My Top 50 Windows Apps 🖥

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This is my personal reference list of useful software for Microsoft Windows.
Typically I only install what I need, and uninstall software that hasn't been used for a while. Where possible I prefer to run containerized or portable apps. There's nothing installed on my system that isn't on this list.

Before setting anything up, the first task is to disable telemetry, remove pre-installed bloatware and make a few security tweaks. For this I use a series of PowerShell scripts provided by Privacy.Sexy.

Items marked with '❌' are not fully open source, and '💲' indicates either not free, or has premium tier

Networking

• Tor Browser - For more anonymous browsing + access to the Tor network Image may be NSFW.
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• VirtualBox - x86, AMD64, and Intel64 virtual machines Image may be NSFW.
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• WinSCP - SFTP client and remote access file manager Image may be NSFW.
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• qBittorrent - BitTorrent client Image may be NSFW.
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• WireShark - Packet analyzer Image may be NSFW.
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• Angry IP Scanner - Quickly find IPs within a range, open ports and other info Image may be NSFW.
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• NetLimiter - ❌💲 Network traffic monitoring tool with simple firewall functionality
• Universal Radio Hacker - SDR client for investigating wireless protocols Image may be NSFW.
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General Apps

• HWiNFO64 - ❌ System info and diagnostics
• Process Hacker - Monitor system resources and analyse currently running processes Image may be NSFW.
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• Etcher - For flashing ISOs onto USB drives with a overly-fancy UI Image may be NSFW.
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• ExifCleaner - Tool to easily remove metadata from images and media Image may be NSFW.
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• X410 - ❌💲 Fork of X.org to run Linux GUI apps in Xfce via WSL
• LinPhone - VOIP client for making/ receiving phone calls and SMS messages Image may be NSFW.
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Security Utilities

• Cryptomator - Fast file encryption for cloud storage Image may be NSFW.
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• VeraCrypt - Strong disk, container and file encryption Image may be NSFW.
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• KeePassXC - Password manager for KeePass files Image may be NSFW.
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• Kleopatra - Certificate manager and PGP file encryption suit Image may be NSFW.
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• WireGuard - VPN connection client using WireGuard protocol Image may be NSFW.
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• CalmAV - Anti-virus scanner (See also, ClamWin GUI app) Image may be NSFW.
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• BleachBit - Frees up disk space by deleting unneeded data in the cache and temporary files Image may be NSFW.
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• Windows Spy Blocker - Block Microsoft telemetry and data collection and manage application access Image may be NSFW.
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• Harden Tools - Easily turn off undesired or privacy-invasive Windows features Image may be NSFW.
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• WFN - Firewall notifier to monitor outgoing connections Image may be NSFW.
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UI Utilities

• CopyQ - Advanced clipboard manager Image may be NSFW.
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• Espanso - Text expander with powerful matching system (similar to AHK) Image may be NSFW.
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• AutoHotKey - Keyboard remapping, macros and automation scripting Image may be NSFW.
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• Quick Look - Small utility that lets you quickly preview a file by pressing SpaceImage may be NSFW.
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• EarTrumpet - A utility that provides better volume control on a per app basis Image may be NSFW.
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• ColorPicker - Minimal but complete color picker Image may be NSFW.
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• Power Toys - Color picker, fancy zones, run dialog, rename utility, shortcuts and more Image may be NSFW.
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• SidebarDiagnostics - Customizable desktop widget showing system resource and hardware info Image may be NSFW.
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• Wox - Global search, run commands and execute actions with Alt + SpaceImage may be NSFW.
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• Groupy❌- Group multiple windows into browser-like tabs, while preserving Alt + Tab switching

Creativity

• Gimp - Image and photo editing application Image may be NSFW.
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• DarkTable - Organize and bulk edit photos (similar to Lightroom) Image may be NSFW.
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• InkScape - Digital drawing/ illustration Image may be NSFW.
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• Audacity - Multi-track audio editor and recording Image may be NSFW.
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• OBS Studio - High performance streaming/ broadcasting and recording Image may be NSFW.
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• VLC Player - Multimedia player and play back framework Image may be NSFW.
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• Shotcut - Video editing platform Image may be NSFW.
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• HandBrake - For converting video from any format to a selection of modern codecs Image may be NSFW.
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• Synfig Studio - 2D animation Image may be NSFW.
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• Blender - 3D modelling, rendering and sculpting Image may be NSFW.
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• Cura - 3D Printing software, for slicing models Image may be NSFW.
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• Dia - Versatile diagramming tool, useful for UML (similar to MS Visio) Image may be NSFW.
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• ShareX - Quick and easy screen recorder Image may be NSFW.
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• SmugMug❌💲- Premium photography backup, sync, sharing and publishing service Image may be NSFW.
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Media

• FreeTube - YouTube client Image may be NSFW.
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• Nuclear - Free music streaming & downloads Image may be NSFW.
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• Spotify❌- Premium music subscription
• Amarok - Powerful local music player Image may be NSFW.
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• Pocket Casts❌- Podcast player
• Plex Client - Client for accessing self-hosted media server
• Steam❌- PC game store

Productivity

• Standard Notes - Encrypted, synced notes application
• Thunderbird - Email, calendar and contacts client
• ProtonMail Bridge - Allows for ProtonMail to be used with client
• Tresorit❌- Cloud storage sync and backup
• 1Password❌- Cloud-synced, multi-device password manager and auto-fill
• Firefox - Web browser with containers
• Brave Browser - Chromium-based web browser
• Binance❌- Full-screen crypto trading
• LibreOffice - Basic Office suit

Development

• VS Code - Customizable code editor, with InteliSense, built-in compilers, git and plugins
• Cmder - Better console emulator for Windows, with Tmux-like features, great for SSH sessions
• PostMan - For testing and developing API endpoints
• Android Studio - For native Android development with Java/ Kotlin
• Arduino IDE - Compile and upload for IoT devices
• Processing - IDE and compiler for creative coding with the Processing language
• DB Browser for SQLite - Create, design, and edit database files for SQLite
• RunJS - Real-time JavaScript playground, useful for writing quick scripts
• Docker Desktop - Easy way to containerize applications
• Notepad++ - Lightweight text editor with syntax highlighting
• Zap - Web app security analyzer
• Vega - Automated security testing to find XXS, SQL injection and other issues
• Git - Version control system

Device-Specific

• YubiKey Manager - Configuring YubeKey devices
• OnlyKey - For configuring the OnlyKey with PGP, SSH, Passwords, 2FA, Crypto and secure data
• StreamDeck - Setting up macros on the StreamDeck
• Razer Synapse❌- Customize the RGB for Razer products
• SoundBlaster Audigy FX❌- Drivers and audio level customization for sound card
• AMD Radeon Settings❌- Drivers for customizing graphics card for different tasks
• Chameleon - For programming the ChameleonMini NFC / RFID contactless smartcard emulator
• Ledger Live❌ - App for managing assets stored on Ledger Hardware Wallet Image may be NSFW.
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Installation

On new installs, Microsoft's Package Manager can be useful for quickly installing required software.

See also, my Winstall Collection of the above apps.

winget install --id=Lexikos.AutoHotkey -e
winget install --id=REALiX.HWiNFO -e
winget install --id=GNURadio.GNURadio -e
winget install --id=Balena.Etcher -e
winget install --id=WiresharkFoundation.Wireshark -e
winget install --id=Mozilla.Firefox -e
winget install --id=angryziber.AngryIPScanner -e
winget install --id=Microsoft.PowerToys -e
winget install --id=Docker.DockerDesktop -e
winget install --id=Oracle.VirtualBox -e
winget install --id=WinSCP.WinSCP -e
winget install --id=qBittorrent.qBittorrent -e
winget install --id=Cryptomator.Cryptomator -e
winget install --id=Keybase.Keybase -e
winget install --id=KeePassXCTeam.KeePassXC -e
winget install --id=StandardNotes.StandardNotes -e
winget install --id=Mozilla.Thunderbird -e
winget install --id=ProtonTechnologies.ProtonMailBridge -e
winget install --id=AgileBits.1Password -e
winget install --id=BraveSoftware.BraveBrowser -e
winget install --id=thehandbraketeam.handbrake -e
winget install --id=LibreOffice.LibreOffice -e
winget install --id=GIMP.GIMP -e
winget install --id=Inkscape.Inkscape -e
winget install --id=darktable.darktable -e
winget install --id=Audacity.Audacity -e
winget install --id=OBSProject.OBSStudio -e
winget install --id=VideoLAN.VLC -e
winget install --id=Meltytech.Shotcut -e
winget install --id=BlenderFoundation.Blender -e
winget install --id=Ultimaker.Cura -e
winget install --id=Spotify.Spotify -e
winget install --id=Valve.Steam -e
winget install --id=Postman.Postman -e
winget install --id=Arduino.Arduino -e
winget install --id=SQLiteBrowser.SQLiteBrowser -e
winget install --id=Notepad++.Notepad++ -e
winget install --id=elgato.streamdeck -e

Note: It's very important to always carefully check the URL for each download before proceeding. Only install applications from their official source.