Secret Windows Apps no one is telling you about

The Internet provides lists over lists with recommended apps and software to use. Unfortunately, most of them are copies of each other. In other words, most of the recommended solutions are the same Cacao/Hot Chocolate in a different cup.

This list is different on purpose!

Most of the "default" recommendations are left out, to highlight the real secret apps and solutions that can do the same and often a much better job.

Hope you will benefit from these apps the same way I do. Discover something precious, find a new favourite and replace an existing solution.

Said that a few of the recommendations are paid (Not Free) or have paid options. I'm not doing this for marketing nor am I in any way connected with the companies. These are just very good products I like to use them myself (some for years) and think they are worth their money.

Please leave a comment below should I have missed an app you would recommend - always happy to find new amazing solutions :)

Security

Kaspersky Internet Security » Virus as well as Browser protection
Private Internet Access » VPN
bitwarden » Password Manager

Edit and View

Notepad++ » Text editor
IrfanView + Addons » Best image viewer ever
K-Lite Code Pack » All kinds of audio & video codecs + Media Player Classic
VLC Media Player » Video Player
Foxit Reader » PDF Reader & Digital Signature
Pencil » Fast and simple Wireframes
draw.io » Create Diagrams
Libre Office » Free Office Package

Notepad++ Plugins

Notepad++ > Plugins > Plugins Admin

Compare » Shows the differences between 2 files (side by side)
DSpellCheck » Spell-checking
Spell-Checker » Spell-checking
Explorer » File browser
NppMarkdownViewer++ » View, Convert and Export Markdown
XBrackets » Brackets autocompletion ([{""}])

Operation

Ninite » Software Bundler - install various software tools at once
Caffeine » Prevent the PC from going to sleep
Zoom It » Zoom & Paint on Desktop
CoreTemp » PC Temperature monitoring

Browser

Firefox » Browser from Mozilla Foundation
Opera » Browser from Opera Software
Vivaldi » Browser from Vivaldi Technologies
Brave » Browser from Brave Software,
Tor » Browser from Tor Project
Chrome » Browser from Google

Browser addons

Some of the Addons might be Browser specific

HTTPS Everywhere » Enforce Secure connection
Momentum » Beautiful Start Tab
PocketTube » YouTube Organizer
Privacy Badger » Reduce tracker
Session Buddy » Tab Session Manager
uBlock Origin » Add Blocker
The Great Suspender - No Track » unload Tabs from memory
ClearURLs » Removes tracking elements from URLs
Project Naptha » Highlight, copy, edit, and translate text from any image on the web.
WhatRuns » Discover what runs a website. Frameworks, Analytics Tools, WordPress Plugins, Fonts - you name it.