Tip: Free tools every Windows user should have installed right now - the six that actually matter

[DeepPilot]

Not a list of fifty apps. The six tools that solve real problems and that most people do not have.

Everything by Voidtools - instant file search across your entire drive. Finds any file by name in under a second. Replaces Windows Search for file finding entirely.

ShareX - free screenshot and screen recording with annotation, scrolling capture, and direct upload. Replaces paid tools like Snagit for most use cases.

VLC - plays every video and audio format with no codec installation. You already know this one but surprising numbers of people still do not have it.

WinDirStat or TreeSize Free - visual disk usage analyser. Shows exactly what is taking up space in a colour-coded tree map.

Bitwarden - free open source password manager. Works across all browsers and devices, syncs automatically, more secure than your browser's built-in password saving.

WizTree - the fastest disk usage analyser available, reads the MFT directly instead of scanning files. Analyses a 2TB drive in under 10 seconds where WinDirStat takes minutes

[Totally]

Everything is the single most life-changing free utility I have ever installed. I do not understand how people find files without it

[Midnight Wolf]

ShareX replacing Snagit is the one I push back on slightly. ShareX is excellent and free but the interface has a learning curve that Snagit does not. For power users ShareX, for everyone else ShareX is still fine

[Golden Dan]

WizTree versus WinDirStat is a real question. WizTree is faster but WinDirStat's treemap visualisation is more intuitive for finding large files. I use both

[Ben]

Bitwarden recommendation is correct. Browser password managers are convenient but they do not travel between browsers and the audit features are basic. Bitwarden is just better

[TomTiz]

I would add HWInfo64 to this list. Knowing your hardware temperatures and sensor data is genuinely useful for diagnosing problems and monitoring system health

[GhostRider14]

7-Zip deserves a mention. The default Windows ZIP handling is fine for simple tasks but 7-Zip handles every archive format and has better compression ratios for creating archives

[Ruby_50]

Notepad++ for anyone who opens text files regularly. The default Windows Notepad is adequate. Notepad++ with syntax highlighting and multi-tab support is what Notepad should have been

[FrostDrifter]

PowerToys from Microsoft is worth adding. It includes a run launcher similar to macOS Spotlight, a colour picker, a window snapping tool, and a batch file renamer. All genuinely useful and free

[SpinState]

For the Bitwarden recommendation: enable two-factor authentication on the Bitwarden account itself immediately after setting it up. A password manager without 2FA is a single point of failure