Whenever I format my computer, I spend at least a couple of hours installing the software that are really useful. From anti-virus to media player, these software are must have for any Computer owner. What follows is the list of these essential software which are also free, so you can take breath now.

• First of all, I install Autopatcher to make my system up to date and avoid any vulnerabilities that may exist in pre-patched systems. But since the Microsoft sent notice to them, this site doesn’t provide the download. You can still download the August 2007 core update from Softpedia.

• Next I install the latest version of Firefox install the essential add-ons for it.

• Then I install VLC media player. The reason I choose VLC is that it is free and it supports the most popular file formats like mpeg1, mpeg2, MPEG4, .dcmp, .flv (For YouTube Videos), .3gp, .ogg and .iso.
• For the basic (also advanced) image editing I download IrfanView. This software is also free and is the lightest of all imaging software (only 1.8 MB).
• Then comes antivirus. I use Avast for that. Avast has a neat user interface which resembles Media player. Its interface is skinnable. Its system requirements are also low as compared to others.
• Once you go online, anti-spyware becomes must have for you. Spybot Search and destroy(SS&D) is the best in this category. The special feature of SS&D is that, when you click the Immunize button, malware gets entirely blocked from entering your PC.
• For the Firewall i use ZoneAlarm. This software is designed to protect your PC from hackers. This software is free. It works in two zones, Internet zone and Trusted zone. It allows you to share files and printers with computers in trusted zone, while blocks access to your PC’s resources from Internet zone.
• WinRar is used to compress large files into small ones. It can achieve compression ratios in the order of 15%.
• For the media player I use Winamp. This software doesn’t need introduction. It is the best Media player available out there.
• Next thing I install is Xplorer2 Lite. This software enhances the default Windows Explorer file Browser. It offers three panes, two of which are folder content panes. It makes easier to compare the content of two folders.
• When online, you can Google anything. But what do you do to search files and folders on your local hard drive. For this purpose You can download Google desktop search, windows desktop search or Copernic desktop search.

If you like you can integrate all these software with your Windows installation disk for ease of installation.

Whenever I find any other essential software, I will add them here. So, keep this page bookmarked.

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