There are many lists on the internet and this one is no different. For my own amusement, I've gathered together a list of my top Windows programs. I'm not talking about my favorite programs, I'm talking about the most important programs I use, the first ones I install on a new machine. Without these programs, my life would be spent in frustration. So, let the countdown begin.
1. Xmarks
This is my absolute favorite program (I know, I said I wasn't talking about favorites, it just turns out that my favorite program is a much needed utility). Xmarks will sync your bookmarks across a multitude of web browsers including Firefox, IE, Opera, Chrome, and some mobile device browsers. I got so sick of maintaining different bookmarks from computer to computer or even on the same machine with different browsers that I searched and searched for a solution. I've been an early adopter of Xmarks as a result, and have used it faithfully for 2 to 3 years now. It works perfectly and behind the scenes and it's a breeze to set up with your favorite browser.
2. LastPass
I'm not sure if this is the best password management program out there, I'm still rather partial to the built in Keychain for Mac OS X and also 1Password for OS X. However, in today's world, one needs to keep a secure record of all passwords. As companies increase security, resetting passwords also increases in difficulty, and sometimes ends up with a locked account. LastPass makes it easy to have all your internet passwords available with any browser of your choosing. It can also create identities and groups to further refine your password handling. It can auto fill forms with a preset identity, and it can store secure notes which can be used to store keys for programs, credit cards, etc. This may not be the best program out there, but it is available across platforms and browsers and maintains a much needed functionality that everyone should utilize.
3. Windows Live Sync
I started using Windows Live Sync in it's beta stage on Mac OS X when it was called Foldershare. I had certain files that I wanted to copy to another machine in the background in the same manner that Time Machine worked. Windows Live Sync has been backing up my files flawlessly for several years now. I now use it for my windows machines to backup my entire documents, music, videos, and pictures to my profile on my desktop machine. I also backed up game data so that I wouldn't have to download Gigabytes of information when I switched between playing a MMORPG on the laptop and on the desktop. No matter what machine I am on, if I make a change it is automatically synchronized with the other computer as long as it is on. If it isn't on, it'll wait until it is. It's better than any backup program because my data is available on any machine and I can alter it at any time. A backup usually hides the files in a proprietary format or image and is inaccessible except when restoring the backup. There's not much more to say, it works and it works well and I wouldn't want to live life without it.
4. Firefox
Sure, there are faster browsers out there, but few have as many features and plug-ins as Firefox. The open source community has worked on this program for years, and well before it was ever called Firefox or Mozilla. With each major update it adds new functionality and remains compatible with the vast majority of websites (nevermind those that deliberately force you to use the browser that should not be named). The plethora of plug-ins is what really makes this browser shine though. I constantly hear my wife complain about pop-ups with Google Chrome, not me. Ad Block Plus stops 99.9% of annoying pop-ups. There are plugins that block ads in gmail, banners, etc. You can change the appearance with skins, not that I bother, I like the standard UI just fine. It isn't integrated with your computer's shell, it's widely supported, it's fast enough, stable, and most of all with the addition of plug-ins, the safest browser on the planet.
5. Microsoft Security Essentials
Okay, so there are tons of anti-virus programs out there and people generally don't know which one to pick and end up paying through the nose for Norton or McAfee, which are fine... I guess. I just don't like how they install themselves so deeply into your system that you'll never remove them completely. Plus, I don't need all those bells and whistles. The other free anti-virus programs are usually adware and will constantly bug you to pay for them. Enter - Microsoft Security Essentials. It is provided free from Microsoft, installs cleanly and is unobtrusive. And since it is created by Microsoft, you'll know they're watching the most important parts of your system. So far, it has been effective in detecting viruses in scanned files or when I run a download I didn't tell it to scan. It doesn't offer website spoofing protection or anything like that, just a simple anti-virus to protect you from your download lust.
And there it is, my list of absolute must-have programs for any new installation of Windows. I've spent a lot of time testing other programs that claim to do the same as those in my list and they all fall short. Most of these programs I've used for years and they have proven themselves time and time again, and more than once saved me when I've done something stupid like erase the MBR on my backup drive.
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