First post, by Kerr Avon
I was asked to recommend a couple of programs (which happens enough to make me wish I had a fiver for every time!), and I didn't know offhand either type of program, but since work is slow ATM, I've tried a few, and UK's Kalender and Free Youtube Download seem to do what was asked for. So I thought that since we've not had a "Useful Windows programs" thread in a while, that I'd create one now.
Please post any Windows programs (not games, but anything else that you find interesting, please), preferably free, but also shareware or professional if they're worth the cash. And if you post something that you think is better than a similar program in someone else's post, then please post why you think it's better.
Here are some programs that I use (except for the first two listed, I'm new to those), and that I put on new/fixed PCs that go through my hands, if needed. All of these are either free or have free versions that contain the functions that you need. Just google for them.
UK's Kalender - displays a calander on boot up (and whenever you want to see it, of course) and can be used to set reminders, even in the form of an event that's every x days (or weeks).
Free Youtube Download - allows you to queue up Youtube videos to download, and then to automatically convert them to different formats.
7Zip - archiver/dearchiver (uses the usual formats, such as zip, 7z, rar, etc).
VLC - Movie player.
WinAMP - Music player (yes, it's ancient, but it does what I want it to, so whay change?).
Irfanview - image viewer.
Format Factory - movie/music converter.
Calibre - ebook viewer and converter.
FileLocator Lite - searches for files on your discs, a better file finder than Windows' own.
Treesize - shows you how much space different folders and files take up on your hard drive.
Unlocker - deletes or moves files that Windows refuses to.
Avast! - anti-virus and anti-malware software.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware - use this with Avast! (they don't clash, don't worry) so you have two great products protecting your PC from infection.
Zone Alarm - firewall.
CCleaner - clears unwanted data from your PC, to speed up your PC and save hard drive space.
Foxit - PDF reader.
Internet Download Accelerator - for queueing up and downloading files.
DoubleKiller - Duplicate file finder.
Folder Sort - alters the order of files on a drive, which I use to order songs alphabetically on my mp3 player.
SmartDisk Fat32 Format Utility - allows you to format USB sticks/external drives to FAT32 for media players etc that need FAT32. Windows does this, but has severe limitations on the size of the drives it will format, so use this program instead.
Warning:
You're probably aware of this already, but some programs (including some above) have the nasty modern habbit of installing stuff that you don't want, such as a new search bar, or changing your home page, etc. All of the programs in my list (if they do that) allow you to select an option NOT to do that, but they might be set to install them by default, so when you run the installer, ALWAYS click custom install if it is an option, and ALWAYS read what the installer says (well, maybe not the long text itself (I never do), but always the click-able options) and make sure there is no tick inside the box of any option that you son't want.
