Top 22 Must Have Windows 10 Software

Windows 10 is the new operating system that is going to be launched on 29th July 2015. This operating system will be the last in the series of Windows operating system. Microsoft deliberately did not bring any operating system named Windows 9 as they are of the opinion that this is the ultimate operating system that will be loved by people. Numerous enhancements have been made within this operating system, making it undeniably the best operating system till date. There will be some applications such as the Windows media player that will be removed, but other third party software solutions are already available to take its place. There is genuine concern among people about the way existing applications will behave when they migrate to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1. The good news is if any of the software applications fail to adjust with Windows 10 operating system, then there are numerous replacements standing by to take care of such an issue. See below must have Windows 10 software.

The 22 software solutions that can come in very handy while using Windows 10 operating system are discussed below:

1. Free YouTube Downloader:

Free YouTube downloader is a must have Windows 10 software for those who are fans of YouTube. With it, you are allowed to enjoy any YouTube videos, including HD YouTube and YouTube VEVO anytime without network connection. Only one click enables you capture your lovely YouTube video even the whole YouTube channel or YouTube playlist.

2. Adobe Photoshop Express:

This is a free photo editing and photo enhancing software that can come to great use while using Windows 10. This application is very lightweight and does not take a huge amount of space when installed. Although people might consider it less superior Photoshop CC, but it is definitely great utility software that takes care of regular photo editing with ease.

3. iMusic:

iMusic is a useful Windows 10 program that allows you to record any sound from computer or Internet. It enables a virtual sound card on your PC and helps you to record music or audio in high quality. You can save the audio to MP3 or M4A format for playing on most of platforms. For streaming music, you can use it to download music from 3000 more music sites and various video sites.

4. AutoDesk Pixlr:

This is great free software that will come in very handy while using Windows 10 as the operating system. Pixlr is the new creation of the design software company AutoDesk, and it has already found a great traction in the market for its simplicity. This software offers numerous great filters, borders and text overlays. Also, the color splash effect is an awesome feature.

5. Dropbox:

This is a free application that helps in sending and downloading large files that are not possible to send via email. This application also helps to view documents and photos. Although its importance will reduce with the introduction of OneDrive with Windows 10, those that are comfortable using Dropbox can still continue using it.

6. Facebook:

This is a hugely popular software application that is preferred by all and sundry. This helps people communicate with each other via calling or chatting. Pictures can also be sent free of cost. Companies are using this application for the promotion of their products. This software has become the part and parcel of people’s life. Windows 10 allows running of this application without any hitch.

7. eBay:

This is another great free to use application that will run with ease in Windows 10. It gives access to a huge online market from where people can buy anything they choose to. On eBay a person can also sell whatever he or she deems fit. This is basically auction software. Special recommendations are also sent to people that use eBay a lot based on their interest. This application is popular throughout the world.

8. Despicable Me: Minion Rush:

This is an awesome game that is loved by people of all ages around the world. This gaming software runs in Windows 10 with no problem at all. This action game can be.

9. Fresh Paint:

This is a great drawing application that has got its own large fan base. This application is free to download and operates without any issues on Windows 10 operating system. This program offers almost realistic colors, pencil textures for digital drawings. This application can be considered an artist’s dream.

10. Twitter:

Twitter is a micro blogging application that is highly popular among variety of age group of peoples around the world. This application is favored by many powerful people around the world. This application allows people to edit profiles, choose between light and dark themes and save drafts.

11. TuneIn Radio:

This is another free to use application that runs in Windows 10. This application falls in the category of music and videos. This application allows people to listen to music, sports and news from every corner of the world. This application is very useful in a sense that there are almost 60,000 radio stations playing around the world.

12. Skype:

This is another beautiful application that helps people to remain connected with friends and family with the help of text chatting, voice chatting and video chatting. This application also supports sending of files, pictures and videos. Group video calls are also allowed through this application. This is totally free to download and falls in the category of social.

13. Viber:

This is social software that is free to download and use. This software is also supported by Windows 10. Viber is available in many smart phones and tablets. This application lets people chat, send pictures, and receive pictures etc over 3 G or using Wi-Fi. Viber is a software app that has got its own large fan base.

14. Amazon:

This is highly popular shopping software that people use to buy everything for themselves. People take advantage of the daily sales that are given on variety of products. This application also allows people to search and compare prices of a product in the World Wide Web. This application gives details and reviews of the products that people are thinking about buying.

15. Sonic Dash:

This is gaming software that can be downloaded and installed for free. This game has a fan base of its own among people of all ages and genres. In this game a person has to guide a hedgehog through docks and different types of hazards.

16. Shazam:

This is another application that will run on Windows 10 and let people discover about music, TVs and advertisements very swiftly. The size of the software is about 2.2 MB. This application helps people to view YouTube videos, buy music from music stores, read about the reviews of any album etc. This is unique kind of software that can come in very handy for any Windows 10 user.

17. KMPlayer:

This is a great media player, and it supports a great number of formats that are prevalent nowadays. This media player takes very little space and is highly customizable. People can adjust the skin color, add pluggins, and change playback options as per their choice. This application also allows the user to take video captures and also apply filters.

18. VLC Media Player:

This media player is considered the best among all the available media players. This player supports numerous formats given the user free hand in viewing videos and pictures of his choice without having to think about changing formats. The beauty of it lies in its simplicity of the interface that makes it operable by even a child.

19. UMPlayer:

This is another lovely media player that is actually based on MPlayer. The UMPlayer gives the user a stunning experience while watching videos or listening to music. The interface is very simple but beautiful making it a preferred choice for the user.

20. Evernote Touch:

This is another great free application that comes in very handy for the user. It mainly remembers everything across the device. It has the capability to auto-sync a note between a computer, smart phone and a tablet. This utility makes it a very handy application for the user. This application falls in the category of productivity.

21. Winamp:

This is another great media player that can be of great use. This media player has lost some of its flair with passing time but that does not reduce its importance in any way. It is a free to use application that can do music playback using variety of formats.

22. Real Player:

This is another media player in the group of media players that will run smoothly in computers having Windows 10 as the operating system. This player has kept updating itself with time and so many people still prefer this player. It can play MP3, MP4 and variety of other formats.

The 10 best apps for your new Windows PC

Some apps to help with photos, passwords, space and security

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Anyone who has used Windows through more than one version knows that, no matter how many utilities Microsoft adds to its operating system, there are always apps and utilities that will enhance your use. We listed several good ones in last year’s edition; this year, we have a few new ones to add to the mix. If you have a brand new system, consider installing some (or all) of these.

Discover our most recent list of 26 great apps for your Windows PC

Affinity Photo

You’ll probably want an image manipulation app for your new PC, and while Adobe Photoshop remains the king in terms of functionality, getting it means that you’ll be stuck paying Adobe on a subscription basis. That’s fine for some, but Affinity Photo is easier to recommend if you want a lean, capable photo app (it’s a $49.99 one-time purchase) that can be installed on as many machines as you’d like. The interface is similar to Photoshop, so veterans shouldn’t feel too lost, and Affinity Photo’s creators are adding new functionality on a regular basis. —Cameron Faulkner

Affinity Photo

Available for $49.99

1Password / LastPass

It should go without saying that one of the most important ways you can avoid identity theft and track all those hundreds of passwords you’ve created over the years is by using a good password manager. While there are a variety of good ones out there, 1Password and LastPass are two of the most recommended, and you can’t go wrong with either. Both will pop in to save your passwords, both will add your ID and passwords automatically to your apps, and both will recommend random combinations that will keep bad actors guessing. You can try them both out and pick the one that suits you best. —Barbara Krasnoff

1Password

Available for $2.99 / month; 30-day free trial

LastPass

Free for individuals; $3 / month for premium version

TreeSize

Photo: Jam Software

Drive space is limited and can get used up quickly. Before you know it, you’ll try (and fail) to install something because something else is hogging your drive. A handy free app called TreeSize Free is great to have because it helps you find out exactly what is taking up the most space. Sometimes it tells you things you might already know — for instance, that your photo collection takes up half of your drive. But in other cases, it illuminates some dormant, unnecessary files that, once deleted, can free up several gigabytes of space. —Cameron Faulkner

TreeSize

Free; $24.95 for premium version

LibreOffice Writer

If you’d prefer to use a local client to create your documents rather than a less-secure online word processor — and you don’t want to pay for Microsoft Word — LibreOffice Writer is an excellent choice. Over the years, this open-source application has become a sophisticated, highly useful word processor that has most, if not all, of the features that more expensive business applications offer. —Barbara Krasnoff

LibreOffice Writer

Malwarebytes

Back when I was still on Windows 8, I got hit by some drive-by malware that didn’t let me reboot or access my anti-virus software — or any executable file. I would have been totally screwed — if I hadn’t had Malwarebytes on my hard drive. I started it up (and yes, it did start up, despite the malware), ran it twice, and it found and completely eliminated the nasty from my system. Since then, I always make sure I have a copy handy, and I run it every once in a while, just to make sure. It’s one of the most effective anti-malware solutions out there, and the version that disinfects is free for personal use. —Barbara Krasnoff

Malwarebytes

Free; $39.99 / year for premium version

VLC Media player

Media players have improved vastly during the 20-odd years that VLC has been around, but this open-source media player is still my go-to for a simple, effective, and useful Windows player. (It’s also available for Macs, iPhones, Chrome OS, Android, and a wide variety of GNU/Linux platforms.) It’s simple, efficient, runs a wide range of audio and video codecs, and, well, just works. —Barbara Krasnoff

VLC

Audacity

Podcasts and other audio entertainment are big these days. If you’re an audio creator — or are hoping to become one — Audacity is a good audio editor to install. It’s got a variety of recording and editing tools; supports 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit audio; has a variety of plug-ins; and offers previews of the effects those plug-ins will have — and it’s all free. —Barbara Krasnoff

Audacity

Some things are worth repeating, and so we are once again recommending Wox. Wox brings a Mac-like launcher to Windows that lets you find apps and files or quickly search the web. It’s very similar to Alfred on the Mac, and it’s a much more powerful way of searching than the built-in Windows search. Wox also supports plug-ins so you can customize exactly what you search for, or even translate languages right within the launcher. —Tom Warren

Wox

Clipmate

Clipmate has been a useful utility through many versions of Windows, saving and making available thousands of your clipboard saves rather than just the last one. You can also edit your saved clips, reformat them, and share them. While Windows 10 has (finally) included the ability to access more than a single clipboard save, Clipmate remains a tool that could be practical for almost anyone’s arsenal. —Barbara Krasnoff

Clipmate

$34.95 for an individual license

Ninite

The Verge’s Grayson Blackmon reports that whenever he’s starting over on a Windows build he always uses Ninite to jumpstart the process for all the essentials. It packages everything as one downloader/installer and installs it onto your new PC — no muss or fuss. Just go to the Ninite website, check off which apps you want to install (the long list includes various web browsers, messaging apps, media players, document and image creators, and others), and hit the Ninite button. It’s as easy as that. —Barbara Krasnoff

Ninite

Free for individuals

Update August 28, 2020, 11:30AM ET: Prices in this article have been updated.