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List of recommended Windows software: Difference between revisions

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==Package manager==
==Package manager==
You can (and should) install a package manager. It gives you the benefit of being able to download and install a lot of popular software via a single command on the command line, instead of
Windows 10 and 11 come with [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/ WinGet], the Windows package manager. Using a package manager gives you the benefit of being able to download and install a lot of software via commands rather than having to navigate to a website, download it and run an installer. If you don't want to use the Microsoft Store, take a look at [https://chocolatey.org/ Chocolatey] or [https://scoop.sh/ Scoop].
having to navigate to a website, download it and run it. Take a look at [https://chocolatey.org/ Chocolatey NuGet] and [https://npackd.appspot.com/ NPackd] for more info. This is an advantage that OSX and Linux users have been enjoying for years, and now you should too.


For an all-at-once installation to install all of your selected favourite software in one go (useful on a fresh install of Windows), check out [https://ninite.com/ Ninite].
For an all-at-once installation to install all of your favourite software in one go (useful on a fresh install of Windows), check out [https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil winutil].


==*nix environment on Windows==
==*nix environment on Windows==
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If you're feeling a bit limited or alienated with Windows' command line tools, you can set up a native *nix environment on Windows.  
If you're feeling a bit limited or alienated with Windows' command line tools, you can set up a native *nix environment on Windows.  


*[https://www.cygwin.com/ Cygwin] is a good choice to "''Get that Linux feeling - on Windows''." It is basically the Wine of Windows, but without recreating system libraries and such. GOW is considered an improvement on it.
*The [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/ Windows Subsystem for Linux], allows you to run a Linux container inside Windows. Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and OpenSUSE are officially supported, but there's a [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/use-custom-distro guide for using a custom distro].
*[https://github.com/bmatzelle/gow/wiki GOW] is GNU on Windows. It's like a much lighter Cygwin, it comes with a terminal option in Windows explorer, and also comes with over Linux 100+ binaries natively compiled for Windows.
*If you don't feel comfortable with containerization, [https://www.cygwin.com/ Cygwin] is a good alternative. Cygwin offers a large selection of GNU coreutils and extras, natively compiled for Windows.
*[http://www.mingw.org/ MinGW] is another minimalist set of *nix binaries natively compiled for Windows.
*[https://www.mingw-w64.org/ MinGW-w64] is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection and it's utilities for Windows.
*[https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net MobaXterm] SSH client and terminal with embedded X server for Windows; supports the remote desktop protocols RDP, VNC and Xdmcp and connects via SSH, telnet, rlogin, Mosh and SFTP; also available as portable version for USB stick.
*The native Windows build of [https://gitforwindows.org/ Git] provides a shell with simple *nix programs like cp, mv, rm, etc. and other basic coreutils you might need. Read the page for details.
*[https://gitforwindows.org/ Msysgit] is not as big of a *nix environment as the others. It is the native Windows build of git, which also provides a shell with simple *nix utilities with cp, mv, rm, etc. and other basic coreutils you might need. Read the page for details.
 
*If you're running Windows 10, there's the [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10 Windows Subsystem for Linux], which allows you to run an Ubuntu environment natively in Windows (think Wine but in reverse). Other distros are officially supported including Debian and SUSE, and there's a [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/use-custom-distro guide for using a custom distro].
*[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-on-windows?view=powershell-7.4#install-powershell-using-winget-recommended Powershell 7] is ''not'' POSIX-compliant but it is adopting increasingly ''POSIX-like'' syntax, so if you want to tough it out, consider updating to the newest version. Additionally, [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-home/ Windows Dev Home] adds native sudo for Windows.
*[[SSH]]


==Communications==
==Communications==
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===Web browsers===
===Web browsers===
 
{{Main article|Web browsers}}
''See also: [[Web browsers]]''


[[File:Firefox.png|48px]] '''Firefox'''
[[File:Firefox.png|48px]] '''Firefox'''
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[[File:Software_Chromium.png|48px]] '''Chromium'''
[[File:Software_Chromium.png|48px]] '''Chromium'''


[https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium Chromium] builds are based off the underlying code of Chrome. While nearly identical to Google's browser, they lack proprietary components like automatic updating and flash player. However, Chromium still [https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=498272 phones home] to Google.
[https://chromium.woolyss.com/ Chromium] builds are based off the underlying code of Chrome. While nearly identical to Google's browser, they lack proprietary components like automatic updates and Widevine DRM. However, non-Ungoogled Chromium still [https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=498272 phones home] to Google.


[[File:Iridium_Browser_Logo.png|48px]] '''Iridium'''
[[File:Otter-browser-icon.png|48px]] '''Otter Browser'''


[https://iridiumbrowser.de/ Iridium] is a FLOSS fork of Chromium stripped of as many botnet and proprietary [https://iridiumbrowser.de/faq.html "features"] as possible. It [https://archive.is/VQ2I9 used to phone home to Iridium's servers] for development purposes, but [https://github.com/iridium-browser/iridium-browser/issues/55 it no longer does that]. Nonetheless, it is still as fast as a Chromium fork is expected. Use at your own risk.
[https://otter-browser.org/ Otter Browser] is a FOSS web browser that aims to recreate the best aspects of the classic Opera (12.x) UI using Qt5.


[[File:Palemoon.png|48px]] '''Pale Moon'''
[[File:Palemoon.png|48px]] '''Pale Moon'''


[https://www.palemoon.org/ Pale Moon] is a snowflake fork of Firefox under a snowflake open source license. It has a familiar pre-"Australis" UI, and maintains support for the older XUL addon/theming standard. Uses its own "Goanna" rendering engine, forked from Gecko, which performs poorly with some CSS/JS-heavy sites. Does not support current Firefox addons, and has its own [https://addons.palemoon.org addons] (see also: [https://justoff.github.io/ JustOff addons]).
[https://www.palemoon.org/ Pale Moon] is a fork of Firefox that maintains support for the older XUL addon/theming standard. It retains the "Australis" UI, and uses its own "Goanna" rendering engine, forked from Gecko, which performs poorly with some CSS/JS-heavy sites. Does not support current Firefox addons, and has its own [https://addons.palemoon.org addons] (see also: [https://justoff.github.io/ JustOff addons]).
 
[[File:Opera.png|48px]] '''Opera'''
 
[https://www.opera.com/ Opera] is a proprietary web browser that has pioneered open web standards for over two decades. It is notable for being the first web browser to sport a tabbed interface. It is developed and maintained by Opera Software. It used to feature its own rendering engine called Presto, but it has been since superceded by Chromium's Blink engine.
 
[[File:Falkon.png|48px]] '''Falkon'''
 
[https://www.falkon.org/ Falkon] is a KDE web browser using QtWebEngine rendering engine, previously known as QupZilla. It aims to be a lightweight web browser available through all major platforms. This project has been originally started only for educational purposes. But from its start, Falkon has grown into a feature-rich browser.
 
Falkon has all standard functions you expect from a web browser. It includes bookmarks, history (both also in sidebar) and tabs. Above that, it has by default enabled blocking ads with a built-in AdBlock plugin.


[[File:Torbrowser.png|48px]] '''Tor Browser'''
[[File:Torbrowser.png|48px]] '''Tor Browser'''
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[[File:Seamonkey-icone-6933-128.png|48px]] '''SeaMonkey'''
[[File:Seamonkey-icone-6933-128.png|48px]] '''SeaMonkey'''


[https://www.seamonkey-project.org/ SeaMonkey] is a continuation of the Mozilla suite. Unlike most modern web browsers, it is an Internet suite, complete with bundled programs for email, IRC, and web design. It is compatible with most Firefox add-ons.
[https://www.seamonkey-project.org/ SeaMonkey] is a continuation of the Mozilla suite. Unlike most modern web browsers, it is an Internet suite, complete with bundled programs for email, IRC, and web design. It is compatible with most XUL add-ons.
 
[[File:Midori.png|48px]] '''Midori'''
 
[https://www.midori-browser.org/ Midori] is a fast, lightweight, LGPL licensed browser using the WebKit rendering engine. It is the default browser in Elementary OS, Raspbian and Trisquel Mini.


[[File:Kmelogo.gif|48px]] '''K-Meleon'''
[[File:Kmelogo.gif|48px]] '''K-Meleon'''


[http://kmeleonbrowser.org/ K-Meleon] is a FOSS web browser for Windows. It uses the Gecko rendering engine just like Firefox, but sports a native Windows UI. It is absurdly configurable. Also very suitable for Pentium M and older systems because of it's speed.
[http://kmeleonbrowser.org/ K-Meleon] is a FOSS web browser for Windows. It uses the Gecko rendering engine just like Firefox, but sports a native Windows UI. It is absurdly configurable. Also very suitable for resurrecting Pentium M and older systems because of it's speed.
 
[[File:Otter-browser-icon.png|48px]] '''Otter Browser'''
 
[https://otter-browser.org/ Otter Browser] is a FOSS web browser that aims to recreate the best aspects of the classic Opera (12.x) UI using Qt5.


===Email clients===
===Email clients===
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Desktop email clients provide off-line email storage and additional features over most web-mail clients.
Desktop email clients provide off-line email storage and additional features over most web-mail clients.


[[File:Icon_Thunderbird_small.png|48px]] '''Thunderbird'''
[[File:Betterbird.png|48px]] '''Betterbird'''


[https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/ Thunderbird] is a free and open source email client based upon the Gecko rendering engine. Like its sibling Firefox, it offers the user extensive customization options via third-party add-ons.
[[Betterbird]] is a fork of the more well known Thunderbird. After Mozilla followed in the inglorious footsteps of GNOME where features are removed and bugs closed as <code>wontfix</code>, Betterbird stepped up and delivers fixes and features. It is compatible with most Thunderbird addons.


[[File:Icon_Claws-Mail.png ‎|48px]] '''Claws-Mail'''
[[File:Icon_Claws-Mail.png ‎|48px]] '''Claws-Mail'''
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===Instant Messaging (IM) clients===
===Instant Messaging (IM) clients===
'''Element'''


[https://element.io/ Element] is a free and open source cross-platform instant messaging client and the flagship implementation for the Matrix protocol. It's a solid Discord alternative, with support for voice and video calling. DMs are end-to-end encrypted by default. Bridges to other messaging services, such as Discord, Jabber, iMessage and more are available with [https://matrix.org/ecosystem/bridges/ third party bridges]. Unfortunately, however, it is an Electron app.


[[File:Icon_Pidgin_small.png|48px]] '''Pidgin'''
[[File:Icon_Pidgin_small.png|48px]] '''Pidgin'''


[https://sourceforge.net/projects/pidgin/ Pidgin], formerly known as GAIM, is a free and open source instant messaging client developed in C. It is based upon [https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/WhatIsLibpurple Libpurple] and offers support for XMPP, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr out of the box. Support for additional protocols like Matrix and Signal is offered through [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type=Protocol third-party plugins]. Plugins are available for [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type=Security+and+Privacy OTR, OMEMO] and [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type= many other features]. Beware it [https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/PlainTextPasswords stores passwords in plain text by default].
[https://sourceforge.net/projects/pidgin/ Pidgin] is a free and open source instant messaging client developed in C. It is based upon [https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/WhatIsLibpurple Libpurple] and offers support for Jabber (XMPP), Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr out of the box. Support for additional protocols like Matrix and Signal is offered through [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type=Protocol third-party plugins]. Plugins are available for [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type=Security+and+Privacy OTR, OMEMO] and [https://www.pidgin.im/plugins/?publisher=all&query=&type= many other features]. Beware it [https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/PlainTextPasswords stores passwords in plain text by default].
 
[[File:Gajim-logo.png|48px]] '''Gajim'''


[https://gajim.org/ Gajim] is a FOSS cross-platform GUI XMPP client written in Python. It supports OMEMO [https://dev.gajim.org/gajim/gajim/-/wikis/help/gajimfaq#does-gajim-support-off-the-record-encryption-otr and not OTR].
[[File:Discord.png|48px]] '''Discord'''


[[File:Retroshare.png|48px]] '''RetroShare'''
[https://discord.com Discord] is a non-free VoIP and instant messaging client, widely used for gaming. [https://stallman.org/discord.html It is absolutely chock-full of spyware] but it is the main platform that normies use.


[https://retroshare.cc/index.html RetroShare] is an open source decentralized communication platform. It provides secure chat, photo and video sharing using OpenPGP to authenticate peers and OpenSSL to encrypt all communication.
[[File:Gajim-logo.png|48px]] '''Gajim'''


[https://ricochet.im/ Ricochet IM] is and end-to-end encrypted instant messages which uses [[Tor]] hidden services.
[https://gajim.org/ Gajim] is a FOSS cross-platform GUI Jabber client written in Python. It supports OMEMO [https://dev.gajim.org/gajim/gajim/-/wikis/help/gajimfaq#does-gajim-support-off-the-record-encryption-otr and not OTR].


===Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients===
===Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients===
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[[File:HexChat.png|48px]] '''HexChat'''
[[File:HexChat.png|48px]] '''HexChat'''


[https://hexchat.github.io/ HexChat] is a popular replacement for the XChat IRC client, a client which offered a free binary for Linux but charges money for the Windows version. HexChat is a continuation of XChat and makes both its source code and binaries available to users of all platforms it's created for. Like its parent software, HexChat is licensed under the GNU GPL. It includes all the basic features one would need, and can be ideal both for new users and IRC veterans. Has built-in plugins for Lua, Perl and Python scripting.
[https://hexchat.github.io/ HexChat] is a continuation of XChat and makes both its source code and binaries available to users of all platforms it's created for. Like its parent software, HexChat is licensed under the GNU GPL. It includes all the basic features one would need, and can be ideal both for new users and IRC veterans. Has built-in plugins for Lua, Perl and Python scripting.
 
[[File:Smuxi.png|48px]] '''Smuxi'''
 
[https://smuxi.im/ Smuxi] is another crossplatform IRC client and uses the GTK. It has some scripting capability and looks about the same on all systems. It doesn't have many features but it does those that it has well.
 
[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chatzilla/ ChatZilla] is an IRC client addon for Seamonkey and other XUL clients such as Pale Moon and Waterfox Classic. Great for people who want basic IRC features without having to install an additional application.
 
[https://wwww.mirc.com mIRC] is a proprietary shareware IRC client with a rich built-in scripting language that has been in active development since 1995.


[https://www.kvirc.com KVIrc] is a FOSS IRC client using QT.
[http://chatzilla.hacksrus.com/ ChatZilla] is an IRC client addon for XUL clients such as SeaMonkey and Pale Moon. Great for people who want basic IRC features without having to install an additional application.


====Terminal/Command prompt====
====Terminal/Command prompt====
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*Thunderbird has support for IRC and other IM services.
*Thunderbird has support for IRC and other IM services.
*Opera had similar chat support which was dropped in 10.10.
*Opera had similar chat support which was dropped in 10.10.
*As mentioned above, Seamonkey can support IRC.
*As mentioned above, SeaMonkey can support IRC.
*Chrome can also support IRC through extensions, although some of them are actually websites; 'CIRC' and 'Byrd IRC' appear to be native clients, but I have not tested them as you must be signed into Google in order to install them. They might be usable by loading their source. ''I'll test them eventually''.


===Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) clients===
===Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) clients===
[[File:Jitsi.png|48px]] '''Jitsi'''
[https://meet.jit.si Jitsi Meet] is a Discord/Skype alternative using standards compliant FLOSS. It supports text encryption with OTR and audio/video encryption with ZRTP. The downside is it is a web app.


[[File:Mumble.png|48px]] '''Mumble'''
[[File:Mumble.png|48px]] '''Mumble'''


[https://www.mumble.com/ Mumble] is free and open source audio chat software. It is superior in audio quality and latency by always being the first client to use latest technologies, such as the Opus audio codec.
[https://www.mumble.com/ Mumble] is free and open source audio chat software. It is superior in audio quality and latency by always being the first client to use latest technologies, such as the Opus audio codec.
[[File:Teamspeak.png|48px]] '''TeamSpeak'''
[https://www.teamspeak.us/en TeamSpeak] is non-free and widely used for gaming. It has lots of permissions/ACL tuning available. Servers must be often licensed to use without restrictions. Servers under the free license allow up to 32 clients. The client has a backdoor that allows TeamSpeak Systems GmbH. to blacklist any server and take full control.
[[File:Skype.png|48px]] '''Skype'''
[https://www.skype.com/en/ Skype] is botnet mode in full effect. No seriously. It is also closed source and susceptible to state snooping. Skype is not only bloated, buggy, and resource intensive, but the bloat and resource hogging only goes up with each major update. It is absolutely not recommended for privacy, and only recommended for normal non controversial conversations with your friends and family who won't settle for anything else. New versions of Skype are now a cancerous Electron app, but the old version [https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/skype-classic/ is still available]. Block {{ic|apps.skype.com}} in your firewall or hosts file to block Skype ads.
[[File:Jitsi.png|48px]] '''Jitsi'''
[https://jitsi.org/downloads/ Jitsi] is a real Skype alternative using standards compliant FLOSS. It supports text encryption with OTR and audio/video encryption with ZRTP. The downside is it being bulky Java.


[[File:Google_Voice.png|48px]] '''Google Voice'''
[[File:Google_Voice.png|48px]] '''Google Voice'''


[https://voice.google.com/u/0/about Google Voice] runs in a web browser and requires a plugin for full functionality. There does not appear to be official desktop software for this. The botnet never felt so good. Free phone numbers, calling, texting, and integration into Gmail.
[https://voice.google.com/about Google Voice] runs in a web browser and requires a plugin for full functionality. There does not appear to be official desktop software for this. The botnet never felt so good. Free phone numbers, calling, texting, and integration into Gmail.
 
[[File:Ekiga.png|48px]] '''Ekiga'''
 
[https://ekiga.org/ Ekiga] is an open source SIP client. It is not entirely clear to what extent encryption is possible.
 
[[File:Tox.png|48px]] '''Tox'''
 
[[Tox]] is a decentralized open source alternative to Skype. It is in early alpha stage and almost has VOIP working.


==Search utilities==
==Search utilities==
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File compression software is widely used by various software distributors and archives to mitigate bandwidth and storage space requirements.
File compression software is widely used by various software distributors and archives to mitigate bandwidth and storage space requirements.


[[File:Icon_7zip_small.png|48px]] '''7zip Archiver'''
[[File:Icon_7zip_small.png|48px]] '''7zip'''


[https://www.7-zip.org/ 7zip] is a free and open source file archiver developed in C++ by Igor Pavlov. Its primary feature is lossless compression in the 7z format, based upon the [[Wikipedia:Lempel%E2%80%93Ziv%E2%80%93Markov_chain_algorithm |Lempel–Ziv–Markov chain algorithm]]. In addition to the handful of formats it is capable of creating new archives in, 7zip can retrieve files from archives in virtually any format that one is likely to encounter.  
[https://www.7-zip.org/ 7zip] is a free and open source file archiver developed in C++ by Igor Pavlov. Its primary feature is lossless compression in the 7z format, based upon the [[Wikipedia:Lempel%E2%80%93Ziv%E2%80%93Markov_chain_algorithm |Lempel–Ziv–Markov chain algorithm]]. In addition to the handful of formats it is capable of creating new archives in, 7zip can retrieve files from archives in virtually any format that one is likely to encounter.  


[http://www.e7z.org/ Easy 7-Zip] is an alternative build of 7-zip which has some extra features like icons on the context menu, extra options in many dialogs and the ability to minimize to tray while extracting. It's licensed under the same license too.
[https://github.com/M2Team/NanaZip NanaZip] is a derivative of 7zip which has some extra features like icons on the context menu, extra options in many dialogs and the ability to minimize to tray while extracting.  


[[File:PeaZip.png|48px]] '''PeaZip Archiver'''
[[File:PeaZip.png|48px]] '''PeaZip'''


''The PAQ and LPAQ methods are capable of an impressive degree of lossless compression, but the time and system resources required are equally impressive.''
''The PAQ and LPAQ methods are capable of an impressive degree of lossless compression, but the time and system resources required are equally impressive.''


[https://www.peazip.org/ PeaZip] is a free and open source archiver developed in free Pascal by Giorgio Tani. It is notable for its native PEA format and its support of cutting-edge compression technologies like [[Wikipedia:PAQ |PAQ and LPAQ]] that are not supported by other popular archivers. Like 7zip, it is capable of retrieving files from virtually any archive that one might encounter.
[https://peazip.github.io/ PeaZip] is a free and open source archiver developed in free Pascal by Giorgio Tani. It is notable for its native PEA format and its support of cutting-edge compression technologies like [[Wikipedia:PAQ |PAQ and LPAQ]] that are not supported by other popular archivers. Like 7zip, it is capable of retrieving files from virtually any archive that one might encounter.
 
[[File:Icon_WinRAR_small.png|48px]] '''WinRAR Archiver'''
 
''Unless one has some specific purpose in mind, the use of WinRAR is not recommended.''
 
[https://www.rarlab.com/ WinRAR] is a proprietary shareware archiver developed by the brothers Eugene and Alexander Roshal. Its once ubiquitous RAR format is still used almost universally by the Warez Scene, although it has falling out of favour with many other communities due to the growing popularity of 7z. Although it is only capable of creating new archives in the RAR and ZIP formats, WinRAR is capable of extracting files from archives created by many other compression tools. Scene releases are known to be troublesome to extract using extraction tools ''other'' than WinRAR.


==File sharing==
==File sharing==
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[https://transmissionbt.com/download/ Transmission] is a popular free and open source client that is easy to use and lightweight. For years it has been the preferred BitTorrent client on macOS and GNU/Linux, and it finally has received an official release on Windows.
[https://transmissionbt.com/download/ Transmission] is a popular free and open source client that is easy to use and lightweight. For years it has been the preferred BitTorrent client on macOS and GNU/Linux, and it finally has received an official release on Windows.


[[File:Utorrent_2_logo.png|48px]] '''μTorrent 2.2.1'''
===FTP clients===


[https://www.oldapps.com/utorrent.php?old_utorrent=8134/ μTorrent 2.2.1] is outdated, unmaintained and proprietary. However, it is generally recommended as the only acceptable version of μTorrent for Windows. It stays true to μTorrent's original bloat-free philosophy, remains free of advertisements, and is accepted at nearly every private tracker.
[[File:Icon_WinSCP_small.png|48px]] '''WinSCP'''


[[File:Halite-200.png|48px]] '''Halite'''
[https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/ WinSCP or Windows Secure Copy] is a free and open source FTP, SFTP, and SCP client written in C++.


[https://sourceforge.net/projects/halite/ Halite] is a FOSS, Windows-only BitTorrent client, based on the excellent libtorrent library developed by Arvid Norberg. The program also relies heavily on the Boost libraries. At one point, it was a fantastic replacement for the botnet client uTorrent, and shared many of the same features. However, it has not been updated since December 2015, and has issues recognizing two different torrents with the same name as, well, different torrents. It is recommended to use qBittorrent, Deluge, or Transmission instead.
'''TermSCP'''


===FTP clients===
[https://termscp.veeso.dev/ TermSCP] is a cross-platform free, open source TUI file transfer utility written in Rust.


[[File:Icon_FileZilla_small.png|48px]] '''FileZilla'''
===Direct Connect===
'''FlyingCarpet'''


[https://filezilla-project.org/ Filezilla] is a free and open source FTP, SFTP, and FTPS client written in C++. Sourceforge downloaders should be advised that the installer offered there potentially contains adware.
[https://github.com/spieglt/FlyingCarpet FlyingCarpet] is an open-source AirDrop clone, Written with Rust.


[[File:Icon_WinSCP_small.png|48px]] '''WinSCP'''
'''Sharedrop'''


[https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/ WinSCP or Windows Secure Copy] is a free and open source FTP, SFTP, and SCP client written in C++.
[https://sharedrop.io/ ShareDrop] uses WebRTC to share files between two devices. Can be used in any web browser.


===Direct Connect===
[[File:Eiskalt.png|48px]] '''EiskaltDC++'''
[[File:Eiskalt.png|48px]] '''EiskaltDC++'''


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===XDCC===
===XDCC===
Filesharing over IRC; IRC Clients with support for XDCC include HexChat, KVIrc, mIRC and irssi. See also: [[XDCC]].
Filesharing over IRC; IRC Clients with support for XDCC include HexChat and irssi. See also: [[XDCC]].


==Maintenance==
==Maintenance==


===Disk cleaners===
===Disk cleaners===
{{warning|Most, if not all "PC cleaner" programs are at best, [https://spyware.neocities.org/articles/ccleaner snake oil], and at worst, [https://www.howtogeek.com/162683/pc-cleaning-apps-are-a-scam-heres-why-and-how-to-speed-up-your-pc/ malware]. Cleaning the registry [https://www.windowsbbs.com/threads/xp-fixes-myth-1-registry-cleaners.61015/does next to nothing]. Any app that claims to "speed up your PC" by removing junk files is almost guaranteed to be predatory in some fashion. Steer well clear!}}


===Storage management===
[[File:Bleachbit.png|48px]] '''BleachBit'''
[[File:Bleachbit.png|48px]] '''BleachBit'''
[https://www.bleachbit.org/download Bleachbit] is a lightweight free open-source disk cleaner that can manage deletion of unnecessary files.
[https://www.bleachbit.org/download Bleachbit] is a lightweight free open-source disk cleaner that can manage deletion of unnecessary files.


[[File:Icon_CCleaner_small.png|48px]] '''CCleaner'''
[[File:dupeguru-logo.png|48px]] '''dupeGuru'''


[https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner CCleaner] is a proprietary freeware disk clean-up utility developed by Piriform, but it also comes with features to mass delete unnecessary registry entries, uninstall programs, management of system restore points, start-up entries, scheduled tasks, context entries, and web browser plug-ins. It has been around longer than Bleachbit, but Piriform has since bundled the free app with garbage that uses more resources, and nags you to get the premium subscription constantly. [https://forums.tomsguide.com/threads/ccleaner-any-good.376654/ Avoid using the registry cleaner] unless you know what you are doing; there is a low chance you might muck up your computer.
[https://github.com/arsenetar/dupeguru dupeGuru] is a FOSS program for finding duplicates in your computer. Supports images, audio and other multiple scan types such as filename, content and tags.


[[File:Icon_Revo_small.png|48px]] '''Revo Uninstaller'''
'''Bulk Crap Uninstaller'''


[https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo-uninstaller-free-download/ Revo Uninstaller] is a proprietary freeware uninstaller tool that calls the uninstaller for programs and scans and prompts for the deletion of file and registry remnants of said programs.  
[https://www.bcuninstaller.com/ Bulk Crap Uninstaller] is a FOSS uninstaller tool that calls the uninstaller for programs and scans and prompts for the deletion of file and registry remnants of said programs. It aims to be an open-source version of the popular "Revo Uninstaller" tool.
 
'''Wise Registry Cleaner'''
 
[https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-registry-cleaner.html Wise Registry Cleaner] is a great tool that cleans the registry. When combined with other software like Malwarebytes and Wise Disk Cleaner it can do a ton to help a slow computer be less slow.
 
'''SystemCarePro'''
 
[https://systemcarepro.net/ System Care Pro] is a cleaner tool that generally used to clean all the files which comes during the internet usage while going on different sites and those files are not compatible for proper functionality of the system .


===Disk defragmenters===
===Disk defragmenters===
{{warning|Only use these programs on your hard disk drives. [https://www.howtogeek.com/855293/should-you-defrag-your-ssd/ Defragmenting can shorten the lifespan of your SSDs]}}


[[File:Icon_Defraggler_small.png|48px]] '''Defraggler'''
'''Windows Disk Defragmenter'''


[https://www.ccleaner.com/defraggler Defraggler] is not a good defragment tool and has even been benchmarked to be on average WORSE than the default windows tool. See benchmark [http://www.hofmannc.de/en/windows-7-defragmenter-test/benchmarks.html here].
Windows comes with a proprietary defragmentation tool that should cover most typical use cases.


[[File:Icon_MyDefrag_small.png|48px]] '''MyDefrag'''
[[File:Icon_MyDefrag_small.png|48px]] '''MyDefrag'''


[http://www.mydefrag.net/ MyDefrag] is a proprietary freeware disk defragmenter based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft. It also optimises file locations.
[http://www.mydefrag.net/ MyDefrag] is a proprietary freeware disk defragmenter based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft. It also optimises file locations.
'''Wise Disk Cleaner'''
[https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-disk-cleaner.html WiseCleaner] is great at removing a lot of unnecessary clutter on your install that tends to slow things down.


===Disk image and back-up tools===
===Disk image and back-up tools===


[[File:Macrium_Reflect.png|48px]] '''Macrium Reflect'''
[[File:Macrium_Reflect.png|48px]] '''Macrium Reflect 8'''


[https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree Macrium Reflect Free] is the free version of Macrium Reflect 7 Home. It can schedule full backups as well as incremental ones, with the paid version offering a second increment for storage saving. The Free edition has an indefinite license and is not a trial.
[https://archive.org/details/Macrium_Reflect_Free_Latest Macrium Reflect 8] is the last free version of Macrium Reflect. It can schedule full backups as well as incremental ones, with the paid version offering a second increment for storage saving. Versions newer than Macrium Reflect 8 no longer offer a free indefinite trial.


===File recovery tools===
===File recovery tools===
 
{{Main article|Data recovery}}
''See also: [[Data recovery]]''
 
[[File:Icon_TestDisk_small.png|48px]] '''TestDisk'''
[[File:Icon_TestDisk_small.png|48px]] '''TestDisk'''


[https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download TestDisk]
[http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk TestDisk] was primarily designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition Table).


[[File:Icon_Recuva_small.png|48px]] '''Recuva'''
[[File:Icon_PhotoRec.png|48px]] '''PhotoRec'''


[https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva Recuva]
[http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec PhotoRec] is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and lost pictures (thus the Photo Recovery name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the file system and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even if your media's file system has been severely damaged or reformatted.


===File syncing tools===
===File syncing tools===
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[https://freefilesync.org/ FreeFileSync] compares your files and folders with other files and folders from target locations, and adds or updates them accordingly
[https://freefilesync.org/ FreeFileSync] compares your files and folders with other files and folders from target locations, and adds or updates them accordingly


===System information tools===
[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/robocopy Robocopy] is the built-in Windows file sync utility. It functions similarly to rsync.
 
[https://syncthing.net/ Syncthing] is a cross-platform file-syncing utility.


[[File:Icon_CPUZ_small.png|48px]] '''CPU-Z'''
[https://winpinator.swisz.cz/ Winpinator] is the unofficial Windows port of the popular Warpinator file sync utility.


[https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html CPU-Z]
===System information tools===


[[File:Icon_GPUZ_small.png|48px]] '''GPU-Z'''
[[File:Icon_CPUZ_small.png|48px]] '''CPU-Z & GPU-Z'''


[https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ GPU-Z]
[https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html CPU-Z] and [https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ GPU-Z] are proprietary freeware that provide detailed information about your CPU and GPU, respectively.


[[File:Icon_HWMonitor_small.png|48px]] '''HWMonitor'''
[[File:Icon_HWMonitor_small.png|48px]] '''HWiNFO'''


[https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html HWMonitor]
[https://www.hwinfo.com/HWiNFO HWiNFO] is proprietary freeware that provides overall system information and a litany of temperature and fan sensor readouts.  


[[File:Icon_Speccy_small.png|48px]] '''Speccy'''
'''Fastfetch'''


[https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/ Speccy]
[https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch Fastfetch] is a cross-platform TUI system information utility written in C. Use it to look cool in desktop threads.


==Multimedia==
==Multimedia==
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===Media players===
===Media players===


[[File:mpv-logo.png|48px]] '''mpv (mpv plays videos)'''
[[File:mpv-logo.png|48px]] '''mpv'''


[https://mpv.io/ mpv] is an incredibly powerful and widely-used fork of mplayer2 and MPlayer. It features ffmpeg playback, high quality scaling algorithms, OpenGL output, proper color management, and is completely free and open-source. With youtube-dl, it can also play video and audio streams, and even .gif files!
{{tip|''The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.''}}


[[File:bomi_logo.png|48px]] '''bomi'''
[https://mpv.io/ mpv] is an incredibly powerful and widely-used fork of mplayer2 and MPlayer. It features FFMPEG playback, high quality scaling algorithms, OpenGL output, proper color management, and is completely free and open-source. With yt-dlp, it can also play video and audio streams, and even .gif files!


[https://bomi-player.github.io/ bomi] is a multimedia player formerly known as CMPlayer, which is aimed for easy usage but also provides various powerful features and convenience functions.
'''mpv.net'''


[[File:mpc-hc.png|48px]] '''MPC-HC (Media Player Classic)'''
[https://github.com/mpvnet-player/mpv.net mpv.net] is an mpv derivative that uses more native Windows components for theoretically better performance and aesthetics.
 
[https://mpc-hc.org/ MPC-HC] (main article: [[MPC-HC]]) is an open source media player on Windows with extensive file support, and no bloat or harmful software. Different renderers and shaders are also available from the community.


[[File:vlc-logo.png|48px]] '''VLC'''
[[File:vlc-logo.png|48px]] '''VLC'''
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[https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC] is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
[https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC] is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.


[[File:kcp.png|48px]] '''KCP (Kawaii Codec Pack)'''
[[File:mpc-hc.png|48px]] '''MPC-HC (Media Player Classic)'''


[https://haruhichan.com/forum/showthread.php?7545-KCP-Kawaii-Codec-Pack KCP] is a codec pack. It's basically a fork of MPC-HC, instead of manually installing the recommended filters, this does it all for you.
[[MPC-HC]] is an open source media player on Windows with extensive file support, and no bloat or harmful software. Different renderers and shaders are also available from the community. Development is currently in maintenance mode.
 
*[[PotPlayer]]


====Media center and HTPC====
====Media center and HTPC====
[[File:Kodi.png|48px]] '''Kodi'''
[[File:Kodi.png|48px]] '''Kodi'''


[https://kodi.tv/ Kodi] (former XBMC) is a free and open source GPL software media center featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It is highly customizable via skins and addons. There are even addons available for streaming from internet services like YouTube and Twitch.tv. It plays nearly every video and music format out of the box. The built in scrapers can pull data from sites like IMDB and thetvdb to allow sorting media by actor, genre, rating, etc. It can export this data to local files for offline use.
[https://kodi.tv/ Kodi] (formerly known as XBMC) is a GPL-licensed software media center featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It is highly customizable via skins and addons. There are even addons available for streaming from internet services like YouTube and Twitch.tv. It plays nearly every video and music format out of the box. The built in scrapers can pull data from sites like IMDB and thetvdb to allow sorting media by actor, genre, rating, etc. It can export this data to local files for offline use.
 
[[File:Plex.png|48px]] '''Plex'''
 
[https://www.plex.tv/ Plex] is a fork of the former XBMC (now Kodi). It has separate front-end (player) and back-end (server) components. Plex Media Server, unlike the free frontend, is a combination of free and proprietary software, with the majority of the code being proprietary. It has many of the same features as Kodi, but focuses more on its web interface. It also excels at on the fly video transcoding to allow playback over slow connections.
 
[[File:Emby.png|48px]] '''Emby'''
 
[https://emby.media/ Emby] is another media server solution that was FOSS but became proprietary. It has local user accounts unlike Plex and focuses extremely in user customization. This includes the glory of ricing, metadata, and custom plugins. Its main issue is that its application are restricted in certain devices behind a paywall. For example, its free to view media on Amazons FireDick but iOS devices are freeware.


[[File:Jellyfin.png|48px]] '''Jellyfin'''
[[File:Jellyfin.png|48px]] '''Jellyfin'''


[https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin] is a fork of Emby created by the developers after it went proprietary. Tries to grab every feature that Emby has.
[https://jellyfin.org/ Jellyfin] is a free and open source media server based on the last FOSS version of Emby. It does not require any online accounts or come bundled with any free IPTV garbage unlike Plex, whilst retaining excellent performance.


===Media converters and rippers===
===Media converters and rippers===
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[https://mkvtoolnix.download/ MKVToolNix] is a set of FOSS tools by Moritz Bunkus for working with Matroska files. It can mux, split and merge mkv files with no transcoding or loss of quality. It can also add or remove audio and subtitle tracks, change track order and edit metadata.
[https://mkvtoolnix.download/ MKVToolNix] is a set of FOSS tools by Moritz Bunkus for working with Matroska files. It can mux, split and merge mkv files with no transcoding or loss of quality. It can also add or remove audio and subtitle tracks, change track order and edit metadata.


*[http://project-x.sourceforge.net/ ProjectX] can resync DVB (Digital TV broadcasts) ready for encoding.
'''yt-dlp'''
*[https://ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/index.html Youtube-dl] is a command line program for downloading videos from Youtube and similar sites.
 
[https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp yt-dlp] is a command line program for downloading videos from YouTube and similar sites.


[[File:EAC.png|48px]] '''EAC'''
[[File:EAC.png|48px]] '''EAC'''
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[[File:foobar-logo.png|48px]] '''Foobar2000'''
[[File:foobar-logo.png|48px]] '''Foobar2000'''


[https://foobar2000.org/download Foobar2000] (main page: [[Foobar2000]]) is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint, and native support for several popular audio formats. It supports ASIO output.
[[Foobar2000]] is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint, and native support for several popular audio formats. It supports ASIO output.


[[File:musicbee-logo.png|48px]] '''MusicBee'''
[[File:musicbee-logo.png|48px]] '''MusicBee'''
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*[https://www.musicpd.org/clients/mpc/ mpc] is a minimalistic terminal MPD client.
*[https://www.musicpd.org/clients/mpc/ mpc] is a minimalistic terminal MPD client.
[[File:Icon_Clementine.png|48px]] '''Clementine'''
[https://www.clementine-player.org/ Clementine] is a great music player with many options and plugins available. It plays all the file types you might need.


[[File:Icon_Strawberry_Player.png|48px]] '''Strawberry'''
[[File:Icon_Strawberry_Player.png|48px]] '''Strawberry'''
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===Audio editors===
===Audio editors===
'''Tenacity'''
[https://codeberg.org/tenacityteam/tenacity Tenacity] is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder made as a replacement to Audacity which now includes telemetry. It has support for LADSPA, Nyquist, VST, Audio Unit effect and VAMP analysis plug-ins.
'''FFMPEG'''
[https://ffmpeg.org FFMPEG] is ''also'' the gold standard for audio encoding and editing, command line based.


[[File:Picard.png|48px]] '''Musicbrainz Picard'''
[[File:Picard.png|48px]] '''Musicbrainz Picard'''


[https://picard.musicbrainz.org/ Picard] If you've got a collection of <s>legally obtained</s> music that you want organized in an acceptably uniform way, then you need to get an mp3 tagger to parse mass edits to the filenames and ID3 metadata. There are several out there, but the only one you should be using is Picard. Developed by the Musicbrainz community, Picard has been around for years and it's a feature-rich solution with a whole shitload of tools that will make organizing your hoard of mp3s easy.
[https://picard.musicbrainz.org/ Picard] If you've got a collection of <s>legally obtained</s> music that you want organized in an acceptably uniform way, then you need to get an mp3 tagger to parse mass edits to the filenames and ID3 metadata. There are several out there, but the only one you should be using is Picard. Developed by the Musicbrainz community, Picard has been around for years and it's a feature-rich solution with a whole shitload of tools that will make organizing your hoard of mp3s easy.
[[File:Icon LMMS.png|frameless]] '''LMMS'''
[https://lmms.io/ LMMS] is a free and open source DAW that allows you to create melodies and beats, synthesize and mix sounds, and arrange samples. You can have fun with your MIDI keyboard and much more – all in a user-friendly and modern interface. Furthermore LMMS comes with many ready-to-use instrument and effect plugins, presets and samples. Compatible with many standards such as SoundFont2, VST(i), LADSPA, GUS Patches, and MIDI.


===Image viewers===
===Image viewers===
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[https://imageglass.org/ ImageGlass] is a small FOSS image viewer. It has support for 70+ formats and plugins. However, it has few manipulation tools compared to similar software.
[https://imageglass.org/ ImageGlass] is a small FOSS image viewer. It has support for 70+ formats and plugins. However, it has few manipulation tools compared to similar software.


[[File:nomacs-icon3.png|48px]] '''nomacs | Image Lounge'''
[[File:nomacs-icon3.png|48px]] '''nomacs'''
 
[https://nomacs.org/ nomacs] is a free and open source image viewer, which supports multiple platforms. You can use it for viewing all common image formats including RAW and PSD images. It can browse images in zip or MS Office files which can be extracted to a directory. It also has support for plugins and batch processing. 
 
[[File:honeyview-logo.png|48px]] '''Honeyview'''


[https://www.bandisoft.com/honeyview/ Honeyview] is a very fast image viewer supporting various formats. It also supports viewing the images in compressed ZIP, RAR, or 7z files without extraction.
[https://nomacs.org/ nomacs] is a free and open source image viewer, which supports multiple platforms. You can use it for viewing all common image formats including RAW and PSD images. It also has support for plugins and batch processing.


[[File:irfanview-logo.png|48px]] '''Irfanview'''
[[File:irfanview-logo.png|48px]] '''Irfanview'''
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[https://sourceforge.net/projects/jpegview/ JPEGView] is a lean, fast and highly configurable viewer/editor with a minimal GUI.
[https://sourceforge.net/projects/jpegview/ JPEGView] is a lean, fast and highly configurable viewer/editor with a minimal GUI.
===Comic and manga viewers===
[[File:cdisplayex.png|48px]] '''CDisplayEX'''
[https://www.cdisplayex.com/ CDisplayEX] is a freeware comic book archive viewer that supports reading from CBZ/CBR/CB7/PDF/EPUB format with many features. It also provides native cover thumbnail in Windows Explorer, color filters, Leap Motion support and many more.
[[File:ahoviewer.png|48px]] '''Ahoviewer'''
[https://github.com/ahodesuka/ahoviewer/releases Ahoviewer]is Free open source Booru browser and Manga reader and also an image viewer, it supports CBZ,CBR, RAR and other common extensions, it also supports webms and it lets you Browse different boorus and download images and videos from there.


===Image editors===
===Image editors===


;Raster art
;Raster art
[[File:Icon_GIMP.png|48px]] '''GIMP'''
[https://www.gimp.org/ GIMP] is a very powerful image editor with many advanced features, a steep learning curve, and a wide array of plugins.


[[File:Icon_Krita.png|48px]] '''Krita'''
[[File:Icon_Krita.png|48px]] '''Krita'''
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[https://www.getpaint.net/ Paint.NET] started as an MS Paint alternative. It now integrates plenty of features such as layers and effects.
[https://www.getpaint.net/ Paint.NET] started as an MS Paint alternative. It now integrates plenty of features such as layers and effects.


[[File:Icon_Pinta.png|48px]] '''Pinta'''
'''Photopea'''


[https://pinta-project.com/pintaproject/pinta/ Pinta] is a relatively simple image editor with an interface inspired by Paint.NET.
[https://photopea.com Photopea] is a free clone of Adobe Photoshop CS6 that works in-browser. All photo processing is done on device. The software is closed-source and ad-supported. The app can be "installed" from Chromium-based browsers to provide an Electron-app like experience. Ads can be disabled with [https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/by-site/photopea.com userscripts]
 
'''Affinity Photo'''
 
[https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/ Affinity Photo] is a paid, proprietary, non-destructive photo editor that provides excellent Photoshop compatibility and a similar workflow - $35


;Vector art
;Vector art
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[https://inkscape.org/ InkScape] is a vector graphic editor.
[https://inkscape.org/ InkScape] is a vector graphic editor.
'''Vectorpea'''
[https://vectorpea.com Vectorpea] Adobe Illustrator CS6 clone. Same developer and caveats as Photopea.


===Screenshot Handlers===
===Screenshot Handlers===
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===Video editors===
===Video editors===


[[File:Shotcut-logo-64 400x400.png|48px]] '''Shotcut'''
[[File:kdenlive.jpg|48px]] '''Kdenlive'''


[https://shotcut.org/ Shotcut] is a free and open-source cross-platform video editing app for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Shotcut supports many video, audio, and image formats via FFmpeg and screen, webcam, and audio capture. It uses a timeline for non-linear video editing of multiple tracks that may be composed of various file formats.
[https://kdenlive.org/en/ Kdenlive] is a free and open source multi-track video editor made by the KDE Team. it's based on FFMPEG and is compatible with a variety of video and audio formats.


[[File:kdenlive.jpg|48px]] '''Kdenlive'''
'''Olive'''
 
[https://www.olivevideoeditor.org/ Olive] is a free, open source video editor currently in beta seeking to provide a more modern editor workflow. it's one of the most promising free (as in freedom) video editors currently.
 
'''FFMPEG'''
 
[https://ffmpeg.org FFMPEG] is the gold standard for video encoding and editing. Olive and Kdenlive are pretty much just wrappers around FFMPEG and you can do everything they can do, without bloat, using just the terminal.
 
'''Pikimov'''
 
[https://pikimov.com Pikimov] is a freeware video and motion graphics editor web app with a very similar workflow to Adobe After Effects. Everything is processed on-device. It currently does not support Firefox
 
'''Davinci Resolve'''


[https://kdenlive.org/en/ Kdenlive] is a free and open source video editor made by the KDE Team and also has a Windows port, it's one of the most promising free (as in freedom) video editors, it's also based in FFmpeg and it's compatible with several video and audio format, some of the features of Kdenlive are: Multi-track editing, highly configurable, bundles with 'dozens of effects', etc; and also it's a very new-friendly program.
[https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve Davinci Resolve] is a proprietary, professional colour grading tool and video editor. It is free, with a paid version available.


===3D modeling===
===3D modeling===
[[File:Icon_Maya.png|48px]] '''Autodesk Maya'''
[http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-maya/overview Maya] offers a comprehensive creative feature set for 3D computer animation, modeling, simulation, rendering, and compositing on a highly extensible production platform. Maya now has next-generation display technology, accelerated modeling workflows, and new tools for handling complex data.


[[File:Icon_Blender.png|48px]] '''Blender'''
[[File:Icon_Blender.png|48px]] '''Blender'''


[https://www.blender.org/ Blender] is a 3D animation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
[http://www.blender.org/ Blender] is a free and open source 3D graphics suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline; modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
 
==Office==
==Office==


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[[File:Icon_SumatraPDF_small.png|48px]] '''Sumatra PDF'''
[[File:Icon_SumatraPDF_small.png|48px]] '''Sumatra PDF'''


''The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.''
{{tip|''The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.''}}


[https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html Sumatra PDF] is a free and open source PDF, ePub, Mobi, XPS, DjVu, CHM, CBZ, and CBR reader. Unlike most competing products for Windows, it is extremely fast and lightweight, now with 64 bits binaries.
[https://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html Sumatra PDF] is a free and open source PDF, ePub, Mobi, XPS, DjVu, CHM, CBZ, and CBR reader. Unlike most competing products for Windows, it is extremely fast and lightweight, now with 64 bits binaries.


[[File:Evince.png|48px]] '''Evince'''
[[File:Okular.png|48px]]'''Okular'''  


[https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evince/Downloads Evince] is a free and open source PDF, PostScript, DjVu, TIFF, XPS and DVI reader. While it is better known as a component of GNU/Linux's GNOME desktop environment, a Windows build is available.
[https://okular.kde.org/ Okular] is the default document viewer for the systems that are bundled with the KDE environments. It supports PDF, PS, Tiff, CHM, DjVU, epub and many other common extensions, it also has some nice features such as annotations, drawing, highlighting and it's completely free and open source.


[[File:Adobe_Digital_Editions.png|48px]] '''Adobe Digital Editions'''
===Word processors===


[https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions.html Adobe Digital Editions] is a god-tier book-reading application. It displays ePub, PDF and more. It is meant for reading books and does not serve well as a conventional document viewer for other purposes. Since it's Adobe, you shouldn't be surprised to hear that it sends metadata of every single book in your computer to Adobe's server.[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/10/adobe-spyware-reveals-again-price-drm-your-privacy-and-security]
[[File:Icon_LibreOffice-Writer.png|48px]] '''LibreOffice Writer'''


[[File:Gsview.png|48px]] '''GSView'''
[https://www.libreoffice.org/ LibreOffice Writer] is the word processor in the LibreOffice suite. After Oracle acquired OpenOffice, it asked community members to GTFO [https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Community_Council_Log_20101014]. Since everyone despises Oracle, the developers all jumped ship as well [https://digitizor.com/and-so-the-exodus-begins-33-developers-leave-openoffice-org/] and started LibreOffice.


[https://artifex.com/GS_View/ GSView] is a user-friendly viewer for various document formats including Postscript, PDF, XPS, EPUB (version 2, no DRM), CBZ, JPEG, and PNG files. GSView leverages the viewing capabilities of [https://mupdf.com/index.html MuPDF], along with the conversion capabilities of Ghostscript to provide both a fast and high-quality on-screen experience and high-quality export and conversion features. It is extremely lightweight, and so may lack features compared to more robust options, but is well suited for reading. Free to download and use unrestricted, but is licensed commercially.
'''OnlyOffice'''


[[File:Okular.png|48px]]  
[https://www.onlyoffice.com/ OnlyOffice] is a free and open source document processing suite focused on Microsoft Office compatibility. It can either be hosted as a web service or run locally.


[https://binary-factory.kde.org/job/Okular_Nightly_win64/ Okular] is the default document viewer for the systems that are bundled with the KDE environments, Okular is also part of the [https://community.kde.org/Windows KDE Windows Project] so there's an official Windows port and it's regularly updated, it supports PDF, PS, Tiff, CHM, DjVU, epub and many other common extensions, it also has some nice features such Dark theme, annotations, drawing, highlighting and it's completely free and open source.
'''WordTsar'''
CON: It's not lightweight.


===Word processors===
[http://wordtsar.ca/ WordTsar] is an open-source clone of the extremely popular DOS word processor, WordStar. Comes with an optional GUI and the ability to save in some slightly less antiquated file formats (like .docx)


[[File:Icon_LibreOffice-Writer.png|48px]] '''LibreOffice Writer'''
'''Obsidian'''


[https://www.libreoffice.org/ LibreOffice Writer] is the word processor in the LibreOffice suite. After Oracle acquired OpenOffice, it asked community members to GTFO [https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Community_Council_Log_20101014]. Since everyone despises Oracle, the developers all jumped ship as well [https://digitizor.com/and-so-the-exodus-begins-33-developers-leave-openoffice-org/] and started LibreOffice.
[https://obsidian.md Obsidian] is a free and open source Markdown editor designed for note-taking. It is highly extensible [https://obsidian.md/plugins with plugins]. A multi-device sync service is offered as a subscription.  


==Programming==
==Programming==
To manage your programming projects, consider setting up individual developer environments with [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-home/ Windows Dev Home]. This will prevent you from entering dependency hell, at the cost of some of your storage space.


===Text editors===
===Text editors===
Using a command prompt text editor on Windows is a bad idea if the language you write in has accents because Windows’ command prompt still uses an old code page ([[Wikipedia:Code_page#IBM_PC_.28OEM.29_code_pages |OEM]]) which is not compatible with UTF-8. This basically means ugly code and text that will show up differently depending on the OS and language.
[[File:Notepad++.png|48px]] '''Notepad++'''
[[File:Notepad++.png|48px]] '''Notepad++'''


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[[File:Icon_Sublime-Text.png|48px]] '''Sublime Text'''
[[File:Icon_Sublime-Text.png|48px]] '''Sublime Text'''


[https://www.sublimetext.com/ Sublime Text] is a closed source, but sophisticated text editor for code, markup and prose.
[https://www.sublimetext.com/ Sublime Text] is a paid, proprietary text editor for code, markup and prose.


[[File:Icon_GVim.png|48px]] '''GVim'''
'''Neovim'''


[https://www.vim.org/ GVim] is a graphical frontend for Vim. An extremely feature-rich programmer's text editor with extensive plugin support.
[https://neovim.io/ Neovim] is a Vim fork designed to reduce attack surface and improve editor speed. An extremely feature-rich programmer's text editor with extensive plugin support.


[[File:Icon_Emacs.png|48px]] '''Emacs'''
[[File:Icon_Emacs.png|48px]] '''Emacs'''
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[[File:Icon_Spacemacs.png|48px]] '''Spacemacs'''
[[File:Icon_Spacemacs.png|48px]] '''Spacemacs'''


[https://www.spacemacs.org/ Spacemacs] is a community developed configuration for Emacs that makes it easier for anyone to use this amazing developer tool. Spacemacs is a well thought out way to apply the vast and diverse power of Emacs, making it more accessible especially to those who are used to using Vi.
[https://www.spacemacs.org/ Spacemacs] is a community developed configuration for Emacs, making it more accessible especially to those who are used to using Vi.


[[File:Icon_Atom.png|48px]] '''Atom'''
'''Visual Studio Code'''


[https://atom.io/ Atom] is a free and open source, cross-platform text editor. It is developed by GitHub and has embedded Git control. It is billed as "a hackable text editor for the 21st Century." Upon first launching the program, you will be prompted to consent to telemetry services, which you can opt-out of.
[https://code.visualstudio.com/ Visual Studio Code] is a free and open source, cross-platform text editor. It is developed by Microsoft. Despite being based on Electron like Atom, its performances are usually superior compared to the later, while delivering equivalent functionalities.


'''Visual Studio Code'''
===Integrated Development Environment (IDE)===


[https://code.visualstudio.com/ Visual Studio Code]is a free and open source, cross-platform text editor. It is developed by Microsoft. Despite being based on Electron like Atom, its performances are usually superior compared to the later, while delivering equivalent functionalities.
[[File:Visualstudio.png|48px]] '''Visual Studio'''


[[File:Icon_Brackets.png|48px]] '''Brackets'''
[https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/ Visual Studio] is Microsoft's IDE for C, C++, .NET (C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET), Python & Rust. Community versions are available for free. Full versions are usually free or discounted for MSDN members, students, etc.


[https://brackets.io/ Brackets] is a free and open source, cross-platform text editor. Developed by Adobe Systems, it focuses on web development. It is written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. One notable feature, Live Preview, lets you view updates to your HTML/CSS real time in-browser, but only works with Google Chrome - not open-source Chromium or any other forks.
[[File:Idea_icon.png|48px]] '''JetBrains' IDEs'''


===Integrated Development Environment (IDE)===
[https://www.jetbrains.com/products.html IntelliJ IDEA] is the flagship IDE from JetBrains, and the Community Edition is FOSS. They have several IDEs for different languages, including [https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ PyCharm] Community Edition for Python, which is also FOSS.[[File:Icon_Eclipse.png|48px]] '''Eclipse'''
 
[[File:Icon_Eclipse.png|48px]] '''Eclipse'''


[https://www.eclipse.org/ Eclipse] is a feature-rich IDE with a major focus on its plugin system. Plugins are used for everything from language support (Java, C++, Python, C#, etc.) to adding additional features or aesthetics (Git integration, Vim keybindings, relative line numbers, CMake support, color schemes, etc.). It also has a reasonable set of built-in features. Some of the more notable of these include the plugin install/update tool, a highly configurable code formatter, and a customizable UI.
[https://www.eclipse.org/ Eclipse] is a feature-rich IDE with a major focus on its plugin system. Plugins are used for everything from language support (Java, C++, Python, C#, etc.) to adding additional features or aesthetics (Git integration, Vim keybindings, relative line numbers, CMake support, color schemes, etc.). It also has a reasonable set of built-in features. Some of the more notable of these include the plugin install/update tool, a highly configurable code formatter, and a customizable UI.


[[File:Idea_icon.png|48px]] '''JetBrains' IDEs'''
===Hex editors===


[https://www.jetbrains.com/products.html IntelliJ IDEA] is the flagship IDE from JetBrains, and the Community Edition is FOSS. They have several IDEs for different languages, including [https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ PyCharm] Community Edition for Python, which is also FOSS.
*[http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm XVI32]
 
*[http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/ Frhed]
[[File:Visualstudio.png|48px]] '''Visual Studio'''
*[https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxhexeditor/ wxHexEditor]
 
[https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/ Visual Studio] is Microsoft's IDE for C, C++, C# and VB.NET. Express and Community versions are available for free. Full versions are usually free or discounted for MSDN members, students, etc.


==Security==
==Security==
 
{{Main article|Security}}
''For in-depth coverage of this topic, see our article on [[Security]].''


===Antivirus===
===Antivirus===
{{tip|The best antivirus software we can recommend is '''common sense''' and good extensions like uBlock Origin. Don't do something stupid like getting your software from download.com, or that scam brothersoft website. Always look at the file name, and don't open dumb shit with titles like ''FurryHyperMacroHermPorn2016-DougWinger-GiddeonCorralftCockvore.zip.png.exe''. It's simple, really. Still, with any good OSPEC, it is useful to have a fall-back or fail-safe. Use our recommendations should you fail to have simple common sense.}}
{{tip|The best antivirus software we can recommend is '''common sense''' and good extensions like uBlock Origin / Lite. Don't do something stupid like getting your software from download.com, or that scam brothersoft website. Always look at the file name, and don't open dumb shit with titles like ''FurryHyperMacroHermPorn2016-DougWinger-GiddeonCorralftCockvore.zip.png.exe''. It's simple, really. Still, with any good OPSEC, it is useful to have a fall-back or fail-safe. Use our recommendations should you fail to have simple common sense.}}
<!--[[File:Avast-icon.png|48px]] '''Avast! Antivirus'''


'''Not recommended.''' [https://www.avast.com/en-us/index Avast!] is a proprietary antivirus program which has both a free and paid version. It is adware that makes money by installing a continuous stream of unwanted software on users' computers, including programs such as [https://blog.avast.com/2014/03/27/how-does-avast-safeprice-work/ SafePrice] that spy on your web browsing and inject advertisements. Installing for security is counterproductive to say the least. It is notorious for its absurdly high false positive rate, and it frequently breaks posting to and browsing 4chan. Frequent BSODs have been reported by some users.-->
'''Windows Security'''


[[File:Comodo icon.png|48px]] '''COMODO Antivirus'''
Formerly Windows Defender, Despite being pack-in software, the default Windows antivirus is [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/stay-protected-with-windows-security-2ae0363d-0ada-c064-8b56-6a39afb6a963 quite competent]. Does encourage you to sign in with a Microsoft account, but this can be ignored. Comes with a solid firewall and malware isolation capabilities. 


[https://antivirus.comodo.com/ COMODO Antivirus] is a module part of the proprietary, free [http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/free-internet-security.php Comodo Internet Security] suite. There is a paid version called 'COMODO Internet Security Pro' but it is more designed for computer illiterates with services such as 'GeekBuddy' which is a remote-support service.
'''Windows Sandbox'''
Windows Sandbox is a feature that allows you to create virtual desktops for isolating and testing suspicious applications. Read the docs [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-isolation/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-overview here]. You can also use them as virtual development environments.


[[File:Kaspersky internet security free.png|48px]] '''Kaspersky Antivirus Free'''
'''Any.run'''


[https://usa.kaspersky.com/free-antivirus Kaspersky Free Antivirus] is the free version of Kaspersky Antivirus, which has stellar virus detection. The paid version offers finer control over wanted or unwanted features, but the free version includes most vital features enabled. It adds a harmless Kaspersky VPN program on install, with 200 MB/mo for free.
[https://any.run/ any.run] is a closed-source web-based malware analysis tool you can use anywhere.


[[File:Malwarebytes_Logo.png|48px]] '''Malwarebytes'''
[[File:Malwarebytes_Logo.png|48px]] '''Malwarebytes'''


[https://www.malwarebytes.com/ Malwarebytes] is a proprietary antivirus program popular in various security communities as a backup scanner. It is offered both as freeware and commercial software. The free version of Malwarebytes allows the user to manually scan for and remove malware, but a license must be purchased if the user wishes to take advantage of its scheduled scanning and real-time protection features.
[https://www.malwarebytes.com/ Malwarebytes] is a proprietary antivirus program popular in various security communities as a backup scanner. It is offered both as freeware and commercial software. The free version of Malwarebytes allows the user to manually scan for and remove malware, but a license must be purchased if the user wishes to take advantage of its scheduled scanning and real-time protection features.
[[File:Clamwin logo.png|48px]] '''ClamWin Antivirus'''
[http://www.clamwin.com/ ClamWin] is an open-source antivirus developed in C++ that focuses on being lightweight and efficient. Please note that it does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware.


====Malware removal====
====Malware removal====
''See: [[Malware removal]]''
{{Main article|Malware removal}}
 
===Sandbox===
 
[[File:Comodo icon.png|48px]] '''COMODO Sandbox'''
 
[https://help.comodo.com/topic-72-1-451-4739-.html COMODO Sandbox] is a module of the COMODO Firewall; part of the proprietary, free [https://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/free-internet-security.php Comodo Internet Security] suite. There is a paid version called 'COMODO Internet Security Pro' but it is more designed for computer illiterates with services such as 'GeekBuddy' which is a remote-support service.
 
[[File:Sandboxie.png|48px]] '''Sandboxie'''
 
[https://www.sandboxie.com/ Sandboxie] is a proprietary shareware program for creating isolated virtual environments.


===Software firewalls===
===Software firewalls===


''Software firewalls should not be viewed as replacements for hardware firewalls. The proper configuration of modem and router firewalls remains vital to securing one's network no matter what software solutions are employed.''
''Software firewalls should not be viewed as replacements for hardware firewalls. The proper configuration of modem and router firewalls remains vital to securing one's network no matter what software solutions are employed.''
[[File:Comodo icon.png|48px]] '''COMODO Firewall'''
[https://personalfirewall.comodo.com/ COMODO Firewall] is part of the proprietary, free [https://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/free-internet-security.php Comodo Internet Security] suite. There is a paid version called 'COMODO Internet Security Pro' but it is more designed for computer illiterates with services such as 'GeekBuddy' which is a remote-support service. Do note that COMODO Firewall can potentially make you unable to access your VPN.


[[File:Tinywall_logo.png|48px]] '''Tinywall'''
[[File:Tinywall_logo.png|48px]] '''Tinywall'''
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===Windows Security Utilities===
===Windows Security Utilities===
''Use at your own risk. Always create a restore point. If you brick your computer using one of these highly-experimental programs you have only yourself to blame.''
{{warning|''Use at your own risk. Always create a restore point. The chances are low, but If you brick your computer using one of these programs you have only yourself to blame.''}}


[https://www.w10privacy.de/english-home/ W10Privacy] is a utility for the removal of telemetry, bloat and other unwanted "features" from Windows 10. Options are color-coded by risk, and some are non-reversible.
[https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil winutil] is a multi-purpose Windows configuration utility for the removal of telemetry, bloat and other unwanted "features" from Windows 10 & 11. For more granular control, consider a open source privacy-script generating website such as [https://privacy.sexy privacy.sexy]


==Emulation and compatibility==
==Emulation and compatibility==
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*[http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/ ImDisk]
*[http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/ ImDisk]


===Virtual machine===
===Virtual machines===


[[File:Icon_VirtualBox.png|48px]] '''VirtualBox'''
'''Hyper-V Manager'''
 
[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/enable-hyper-v Hyper-V] is Microsoft's proprietary hardware-accelerated virtualisation platform. It can be used to create both Windows and Linux virtual machines with excellent performance. Hyper-V also supports advanced features like GPU paravirtualisation and network queuing.


[[VirtualBox]] is free and open source GPL software. It was first developed by Innotek GmbH, then bought by Sun Microsystems and now continually developed by Oracle.
'''QEMU'''


*[https://www.vmware.com/ VMWare] ''(non-free)''
{{tip|''The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.''}}
*[https://www.qemu.org/ Qemu]


===Virtual desktop manager===
[https://www.qemu.org/ QEMU] is an open-source hardware-accelerated virtualisation library for Windows, macOS & Linux hosts. Windows is a bit of a second-class citizen but if you're willing to read the documentation, it offers very similar performance to Hyper-V.


*[https://virtuawin.sourceforge.io/ VirtuaWin] allows you to use multiple virtual desktops.
[[File:Icon_VirtualBox.png|48px]] '''VirtualBox'''
 
[[VirtualBox]] is free and open source virtualisation software. Be aware that it is [https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/14/oracles_love_and_hate_relationship/ currently owned by Oracle].


===PC-98 simulators===
===PC-98 simulators===
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And [https://www.pc98.org/main.html here's some games] other than 2hus.
And [https://www.pc98.org/main.html here's some games] other than 2hus.
==Unclassified software==
''These recommendations will be classified soon.''
===Hex editor===
*[http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm XVI32]
*[http://frhed.sourceforge.net/en/ Frhed]
*[https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxhexeditor/ wxHexEditor]
===Comic and manga viewer===
[[File:MComix.png|48px]] '''MComix'''
[https://sourceforge.net/p/mcomix/wiki/Home/ MComix] is decent on Windows. It supports manga view and other nice features. It requires some GNOME stuff, but that's easy to provide (it may come with the installer). However, it has some shakiness and non-smooth transitions when dragging images that is not present on the Linux version.
[[File:cdisplayex.png|48px]] '''CDisplayEX'''
[https://www.cdisplayex.com/ CDisplayEX] is a freeware comic book archive viewer that supports reading from CBZ/CBR/CB7/PDF/EPUB format with many features. It also provides native cover thumbnail in Windows Explorer, color filters, Leap Motion support and many more.
[[File:ahoviewer.png|48px]] '''Ahoviewer'''
[https://github.com/ahodesuka/ahoviewer/releases Ahoviewer]is Free open source Booru browser and Manga reader and also an image viewer, it supports CBZ,CBR, RAR and other common extensions, it also supports webms and it lets you Browse different boorus and download images and videos from there.


===Screen capture===
===Screen capture===
For basic needs, Windows 11 comes with a simple built in screen-recorder you can bring up with <code>Win + Shift + S</code>.


[[File:OBS.png|48px]] '''OBS'''
Otherwise, [https://obsproject.com/ Open Broadcaster Software] is good quality free and open source software for recording and live streaming.
 
[https://obsproject.com/ Open Broadcaster Software] is free and open source software for recording and live streaming.
 
*[https://blog.bahraniapps.com/gifcam/ GifCam] can record your desktop as a GIF.
*[https://www.cockos.com/licecap/ LICEcap] is free and open software to record your desktop as a GIF.
*[https://getsharex.com/ ShareX] is free, open source and lightweight. It is a screenshot capture, screen recorder and file sharing tool.
 
===Duplicate Finder===
 
[[File:dupeguru-logo.png|48px]] '''dupeGuru'''
 
[https://github.com/arsenetar/dupeguru dupeGuru] is a free and opensource program for finding duplicates in your computer. Supports images, audio and other multiple scan types such as filename, content and tags.
 
 
===Screensavers===
See: [[Screensavers]]


==What does /g/ use?==
==What does /g/ use?==


* OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (with many modifications and adjustments).
* OS: Windows 10 / 11 IoT LTSC Enterprise.
* Web Browser: See [[Web browsers]]
* Web Browser: See [[Web browsers]]
* IRC: Terminal based, Weechat or Irssi.
* IRC: Terminal based, Weechat or Irssi.
* VoIP: Mumble
* VoIP: Discord
* File Compression: 7-Zip
* File Compression: 7-Zip
* Maintenance: CCleaner
* Maintenance: BleachBit
* Image viewer: JPEGview  
* Image viewer: JPEGview  
* Media Player: mpv
* Media Player: mpv
* Document Reader: Sumatra PDF or your browser.
* Document Reader: Your browser.
* Text Editor: Notepad++ or GVim.
* Text Editor: Neovim, Emacs or Visual Studio Code.
* Package Manager: Choco or Scoop
* Package Manager: Winget + Chocolatey or Scoop
* Antivirus: Commonsense plus the default Windows Defender and/or Malwarebytes.
* Antivirus: Windows Security and/or Malwarebytes


==See also==
==See also==

Latest revision as of 19:58, 8 December 2024

This page is for good quality software on Windows, based on the contributions of /g/ users. This page is not for solidifying preferences or ideology; it is considered to be "value-free" and thus permitting of both reference to open source software and closed source software, for-profit and not-for-profit. This is not your soapbox, your ballot box, or pulpit. Stay constructive and avoid politics and arguments.

Package manager

Windows 10 and 11 come with WinGet, the Windows package manager. Using a package manager gives you the benefit of being able to download and install a lot of software via commands rather than having to navigate to a website, download it and run an installer. If you don't want to use the Microsoft Store, take a look at Chocolatey or Scoop.

For an all-at-once installation to install all of your favourite software in one go (useful on a fresh install of Windows), check out winutil.

*nix environment on Windows

If you're feeling a bit limited or alienated with Windows' command line tools, you can set up a native *nix environment on Windows.

  • The Windows Subsystem for Linux, allows you to run a Linux container inside Windows. Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and OpenSUSE are officially supported, but there's a guide for using a custom distro.
  • If you don't feel comfortable with containerization, Cygwin is a good alternative. Cygwin offers a large selection of GNU coreutils and extras, natively compiled for Windows.
  • MinGW-w64 is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection and it's utilities for Windows.
  • The native Windows build of Git provides a shell with simple *nix programs like cp, mv, rm, etc. and other basic coreutils you might need. Read the page for details.
  • Powershell 7 is not POSIX-compliant but it is adopting increasingly POSIX-like syntax, so if you want to tough it out, consider updating to the newest version. Additionally, Windows Dev Home adds native sudo for Windows.

Communications

Before being v&, weeaboo nonces often use communications software to exchange nude images with police officers posing as kawaii lolis.

Web browsers

Main article: Web browsers

Firefox.png Firefox

Firefox is free software developed by Mozilla. It is highly extensible via addons and included as the default browser in many Linux distributions. It is often criticized on /g/ and /tech/ as "SJWfox" because of some Mozilla developers outspoken campaigns on social and political issues.

Software Chromium.png Chromium

Chromium builds are based off the underlying code of Chrome. While nearly identical to Google's browser, they lack proprietary components like automatic updates and Widevine DRM. However, non-Ungoogled Chromium still phones home to Google.

Otter-browser-icon.png Otter Browser

Otter Browser is a FOSS web browser that aims to recreate the best aspects of the classic Opera (12.x) UI using Qt5.

Palemoon.png Pale Moon

Pale Moon is a fork of Firefox that maintains support for the older XUL addon/theming standard. It retains the "Australis" UI, and uses its own "Goanna" rendering engine, forked from Gecko, which performs poorly with some CSS/JS-heavy sites. Does not support current Firefox addons, and has its own addons (see also: JustOff addons).

Torbrowser.png Tor Browser

Tor Browser (formerly known as Tor Browser Bundle) is a package of a modified Firefox extended support release, NoScript, HTTPS-Everywhere, Tor, TorButton and TorLauncher. It automatically routes traffic through the Tor network and deletes history and cookies when closed.

Seamonkey-icone-6933-128.png SeaMonkey

SeaMonkey is a continuation of the Mozilla suite. Unlike most modern web browsers, it is an Internet suite, complete with bundled programs for email, IRC, and web design. It is compatible with most XUL add-ons.

Kmelogo.gif K-Meleon

K-Meleon is a FOSS web browser for Windows. It uses the Gecko rendering engine just like Firefox, but sports a native Windows UI. It is absurdly configurable. Also very suitable for resurrecting Pentium M and older systems because of it's speed.

Email clients

Desktop email clients provide off-line email storage and additional features over most web-mail clients.

Betterbird.png Betterbird

Betterbird is a fork of the more well known Thunderbird. After Mozilla followed in the inglorious footsteps of GNOME where features are removed and bugs closed as wontfix, Betterbird stepped up and delivers fixes and features. It is compatible with most Thunderbird addons.

Icon Claws-Mail.png Claws-Mail

Claws-Mail is a lightweight FOSS (GPL) email client based on GTK+. Supports PGP, vCalendar (Outlook compatible), RSS/Atom feeds, spam filtering and more via a well-maintained collection of first party plugins. Sending HTML emails is not supported. Reading HTML emails is usable but much improved by enabling WebKit or LiteHTML rendering engines.

Instant Messaging (IM) clients

Element

Element is a free and open source cross-platform instant messaging client and the flagship implementation for the Matrix protocol. It's a solid Discord alternative, with support for voice and video calling. DMs are end-to-end encrypted by default. Bridges to other messaging services, such as Discord, Jabber, iMessage and more are available with third party bridges. Unfortunately, however, it is an Electron app.

Icon Pidgin small.png Pidgin

Pidgin is a free and open source instant messaging client developed in C. It is based upon Libpurple and offers support for Jabber (XMPP), Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, GroupWise, Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE and Zephyr out of the box. Support for additional protocols like Matrix and Signal is offered through third-party plugins. Plugins are available for OTR, OMEMO and many other features. Beware it stores passwords in plain text by default.

File:Discord.png Discord

Discord is a non-free VoIP and instant messaging client, widely used for gaming. It is absolutely chock-full of spyware but it is the main platform that normies use.

Gajim-logo.png Gajim

Gajim is a FOSS cross-platform GUI Jabber client written in Python. It supports OMEMO and not OTR.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

HexChat.png HexChat

HexChat is a continuation of XChat and makes both its source code and binaries available to users of all platforms it's created for. Like its parent software, HexChat is licensed under the GNU GPL. It includes all the basic features one would need, and can be ideal both for new users and IRC veterans. Has built-in plugins for Lua, Perl and Python scripting.

ChatZilla is an IRC client addon for XUL clients such as SeaMonkey and Pale Moon. Great for people who want basic IRC features without having to install an additional application.

Terminal/Command prompt

Irssi.png Irssi

Irssi is the father of rice clients and easily accessible for all systems. The author of the Metacity window manager for Linux describes his software as follows: "Boring window manager for the adult in you. Many window managers are like Marshmallow Froot Loops; Metacity is like Cheerios." Irssi is the terminal IRC client equivalent of that sentiment. Irssi is extensible through plugins.

Weechat.png Weechat

Weechat is Irssi with more rice, scripting languages, ideal defaults and development. It is rising in popularity as a preferred client on /g/. Weechat also includes plugin functionality.

Support by browsers and mail clients

  • Thunderbird has support for IRC and other IM services.
  • Opera had similar chat support which was dropped in 10.10.
  • As mentioned above, SeaMonkey can support IRC.

Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) clients

Jitsi.png Jitsi

Jitsi Meet is a Discord/Skype alternative using standards compliant FLOSS. It supports text encryption with OTR and audio/video encryption with ZRTP. The downside is it is a web app.

Mumble.png Mumble

Mumble is free and open source audio chat software. It is superior in audio quality and latency by always being the first client to use latest technologies, such as the Opus audio codec.

Google Voice.png Google Voice

Google Voice runs in a web browser and requires a plugin for full functionality. There does not appear to be official desktop software for this. The botnet never felt so good. Free phone numbers, calling, texting, and integration into Gmail.

Search utilities

Everything.png Everything

Everything is a proprietary freeware search engine that instantly locates files and folders by filename, by monitoring file system changes in real time and indexing them.

Launchy 001.png Launchy

Launchy helps you navigate your start menu, programs, folders and more, amazingly fast, simply by typing in the name of your program and folder. Loads instantly by simply pressing a hotkey (default is alt+space). Customizable and allows you to add other things like website bookmarks and commands. The perfect program to replace windows search with.

File compression utilities

File compression software is widely used by various software distributors and archives to mitigate bandwidth and storage space requirements.

Icon 7zip small.png 7zip

7zip is a free and open source file archiver developed in C++ by Igor Pavlov. Its primary feature is lossless compression in the 7z format, based upon the Lempel–Ziv–Markov chain algorithm. In addition to the handful of formats it is capable of creating new archives in, 7zip can retrieve files from archives in virtually any format that one is likely to encounter.

NanaZip is a derivative of 7zip which has some extra features like icons on the context menu, extra options in many dialogs and the ability to minimize to tray while extracting.

PeaZip.png PeaZip

The PAQ and LPAQ methods are capable of an impressive degree of lossless compression, but the time and system resources required are equally impressive.

PeaZip is a free and open source archiver developed in free Pascal by Giorgio Tani. It is notable for its native PEA format and its support of cutting-edge compression technologies like PAQ and LPAQ that are not supported by other popular archivers. Like 7zip, it is capable of retrieving files from virtually any archive that one might encounter.

File sharing

BitTorrent clients

Icon qBittorrent small.png qBittorrent

qBittorrent is a libtorrent-based free and open source BitTorrent client written in C++. According to its developers, the aim of the client is to provide a free software alternative to µTorrent.

Icon Deluge small.png Deluge

Deluge is a libtorrent-based free and open source BitTorrent client written in Python. It is highly extensible via its plug-ins system. Deluge is notable for having originated the particular method of protocol encryption that is currently in use by every major BitTorrent client. It can be a bit of a resource hog on Windows compared to other clients.

Icon Transmission.png Transmission

Transmission is a popular free and open source client that is easy to use and lightweight. For years it has been the preferred BitTorrent client on macOS and GNU/Linux, and it finally has received an official release on Windows.

FTP clients

Icon WinSCP small.png WinSCP

WinSCP or Windows Secure Copy is a free and open source FTP, SFTP, and SCP client written in C++.

TermSCP

TermSCP is a cross-platform free, open source TUI file transfer utility written in Rust.

Direct Connect

FlyingCarpet

FlyingCarpet is an open-source AirDrop clone, Written with Rust.

Sharedrop

ShareDrop uses WebRTC to share files between two devices. Can be used in any web browser.

Eiskalt.png EiskaltDC++

EiskaltDC++ is a cross-platform program that uses the Direct Connect and ADC protocols. It is compatible with DC++, FlylinkDC++, LinuxDC++ and other DC clients.

XDCC

Filesharing over IRC; IRC Clients with support for XDCC include HexChat and irssi. See also: XDCC.

Maintenance

Disk cleaners

Warning: Most, if not all "PC cleaner" programs are at best, snake oil, and at worst, malware. Cleaning the registry next to nothing. Any app that claims to "speed up your PC" by removing junk files is almost guaranteed to be predatory in some fashion. Steer well clear!

Storage management

Bleachbit.png BleachBit

Bleachbit is a lightweight free open-source disk cleaner that can manage deletion of unnecessary files.

Dupeguru-logo.png dupeGuru

dupeGuru is a FOSS program for finding duplicates in your computer. Supports images, audio and other multiple scan types such as filename, content and tags.

Bulk Crap Uninstaller

Bulk Crap Uninstaller is a FOSS uninstaller tool that calls the uninstaller for programs and scans and prompts for the deletion of file and registry remnants of said programs. It aims to be an open-source version of the popular "Revo Uninstaller" tool.

Disk defragmenters

Warning: Only use these programs on your hard disk drives. Defragmenting can shorten the lifespan of your SSDs

Windows Disk Defragmenter

Windows comes with a proprietary defragmentation tool that should cover most typical use cases.

Icon MyDefrag small.png MyDefrag

MyDefrag is a proprietary freeware disk defragmenter based on the standard defragmentation API by Microsoft. It also optimises file locations.

Disk image and back-up tools

Macrium Reflect.png Macrium Reflect 8

Macrium Reflect 8 is the last free version of Macrium Reflect. It can schedule full backups as well as incremental ones, with the paid version offering a second increment for storage saving. Versions newer than Macrium Reflect 8 no longer offer a free indefinite trial.

File recovery tools

Main article: Data recovery Icon TestDisk small.png TestDisk

TestDisk was primarily designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition Table).

Icon PhotoRec.png PhotoRec

PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and lost pictures (thus the Photo Recovery name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the file system and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even if your media's file system has been severely damaged or reformatted.

File syncing tools

FreeFileSync.png

FreeFileSync compares your files and folders with other files and folders from target locations, and adds or updates them accordingly

Robocopy is the built-in Windows file sync utility. It functions similarly to rsync.

Syncthing is a cross-platform file-syncing utility.

Winpinator is the unofficial Windows port of the popular Warpinator file sync utility.

System information tools

Icon CPUZ small.png CPU-Z & GPU-Z

CPU-Z and GPU-Z are proprietary freeware that provide detailed information about your CPU and GPU, respectively.

Icon HWMonitor small.png HWiNFO

HWiNFO is proprietary freeware that provides overall system information and a litany of temperature and fan sensor readouts.

Fastfetch

Fastfetch is a cross-platform TUI system information utility written in C. Use it to look cool in desktop threads.

Multimedia

Media players

Mpv-logo.png mpv

Tip: The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.

mpv is an incredibly powerful and widely-used fork of mplayer2 and MPlayer. It features FFMPEG playback, high quality scaling algorithms, OpenGL output, proper color management, and is completely free and open-source. With yt-dlp, it can also play video and audio streams, and even .gif files!

mpv.net

mpv.net is an mpv derivative that uses more native Windows components for theoretically better performance and aesthetics.

Vlc-logo.png VLC

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

Mpc-hc.png MPC-HC (Media Player Classic)

MPC-HC is an open source media player on Windows with extensive file support, and no bloat or harmful software. Different renderers and shaders are also available from the community. Development is currently in maintenance mode.

Media center and HTPC

Kodi.png Kodi

Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) is a GPL-licensed software media center featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It is highly customizable via skins and addons. There are even addons available for streaming from internet services like YouTube and Twitch.tv. It plays nearly every video and music format out of the box. The built in scrapers can pull data from sites like IMDB and thetvdb to allow sorting media by actor, genre, rating, etc. It can export this data to local files for offline use.

Jellyfin.png Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a free and open source media server based on the last FOSS version of Emby. It does not require any online accounts or come bundled with any free IPTV garbage unlike Plex, whilst retaining excellent performance.

Media converters and rippers

Handbrake.png HandBrake

Handbrake is a free and open source video transcoder with an easy to use GUI. It can rip and convert a variety of video formats, but can not break DVD or Blu-ray copyright protection.

Makemkv.png MakeMKV

MakeMKV can convert video from proprietary (and usually encrypted) discs into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way. It can instantly stream decrypt video without intermediate conversion and decrypt Blu-rays and protected DVDs.

Mkvtoolnix.png MKVToolNix

MKVToolNix is a set of FOSS tools by Moritz Bunkus for working with Matroska files. It can mux, split and merge mkv files with no transcoding or loss of quality. It can also add or remove audio and subtitle tracks, change track order and edit metadata.

yt-dlp

yt-dlp is a command line program for downloading videos from YouTube and similar sites.

EAC.png EAC

Exact Audio Copy is a proprietary freeware CD ripper written by a German university student. It is preferred by what.cd and other audiophile communities because of its accuracy and ability to rip slightly damaged discs. It can output a detailed log file specifying the position any errors occurred. It also supports AccurateRip, cue sheet generation and ID3 tagging via freedb.

Audio players

Foobar-logo.png Foobar2000

Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include ReplayGain support, low memory footprint, and native support for several popular audio formats. It supports ASIO output.

Musicbee-logo.png MusicBee

MusicBee is basically a souped version of Foobar2k. It supports everything that you want in an audio player plus more! The GUI is very different than most, but can be customized to your will. It supports ASIO output and provides some level of compatibility with WinAmp input plugins. It is free as in free beer.

Musicpd-logo.png MPD (Music Player Daemon)

MPD is a flexible, powerful daemon for playing music. While mpd doesn't directly play music to you, it provides a stream of it (locally or over the internet) to which you connect to with a client (as it's a server, not a music player). It is the mpd client that provides you with all the functionality you expect from a music player. The advantage here is that you can have multiple clients connected and listening to one instance of mpd, or you can stream over the internet. Some music players listed below will be mpd clients, which means that you may need to install mpd as well (if it doesn't come included) for them to work.

  • mpc is a minimalistic terminal MPD client.

Icon Strawberry Player.png Strawberry

Strawberry is a continuation of the aforementioned Clementine aimed at music collectors and audiophiles.

Audio editors

Tenacity

Tenacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder made as a replacement to Audacity which now includes telemetry. It has support for LADSPA, Nyquist, VST, Audio Unit effect and VAMP analysis plug-ins.

FFMPEG

FFMPEG is also the gold standard for audio encoding and editing, command line based.

Picard.png Musicbrainz Picard

Picard If you've got a collection of legally obtained music that you want organized in an acceptably uniform way, then you need to get an mp3 tagger to parse mass edits to the filenames and ID3 metadata. There are several out there, but the only one you should be using is Picard. Developed by the Musicbrainz community, Picard has been around for years and it's a feature-rich solution with a whole shitload of tools that will make organizing your hoard of mp3s easy.

Icon LMMS.png LMMS

LMMS is a free and open source DAW that allows you to create melodies and beats, synthesize and mix sounds, and arrange samples. You can have fun with your MIDI keyboard and much more – all in a user-friendly and modern interface. Furthermore LMMS comes with many ready-to-use instrument and effect plugins, presets and samples. Compatible with many standards such as SoundFont2, VST(i), LADSPA, GUS Patches, and MIDI.

Image viewers

ImageGlass-logo.png ImageGlass

ImageGlass is a small FOSS image viewer. It has support for 70+ formats and plugins. However, it has few manipulation tools compared to similar software.

Nomacs-icon3.png nomacs

nomacs is a free and open source image viewer, which supports multiple platforms. You can use it for viewing all common image formats including RAW and PSD images. It also has support for plugins and batch processing.

Irfanview-logo.png Irfanview

Irfanview is a very fast, small, compact and innovative freeware graphic viewer for Windows. It features an inbuilt editor along with many other extra tools that you may need or require.

Icon XnViewMP.png XnViewMP

XnViewMP is the enhanced version to XnView. It is a powerful media browser, viewer and converter. It is compatible with more than 500 image formats. XnViewMP also comes with an easy to use yet powerful batch conversion module.

Jpegview-logo.png JPEGView

JPEGView is a lean, fast and highly configurable viewer/editor with a minimal GUI.

Comic and manga viewers

Cdisplayex.png CDisplayEX

CDisplayEX is a freeware comic book archive viewer that supports reading from CBZ/CBR/CB7/PDF/EPUB format with many features. It also provides native cover thumbnail in Windows Explorer, color filters, Leap Motion support and many more.

Ahoviewer.png Ahoviewer

Ahovieweris Free open source Booru browser and Manga reader and also an image viewer, it supports CBZ,CBR, RAR and other common extensions, it also supports webms and it lets you Browse different boorus and download images and videos from there.

Image editors

Raster art

Icon Krita.png Krita

Krita is a user friendly program for sketching and painting, offering an end-to-end solution for creating digital painting files from scratch.

PaintDotNet.png Paint.NET

Paint.NET started as an MS Paint alternative. It now integrates plenty of features such as layers and effects.

Photopea

Photopea is a free clone of Adobe Photoshop CS6 that works in-browser. All photo processing is done on device. The software is closed-source and ad-supported. The app can be "installed" from Chromium-based browsers to provide an Electron-app like experience. Ads can be disabled with userscripts

Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a paid, proprietary, non-destructive photo editor that provides excellent Photoshop compatibility and a similar workflow - $35

Vector art

Icon Inkscape.png Inkscape

InkScape is a vector graphic editor.

Vectorpea

Vectorpea Adobe Illustrator CS6 clone. Same developer and caveats as Photopea.

Screenshot Handlers

Greenshot.png Greenshot

Greenshot Is a free program which allows you to save images of your desktop, or a selection of your desktop. Highly customizable, as it allows users to use custom hot keys to trigger screen captures, save files in custom file destinations, and many other options.

ShareX

ShareX is pretty much the same thing, although it's been in development for much longer, it's open source and there's way more lightweight tools. Plus you have workflowing options to upload your screenshots to different image hosting sites.

Video editors

Kdenlive.jpg Kdenlive

Kdenlive is a free and open source multi-track video editor made by the KDE Team. it's based on FFMPEG and is compatible with a variety of video and audio formats.

Olive

Olive is a free, open source video editor currently in beta seeking to provide a more modern editor workflow. it's one of the most promising free (as in freedom) video editors currently.

FFMPEG

FFMPEG is the gold standard for video encoding and editing. Olive and Kdenlive are pretty much just wrappers around FFMPEG and you can do everything they can do, without bloat, using just the terminal.

Pikimov

Pikimov is a freeware video and motion graphics editor web app with a very similar workflow to Adobe After Effects. Everything is processed on-device. It currently does not support Firefox

Davinci Resolve

Davinci Resolve is a proprietary, professional colour grading tool and video editor. It is free, with a paid version available.

3D modeling

Icon Maya.png Autodesk Maya

Maya offers a comprehensive creative feature set for 3D computer animation, modeling, simulation, rendering, and compositing on a highly extensible production platform. Maya now has next-generation display technology, accelerated modeling workflows, and new tools for handling complex data.

Icon Blender.png Blender

Blender is a free and open source 3D graphics suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline; modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.

Office

Document readers

Icon SumatraPDF small.png Sumatra PDF

Tip: The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.

Sumatra PDF is a free and open source PDF, ePub, Mobi, XPS, DjVu, CHM, CBZ, and CBR reader. Unlike most competing products for Windows, it is extremely fast and lightweight, now with 64 bits binaries.

Okular.pngOkular

Okular is the default document viewer for the systems that are bundled with the KDE environments. It supports PDF, PS, Tiff, CHM, DjVU, epub and many other common extensions, it also has some nice features such as annotations, drawing, highlighting and it's completely free and open source.

Word processors

Icon LibreOffice-Writer.png LibreOffice Writer

LibreOffice Writer is the word processor in the LibreOffice suite. After Oracle acquired OpenOffice, it asked community members to GTFO [1]. Since everyone despises Oracle, the developers all jumped ship as well [2] and started LibreOffice.

OnlyOffice

OnlyOffice is a free and open source document processing suite focused on Microsoft Office compatibility. It can either be hosted as a web service or run locally.

WordTsar

WordTsar is an open-source clone of the extremely popular DOS word processor, WordStar. Comes with an optional GUI and the ability to save in some slightly less antiquated file formats (like .docx)

Obsidian

Obsidian is a free and open source Markdown editor designed for note-taking. It is highly extensible with plugins. A multi-device sync service is offered as a subscription.

Programming

To manage your programming projects, consider setting up individual developer environments with Windows Dev Home. This will prevent you from entering dependency hell, at the cost of some of your storage space.

Text editors

Notepad++.png Notepad++

Notepad++ is free software written in C++ for Windows. It is fast, efficient and customizable.

Icon Sublime-Text.png Sublime Text

Sublime Text is a paid, proprietary text editor for code, markup and prose.

Neovim

Neovim is a Vim fork designed to reduce attack surface and improve editor speed. An extremely feature-rich programmer's text editor with extensive plugin support.

Icon Emacs.png Emacs

Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editor and more. At its core is an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language with extensions to support text editing.

Icon Spacemacs.png Spacemacs

Spacemacs is a community developed configuration for Emacs, making it more accessible especially to those who are used to using Vi.

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a free and open source, cross-platform text editor. It is developed by Microsoft. Despite being based on Electron like Atom, its performances are usually superior compared to the later, while delivering equivalent functionalities.

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Visualstudio.png Visual Studio

Visual Studio is Microsoft's IDE for C, C++, .NET (C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET), Python & Rust. Community versions are available for free. Full versions are usually free or discounted for MSDN members, students, etc.

Idea icon.png JetBrains' IDEs

IntelliJ IDEA is the flagship IDE from JetBrains, and the Community Edition is FOSS. They have several IDEs for different languages, including PyCharm Community Edition for Python, which is also FOSS.Icon Eclipse.png Eclipse

Eclipse is a feature-rich IDE with a major focus on its plugin system. Plugins are used for everything from language support (Java, C++, Python, C#, etc.) to adding additional features or aesthetics (Git integration, Vim keybindings, relative line numbers, CMake support, color schemes, etc.). It also has a reasonable set of built-in features. Some of the more notable of these include the plugin install/update tool, a highly configurable code formatter, and a customizable UI.

Hex editors

Security

Main article: Security

Antivirus

Tip: The best antivirus software we can recommend is common sense and good extensions like uBlock Origin / Lite. Don't do something stupid like getting your software from download.com, or that scam brothersoft website. Always look at the file name, and don't open dumb shit with titles like FurryHyperMacroHermPorn2016-DougWinger-GiddeonCorralftCockvore.zip.png.exe. It's simple, really. Still, with any good OPSEC, it is useful to have a fall-back or fail-safe. Use our recommendations should you fail to have simple common sense.

Windows Security

Formerly Windows Defender, Despite being pack-in software, the default Windows antivirus is quite competent. Does encourage you to sign in with a Microsoft account, but this can be ignored. Comes with a solid firewall and malware isolation capabilities.

Windows Sandbox Windows Sandbox is a feature that allows you to create virtual desktops for isolating and testing suspicious applications. Read the docs here. You can also use them as virtual development environments.

Any.run

any.run is a closed-source web-based malware analysis tool you can use anywhere.

Malwarebytes Logo.png Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is a proprietary antivirus program popular in various security communities as a backup scanner. It is offered both as freeware and commercial software. The free version of Malwarebytes allows the user to manually scan for and remove malware, but a license must be purchased if the user wishes to take advantage of its scheduled scanning and real-time protection features.

Malware removal

Main article: Malware removal

Software firewalls

Software firewalls should not be viewed as replacements for hardware firewalls. The proper configuration of modem and router firewalls remains vital to securing one's network no matter what software solutions are employed.

Tinywall logo.png Tinywall

Tinywall is a lightweight wrapper for the Windows firewall, providing a lot of new features like tampering protection, blocklists, or temporary firewall rules.

Windows Firewall Control

Windows Firewall Control is another lightweight wrapper for the Windows firewall. Actively developed and supported from Windows 7 to 10. If you make a small donation you get a useful Notifications System which provides notifications for outbound blocked connections.

Password managers

Keepassx.png KeePassX

KeePassX is a light interface and cross platform password manager published under the GNU GPL.

Windows Security Utilities

Warning: Use at your own risk. Always create a restore point. The chances are low, but If you brick your computer using one of these programs you have only yourself to blame.

winutil is a multi-purpose Windows configuration utility for the removal of telemetry, bloat and other unwanted "features" from Windows 10 & 11. For more granular control, consider a open source privacy-script generating website such as privacy.sexy

Emulation and compatibility

Virtual CD/DVD drive

Virtual machines

Hyper-V Manager

Hyper-V is Microsoft's proprietary hardware-accelerated virtualisation platform. It can be used to create both Windows and Linux virtual machines with excellent performance. Hyper-V also supports advanced features like GPU paravirtualisation and network queuing.

QEMU

Tip: The majority of configuration for this application is done manually by editing its configuration file.

QEMU is an open-source hardware-accelerated virtualisation library for Windows, macOS & Linux hosts. Windows is a bit of a second-class citizen but if you're willing to read the documentation, it offers very similar performance to Hyper-V.

Icon VirtualBox.png VirtualBox

VirtualBox is free and open source virtualisation software. Be aware that it is currently owned by Oracle.

PC-98 simulators

PC-98 is a series of computers by NEC, which was a popular computing platform in Japan. There were many interesting games created for the PC-98. Your average PC-98 emulation user in 4chan is likely to be a first-generation Touhou Project player. For better reference and understanding it's recommended to see its page on Touhou Wiki and Wikipedia:NEC_PC-9801.

Since not every one is real OG enough to have one of these computers from when they were first produced or buy one off the internet, here's a list of a few emulators for the PC-98:

And here's some games other than 2hus.

Screen capture

For basic needs, Windows 11 comes with a simple built in screen-recorder you can bring up with Win + Shift + S.

Otherwise, Open Broadcaster Software is good quality free and open source software for recording and live streaming.

What does /g/ use?

  • OS: Windows 10 / 11 IoT LTSC Enterprise.
  • Web Browser: See Web browsers
  • IRC: Terminal based, Weechat or Irssi.
  • VoIP: Discord
  • File Compression: 7-Zip
  • Maintenance: BleachBit
  • Image viewer: JPEGview
  • Media Player: mpv
  • Document Reader: Your browser.
  • Text Editor: Neovim, Emacs or Visual Studio Code.
  • Package Manager: Winget + Chocolatey or Scoop
  • Antivirus: Windows Security and/or Malwarebytes

See also

External links

  • Prism Break - Lists software for different platforms that respect your freedom (and points out those which do not). Maintained by the EFF.
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