Computer software. Laptop software

I chose a new computer for a long time, and finally here it is - standing on the table, on the Windows splash screen, and what to do next, what programs need to be installed? Somewhere I saw something, somewhere I heard, in general, porridge in my head! Let this article be a small guide to the TOP of the most necessary programs for a computer, according to the site.

No matter how hard Microsoft tries to ennoble its operating system, a clean OS can only be used in limited conditions - for example, at work, where the installation of additional programs is prohibited or there are no rights.

What to choose, paid or free programs

It so happens that one free programs not enough, it turns out somewhere 50 to 50. In no case do I call for the use of cracked versions, but such is our reality that “cracked” programs are used everywhere. In my experience, for almost any task, there is at least one free program that is more than enough. But paid software is usually more convenient and with more features. But they are needed for bulk work or for professional activities.

Antivirus - necessary protection

I have already touched on the topic of antivirus more than once, this is an absolutely necessary program that I download on any computer immediately after installing Windows. Perhaps the antivirus is the program that is better to buy and live in peace. Paid versions save you the headache of looking for updated keys and signature databases. Our most common:

Which one to choose is a personal matter for everyone. 100% protection will not give any, so just choose which one you like best.

Of the free ones are good:

Alternative browser

For the convenience of using the Internet, you will need to install one of them to replace the standard Internet Explorer / Edge. Popular in our area:

All of them are free and very necessary programs. Today, the browser from Yandex is rapidly gaining popularity. This is undoubtedly one of the best browsers, but everyone has their own preferences.

In terms of speed and system resource consumption, I prefer Opera. And who likes flexibility in customization can choose Mozilla FireFox. If you stay on the standard Internet Explorer, then at least update it to the latest version.

Archiver

By default, Microsoft Windows does not know how to work with such a common archive format as “.rar”. Probably in the west everyone only uses zip. I install a wrapper that supports all the necessary archive formats, including ".zip". WinRAR is built into the operating system, allowing you to work with archives from the context menu in Explorer.

As an alternative, I can recommend the 7-Zip program. It also has all the necessary functions, but it does not know how to pack in the “.rar” format. But it can unpack the “.7z” format.

Office software package

Mandatory thing for working with texts and tables: Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Although I included this in the mandatory list, it is still not for everyone. But I have not yet met a laptop without Microsoft office or its free counterpart OpenOffice. Of the lighter office suites, I would recommend WPS Office.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF books. PDF is the most common format for documentation, books, and manuals. It will work without a special program, but the functionality will be limited to the simplest actions. Acrobat Reader is completely free software.

Messenger, internet phone

Programs for free communication around the world via the Internet:

• Skype - the most famous, but outdated, there is a detailed
• Viber - actively gaining popularity
• WhatsApp is one of the most popular in the world

All programs support voice, video and chat. An indispensable thing for communication, in addition to social networks. For this, headphones and a webcam (for video communication), as well as an installed program on both devices of the interlocutors. Messengers also allow you to call landlines and mobile phones, but this is no longer free.

In order for you to be able to communicate with relatives and friends, you need to find out what programs they themselves use. But usually they install everything at once. I note that in order for Viber and WhatsApp to work on a PC, they must be installed on a smartphone too.

I showed the main programs for the laptop in a minimal variety. For the more advanced, I will recommend another pack of software.

After installing the drivers, first of all I install the file manager. This program provides convenient access to the file system, replacing the standard Windows Explorer. It is much more convenient to copy, move, change files. I advise everyone! With the launch of Total Commander, my work with the computer begins.

Mail client

To check their email, a person usually goes to a website like gmail.com and looks at their inbox. But it is much more convenient to use special programs - mail clients, especially if you have several email boxes.

The program connects to the server and downloads all mail to the computer. You can view it without browser delays, quickly switching between boxes. I recommend either Mozilla Thunderbird. Not bad is the standard Microsoft Outlook (built into Windows XP/7 and Microsoft Office) and the Mail app in Windows 10, but The Bat! I like it more because it's very easy to transfer mail to another computer or to a new operating system without the risk of losing important information.

Convenient video and audio player

I recommend installing separate video and audio players to replace the standard Windows Media Player. No matter how the developers try, they cannot combine both the video and audio player in one program so that everyone likes it. For these purposes, it is better to use separate programs. For playing videos, they have proven themselves well:

Torrent download

Today, something worthwhile can be downloaded for free on the Internet either from file hosting services or using torrents. You will need uTorrent for this.

Password manager

In order not to remember all the logins and passwords that you will certainly begin to acquire, I recommend using one of the password managers. The program remembers all your passwords and stores them on the server. Subsequently, they can be used from anywhere, on any computer and browser. I recommend using or LastPass .

RoboForm is the first thing I install because it stores all my access to internet services and applications on my computer. I also have an addition to Mozilla browser Firefox on a smartphone, with the help of which I always have up-to-date logins and passwords on my phone.

CCleaner System Cleaner

I'm sure a useful thing for any system running Windows 7/8/10 is the CCleaner program. Designed for periodic, about once a month, cleaning operating system and programs from the accumulated garbage. Basically, these are various temporary folders, files, caches, which not only clog free disk space, but also often worsen computer performance. Especially useful for improving the performance of browsers that start to slow down over time.

Optional settings

Useful only if you have special system requirements.

A set of codecs for video and audio

By default, Windows can only play the most basic video and audio file formats. To support other formats, you will need one of the codec packs, such as the K-Lite Codec Pack or Win7Codecs . This installation is optional because any modern multimedia player already has all common codecs built in, or it immediately offers to download them.

Disc burning software

DVD drives are less commonly used than they used to be, but are still found in almost every computer. I use the program to burn discs. From the free one, I can recommend JetBee FREE or ImgBurn.

Outdated, somewhere else popular ICQ

A popular client for communication using the ICQ protocol (“ICQ” in the folk language). Previously, every computer used to be the de facto standard for instant messaging over the Internet, such as free SMS, only in a larger volume. You can often see it in contacts on various service sites and online stores.

I use social networks, Telegram and ICQ at the same time. Thus, you can keep a constant connection with people. Instead of the cumbersome ICQ program, I recommend installing a convenient QIP client. The program is in Russian, has a simple and intuitive interface.

Bonus - Punto Switcher

This is the minimum of programs that are needed for a computer and I myself use them. Literally opened my start menu and chose the most basic. I do not recommend using various Windows builds, such as "Zver", although some of the necessary software is already built into them. But it is because of them that inexplicable problems with the computer then pop up.

Each operating system has its advantages and disadvantages, weighing them, you have to make a choice in favor of a particular system. For each OS, there are many programs and as many more are being developed. Although Windows 7, one might say, is morally obsolete, since after its release, Windows 8 has already appeared on sale and Windows 10 is preparing for an imminent release.

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

Tweak-7

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

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

Start Menu X

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

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

Windows 7 Manager

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

By using Windows 7 Manager, you can increase the speed at which your computer boots or shuts down and improves the performance of your computer as a whole. The utility also provides detailed information about the system and hardware of the computer.

Download Master

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

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

STDU Viewer

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

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

7-Zip

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

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

Windows 7 Codec Pack

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

Necessary programs for windows 10 - 7

Hello Readers of my blog! In this article I will tell you about the most necessary programs for windows 10 - 7. As you probably remember, Windows is not yet ready for work after installation. In principle, not only Windows 7, but also any 8 8.1 xp immediately after installation is not yet ready for work. Even after installing drivers and security settings, there are practically no useful and necessary programs on board your computer. There are only a few useful programs for the user in the Windows kit.

These are several toys, the simplest text editor "Notepad", an advanced text editor "WordPad", a calculator, an Internet browser (IE-Internet Explorer), a media player, "Paint" - a program for processing simple graphics, programs for servicing PC and OS. That's actually all that our favorite OS is rich in. With Windows 10, things are a little better. Microsoft has come a long way. And it included Skype and a student office suite. By the way, the installed IE and the media player are not ready for work either. IE is partially unprepared, as it can only view text pages and pictures. And the media player is not ready at all, since it needs codecs to play music and video. Therefore, it is time to install the necessary programs for windows. The programs that we will consider in this article, I believe, should be installed on almost every computer running Windows 7 - 10. So let's start.

The most necessary programs for windows 10 - 7

Archivers

1. The very first thing we need to install is the ARCHIVERS. On the Internet, all programs are compressed or packaged by some kind of archiver. This allows you to spend less disk space for storing information on servers and transfer packets faster over the Internet. Each PC must have at least one archiver, and preferably two. The first winrar- it works very fast and supports the ability to unzip a large number of various popular archives. And the most important is its own, very specific, highly protected Rar format. The passwords set by this archiver have not yet been decrypted by anyone.

Second archiver 7zip. Perhaps this archiver is even more necessary than the first. You will need it to unpack archives of the new, rapidly gaining popularity, 7z format. The archiver is very fast, while providing a high compression ratio. Most of the archives on the Internet that you will have to download are in zip, rar and 7z format.

If you are working with a website and you need to create GZIP archives, then 7-zip will provide 2-10% better compression than any other archiver.

These two archivers will help you solve almost any task of archiving / unarchiving software packages received from the Internet.

Codecs

2. The second most important will probably be the installation of codecs for playing audio and video files of the most different formats, without which not one audio / video player does not work. Of all the great variety of different collections, perhaps the best, most stable and generally recognized is K-Lite Codec Pack. According to the developers, their brainchild supports about 400 audio / video formats. In addition, this package is absolutely free and contains a small but very high-quality player. Therefore, it is a sin not to use it. Highly recommend. After installing this codec pack, all your audio / video players will play almost all media file formats.

Adobe Flash Player

3. The next important step is to install Adobe Flash Player . This program is required to play media files in browsers (internet explorers) such as IE, Mozilla Firefox, Opera. It is already built into Google Chrome and Yandex browser.

Browsers

4. It will be important to install a whole set of browsers. I recommend installing all the popular ones, these are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Yandex. Why so many? Can IE (Microsoft's Internet Explorer) be dispensed with? No, you can't do it! Any of the suggested browsers is much better than IE. Firstly, they are increasingly faster, more stable, and make it easy to manage add-ons. Why is it necessary to install everything? The fact is that they are all different and have different useful features that IE does not have. Secondly, in the event of an unexpected failure of one browser, you always have another at hand.

Google Chrome integrated with Google translator. When loading foreign pages, it can automatically translate them into Russian. Translation is often sufficient to understand the contents of the pages. Google Chrome can download many files at the same time.

Mozilla Firefox simply indispensable for those who create and debug websites. It has a huge number of different useful add-ons that other browsers do not have.

Opera one of the fastest browser in the world. This is especially noticeable on slow Internet channels, when it uses a lot of threading for downloading pages and files, and additional compression of information on its server using special algorithms.

Yandex browser development from Yandex. Very similar to Google Chrome and compatible with its add-ons. Has some limitations. The latest versions of this browser are very fast. Overall a good browser.

For all these browsers there is a great add-on Neiron Search Tools- this extension provides the ability to simultaneously search for information on the Internet through Google and Yandex, and a convenient joint output of search results. Search with this application becomes much more efficient. I strongly recommend to use.

File download managers

5. Fast, convenient and reliable downloading of files of any size from the Internet will be provided by the download manager Download Master. The program is free, Russian, practically in no way inferior to paid foreign counterparts. Provides multi-channel, fast download, able to resume files after disconnection or power outage.

SaveFrom.net application for all popular browsers. Allows you to download videos from more than 20 Internet resources. A very useful app.

Google Chrome has created many obstacles for this application to work. Now SaveFrom.net installs poorly on Google Chrome, but works great from the Internet. Use on health. No issues found on other browsers.

If you only need YouTube to upload videos, then there is a program for such a thing. UmmyVideoDownloader. UmmyVideoDownloader is specially designed for downloading YouTube videos. Very comfortable and quality item.

Programs for audio / video communication

6. To communicate on the Internet, you need at least Skype. There are a lot of programs for text, audio, video communication, but most people use Skype and it has features that other programs do not have. So skype must be installed. You will probably need it.

Text editors and processors

7. A little functional text editor from the Windows package is replaced with a more functional one AkelPad or more advanced Notepad++(HIGHLY RECOMMEND). Notepad++ allows you to work with a large number of documents at the same time. Remembers the situation when you turn it off and restores it automatically the next time you turn it on. Allows you to follow links directly from the edited text. For programmers, it is simply not replaceable, since it recognizes the code of more than 20 programming languages ​​and helps to check it for errors. Detects mistakes in words and underlines them. The presence of such an editor on each PC is simply necessary.

8. To create documents of different formats and automated tables, you will need an advanced word processor and spreadsheet such as Win Word and win excel from the Microsoft Office suite. The MS OFFICE package contains many more useful programs. For example, an email client, a presentation manager, a slideshow... On the Internet, you can find advanced packages with many add-ons.

File managers

9. The file manager will provide you with convenience in working with files Total Commander. It has great functionality. The menu of the vehicle itself, the menu of necessary or frequently used programs, two independent windows. In each window, you can open an unlimited number of tabs, have your own FTP manager, archiver, file viewer, media player .... In general, EVERYTHING is at hand! Extremely comfortable and useful program. Highly recommend to everyone!

Programs for viewing PDF files

10. Foxit Phantom needed to read documents PDF format. The program is 10 times smaller than its analogue Adobe Acrobat, much faster and, in addition, allows you to edit PDF documents. I recommend. The program itself is paid, but it can be found for free on the Zver-DVD disc image. If you do not need editing functions and do not want to upload a huge image, then you can use the free analogue Foxit Reader or PDF Reader. There are a lot of programs of this class, but I think this will be enough.

Programs for removing locked files

11. Unlocker will help you unlock and delete locked files and folders that cannot be deleted in other ways. A couple more programs of this class that support the Russian language: lockhunter, IObit Unlocker. If, when trying to delete, you often encounter messages like “Uninstallation is not possible”, “Access denied”, “Used by another application”, “You do not have enough rights” and the like, then these programs will definitely help you.

Programs for downloading files from torrent servers

12. UTorrent- reliable, fast manager for downloading files from torrent servers. A very convenient and reliable program for downloading music, movies, disk images.... The second program mediaget fairly new, but has about the same functionality. Both programs are free.

Image Viewers

13. FastStone Image Viewer- excellent, free, small, fast, lightweight image viewer, has the ability to edit the image file, overlay captions on the picture, optimize the image code ... Highly Recommend!

Quick search for files on your computer

14. Everything designed to search for files on your computer. Incredibly fast. Gives search results when you click on each letter, like hints when searching the Internet. Highlights the found combination of letters in the names of files and folders. Displays file paths. Very fast and convenient program. Free.

The necessary programs for windows, described above, in my opinion, are the most important and necessary, and are able to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. I believe that these programs, or at least similar ones, should be present on every computer.

Less important programs

Programs for capturing images and videos from the screen

15. FastStone Capture- takes screenshots from the monitor screen and captures video. Can record system sound or from a microphone. The program is very small and fast. Has many useful little things. There are a lot of programs capable of performing high-quality video capture from the monitor screen: Bandicam, HyperCam, ScreenCamera, Techsmith Snagit, UVScreen Camera, VirtualDub. All of them have fairly similar functionality.

Programs of this class are all paid. Some of them have demo versions - shareware, severely curtailed with poor functionality, sometimes with inscriptions on the screen that prevent you from watching the video.

The most important leader in this field is considered to be a highly professional Camtasia Studio. It allows not only to capture images from the screen, but also to mount the captured videos using different effects.

Text recognition software

16. If you have a scanner or already scanned documents, or images with text, then you will need a text recognition program to convert them to text format. The best of its kind ABBYY FineReader.

Automatic keyboard switches

17. For those who write a lot of texts using the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, a great helper will be Punto Switcher, which automatically switches the keyboard layout depending on the words you type and fixes persistent errors. The program is absolutely free, developed by Yandex laboratory programmers.

Audio and video players

18. Lovers of music and video will need a player winamp, which has quite rare codecs with its package and is able to play recordings from video recorders and surveillance cameras, and also allows you to turn on several copies of the program at the same time, create playlists, adjust the sound tone and much more .... Free.

There are a lot of players: Daum PotPlayer, AIMP, BSPlayer, GOM Media Player, KMPlayer, iTunes, ComboPlayer, Ace Stream Media, VLC Media Player, 1by1, Media Player Classic Home Cinema, Light Alloy, TV Player Classic, QuickTime Alternative. They have different functionality. Any user will be able to satisfy all their needs.

Windows cleaners / boosters / optimizers

19. ccleaner useful for quick and easy cleaning of the system from temporary files, from unnecessary entries in the registry, etc. The program does not have the greatest functionality, but it performs the necessary minimum perfectly. Free. There are a lot of similar and more powerful programs: Carambis Cleaner, AVG TuneUp, Wise Care 365, Advanced SystemCare, Glary Utilities, Auslogics BoostSpeed, Kerish Doctor, Advanced System Optimizer, System Mechanic, MAGIX PC Check & Tuning. All of them have similar, but still different functionality.

If you are very concerned about the cleanliness and reliability of your Windows, then of course any one package will not be enough for you. So, as always, in other packages there will be functions that you do not have. Even just registry cleaners, everyone checks different parts of the registry and sometimes they find something like this ... In general, there is something to choose from.

To clean the registry, along with other programs, I recommend using trashreg. This is a very small and specific program. Cleans the registry of abandoned keys that many demo programs leave in the system. After such cleaning, you can install demo versions again and use their features.

Recovering deleted files

20. Power Data Recovery is a simple yet powerful tool to recover deleted data. Allows you to recover:

1. deleted files and folders;
2. files from lost/deleted/damaged partition;
3. data from a poorly readable CD / DVD;
4. digital media data.

I would say the program is very important, but since not everyone needs it, that's why it is in the second section. Here are a couple more high-quality, free representatives of such programs: Recuva, Pandora Recovery. I must say that there are products of higher functionality, but they are paid: Hetman Partition Recovery, R-Studio, Wondershare Data Recovery.

Graphic editor

21. Adobe Photoshop- unsurpassed raster graphics editor. Just a necessary tool for creating, modifying pictures and adjusting photos. Required programs for windows 10 - 7 - CorelDraw

22. CorelDraw- the best vector graphics processor. Virtually indispensable in this area. The program is not super required, but essential for creating scalable vector images.

Programs for creating animation

23. Easy Gif Animator will be needed when creating animated pictures or videos. It has the entire arsenal of functions necessary for this. Free.

Disk imaging software

24. Ultra ISO will be needed for those who create images of CD / DVD discs. Works with the standard ISO disk image format. Allows you to create and edit simple and bootable disk images. Uses third-party disc burning software such as Burning Rom.

Programs for mounting disk images on a virtual drive

25. Daemon Tools Lite allows you to mount an image of a CD / DVD disc on a virtual drive, which makes it possible to see how the image will work on a real drive. The program has a fairly wide functionality: Emulation of IDE drives, Emulation of DT and SCSI drives, Mounting disk images, Creating physical disk images, Converting and editing images, Burning disks with images, data and music. Allows you to simulate a large number of different disc copy protection. Allows you to run disk toys not from DVD, but from a hard drive, which makes it possible for them to work much faster. A very useful utility for gamers and those who do not write images to discs, but keep them on the computer. Free.

Postal managers or clients

26. Email clients are arguably the most important applications in modern computer life person. Most users have several accounts in different mail services. Mail clients have been created to provide convenient management of all mail flows. I will give a dozen well-known, and perhaps the best of the mass of mail clients that are available:

The Bet- a great helper for those who have an active Emai correspondence. Allows you to download mail from a huge number of mailboxes and organize it into folders. It has a filter designer and much more.

MS Outlook included in the Microsoft Office suite. The program is very sophisticated. I would even say over the top. But maybe it's all useful to someone.

Mailbird the program is lightweight, undemanding to resources, easy to use and visually appealing.

eM Client- this mail client has all the necessary basic functions.

Inky has a trial version that works for free for 14 days. It has a wide range of possibilities.

Claws Mail rather complex application is intended for advanced users who are not afraid to set everything up manually.

Zimbra Desktop is a free and open source email client. Zimbra is a cross-platform solution for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

touch mail- a convenient mail client for owners of tablets or convertible laptops.

Thunderbird by Mozilla is a unique application. The built-in extension system allows you to increase the functionality of the client with the help of numerous tools created by the Thunderbird community.

Programs for reading DjVu files

27. DjVu is one of the scanned document formats. It is used as a rule for the storage and distribution of books, manuscripts, magazines in which there are many images, diagrams, drawings, formulas. And also for storing scans of historical documents, when accurate reproduction of the shade and texture of paper is required, the most reliable display of all defects, page folds, manual marks and corrections, prints, ink blots, etc.

You can view these files using the following programs: WinDjView, ICE Book Reader Professional, Evince Document Viewer, DjvuReader.

Programs for recording and processing sound

28. There are also quite a lot of such programs, but perhaps the best will be a small but powerful one. Audacity. The program works with a mixer built into the personal computer system, as well as with external sound sources. It is designed to record sound files of unlimited size.

Allows already written files:

1. clean from interference: hiss, static noise, hum;
2. change volume;
3. cut into pieces and mount as you like;
4. as well as compress.

The program is used to record and process digital files. And also digitization of obsolete sound carriers: gramophone records and cassettes. In addition to its own AUP format, it supports a number of popular extensions. In addition to professional functionality, it is also free.

All the necessary programs for windows 7 - 10, which we reviewed in this article you mentioned in the article "". However, there is one note. Programs present on the ZverDVD disc - earlier versions can be installed on OS of any bitness. Many programs located on the disk "Zver 2016.3 Windows 8.1 Pro x64" have only a 64-bit version. And accordingly, they will not work on 32-bit OS.

Just to "clean" installed Windows for normal operation, it is simply necessary to install many more programs, because without them, as you understand, nowhere. Let's try to compile a small list of the most necessary programs for a computer, without which, the full use of a computer is simply impossible. Please note that in the article, in the description of any program there is a link to its working version
So...

The most necessary and important program is your anti-virus protection.Usually it is divided into 4 categories: antivirus, firewall, comprehensive protection and computer scanning programs. I prefer complex protection consisting of antivirus + firewall. On the this moment I use one of the free Avast! I would recommend using only the most proven antivirus programs: Kaspersky, Norton, ESET(nod32), DrWeb, Avast, Panda, McAfee and other popular ones. In general, a matter of taste. If you don't want to pick up some Trojan, be sure to install it!

Next, install the archiver. Since most files on the Internet are in archives (.rar .zip .7z), we will definitely need an archiver program. I suggest using two at the same time: WinRar and 7Zip.
Their differences can be described in one line: winrar- a beautiful and advanced archiver, but with 7zip it's free. Well, as a bonus - only the archiver 7zip opens .7z format archives

Next on the list we will have disc burning software(although last years I'm starting to doubt its necessity more and more ... I use disks every 3 months). dominates here Nero, the most popular program for burning discs (few people are confused by the fact that it is paid). As a free alternative I can advise ImgBurn or shareware Ashampoo Burning Studio- the functionality is smaller, but for its main task - recording discs, it is more than enough.

Further... we need Office. And most likely - Microsoft office(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.). I think you should not paint - you yourself know perfectly well what it is. For lovers of free software, I can advise open office or even better libreoffice- they are almost as good as the brainchild of Microsoft, and they work with Microsoft formats without problems.

Now we will consider codecs. What is this thing for? And so that when watching your favorite movie, you, dear readers, do not have any problems. Without them, many video and audio formats simply won't play! Most Popular Codec Pack - K-Lite Codec Pack. By the way, a very good video player is installed with it - Media Player Classic.

Video viewer essential for any PC user. Even if you have a brand new home theater, you often have to watch a variety of videos on your computer - from clips to video seminars. This task is excellent KMPlayer and Quick Time Player.

We listen to music- Using the standard Windows Media Player, it’s simply impossible to listen to music, no matter how hard the developers try ... 2 of the most popular players are suitable for this purpose: winamp and AIMP. The second player consumes less resources, and besides, it's free. But even here it is a matter of taste and habit. For example, I use two.

I will also advise universal players which both video and audio files are read without problems: GOM Media Player and VLC media player- they read all formats and by the way they are completely free!

We must not forget that we need .pdf file reader. In this format, many books, articles, and other literature are published. Here I recommend Fox Reader, as a replacement for a cumbersome (and even, as it were, paid) monster adobe reader. You may need Adobe Photoshop and view photo albums ACDsee Pro

Text recognising- here is the best program, of course ABBYY FineReader, however, there are free analogues, for example CuneiForm

Don't forget about utilities to keep your system clean - Uninstall Tool and CCleaner. As a result, we have an extensive list of programs - and at least two dozen of them will definitely come in handy for you...

Hello dear friends! In today's article, I will tell you about all the necessary programs for a computer, without installing which work on it will be very difficult or simply impossible.

To fully use all the features of your computer friend, you need to install the necessary programs on it.

All the necessary programs must be installed on your computer or laptop, regardless of what activities you are doing on it. They significantly expand or improve the functionality of your device.

After installing an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) on a computer, you have access to a certain number of programs built into it (the number and versions of programs depend on the version of the installed OS). As a rule, the functionality of these programs is limited.

To use all the features of the software, we are advised to purchase it (for money, and a lot of it) 🙂 There are many ways to get around these restrictions, or use free software.

The list will contain both paid and free programs that have similar characteristics and perform the same task.

Each program will be analyzed separately. The pros and cons of the programs will be indicated, their short description, links to developers' sites for downloading them.

All the programs below work only under Windows OS (versions for each program will be indicated separately) So, let's get started ...

Regardless of whether you bought a new computer assembly (with a pre-installed OS), purchased individual components and assembled the computer yourself, or simply reinstalled the operating system, you need to install drivers for the hardware in your computer to get started.

To see if all the drivers are installed on a computer with a preinstalled OS, you need to click the "start" button, then the "control panel" tab, then for Windows 7 select "device manager" from the list that appears, and for Windows XP click "system" and select there "device Manager".

This (or not this) :) menu will appear:

It should not have any red or yellow icons. If they are not there, then all devices are installed and working normally. If there is, then you need to determine the problem by the name of the device, and try to fix it.

Drivers for desktop computers come on discs (CD or DVD)

For laptops, they can also go on disks (when buying a laptop without an OS installed). If the operating system is installed, then more often the drivers are located in a special folder (software distributions, drivers, etc.).

Driver installation order

If you install drivers from a disk and there is an option for automatic installation, you can use it.

This is the best way for an inexperienced user. The disadvantage of this method is the installation of unnecessary programs (various temperature sensors, fan speed control, etc.) that come with the drivers.

If you know what you need to install, then in the disc menu you can uncheck unnecessary programs and put only the necessary ones. Below I have given an example of a disk menu from my motherboard:

Drivers can be installed both automatically and manually, which gives us the opportunity to install all individually or only the drivers we need.

It is desirable to install drivers for each device separately with a computer restart and in a certain order (desirable, but not necessary).

1. Chipset
2. Sound
3. Video
4. All other internal devices, and after them peripherals (printer, scanner, etc.)

As soon as we have earned all the devices installed or connected to the computer, we can proceed to install the programs that are so necessary for our work or entertainment.

Archivers

To continue the further installation of the necessary programs, we first need to install the archiver, since almost all software distributions are packed into archives.

The most popular paid archiver is WinRar.

In my opinion, WinRar has the only drawback, it is paid, but it works out 100% of the funds spent on it. This is a great and reliable tool for storing, transferring and protecting any of your files. Whether it's a photo, text document or video. If you do not feel sorry for the money, then this is the best option.

WinZip is also a paid archiver, but WinRar is twice as expensive. In terms of functionality, it is in no way inferior to WinRar, but the usability suffers. Because of these two shortcomings, its rather low popularity affects. Comparative characteristics these two archivers, you can see .

Now let's move on to the free and very popular 7Zip archiver.

7Zip has all the necessary functionality, and is considered one of the the best programs fast compression, storage and transmission of important information. The main advantages of this archiver is the presence of its own 7z compression format, which is ahead of WinRar in terms of speed and compression ratio. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions of the program.

Each of the presented archivers will provide you with everything you need for fast and productive work.

Antivirus

And now let's talk about the next type of necessary software - antiviruses.

Antivirus software is one of the most sought after and popular among all computer users.

Antivirus is considered one of the most necessary programs, not only because of its extreme practical usefulness (with proper configuration and proper application), but simply as a necessary attribute of a normal computer, although many users do not pay any attention to the operation of the antivirus. They believe that if the antivirus is installed, then this is enough. Works, updated, well, okay. Many simply have no time or are not interested in learning at least a little about the capabilities of their antivirus installed and the minimum necessary settings so that it works much more efficiently.

You can afford not to be well versed in Word, Excel and other important enough programs to daily work at the computer, but you can't afford to be irresponsible about your data on the computer.

If the antivirus fails to prevent the threat, then you (under certain circumstances) may lose important documents, photos, etc., and no one wants this. If you do not have copies of data destroyed by a virus, then consider that you have lost them almost irretrievably.

Therefore, choosing a good antivirus that is right for you is a rather difficult task, even for an experienced user, and even less knowledgeable, even more so. Below I will give and briefly describe the most popular anti-virus programs and give links to developer sites.

And remember, there is no perfect antivirus, regardless of whether you choose a paid or free program.

The most popular paid anti-virus program in Russia is deservedly considered Kaspersky Anti-Virus. It has two of the most popular packages representing basic and optimal protection. You can see more details about the capabilities of these products. There are also versions of the program for mobile phones, tablet computers and Apple products.

If you decide to purchase Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky Total Security, then by clicking on this link, you will receive an ORFO spell checker as a gift.

Behind him, in descending order of popularity, are Dr. Web and Eset NOD32. These programs are paid. Their functionality is quite enough to provide the user with good protection against various computer viruses.

Also Dr. Web provides an excellent free virus detection and removal tool, Dr. Web CureIt!

Of the free antiviruses, I would like to highlight avast! Free Antivirus. It provides excellent protection against most existing pests and is simple and easy to use. There is a more powerful paid version called avast! internet security. At the end of 2013, the most powerful version of the antivirus appeared - avast! Premier.

Also, many users use less popular, but not much inferior to their advanced counterparts in finding and destroying malicious code, anti-virus programs. These include: AVG Anti-Virus Free, Comodo Antivirus, Avira. All of them are free, but at the same time they provide reliable protection for your computer. McAffe antivirus is very good. It is often installed by default on laptops. By clicking on the picture below, you can learn more about this antivirus. Site in English. To enable any other in the upper right corner, select the special menu item.

A paid antivirus can differ from a free one, both for better and for worse. Algorithms for searching and detecting malicious code are different, and you don't know which virus will get to you. It may be that a simple antivirus can easily catch an unexpected guest, and his fancy fellow will let him through. Choose what suits you best, install, configure and surf the Internet safely.

By the way, I myself have been using the free version of Avast for more than three years, and I am quite pleased with its work. Viruses, of course, slipped through, especially Trojans, but running a full computer scan and using the Dr. Web CureIt! (once a month is enough) solves this problem. The article describes in detail about this and other programs for quickly and efficiently scanning your computer for viruses.

After you and I have protected our computer from unwanted effects of various malware, you can calm down a little, think and decide. What should we install next? What programs do we need the most?

To do this, ask yourself. What do you do more with your computer? Work or play. After answering it, you will know exactly what to put in the first place, and I will move on to image viewers.

Image viewers

Image viewers or simply "viewers" are an integral part of any computer, because without their capabilities, you will never be able to view your photos or drawings. The lack of such a necessary program in the daily activities of the computer greatly limits your ability to use the unlimited potential of the computer.

All modern operating systems have a built-in viewer graphic images almost any format, and it does a great job with simple browsing and for many it is enough, but for some users more functionality is needed. For this category, many different (both paid and free) programs have been specially developed to view a huge variety of graphic formats.

Once the most popular paid image viewer ACDSee, it quickly lost ground to its free counterparts.

Thanks to the emergence of full-featured free programs for viewing all kinds of graphic formats, users have a choice, and there is no need to use paid image viewers.

These programs will allow us to view documents and read e-books in popular formats such as PDF and DjVu.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is the most powerful PDF reader and editor. Its capabilities far exceed the requirements of the average user and it is too "heavy", so I advise everyone to install a simple and fast loading Foxit PDF Reader. This free program is enough to view any documents or books.

WinDjView is a fast and extremely easy to use program for viewing DjVu files. The DjVu format allows you to save printed documents and images with excellent quality in files much smaller than the original ones.

Separately, I would like to highlight such a program as STDU Viewer.

I have been using it since 2015 and am very happy with it. It easily replaces all three previous programs.

Her virtues:

• Reads all major image, book and document formats (see supported formats);
• Light weight;
• Free for non-commercial use;
• Can replace several utilities.

Flaws:

In fact, it has one drawback, it is a less convenient and practical interface when working with files and less functionality when working (unlike specialized software), so to speak, a fee for versatility. But many bells and whistles are unnecessary (like me, for example), I looked through the document and forgot. So I strongly advise everyone to add this software to the list of necessary, more than anything else.

Video players

To view videos in a variety of formats, we need to install a video player on the computer.

Here I will give only free video viewers, since there is no need to use paid video players, due to their high price and absolute uselessness for the average user, for whom simplicity and ease of use are more important than fancy functionality.

- probably the most popular video file player for the vast majority of users. The popularity of Media Player Classic is justified by the fact that this player is present in such a popular codec pack as the K-Lite Codec Pack, which will be discussed below. Its capabilities are quite sufficient for normal viewing of movies and video materials, unpretentious and easy to use.

Media Player Classic once again confirms that for most users, speed and ease of use are important, and additional features go by the wayside. Also, this player can be downloaded separately. It is called MPC-HC, which essentially does not change anything. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions.

Next comes a more beautiful and modern video player. This video / audio player has built-in codecs, which allows you to watch video movies (including DVDs) and listen to music without installing any third-party codecs. KMPlayer has advanced video settings that can significantly improve the quality of the video being played, as well as changeable skins to change the look.

And finally, I will present a powerful and very easy-to-use media player.

VLC is a free, open source, cross-platform player for any audio and video information. It, like KMPlayer, has built-in codecs for playing audio and video files. Supports a huge number of formats and various streaming protocols.

To play video on your computer, you can use any of the programs presented here, making a choice based on your aesthetic needs. The capabilities of each of them are enough for use in most everyday tasks.

P.S. I myself constantly use all three multimedia players, depending on the format, the quality of the video file being launched and the mood :). For ordinary DVD Rip movies, Media Player Classic is sufficient, and for watching videos and movies in Full HDTV, I use VLC media player. KMPlayer can play quite well both DVD and HDTV, although I rarely use it, I like it for its excellent design and features.

Audio players

For high-quality playback and listening to music, we need to install a program for playing audio files.

Above in the article, multimedia players were analyzed that are more suitable for playing videos, although all have the ability to play audio files. Using them to listen to music is not very convenient, so I will tell you about audio players that are specially designed to perform this function with the highest possible convenience and quality.

The first representative of this class of programs is the very popular, beautiful and convenient audio player Aimp. In December 2015, the fourth version of this player was released. The player is absolutely free, and it is very pleasing :).

The Aimp player won back, and firmly occupied a niche, the former very popular and high-quality WinAmp music player.

Thanks to its free, beautiful appearance (it is possible to change skins), user-friendly interface, high-quality sound reproduction, functionality and constant updates, it has won the hearts of many users around the world. If you choose Aimp, you will never regret it. Ideal solution for home use.

It has a modest interface, but at the same time it has huge opportunities for expansion, customization and playback of high-quality sound.

The theoretical possibilities of Foobar2000 for high-quality processing of audio files exceed the capabilities of professional audio equipment.

It has a huge number of plug-ins.

An excellent player for those who like to play around with sound settings. It is also very well suited for use in office computers, as it consumes very little RAM and has the ability to adjust the transparency.

It is a fast, very small size (490kb in the archive), but at the same time a powerful and flexible tool for listening to music.

Supports major audio formats WAV, OGG, MP1, MP2, MP3, AIFF.

Due to the extremely spartan interface, using Evil Player is not very convenient, but it does an excellent job of performing its main function.

For a home where several people usually use one computer, it will be inconvenient, and it is very suitable for listening to background music in the office.

Codecs

The most popular, stable, versatile and necessary set of codecs for viewing and processing audio and video files is undoubtedly .

Thanks to the existence of five package options, any user can choose the one that suits him in terms of its functionality.

Basic(Basic) - contains the necessary components to play all popular audio and video formats.

standard(Standard) Same as the base version, plus the very good and essential Media Player Classic Home Cinema discussed above, and a built-in MPEG-2 decoder for playing DVDs.

Full(Full) same as the standard set, plus MadVR, GraphStudioNext and a few additional DirectShow filters.

Mega(and so it is clear) the same as the full package, plus ACM and VFW codecs for encoding and editing video, a few additional DirectShow filters and tools.

Previously, there was a special 64-bit version of the codec designed to work in 64-bit operating systems, but now it is built-in by default and you do not need to download anything separately.

To view full descriptions composition and capabilities various versions codec, follow the link above.

It is a set of the most necessary codecs for watching video in the most popular formats and listening to audio files.

The package includes such popular codecs as ffdshow, DivX, XviD, x264, h.264, Windows Media 9, MP4, MPEG4, MPEG2, AC3, DTS, Flash Video Splitter, many filters, various plug-ins and other auxiliary tools for working with video and audio files.

This is a universal free application developed by Adobe Corporation that allows us to view pages with dynamic (interactive) content, beautiful special effects and video clips, play flash-games.

Flash technology is very common on the Internet, and using a computer without a Flash player installed, you will not be able to fully use all the possibilities of the modern Internet.

This software is simply necessary to install on any computer.

For instructions on installing Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer, Opera and Mozilla Firefox browsers, click here.

Adobe Flash Player is already built into the Google Chrome browser. Updated automatically.

Office programs

It is the most essential set of office applications created by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X operating systems.

This package includes software that allows you to prepare documents of varying complexity. Allows you to work with various types documents: texts, spreadsheets, databases, etc.

Microsoft Office occupies a leading position in the word processor market, and its formats are the standard in the workflow of the vast majority of enterprises.

The most popular Microsoft Office applications are Microsoft Office Word for working with text data and Microsoft Office Excel for working with tabular data. But these applications are quite difficult to master on their own, and in self-study, we use the capabilities of these programs by 10-15%. Therefore, if you want to surprise your friends, girlfriends, comrades and work colleagues with an advanced level of Word proficiency, to do your work more efficiently and faster, I advise you to go.

Microsoft Office is an excellent product for processing text and tabular data, but its main disadvantage is the price.

The 2013 version costs about 15,000 rubles. This is a very large amount for us, therefore, in home computers, the vast majority of users have unlocked different ways version of this program, so necessary for many.

Now consider the free office program OpenOffice.

It is the most popular free office suite for word processing. spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases, etc.

Supports many languages ​​and works great on all personal computers.

OpenOffice is completely free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

The OpenOffice office suite has less functionality and usability, so it will not replace Microsoft Office in enterprises, but for home use it is more than enough.

A simple text editor can also be a very good option (especially for owners of laptops and tablets).

Browsers

(read as Internet Explorer) is a browser developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is included in the package of all operating systems of the Windows family, and thanks to this, it remains one of the most popular web browsers on the Internet today.

For most users who need the Internet occasionally, it will be enough, but for those who spend a little more time at the monitor in search of information and entertainment, a more flexible and customizable tool may be needed.

In general, the latest versions of Internet Explorer are comfortable and work quite well when properly configured.

At the moment, Microsoft is very actively promoting its Microsoft Edge browser, which comes with the Windows 10 operating system. According to user reviews, it is quite good and outperforms Internet Explorer.

Although the package includes many modules, the most common application from this package is Nero Burning Rom. It is responsible for writing, erasing, copying and cloning disks. Nero Burning Rom has established itself as the fastest, most convenient and high-quality disc burning program. Supports recording of all existing discs and formats. The downside of the program is that it is paid, but it is cheaper than Ashampoo Burning. It is the best choice for burning discs among all programs of this class.

On this I want to end the description of the set of necessary programs for any computer running operating systems of the Windows family, and move on to not so necessary, but sometimes necessary software.

Such software includes programs for scanning text and images, translators, downloading files and torrents, communicating on the Internet, cleaning the operating system, convenient work with files and defragmenters. Now about everything in order ...

Convenient file handling

The most popular program for convenient work with files is . This is the best dual pane file manager. It has all possible options for convenient work with multiple files. There are both 32 and 64 bit versions of the program.

A good option would be to use a free file manager. In terms of stability and functionality, it is inferior to Total Commander, but for many it will be enough.

Internet communication

Programs designed for communication via the Internet are divided into those that allow you to talk through a microphone with the ability to connect video communications via a webcam, and simple communication using text. Almost all modern programs support all these options for interaction between users.

The brightest representative of this segment is Skype.

Skype allows you to communicate for free to all Internet users, regardless of their location. It is possible to call any mobile operator or landline number at very low rates.

Easy to install, clear and easy to use, Skype is a must-have for those users who want to use the Internet to the maximum.

A good replacement for Skype can be the Mail.Ru Agent program, but it has a big minus, this is a lower communication quality than Skype. Otherwise, this is a fairly comfortable and high-quality product. It has millions of fans, thanks to the promoted instant messaging service ICQ (better known as ICQ). When downloading the agent (and other programs), be careful. Be sure to uncheck the box before starting the download, otherwise a bunch of any digital badies will fly into your load. With all due respect to Mail.ru, they do not disdain to clog our computers with very annoying and, most importantly, absolutely unnecessary software for the sake of a penny.

Downloading files and torrents

All modern browsers have a built-in module for downloading files from the Internet, but their functionality and ease of use do not satisfy many users. An alternative to the standard methods of downloading information from the Internet can be programs specially designed for this. They are easily integrated into all major and popular browsers, have significantly greater functionality, speed and reliability.

The best program of this class is .

Download Master is a convenient and highly efficient tool for downloading any files. It will provide you with a high download speed, the ability to continue an interrupted download from the place where the connection was interrupted, a convenient interface for managing the program and downloaded files.

There is a portable version of Download Master Portable, which, being written to a USB flash drive or a portable disk, will allow you to download from any computer connected to the World Wide Web. All versions of Download Master are free.

Another good program for downloading files from the Internet.

In terms of its functionality, Free Download Manager is in no way inferior to Download Master, but loses in ease of use, although many people like it, just because of its simplicity and the presence of only the necessary controls.

The following program is a torrent downloader. If you do not understand what is at stake, then read what torrent files are.

µTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients in the world.

The advantages of this program are its small size, convenient and intuitive interface, and most importantly, it is absolutely free. I advise everyone who downloads large amounts of data from torrent trackers.

Cleaning the operating system

To keep the operating system in good working condition and remove unnecessary files and programs from it, we just need a program.

CCleaner is the best free program to optimize your computer's registry and files. After finishing your work, you will see how much faster and more efficiently your computer will work.

CCleaner will instantly free up valuable hard disk space, while you can be sure that the program will work correctly and reliably. The program will not delete any necessary files. Built-in support for the Russian language, the small size of the program and a clear and simple interface make CCleaner an indispensable assistant, both at home and at work.

AT recent times, to optimize and clean the operating system from various garbage, I began to use Advanced SystemCare. Great replacement for many cleaners.

Defragmenters

Very fast, powerful and reliable defragmenter.

Auslogics Disk Defrag allows you to optimize file system, hosting both system and regular files to speed up your computer. Supports running in the background. Free for commercial and home use.

There is also a portable version of Auslogics Disk Defrag, which can be written to a USB flash drive or removable disk, with the further ability to run the program on any other computer without installation.

Optical text and image recognition

If you frequently work with text and graphic data, you may need such necessary software as programs for text and image recognition.

It is a leader in the field of optical data recognition and has all the necessary functionality for quickly and easily converting paper documents into electronic editable formats. It defines and allows you to convert to documents of various formats, both textual and tabular data, and images. It does all this with maximum speed and quality. It does not matter for her the type of document being defined, whether it is a photograph of a book or a plain text document. ABBYY FineReader will detect the data in both documents with the same quality. There is a built-in spell checker. The downside of the program is its cost.

For those who are not ready to pay for ABBYY FineReader OCR software, there is its free counterpart CuneiForm.

The functionality and quality of CuneiForm is inferior to ABBYY FineReader, but it copes very well with scanning simple documents and images. Any printed fonts are recognized.

The results of the work can be translated and edited in any office programs and text editors, and then saved in popular formats.

To improve the quality of recognition, CuneiForm uses a dictionary check. The standard dictionary can be extended by inserting new words from text files. Suitable for everyone who needs optical data recognition from case to case.

Text translators

The electronic dictionary is the most powerful package for translating text from one language to another.

It comes in home and professional versions, which differ in the set of dictionaries. Each version has the ability to connect additional dictionaries. It has a huge standard database of words and popular phrases. It has the highest quality automatic translation of the text, selecting the translation of words according to the meaning and content of the translated material. ABBYY Lingvo a very high-quality paid product that far left its competitors, both paid and free, far behind. It is simply necessary for everyone who studies foreign languages ​​and translates texts.

NeoDic is a free program for contextual text translation. It will help you cope with the translation of unfamiliar words by simply hovering the mouse over the desired word or phrase. This type of translation is very convenient to use when viewing information on the Internet. The program supports the Russian language, has a small size and many settings that allow you to change the program to suit your needs.

This concludes my review of the necessary programs for your computer. The set of software presented above is sufficient for the full use of all the main features of the computer that the vast majority of users use, at home or in the office.

You can download them from official sites (this is not always convenient), follow the links provided in the article, or go to the useful resources page and select the one you like from the listed directories of free programs, search and download desired program from him.

If you liked this article, then maybe you will be interested in my other materials. To view all blog articles, please follow the link to. The author of this article and the blog Computer for Everyone is Alexander Osipov. See you on the pages.