Essential free software guide for your new PC

Today, I'm going to list down a list of essential softwares that are essential for your PC but won't cost you a dime. They are as good as any paid software and combining all of them will give you a hassle free computing experience. If you are buying a new computer and want to set it up for the first time, this list might come handy. Some of the images are taken from other websites and the credit goes to the respective owners.

Click on the images or links to go to their respective download pages.

Antivirus - AVAST

Obviously, the first software to install is a good antivirus. There are so many free antivirus softwares out there but none gives you the complete protection as AVAST free edition does. It is, in my opinion, the best free antivirus software out there. It requires a basic registration and will give you 1 year of free license. After the license expires, you'll have the option to renew it for free.

Firewall - ZoneAlarm

The next most important thing is to have a good firewall. Firewall stops unauthorized attacks on your computer and NO, Windows default firewall is not good enough. Most of us use internet for financial transaction and specially for that, a good firewall is absolutely necessary.

Anti-Spyware - Malwarebytes

Although you have both antivirus and firewall installed, spywares and adwares can still get into your system disguised as legitimate softwares through USB or DVDs. Thus apart from Anti-Virus and Firewall a strong Anti-Spyware with runtime protection is needed. Out of all anti-spyware softwares, Malwarebytes is my choice because of it's huge anti-spyware database and the amount of control it provides for the user. The only issue here is that you've to manually update it.

PC Cleanup - CCleaner

As you start operating your PC, applications create temporary files. Sometimes, the operating system creates cache and session images which are never deleted and thus eats up the PC's drive space. The solution is to have cleaning softwares which could be run time to time for cleaning all unnecessary temporary and cache files safely. CCleaner is currently the best tool in market and is very easy to use.

PC Tune UP - iolo System Mechanic

Many applications change your PC's registry and thus altering settings. Depending on your internet speed and configuration, these settings are not always optimized and thus there is a need to re-align everything which can give your PC a performance boost. Iolo's System mechanic is considered a very good software for tuning your PC. Although the free version is not as robust as the paid one but is good enough for basic tuning.

Disk defragmenter - IoBit Smart Defrag

When you use your hard drive to store files, after sometime, it becomes fragmented. Which means that your data is scatterred across the hard drive and takes more time to retrieve which hits performance. Thus it is recommended that you defrag it time to time. Although windows default defragmenter is good for basic defragmentation, a separate and more powerful software can make it quick and more efficient.

Internet Browser - Chrome

This is something I don't even have to write. Chrome, as everybody knows, is the best, fastest and most used web browser in the world. Open you IE, download Chrome, close IE and never use it again.

Ad Blocking Software - AdBlock

In case you are wondering whether an ad-blocking software is needed or not, let me tell you - YES! This will save you from wasting lots of unnecessary bandwidth and threats which comes as ads. I recommend downloading the software from their website.

Plugins - Flash

Standard plugin for all flash web pages and players. Download Here.

Plugins - QuickTime

Applicable mostly for quicktime videos. Install if you see a lot of movie trailers in iTunes. Download here

PDF - Foxit Reader

Unlike the Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader is very fast and takes much lesser size in your hard drive.

Music Player - Winamp

Although Windows Media Player does a fair job, there is no better player than good old Winamp.

Video Player - VLC

A simple yet the most powerful media player in the world.

Zip utility - 7Zip

Definitely not the best looking, but very powerful and effective archiver.

Image Editor - Paint.NET

Most of us cannot afford Photoshop but want some basic image editing and effects capability. Although GMP editor is considered the Photoshop replacement by many, it is not user-friendly and for the first time user, creates a lot of confusion. Here paint.NET comes to rescue. It is a very lightweight and easy to use editor with the ability to add plugins and gives all basic and semi-advanced photo editing capability.

Office Suite - Google Docs (Including offline mode)

Last but not the least, all of us would be needing an Office Suite, a word processor, presentation maker etc. Well our first choice is always Google Docs. It is one of the best and comes closest to Office 2013 in terms of functionality. The only catch is you need to have a net connection and the offline mode only works in Chrome browser. If you are looking for an offline suite, you can always look for LibreOffice.