What do you think of these recommended apps?

I've taken the recommendations I've collected from several articles and forums across the internets and submitted them to various websites for reactions. As is typical for the internet, not everyone agrees. Below is the current state of the list.

Do you have any experience with any of the following Windows 10 software? Would you be so kind as to share your experience. Any comments or criticisms would be most helpful. What have I overlooked?

I'm brand spanking new to Windows (spent my life behind a Mac) so I don't know what I don't know.


Thumbs Up
7-Zip - Unarchiver
GeForce Experience - Nvidia Drivers And Customization
MSI Afterburner - Versatile Graphics Card Utility
Rainmeter - Desktop Customization Tool
WinDirStat - Disk Usage Statistics Viewer
Your Phone - Links An Android Phone To A Pc
Memtest86 - Boots From A USB Flash Drive To Test The RAM
Bitwarden - Password Manager
Foxit Reader - PDF Reader
OBS - screen capturing
HWinfo64 - System Information, Diagnostics And Benchmarking


Thumbs Down
Aida 64 - System Information, Diagnostics And Benchmarking
AutoHotKey - Scripting
Ccleaner - System Optimization, Privacy And Cleaning
Glary Utilities - All-In-One Utility For Cleaning A Pc
IObit Advanced Systemcare - Scan, Repair, And Optimize
IObit Driver Booster - Driver Update Utility
IObit Uninstaller - Advanced Uninstall Tool
Iolo System Mechanic - Clean And Speed Up Your Pc
KeePass - Password Manager
PC Decrapifier - Bloatware Remover
Restoro - Free Version Scans Pc For Problems
Ryzen Master - Amd Utility For Overclocking
SUMo - Software Update Monitor
Speccy - Finds/Saves Computer Specs
Ultra Defrag - Disk Defragmenter For Windows
Malwarebytes - Malware Protection


No opinions yet
Autoruns - Controls Start-Up Apps
Dual Monitor Tools - Advanced Dual Or Multiple Monitor Setup
GParted - Partition Editor For Graphically Managing Disk Partitions
Microsoft To-Do - Task Management
Ninite - Software Installer
NirSoft - Password Recovery
PowerToys - Productivity Suite
Prey - Mobile Device Tracking
Radeon Control Panel - AMD Control Panel
Recuva - Advanced File Recovery
Revo Uninstaller - Advanced Software Uninstaller
Rufus - Creates Bootable Usb Flash Drives
Seer Pro - Windows Quick Look Tool
TranslucentTB - Controls Appearance Of The Taskbar
TreeSize - Disk Space Manager
Wallpaper Studio 10 - Manage Wallpapers And Backgrounds
Windows Defender Offline - Offline Scanning Tool That Runs Outside Of The OS


What else would you recommend?

Thanks, emcee2

Here's just another small list:

• Calibre (e-book reader/manager, free)
• K-Lite Codec Pack Full (has everything you need to play video files, also including audio bitstreaming over HDMI, madVR renderer for upscaling resolution of the playback of video files that have a lower video resolution than your monitor, and the option to fix broken codec installations, free)
• foobar2000 (gapless music player, set it up such a way that it uses WASAPI output to ensure bitperfect playback, and some optional addons you might need/want, free)
• Equalizer APO (use it to work around common audio problems like YouTube videos with volume too soft, free)
• Peace (use it together with Equalizer APO to make it more usable and very user-friendly, free)
• Firefox Portable Edition (use whatever browsers you like better, but I use this one for my main browser, free)
• Sandboxie Plus (I use it together with Firefox Portable whenever I can, just as an extra precaution against browser hijackers/ransomware or against me destroying my browser by accident, but can use it with other programs also, free)
• Everything (file/folder searching with fast indexing and instant search results, lightweight so it doesn't use up a lot of system resources, indexing of USB drives is set to disabled by default so that you have no problems, free)
• Link Shell Extension (what should have been baked into Windows a whole dozen years ago because nobody likes to manage their symlinks, hard links and junctions on NTFS without a full fat user interface, free)
• Ventoy (never have to reformat USB flash drives to make them bootable, boots straight into a bootable ISO file, with multiboot, files can be larger than 4GB, as it supports multiple filesystems also including NTFS and exFAT, free)
• Winaero Tweaker (various Windows customizations and tweaks, just be careful with what you change─remember to back up an image of your whole Windows partition first before you start messing around with Windows' intestines like always, free)
• Windows Ultimate Tweaker (similar to the above, free)

I could go on like this for a while, but most of the ones I listed above can be already very time consuming to most people who want to figure them out in some detail that could be useful.

Thumbs Up
7-Zip - Unarchiver (Agree. Perhaps not quite as polished/visually appealing as paid-for WinRAR, especially for creating self-extractors, but IMO best of breed for free.)
Foxit Reader - PDF Reader (Agree... but make sure you do a 'custom' install and don't install the PDFConnect cloud add-on/service... nor perhaps the auto-update option.)

Thumbs Down
AutoHotKey - Scripting (Disagree - but then I'm someone who, if I have to do the same thing more than twice, looks for ways of automating repetitive processes... like entering my stupidly long email address over and over again. If you've ever used the MacOS Automator then you'll appreciate AutoHotkey.)
KeePass - Password Manager (Disagree - I still find it very useful, especially the portable version)
PC Decrapifier - Bloatware Remover (Moot point as it has been discontinued)
Malwarebytes - Malware Protection (Agree - IMO it has gone downhill, got bloated and buggy. I've stopped using it, even though I have a lifetime subscription.)

No opinions yet
Autoruns - Controls Start-Up Apps (Good - Probably the best of breed for what it does.)
GParted - Partition Editor For Graphically Managing Disk Partitions (Very good but I just use it from a bootable USB stick.)
Revo Uninstaller - Advanced Software Uninstaller (Best of breed IMO, followed by GeekUninstaller)
Rufus - Creates Bootable Usb Flash Drives (Easy and reliable. Again, probably best of breed.)

Hope this helps...