• Scanner icon
  • Psiphon icon
  • DragToScroll icon
  • MenuTools icon
  • ShareX icon
  • +5

Tiny Game-changers

Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov10 appsUpdated
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List of small Windows utilities I use every day.

  1. Scanner icon
     Like

    This tool uses a sunburst chart to display the usage of your hard disk or other media. The chart shows all major files and folders from all directory levels at once.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Scanner screenshot 1
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Every time I need to make room on the disk and find something big and suddenly appeared, I turn to this utility. The radial graph is much more neutral than the block design used in other similar applications.

  2. Psiphon icon
     Like

    Secure and high-performance, Psiphon provides open access to the uncensored internet for millions of people around the world, with 150,000,000+ downloads.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Psiphon screenshot 1
    Psiphon screenshot 2
    Psiphon screenshot 3
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the question of maintaining access to information has never been more acute than ever, even in conditions where other VPNs are not available for technical reasons, or they simply cannot be paid. And Psiphon turned out to be a solution, it gives an unprecedented speed in comparison with Tor or other open solutions. The only drawback is that its IPs are in many blacklists, which is why some services, such as Twitter, can suspend your accounts.

  3. Allows you to scroll any window or control by right clicking (RButton) and dragging the mouse. It works very similarly to the "Hand Tool" in Adobe products, such as Adobe PDF Reader.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    DragToScroll screenshot 1
    DragToScroll screenshot 1
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    When my graphical tablet with a multi-touch function broke down and new branded budget models didn't offer it as before, the question arises, how to scroll panels in some applications where standard scrollbars are not available, and generally preserve UX of scrolling. This program become a solution! Now I don’t know how I lived without it before, it’s even better than a wheel and multi-touch. If you use a pen, scrolling is literally at your fingertips. You can also adjust different behavior and even turn off scrolling for individual programs.

  4. MenuTools icon
     Like

    MenuTools is a simple program that adds options for task priority, window transparency, and Always On Top to open dialog windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Example: Notepad running on Microsoft Windows 8 x64.
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Missing set of options in the context menu of your windows, allowing you to quickly make them transparent and display them on top of the rest.

  5. ShareX icon
     Like

    Free and open-source tool for screen capture and recording; enables file uploads, annotation, dark mode, 4K support, and customizable themes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Steam
    Main window
    ShareX screenshot 1
    ShareX screenshot 2
    +29
    ShareX screenshot 3
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Just ultimate solution for screenshot making, editing, annotating, and sharing. It also include various small tools related to images processing.

  6. Syncthing icon
     Like

    Open-source, decentralized alternative ensuring data ownership with encrypted communication and peer-to-peer sync, void of central server reliance.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Terminal
    • Cloudron
    • Termux
    Syncthing screenshot 1
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Everything is very simple, servers are always running on your devices that monitor other devices and exchange files with them via P2P protocol. After all, you really don't need a third party member in order to transfer data between your computer, smartphone and tablet, almost instantly, inside the local network you don't even need the Internet.

  7. KeePass icon
     Like

    Free and open source password manager storing passwords in a local encrypted database with strong AES or Twofish encryption and master key access.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Mono
    Entry Templates Plugin
    Main window
    Login Screen
    +5
    Built-in Password Generator
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Just best and only ultimate protection for your passwords and other sensitive data and best replaces for Google Authenticator App. In fact, it's just encrypted and organized database, you can't store anything there: images, documents, text files, notes, business cards of your lovers. A lot of plugins gives even more opportunities to organize data. Drawback: with huge DB it's require a lot of resources on mobile devices.

  8. Cryptomator provides transparent, client-side encryption for your cloud. Protect your documents from unauthorized access. Cryptomator is free and open source software, so you can rest assured there are no backdoors.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • AppImage
    Cryptomator screenshot 1
    Cryptomator screenshot 1
    Cryptomator screenshot 2
    Aleksandr DikovAleksandr Dikov’s note

    Cryptomator frees you, you will never have to think about damaged large archives, and the risks of leaks data stored in clouds. Thanks to Cryptomator, all synchronized data is an unread index map of encrypted files, the contents of which even are impossible to understand.

Windows 10 UI Utils

  1. Lightweight application that lets user create and pin groups to the Windows taskbar.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    taskbar-groups screenshot 1
    Main screen
    Group Creation Screen

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