Top 15 free tools for Windows

Referring to the Windows platform, you always wonder about the cost of licensing the software. However, there are still many powerful utilities that are free.

Utilities enrich the functionality for the Windows environment, helping users work more efficiently. The following 15 Windows utilities are free for personal use; Many utilities are also free for the whole business.

Dropbox

Download: Dropbox

Uses: Copy files between computers, mobile phones, and the cloud.

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003; Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry.

Price: Free up to 2GB capacity; USD 9.99 / month for 50GB; $ 19.99 / month for 100GB.

The utility allows you to store files online via computers (Windows, Mac, Linux) or mobile phones (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry) by dragging and dropping them to the specified folder in the My Dropbox folder on the machine.

When your Dropbox-installed computer or mobile phone is connected to the Internet, Dropbox automatically syncs files saved on the service provider's server to your device. Of course, you must use the Web browser and log in with your name and password.

You can also share files with friends by placing them in the public subdirectory in My Dropbox, and sending them a link (right-click the file and then select Dropbox / Copy public link).

Dropbox allows you to back up files via PCs running Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android phones by simply dragging and dropping into folders.

SyncToy

Download: SyncToy.

Uses: Sync files.

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003; has a 64-bit version.

Price: Free.

Microsoft's free SyncToy comes as part of the Windows XP PowerToy toolkit. This gadget is regularly improved. The latest version, SyncToy 2.1, has been released for over a year.

To use SyncToy, select two folders to sync, called the Left (Left Folder) and Right (Folder Folder) folders. You have three synchronized options: Synchronize, Echo, and Contribute.

• Synchronize: New files, the same files have changed since the previous synchronization, are copied back and forth between the two folders. If the file has been renamed or deleted in a folder, it will also be renamed or deleted on the other folder.

• Echo: New and changed files are copied from Left to Right. Files that have been renamed or deleted on the left will also be renamed or deleted on the right.

• Contribute: Same as Echo, but the files deleted on the left are retained on the right.

System Information for Windows

Download: System Information for Windows.

Uses: System summary, including hardware and software.

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003.

Price: Free for individual users; businesses pay $ 99.95 for a 10-user license

System Information for Windows (SIW) is responsible for collecting all information about the system and displaying them for your convenience.

SIW reports on three main groups of information: Software (software), Hardware (hardware), and Network (network)

• Software: including operating system, patches, installed software, running services, information about device drivers, users .

• Hardware: Overview of hardware, details about CPU, mainboard, RAM, BIOS version, graphics card and sound .

• Network: including network card, shared information, open ports .

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recuva

Download: Recuva

Uses: Recover deleted files

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

Recuva is a free utility that quickly saves deleted files from USB memory sticks (as shown in pictures), memory cards of digital cameras, MP3 players . Recuva even recovered files that were deleted from Recycle Bin.

In principle, the space occupied by deleted files will be freed to write new data. Once the new data has not been added to the storage device, it is feasible to save the data; Even if you have recorded the data, you still have not lost the chance to recover.

7Zip

Download: 7Zip

Uses: compress and decompress multi-format

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003; has a 64-bit version

Price: Free

While ZIP format is supported by Windows by default, many people still use RAR format to compress and send data, making it difficult for Windows users to receive. That's why the free 7Zip compression and decompression software, which supports many formats in the list of software needed on the device.

7Zip also creates self-extracting EXE executable files, which are very handy (however, many email services with filters do not accept attachments of this format). 7Zip supports standard 256-bit encryption with AES-256 algorithm. 7Zip's default format is 7z, but this utility works well with ZIP, RAR, CAB, ARJ, TAR and many other less popular formats. Even 7Zip helps you extract from CD ISO image files (ISO CD image).

Being a free and open source software, though compact, 7Zip is really a serious competitor of commercial software like WinZip and WinRAR.

Wiseval Photophant

Download: Wiseval Photophant

Uses: Change the format and image size

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

Wiseval Photophant allows you to just need a few clicks to process a series of photos, with operations: resizing, format conversion, stamp, and renaming. The strength of Photophant is to make multiple image files simultaneously.

You can choose one of the predefined sizes (800 x 600, 1,024 x 768, etc.) or set the size yourself; convert among JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and TIFF formats with compression techniques defined by you; renaming by group (eg 'QTM_' to 'QTM_1', 'QTM_2', .); and add a watermark to the image to acknowledge the copyright.

The changed images are stored in a different folder than the original photo folder, the process is fast, quality guaranteed, and very easy to use.

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Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

Download: Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

Uses: Find and remove duplicate files

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

Utility helps you regain quite a lot of space on hard disk. Besides eliminating duplicate files also frees you from the embarrassment of managing too many documents generated daily.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder has a simple interface, displays all the files with the same path. You can easily identify and select duplicate files to delete. (actually sending them to the Recycle Bin but not completely deleting, so you can recover if necessary).

In addition to the general rule of being careful to avoid accidentally deleting your documents, you should be careful with system folders. Think carefully before pressing the Delete button, because mistakenly deleting the file system may cause problems with Windows.

Revo Uninstaller Freeware

Download: Revo Uninstaller Freeware

Uses: Remove the program

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP

Price: Free; The Pro version is priced at US $ 39.25, reduced to US $ 19.62 per machine if purchased from four or more machines

Revo Uninstaller completely removes installed programs from the directory to the Registry. Not only that, it also erases everything related to the program wherever it may be due to the installation or use created.

Revo allows you the flexibility to decide how clean you are and leave what you want to save.

Pro version, paid, monitors the system when you install it into a program, making it easier and more thorough to remove it later. The Pro version also removed what was left of other uninstall programs that had been done before.

Paint.Net

Download: Paint.Net

Uses: Photo editing

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP (requires .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or higher)

Price: Free

There are a lot of powerful photo editing software, even offered for free. Some utilities include: IrfanView, GIMP, FastStone Image Viewer, or Picasa .

Paint.NET is more compact but more powerful than many free utilities of the same type. The latest version Paint.NET 3.3.6 has many tools similar to Photoshop.

Paint.NET has a simple and easy-to-use interface for photo editing, layer-based design, multiple plug-ins, special effects, etc. Although Paint.NET requires it. Net Framework, but the utility's image editing tools will certainly please most non-advanced users.

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Autoruns

Download: Autoruns

Uses: Manage programs that automatically load when Windows starts

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

Programs run automatically every time Windows starts causing troubles from 'dreamers' to veteran Windows users. There is a powerful tool that indicates that autorun programs will allow you to intervene to limit some unwanted autostart programs.

The Everything tab (as shown in the picture) lists, sequentially, all programs run automatically when Windows is loaded. Clicking on the program will see the details. Right-click on the program and select Search Online to find the program on the Web.

You can filter out Microsoft programs that run Autorun and only display third-party programs: Select Options, Hide Microsoft and Windows Entries. Then click the Refresh icon. You will see all the self-running tools that are available on the machine.

LastPass

Download: LastPass

Uses: Manage multiple online passwords

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Mac, Linux

Price: Free with Windows, Mac, Linux; 1 USD / month with iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian

Utility to help you securely manage multiple login passwords. You only need to remember a single password. This means that with just one click, LastPass will provide you with your username, password, and other settings related to your accounts.

The special thing is that LastPass encrypts and stores all in the cloud, not on the PC like other utilities. LastPass codes and decrypts the data using AES-256 algorithm on your PC with the main password. Data stored on the cloud is encrypted, and without the key saved with it (only you know), the password cannot be broken.

LastPass is an add-on for IE, Firefox, or Chrome, so thanks to all your passwords stored in the same place, you can access them from any PC, as long as there is one. Internet connection and main password.

VLC Media Player

Download: VLC Media Player

Uses: Watch movies, listen to music

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Mac, Linux

Price: Free

Compact open source software VLC Media Player can play all audio and video formats - including YouTube Flash FLV files, without having to install codecs. Most codecs in use are already integrated with VLC.

Use VLC to browse Internet content with one click, easily record, convert to other formats, and even support screenshots and save frames.

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Jaangle

Download: Jaangle

Uses: Manage movie and music warehouses

OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

While VLC is superior to video playback, Jaangle does not only play, but also has the advantage of managing film and music libraries.

Once you have so many movies and music stored on your computer, you will need to organize them to access them easily and quickly. Jaangle is the right tool in this case.

Jaangle has a simple interface, is easy to manipulate, supports many different formats: mp3, ogg, wma, avi, . Jaangle has the function of automatically detecting on the Internet and provides you with a lot of information related to the article. The song you are listening to is: CD cover, artist biography, and artist images. Moreover, just clicking the right mouse button on the song can download the lyrics right in Jaangle.

Process Explorer

Download: Process Explorer

Uses: Monitor and manage running programs

OS: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free

Process Explorer free software has the latest version is V14.01. System monitoring and checking utility, can be used as an alternative to the task manager of Windows to manage the system occupancy level of each program, setting priority for each process .

Process Explorer displays running processes and processes. Just clicking or even surfing on them can see the full details really happening. To find a running file, click on Find Handle or DLL (or press Ctrl + F); type part of the file name; and select Search. To free the file, right-click the process and select Kill Process Tree.

The great thing is Process Explorer doesn't need to be installed.

PicPick

Download: PicPick

Uses: Screen capture

OS: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; Windows Server 2008, 2003

Price: Free for personal use and non-profit use; USD 19.99, reduced to USD 7.99 for each copy with a license of over 50 copies

Screen capture is the action you usually use while creating documentation. There are many tools to help you do that. However, PicPick is convenient in that it is an all in one graphics tool, not just a screen capture. PicPick's interface is very simple.

PicPick allows you to take screenshots by pressing a key or key combination of your choice. You can choose to take full screen (Full Screen), current window (Active Window), a rectangular area or any shape you draw on the screen.

If you need to capture on a white background or a single color, PicPick Whiteboard tool allows you to "erase" part of the screen conveniently. Every time you shoot, PicPick turns on your screen in edit mode, with resizing and editing tools. The PicPick tool offers to edit photos even more than Paint.