Most users may be familiar with Google Chrome, a popular web browser. Brave is an open source browser based on Google Chrome that has lots of privacy and security features, which includes an ad-blocker. Brave is also available on any device, including your phone! Ad-blockers are 100% necessary for all internet users, in fact the FBI now recommends the use of ad-blockers: https://web.archive.org/web/20231106125157/https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA221221.

If Brave doesn't work for you, you can add an ad-blocker to any browser. uBlock Origin Lite is the golden standard of ad-blocking, and can be installed on Google Chrome and similar browsers for free. Firefox-based browsers and Microsoft Edge allow you to install uBlock Origin, which is the full and most capable version. You can find both versions here: https://ublockorigin.com/

A free and open source password manager that is available on all platforms. Bitwarden uses end-to-end encryption, which means not even Bitwarden can see your login information, only you have the key. Password managers are extremely important and convenient, you must have one to make sure your online accounts are secured with unique randomized passwords, and to prevent phishing attacks.

This is a free tool that monitors and blocks malicious domains that your computer tries to connect to on a network level automatically. This includes ads, trackers, analytics systems, and more. You can enable AdGuard DNS on any device for free here: https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html

Microsoft 365 Personal is by far the most commonly used office suite for internet users, however it requires a Microsoft account, as well as $99.99/year. ONLYOFFICE is a 100% free, open source, privacy-respecting office suite that allows you to make documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDFs, with free and optional cloud syncing. ONLYOFFICE does not use any sort of AI, which means you don't have to worry about anyone but you accessing your documents.

Windows requires you to pay money in order to play certain media files. To get around this, using a 3rd party media player such as VLC completely eliminates this issue, and allows you to play any media file you want for free.

Allows you to link your phone to your computer, providing a more seamless experience when using multiple devices. You can also link multiple computers, and multiple phones all together.

Allows you to transfer large files and text to other devices on your network easily and quickly. KDE Connect also does this, but LocalSend is a bit more user-friendly and simple.

An extremely powerful free and open source replacement for the default Windows screenshot tool. ShareX does just about everything you can think of: screenshots, region screenshots, screen recordings, gif recording, OCR, photo editing, and much more.

A free and open source alternative to Team Viewer or Anydesk. It let's you access and control devices from anywhere, which is helpful for providing or receiving support from a trusted family member or friend. PSA: If someone on the phone that you don't know wants to remote into your computer with a tool like this, immediately hang up, it is a scam 100% of the time.

Notesnook is a free/paid cross-platform private notes app that keeps your notes organized and synced on your phone, tablet and computer. Take notes, capture ideas, create to-do lists, keep a journal, write your assignments and manage projects.

Filen is a cloud storage provider similar to Dropbox or OneDrive that offers end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption. This means that you, and only you, can access your files unless you give another user permission. It is impossible for Filen to view your files, making Filen a very good choice for those who value privacy and security.

This free tool makes it easy to switch to a different operating system like Linux, or reinstall your current one. Simply download an operating system you wish to use, plug in a USB thumb drive, and use Rufus to burn the ISO file to the thumb drive. This allows you to boot from the flash drive, and install a brand new operating system on your computer's hard drive.

BCU is a free and open source tool that allows you to uninstall applications in bulk that you don't want, and then remove leftover files that apps may leave behind after they've been uninstalled. This is useful for those that want a clean Windows 11 system that only has what you need, and nothing more.

Revision is a tool that aims to remove the pre-installed garbage that comes with Windows 11, removes tracking and AI features (Copilot/Recall) that spy on users, and makes Windows 11 much lighter allowing it to run faster, especially on older hardware. This process is commonly referred to as "debloating".

CTT Winutil is a command-line tool that serves as an alternative to Revision (see above). Winutil doesn't require you to install any software on the computer, instead it utilizes a PowerShell command ran with Administrator privileges to provide you with a large compilation of scripts created by the community that debloat Windows. DO NOT USE REVISION AND WINUTIL TOGETHER, WINDOWS WILL BREAK.