What's the best freeware you've found lately that you can't live without?
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Everything posted below is free. Note: Windows 10 user

Firefox browser with these addons:

uBlock Origin - blocks ads & more

Bitwarden - password manager

Video DownloadHelper

I don't care about cookies - Get rid of cookie warnings from almost all websites

SponsorBlock - Easily skip YouTube video sponsors. When you visit a YouTube video, the extension will check the database for reported sponsors and automatically skip known sponsors. You can also report sponsors in videos.

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Windows apps.

VIDEO

VLC media player - plays everything (even audio)

HandBrake - HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs

MakeMKV - MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called "transcoder". It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way. The MKV format can store multiple video/audio tracks with all meta-information and preserve chapters. There are many players that can play MKV files nearly on all platforms, and there are tools to convert MKV files to many formats, including DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Shotcut - free, open source, cross-platform video editor.

MP4TOOLS - MP4Tools is a collection of cross-platform free tools to manipulate MP4 files. It contains following applications:

MP4Joiner is a free application that allows join multiple MP4 files into one without reencoding and without quality loss.

MP4Splitter is a free application that allows split a MP4 file in multiple files without reencoding and without quality loss. It is Open Source Software and is completely free.

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IMAGE

paint.net - image and photo editing tool

JPEGView - Lean and fast image viewer with minimal GUI

ShareX - Screen capture, file sharing and productivity tool

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AUDIO

foobar2000 - audio player to be able to play all my local audio files. when combined with all of the awesome add-ons/components you will not need anything other than this

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UTILITIES/MISC

JDownloader2 - best download manager. period. updates regularly and works like a charm.

Bulk Rename Utility - The Free File Renaming Utility for Windows. Rename multiple files with the click of a button

VoidTools - Everything - Locate files and folders by name instantly (this is a must have for Win users)

Bulk Crap Uninstaller - Remove large amounts of unwanted applications quickly better than Windows built in uninstaller. It can detect most applications and games (even portable or not registered), clean up leftovers, force uninstall, automatically uninstall according to premade lists, and much more.

dupeGuru - cross-platform (Linux, OS X, Windows) GUI tool to find duplicate files in a system.

Simplewall - Simple tool to configure Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which can configure network activity on your computer. The lightweight application is less than a megabyte, and it is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and higher operating systems.

qBittorrent - fast, reliable and regularly updated Bittorrent client.

TeraCopy - Copy your files faster and more securely

Sumatra PDF - PDF, eBook (epub, mobi), comic book (cbz/cbr), DjVu, XPS, CHM, image viewer for Windows. Small, fast, customizable, free.

HWiNFO - analyze your hardware

WizTtree - the fastest (yes it is) disk space analyzer

Notepad++ - Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages

Unigram - Telegram client for Windows

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Might end up updating this posts if there's something I've forgotten.

Edit 1: sorted the apps into categories.

Edit 2: added Notepad++ to MISC category

Edit 3: added SponsorBlock - Skip Sponsorships on YouTube to Firefox add-ons

Edit 4: added Unigram to MISC category.

Edit 5: added JDownloader2 to MISC category.

Edit 6: added Bulk Rename Utility to MISC category

What's the advantage of Unigram over the oficial Telegram client?

FxSound - Equalizer, Boost Volume, Bass and improve Sound Quality, make custom presets. and just kinda looks cool compared too all other similar programs.

Previously known as DFX Audio Enhancer. It used to be a paid App and now is completely Free.

My favorite screenshot / capture tool: Faststone Capture v5.3 (the last freeware version)

https://codecpack.co/download/FastStone-Capture.html

small standalone .exe, quick, easy, can capture full screen, an app, custom area, set a delay, capture mouse pointer or not, etc.

Did you try greenshot?

Greenshot is NICE ! (and FOSS)

[deleted]

Yes I know but unfortunately the script doesn't work as good as the add-on. if it would I would ditch the extension and only use the script.

edit: from their website:

Be aware that the filter list is not as effective as a browser extension but it will hide most cookie warnings.

I have used all of these in the past. 😊👍 But I gave up on some of them.

  • Instead of Handbrake, ShotCut, or MP4Tools, I now use FFmpeg (GPL, shared build, not LGPL or static).
  • Instead of Notepad++, I used Vim. Now I use Visual Studio Code.
  • I don't use a BitTorrent client anymore, but before that, I gave up on qBittorrent in favor of BiglyBT.

Thanks for contributing. I also use ffmpeg but I only use it for remuxing/converting different videos. FFMPEG isn’t user friendly like handbrake.

So you don’t torrent anymore? I’ve heard good stuff about BiglyBT in the past. Is it still maintained?

BiglyBT is still maintained. I'm seeing a Feb 2022 release.

Handbrake wasn't exactly my idea of user friendly. On several occasions, I ended up converting my videos to 640x480 because somehow, I had chosen the wrong profile. I initially considered XMedia Recode and LosslessCut as replacements. (They both use FFmpeg.) But I soon discovered that I like the command line better.

Fan Control. Absolute MUST-HAVE if you've built your own system or employed any sort of custom cooling.

x360ce

You know, I tried it after watch a JayzTwiCents, and it literally couldn't find ANY of my fans with a FW3 rtx, and a ROG 570 mb.

Strange. I'm on a Prime Z370-a and an EVGA 2070 Super and it found all my fans. Maybe toggle the option "Show hidden cards" on and see if it finds anything. Maybe run as administrator? Not sure.

With Fan Control, I was able to deshroud my GPU (take decorative shroud and stock fans off the GPU's heatsink, replace with 120mm case fans). Fans plug in to the motherboard but react to GPU temps. GPU temps are WAY better overall now.

I’ve heard it’s not enough to just install ublock, you have to set it up. Any guides to get the most out of it?

Voidtools' Everything - search any files instantly provided you know the name

BitWarden - password manager, so damn convenient

AIMP & Foobar - AIMP for play and forget, Foobar for checking a file or just want to play certain files only

IrfanView - ultralight image viewer with some basic editing capability including compressing and batch processing, with plugins it can also open other formats like mp3 and txt

SumatraPDF - ultralight PDF viewer, lack features but it opens PDF blazing fast while others like Adobe Acrobat take severeal seconds.

CDisplayEx - cbr/cbz reader, comic formats, perfect for those who want a reader only, no library functions, no comic management, just a reader. (I kinda looking for something better, but found none so far).

x360ce - xbox 360 controller emulator, turn my cheapass generic usb controller into xbox 360 controller recognized by games.

Daum PotPlayer - video player, if you're good with VLC or MPC-BE then great and just stick with it, but I kinda encounter some problems with both of them some years ago (dunno if they're patched yet now) and I don't have those problem with PotPlayer.

Sumatra can also open CBR/CBZ files.

Here's the list:

PDF, eBook (epub, mobi), comic book (cbz/cbr), DjVu, XPS, CHM, image viewer

Yeah I've tried it but it's a bit clunky compared to CDisplayEx, so I stick with just PDFs

Try STDU Viewer. You can customize pretty much all the scrolling and viewing/resizing behavior in that software. I tried to find a better cbz/cbr viewer and so far nothing beats it.

It still have issue though. Large cbz file open slow and sometime not able to open at all.

Okay.

What do you find clunky? Once you set the page zoom which suits you Sumatra seems to work very well with comics – what am I missing?

Scrolling cbz/r in Sumatra feel awkward and it seems to have no "brake" whereas CDisplayEx has smoother scrolling and it stops at the end of the page like you're hitting a wall letting you know that you're about to turn into the next page.

It's nitpicky to be honest, I just prefer the feel of CDisplayEx when reading comics, and Sumatra when reading PDF and ePubs.

Ever since I have started used Voitool's Everything I have realized Microsoft is just plain lazy AF and could have done something similar or in good ol's Microsoft fashion either buy this software or steal the idea. I don't hate Windows but there are times like this when I feel Microsoft just isn't even trying, and NO MICROSOFT I DON"T WANT TO SEARCH THE WEB FROM MY START MENU.

[deleted]

... mostly ad free

Most importantly, it doesn't scrub YouTube ads.

FanControl from github, came out recently and just as the name suggests it lets you adjust everything fan related on your PC

No need repeating what others have already mentioned. If you're looking for downloaders these are the ones I love:

  1. qbittorent: Simply the best free torrent client.
  2. jdownloader: The best download manager period. Killer features are solving captchas (though not all) and downloading from one-click hosters.
  3. wfdownloader: The best bulk media downloader, works with instagram, twitter, reddit, youtube, search engines, forums, etc., and is extendable.

Logseq - great for notes on the fly and todo management

Nothing I found recently, but I'd hate to have to live without these:

Software:

Winaero ;tweaking windows settings [easy to use]

BulkRenameUtility ;bit confusing interface but great file renaming software.

MPV player ;plays .MOV better than VLC (on my computer).

foobar2000 ;supports wide audio formats.

Browser extensions:

FastForward ;To skip annoying URL "shorteners".

Aha-Music ;Shazam for Browser [High Accuracy].

Syncthing to sync files. It works on most platforms so I can make sure a copy of my files live on my NAS for all my devices. I then take scheduled snapshots of the folder with all synced files and I have a fool proof, versioned, robust and space efficient backup.

Syncthing can also save different versions of your files so you don't need really need a snapshot capable system. It will be less space efficient but it works well.

SimpleWall a better firewall for Windows. Useful for blocking telemetry features that slip by custom hosts files.

GDevelop a no-code, open-source, free, and easy game-making app. Very similar to Construct 3 and Clickteam Fusion.

Mouse without borders

Firefox.

VirtualBox.

VSCodium.

Draw.io.

Foxit PDF Reader.

FBReader.

Handbrake.

MediaInfo.

SMPlayer.

DarkTable & RawTherapee.

GIMP.

WinDirStat.

WinMerge.

SyncTrazor.

f.lux - adjust monitor brightness and color

I've been using this for 3 to 4 years. Saved my eyes from unwanted strain.

DaVinci

Agent ransack and MPC HC.

Linux

As long as you define recent as in the last couple of years. Shutter Encoder a great easy to use transcoder. It is a visual front end for FFmpeg Lossless Cut an easy-to-use program for doing simple cuts for video.

Bitwarden
Irfanview
Workrave
X-mouse button control
Everything
Agent Ransack
7+ taskbar tweaker

7+ taskbar tweaker

That's the first I install on Windows, every time. I even donated to the project.

And Everything is truly awesome. And blazing fast too.

Anytime I try to explain something complex (especially to my manager), I can save a LOT of time with a simple flowchart tool that's easy to edit. Then, as I walk through the steps, we move things around, explain things, etc. It's a massive time-saver rather than going back and forth about what is needed or what's happening.

Sure, you can get away with some whiteboard programs and there are presentation program like PowerPoint or Impress that will work in a pinch, but it never works exactly right. And forget about Visio -- it's expensive, ugly, and ancient.

All this to say I was thrilled to test out Draw.io's downloadable client (web version and web page at https://app.diagrams.net/). It lets me show how a process works without a lot of extra confusing or distracting details. Free, open source, easy to use, very low barrier to entry.

Can't see living without it.

Does it work offline? Online? Both?

If online, is it possible to use both the website ones & the app ones (on PC) to update the same graphs?

(I need to give it a try)

Lately? I guess the most recent is SyncBackFree. Best file backup for my external drives that I've ever used.

It's really well designed and I see they update it quite often!

OH! to be honest I must say that the best freeware that I tend to use often:Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

Totally free and very useful!

Keysticks, for mapping mouse/keyboard to a controller. I had previously used Pinnacle Gaming Profiler, which I guess is defunct now(?). Keysticks seems to work better and I don’t have to keep restarting it.

http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm
http://www.clocx.net/
https://download.cnet.com/College-Alarm-Clock/3000-2350_4-10053682.html
https://www.audacityteam.org/

~~Scroll reverser on osx.~~ ~~Clipy on osx.~~

~~Both are ab fab.~~

Whoops, think this might be a windows-only question. Sorry!

I don't mind - Mac tools are welcome too :)

Do you maybe know how to disable the mouse acceleration on Macbooks?

Looks like it's not as simple as preferences, I'm sure you know.

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and reset the mouse Tracking Speed in the System/Mouse/Point & Click preference pane.

-- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253157843

I hope that helps!

Thanks I give it a try :)

Hey you should make a post asking for Mac only stuff!

While not techically a program but a web app, VSCode has it's own online lightweight website version for full and free usage.

I've used it when tinkering with the internals of TiddlyWiki (another Free program I recommend)

Bat

Fish

Bitvise SSH Client (I use it purely as a SFTP client but the ssh stuff is useful too if you're not as comfortable on the command line) (Windows only)

PowerToys (Windows only)

MusicBee (Windows only)

!remindme 1 day

!remindme 5 days

!remindme 30 days

  • Greenshot
  • paint.net
  • notepad++

I really enjoy Photodiva which is a free portrait editor and been really helpful for me as I'm an aspiring portrait photographer.

FanzyZones in PowerToys