eugene gordin

Welcome back for the 2nd installment of my essential software series. In this post, I will cover the must-have Windows programs that I would install the minute I had a new computer before me. First off, let me just say this part isn’t going to be nearly as pretty as the first part in the series, simply because it is only now that Microsoft is adopting larger icons for its programs. That said, lets begin:

Antivirus AVG: Grisoft AVG is one of the most powerful antivirus solutions for Windows offering a complete selection of tools and utilities to secure your Windows PC. Alternatives: McAfee, Norton Antivirus CD/DVD Burning Nero: Nero is a fully functional, CD/DVD authoring program that allows burning of data, video, audio, and images. It also includes all kinds of disc customizations, menus, etc. Alternatives: Easy Media Creator, Ashampoo Burning Studio, DiscJuggler Instant Messaging Trillian: Trillian is an instant messenger client that allows connections to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and other messaging services. See my post below for more information. Alternatives: Gaim, Miranda Security Spybot Search & Destroy: A free utility that is extremely helpful in both removal and prevention of spyware and malware. Every Windows PC needs this. Alternatives: Help yourself -Get spybot. Windows Defender: Microsoft’s solution to their own security problems. Its actually quite a powerful and useful program. Avoid problems – Get Windows Defender. Alternatives: Adaware Web Browser Mozilla Firefox: A skinable, secure, customizable web browser with tons of features, plug-ins, and anything else you would need. Be sure and install the adblock and tabbrowser preferences plugin I mentioned in my post below. Alternatives: Opera, Internet Explorer 7 FTP Browser SmartFTP: The simplest, most straight forward FTP browser out there for Windows. A must-have for anyone with webspace. Alternatives: CuteFTP, FileZilla Media Playback K-Lite Codec Pack: K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools and will play back all of your movie formats using Media Player Classic (a very good alternative to later Windows Media Players). Alternatives: XP Codec Pack, Codec Pack All in 1

Up next is part III in this series, which will cover software for both OSX and Windows that a new computer (and you) probably can live without, but shouldn’t.