, the AdwCleaner utilities (and it works without installation) and Malwarebytes Antimalware are ideal. As an additional measure, you can try.

Aomei Partition Assistant to Partition Disk or Enlarge C Drive

When it comes to programs for working with disk partitions, most people recommend paid products from Acronis and the like. However, those who have at least once tried a free analogue in the form of Aomei Partition Assistant are satisfied. The program can do everything related to working with hard drives (and at the same time it is in Russian):

• Recover boot record
• Convert disk from GPT to MBR and back
• Change the partition structure as you wish
• Clone HDD and SSD
• Work from a bootable flash drive
• Convert NTFS to FAT32 and vice versa.

In general, it’s a really convenient and perfectly working utility, although I myself am usually skeptical about such free software. You can read more about this program in the manual.

Evernote and OneNote for notes

In fact, those who store notes and various information in a variety of notebook programs may prefer other options of similar software other than Evernote.

However, if you haven't done this before, I recommend starting with Evernote or Microsoft OneNote (which has recently been completely free for all platforms). Both options are convenient, keep notes synchronized across all devices, and are easy to understand regardless of your skill level. But even if you need some more serious functions to work with your information, most likely you will find them in these two programs.

7-Zip - archiver

If you need a convenient and free archiver that can work with all common types of archives, 7-Zip is your choice.

The 7-Zip archiver works quickly, integrates conveniently into the system, easily unpacks zip and rar archives, and if you need to pack something, it will do it with one of the maximum compression ratios among programs in this category. Cm. .

Ninite to install all this quickly and cleanly

Many are faced with the fact that when installing even the necessary program, even from the official website, it installs something else that is no longer so necessary. And then it can be problematic to get rid of.

This can be easily avoided, for example, using the Ninite service, which helps download clean official programs in their latest versions and avoid the appearance of something else on the computer and in the browser.

Ashampoo Burning Studio Free for burning CDs and DVDs, creating ISO images

Despite the fact that nowadays it is becoming less and less common to write something to discs, disc burning programs may still be relevant for some. Personally, they come in handy for me. And it is not at all necessary to have any Nero package for these purposes; a program such as Ashampoo Burning Studio Free is quite suitable - it has everything you need.

More information about this and other programs for burning discs:

Browsers and Antiviruses

But I won’t write about the best free browsers and antiviruses in this article, since every time I touch on the topic, those who are dissatisfied immediately appear in the comments. It doesn’t matter which programs I named the best, there are almost always two reasons - it slows down the system and through them the special services (ours and not ours) are watching us. I will note only one material that may be useful: .

So this point will be brief: almost all browsers and free antiviruses that you hear are quite good. Separately, we can note the browser that appeared in Windows 10. It has its flaws, but it's probably the Microsoft browser that will be popular with many users.

Additional programs for Windows 10 and 8.1

With the release of new Microsoft systems, programs that change the Start menu to the standard one from 7, various utilities for design, and more have become especially popular. Here are some that you might find useful:

• Classic Shell for Windows 10 and 8.1 - allows you to return the Start menu from Windows 7 to new OSes, as well as flexibly customize it. Cm. .
• - work in 8 and are standard gadgets from Windows 7 that can be placed on the 10 desktop.
• - a program for automatically fixing Windows errors (and not only version 10). It is notable for the fact that it contains the most common problems that occur to users and you can fix them either by pressing one button, or you can see instructions directly in the program on how to do it manually. Unfortunately, only in English.

Well, in conclusion, one more thing: standard games for Windows 10 and 8.1. For more than 10 years, our users have become so accustomed to Solitaire and Spider, Minesweeper and other standard games that their absence or even just a change in the interface in the latest versions is perceived painfully by many.

But it's okay. This can be easily fixed - (works in 8.1)

Something else

I did not write about some other programs, which will not be particularly useful for most of my readers, since their use is required only for a relatively narrow range of tasks. Therefore, there is no Notepad++ or Sublime Text, FileZilla or TeamViewer and other such things that I really need. I also didn’t write about obvious things like Skype. I will also add that when downloading free programs anywhere, it is worth checking them on VirusTotal.com, they may contain something not entirely desirable on your computer.

Each operating system has its own advantages and disadvantages, weighing them, you have to make a choice in favor of one system or another. There are many programs for each OS and many more are being developed. Although Windows 7 can be said to be morally outdated, since after its release Windows 8 had already appeared on sale and Windows 10 is being prepared for its imminent release.

With the release of new versions of operating systems, improved versions of old useful programs appear or completely new software is developed - this has happened since the advent of Windows 7. To work comfortably in the operating system, you need various applications and programs, the so-called software for Windows 7 For example, programs for downloading files from the Internet, for cleaning the system, antiviruses, browsers, media players and other useful programs will be useful.

Tweak-7

Tweak-7 is a system cleaning program. The utility works with various system settings, the registry and the startup list. Also, using the program you can configure Internet connections, browser and mail.

Without manually configuring the system, you can trust the program and perform the automatic configuration function of Windows 7. Tweak-7 generally optimizes operation and speeds up system performance. Additionally, several useful tools are integrated into the tweaker, for example, a defragmenter and a hard drive cleaner.

Start Menu X

Start Menu X was previously known as Start Menu 7, but the name changed with the release of Windows 8. The program is designed to optimize Windows systems, in particular Windows 7. The utility is specially developed as a convenient replacement for the standard Start menu in Windows.

Start Menu X lets you create, edit, and move menu items, which opens up many possibilities, such as creating a list of frequently used folders so you can open them quickly. The utility differs from similar ones in its unique flexibility in configuration, which allows you to create a menu to your liking.

Windows 7 Manager

Windows 7 Manager is another program for optimizing Windows 7. The program's functionality includes the ability to configure Internet connections, clean up the hard drive and work with the registry, as well as a large number of functions, tools and settings for various system parameters.

Using Windows 7 Manager, you can increase the speed of booting or shutting down your computer and improve the performance of your computer as a whole. The utility also provides detailed information about the system and hardware of the computer.

Download Master

Download Master is a very convenient and beautiful download manager. The program quite effectively solves the tasks assigned to it - download speed, continuation of interrupted downloads and management of downloaded files.

Download Master integrates tightly with browsers, allowing it to replace standard download tools with itself. The program has a scheduled download function, can download files from ftp servers and supports the installation of plugins to expand its functionality.

STDU Viewer

The free STDU Viewer program is a simple and convenient tool for viewing electronic documents, text files and images. The program allows you to work simultaneously with several documents that open in separate tabs.

The functionality of STDU Viewer has added the ability to adjust the brightness and contrast of a document, search for documents, convert electronic documents into graphic formats, and many others.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a free archiver that differs from others in its high compression ratio. The program has a wide range of capabilities, high speed of archiving files, the ability to create self-extracting archives and the ability to protect archives with a password and encryption.

The archiver is integrated into Windows Explorer, which adds convenience to working with the program. 7-Zip supports popular archive formats and at the same time works with its own format.

Windows 7 Codec Pack

Windows 7 Codec Pack is a set of necessary codecs for correct playback of multimedia files. The set consists of the most popular codecs, utilities, filters, plugins and other tools.

The seventh generation operating system from Microsoft is the most popular OS among all currently existing ones, and, of course, the most successful of the Windows family. This is the last “OS”, which was a not 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 accessible to the majority of average users, and the system itself has received, by default, many useful tools for working with documents and files. In the case of Windows 7, users had to independently install the most necessary programs for the computer.

Let's look at 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 a representative of the old line of systems, when they could easily be “ruined” by installing an excessive number of unnecessary programs, utilities and games. Therefore, users are recommended to use special uninstallers that allow them to remove existing programs without a trace, restoring the computer to the state it was before installing unnecessary software.
And among uninstaller programs, two obvious leaders can be distinguished:
CCleaner;
Uninstall Tool

Both solutions allow you to perform comprehensive removal of programs from your computer, however, unlike its opponent, the Uninstall Tool is a paid software. However, finding a key or crack on the Internet for home use of the software is not so difficult.
As for CCleaner, this tool is also capable of removing programs installed on the system efficiently and without leaving a trace. In addition, the “software” 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 films and television series, listening to music. And for all this to be played correctly, the system must have not only the appropriate players, but also codec packages. This will probably come as news to fans of newer members of the Windows family, but versions released before Windows 8 were not able to play all media file formats by default.
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 of the media formats known today. In addition, the software also includes a simple, concise and fast media player “Media player Classic”, which is indispensable when viewing video files.

Archivers
Next on the list of programs you need after reinstalling Windows 7 are archivers. This, as they say, is our everything, because most files downloaded from the Internet are packed into archives. And, which will again be 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 you 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 leadership among these two software giants, WinRar certainly wins the battle for leadership, but this “software” has one drawback - it is paid. However, here there is no need for users to even think about activators or cracks, because the software does not require a mandatory purchase, and users can continue to use it for 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 your PC screen, then you should think about installing the 7zip archiver.

Web browsers
Of course, we must not forget about something without which today it is truly impossible to imagine any computer, laptop, tablet or even smartphone. We are talking about a web browser, a 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 built on the basis of Google Chrome, and will bring nothing but annoying advertising and unnecessary plugins into your life.
The choice should be made on user-recognized, world-famous, convenient and reliable browsers, which we listed above. They all have their advantages. However, for the average user it is almost impossible to identify any significant differences between such software. Therefore, you can make a choice in favor of the browser interface that best suits your preferences.

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, tables, 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 the office software package from Microsoft, which includes all the most necessary tools for text editing, working with tables and presentations.
These two options will be more than enough for both home use and work.

Antivirus
The last thing on the list of the most necessary programs for Windows 7 we want to mention is antivirus software. If in Windows 10 the standard “Defender” is at a high level and, in principle, does not require replacement with any analogues, then the standard “Firewall” of Windows 7 from antivirus software has, alas, only a name, and requires mandatory replacement.

The most suitable options for use include Avast antivirus. 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 necessary to safely use your computer. The only thing that users need to use 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 further optimization of the system, the software should be installed solely at the discretion and needs of the 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 Internet.
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.

In this article we decided to collect only the most necessary programs for Windows to your computer or laptop. Applications are divided into groups according to functionality, which are prioritized for installation.

All programs within each group are arranged according to popularity rating, so if you don’t know which program to install, or it doesn’t matter, download the first program in the list.

Antiviruses

Let's assume that you have just installed new Windows on your computer. What program do you think should be downloaded first? Of course, this is an antivirus. Your system is completely clean and vulnerable to viruses, which you can pick up by installing other programs or simply surfing the Internet without it.

Below we have provided a list of the most popular free antiviruses that have a simple and user-friendly interface, and most importantly, good protection:

Browsers

So, we have already installed protection, now you can start downloading other programs. To work on the Internet, a special program is used - a browser.

By default, in the Windows operating system, which is the most popular OS (especially in the CIS), the initial main browser is the well-known Internet Explorer (which is jokingly called the browser for installing browsers) and the newer version of Microsoft Edge, which appeared with the release of Windows 10.

If you are a Windows 10 user, you can basically try Microsoft's Edge browser because... it is made on the Chromium engine and has nothing in common with its predecessor.

But if you want to choose a browser from popular products, here is a list of the best browsers:

Drivers

So, protection and comfort on the Internet are established. Now we can install drivers for the system to activate all the capabilities of our computer, such as a video card, processor, sound card, etc.

Previously, installing drivers included a whole ritual and took a lot of time, because you had to install each driver separately for each PC component using disks, today everything is much simpler. Modern utilities are able to determine all the necessary drivers for the configuration of your computer or laptop - and automatically install them.

Below we have provided a list of the best and most proven programs for installing drivers:

• (drivers for Nvidia video cards)

Torrent clients

If you are a true pirate, you cannot do without a special program that will help you download movies, TV series, music, games and other files from the Internet absolutely free. Files with the extension “.torrent” can be downloaded using torrent clients.

Here is a list of the most popular torrent clients:

What programs might be useful?

This was only a basic set of programs, but for full-fledged work on the computer, you can install a number of additional applications and utilities that will make using your PC as comfortable as possible.

Communication programs

In the modern world, almost no one uses SMS anymore, because free applications have appeared - instant messengers that instantly deliver your messages to your interlocutor and only require an Internet connection. In addition to banal correspondence, you can make audio or video calls, join communities, receive notifications and much more.

We have given a list of the most popular communication programs below:

• (for games)
• and (chat only)

Movie and music players

Of course, by default, Windows or Mac OS has a built-in media player, which implements all the standard functions necessary for basic viewing of audio or video content. But the basic player does not support some special video file formats, so many users resort to downloading specialized ones that contain all the necessary codecs and functions.

You can download the most popular media players below:

• (codec pack)

Text editors

If your activity is somehow related to viewing or writing text information, you just need to install a convenient one, because reading huge texts in Notepad is very inconvenient. Often, text editors are included in a collection of programs - an office suite, which also contains other applications for working with content, for example: spreadsheet editors, database editors or programs for creating presentations.

The most popular and free official solutions today are:

• (office package)
• (office package)
• (read PDF files)
• or (code editor, for developers)

Archivers

Another useful utility on your computer can be a program for compressing files and folders - . Of course, modern hard drives allow you to store terabytes of information, and perhaps reducing the size of the occupied space is no longer so important, but you can still find zipped data on the Internet that will need to be unpacked when downloading. That's when you will need it.

Here are the three most popular archivers today:

System optimization

If you are a caring owner and are concerned about the condition of your PC, you need to install special