Windows 7 is a great operating system, and you can make it greater still with a few well chosen downloads.
- Best Free Photoshop Software For Windows 7
- Best Free Windows 7 Downloads
- Best Free Antivirus Software For Windows 7
- Best Free Dj Software For Windows 7
- Best Free Backup Software For Windows 7 64 Bit
- Best Free Cloning Software For Windows 7
The top 10 best free antivirus programs for Windows 7, 8, and 10, and Linux OS. Choose the right antivirus software from our top 10 list for 2019 and protect yourself from malware and other threats. We use cookies and similar technologies to recognize your repeat visits and preferences, to measure the effectiveness of campaigns, and improve our websites.
From system cleaners to photo editors and password rememberers, these are a few of our favourite free Windows things.
AVG Anti-Virus Free
AVG is the world's most downloaded anti-virus program, with good reason: it does an excellent job of nobbling nasties without slowing down your PC or annoying you with unnecessary alarms. The free version doesn't include everything the paid-for version does – there's no download shield for files or anti-spam for email, for example. But it does provide solid protection against viruses, spyware and other malware and warns you of potentially fraudulent web links.
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CCleaner
If your PC feels sluggish or buggy, a good spring clean can help restore its vim and vigour – and when it comes to spring cleaning, few programs do it better than CCleaner. The free version works on single accounts – if you want to automatically clean multiple accounts you'll need the paid-for version – and it does an excellent job of removing unnecessary files, fixing issues in the Windows registry and sweeping your hard disk for the electronic equivalent of cobwebs and spiders.
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Evernote
Evernote isn't just a program: it's a platform. It's designed to organise all kinds of information – text, web links, photos, documents and so on – and make them available on your computer, tablet and smartphone. There are also task-specific apps that enable you to use Evernote as a recipe organiser or to collaborate on documents as part of a work team. The basic program is an excellent place to store your stuff.
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Firefox
There are many web browsers for Windows, but despite stiff opposition from Google Chrome, Opera and the rejuvenated Internet Explorer, Firefox is still our favourite. That's because it isn't just a web browser. Its massive collection of themes, extensions and add-ons means it's a kind of Swiss Army Knife for the internet, capable of doing pretty much anything you might want to do online. It's fast, flexible and fantastic.
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Gimp
GIMP, the open source image editor, has lots of features you'd expect to pay big money for, but its price tag is zero. It's not as easy as some other programs – if you're an absolute beginner to digital imaging you'll find the free paint.net easier to get to grips with – but it offers pro-level tools at a pauper-level price tag. If you need to edit images, adjust photos or create new compositions, this one is a must-download.
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LastPass
Every time a big site gets hacked, we discover that most people's passwords are pretty awful. The world's most common password is the rather easy-to-guess 123456 – with 12345678 and 'password' also in the top three. People tend to use simple passwords because remembering complex ones is very difficult, and that's where LastPass comes in. It works across browsers and devices, generating unique and very tough passwords and recalling them whenever you need them. It's a much better idea than using the name of your first pet, your car registration or your favourite football team.
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Best Free Photoshop Software For Windows 7
Picasa
If you haven't already pledged allegiance to a rival photo sharing service, Google's Picasa makes it really easy to organise, edit and share images. It automatically compresses images you send in emails, it can be used to back up your images to prevent digital disaster, it's compatible with most digital photo and video cameras, and it includes a host of filters that you can use to make your images even more eye-popping.
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Recuva
Think of Recuva as a first aid kit for your PC: you hope you'll never need to use it, but if you do you'll be awfully glad that it's there. Recuva is there for those 'oh no' moments: the moment you empty the Recycle Bin, only to realise that you've just zapped an important file or photo; the moment your computer crashes, destroying hours of work; or the moment when you insert the memory card from your holidays and your computer says the card is corrupt.
It can help you get access to damaged hard disks, recover deleted emails and iPod music, and it can even bring unsaved Microsoft Word documents back from the dead. It's rather like a remote control for your life, enabling you to travel back in time to the moment before something dire happened to your data.
Best Free Windows 7 Downloads
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LibreOffice
If you need Microsoft Office-style software but can't spare the cash, there are plenty of alternatives. Unfortunately some of them are online-only affairs, which isn't ideal if you can't be constantly connected. If you're looking for free office tools that you can download to your desktop, we'd recommend the excellent LibreOffice.
It covers everything you might need from word processing to spreadsheets and presentations, and it can also read Office's file formats such as DOC and DOCX.
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VLC
VLC is a media player that can play pretty much anything – and it can do it without having to download a whole bunch of codec packs for audio and video. Ad-free, spyware-free and completely free, it can deal with any kind of media – even damaged video files. It can stream media directly from online sources too.
Not quite happy with the way Windows 7 works, or looking to get more out of the operating system? You've come to the right place. We're big fans of Microsoft's latest OS, but we're also big fans of making Windows better. In this article, we've rounded up the best Windows 7 downloads. They'll let you customize it in any way possible, give it features that Microsoft removed or neglected to include, and more. So get ready to download--you're about to take Windows 7 to a new level.
(If you're eager to grab more than one of these great programs, see our Windows 7 Downloads collection.)
Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7
When Microsoft released Windows 7, the company inexplicably did away with a small, nifty utility called the Network Activity Indicator. Now you can have it back. The Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7 does what the Vista utility does, and then some. Like the Vista version, this tool puts a small icon (depicting two monitors) in the system tray to indicate when you're connected to a network or the Internet, and the icon blinks to show you when your machine is sending or receiving data; it also provides useful information, such as the network to which you're connected.
On top of that, however, this utility offers a lot more detail. For example, if you hover your mouse over its icon, you'll see transmission data about the number of packets you've sent and received. Right-click the icon, and you'll find yourself in network techie heaven, with gobs of statistics such as your active open connections, the number of errors you've received, your minimum timeout settings, and the like.
Even if you don't need all of that information, though, this is a very practical addition to your Windows 7 PC. It's a convenient tool for seeing your network status at a glance.
Download Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7 | Price: Free
7Smoker Pro
Want more customization power than you can get from free Windows 7 utilities? Try the for-pay 7Smoker Pro. It gives you enormous control over countless aspects of Windows 7's appearance and functionality in four categories: Tweaks, Maintenance, Security, and Passwords. Each of those categories has subcategories, and each subcategory offers multiple tweaks--which means that you can customize hundreds of individual Windows 7 settings.
If you don't have the patience to make that many tweaks, the program also has a one-click automatic tuner that peers into your system and adjusts it to make it run more effectively. You'll also find other nice tools, such as one that looks for the folders consuming the most space on your hard disk so that you can trim them down.
Although some of the tweaks are straightforward and easy to understand, many others are more technical in nature. Do you know what it means to 'Disable paging of kernel' or to 'Disable TIF Settings', for example? This application lets you do such things, but it doesn't tell you what they mean, or what effect the settings have on your PC. As a result, 7Smoker Pro is best suited for more-experienced Windows fans--but they'll find it very useful.
Download 7Smoker Pro | Price: $30 (free trial)
Windows 7 Manager
A great way to bend Windows 7 to your will is to use Windows 7 Manager. With this utility, you have the power to customize and improve just about every aspect of Windows 7. Want to optimize and clean your system? Need to control what programs run on Windows startup, or to adjust the Task Scheduler to turn off unnecessary system tasks? No problem.
This application also does far more, including improving security and cleaning your hard disk. The amount of control that Windows 7 Manager gives you is extraordinary. For example, you can change the mouse hover time before a pop-up displays, repair hardware and software problems, or optimize your broadband connection.
The neatly laid-out interface puts everything within reach. Click what you want to improve, and you'll see a screen full of options, often accompanied by simple-to-follow wizards. In other instances, you'll need to have a bit of technical background. But no matter what, in this program you'll find easy ways to make Windows 7 work just as you want it to.
Download Windows 7 Manager (32-bit) | Download Windows 7 Manager (64-bit) | Price: $40 (free trial)
Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnail Customizer
One of Windows 7's nicest improvements is the addition to the taskbar of multiple thumbnail previews, which appear whenever you hover your mouse over a taskbar icon. What makes them superior to the Vista version of the feature is that you can see all currently running windows as thumbnails, not just a single window.
But the revamped thumbnails still have one problem: They're typically too small to give you much of a preview, especially if you use a large monitor. Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnail Customizer offers a good fix, allowing you to change their size in any way you desire.
The program is exceptionally easy to use. Just install it, and then move the sliders to determine the size of the thumbnails themselves, as well as the spacing between them, their margins, and the time they take to display.
Best Free Antivirus Software For Windows 7
What if you wish to go back to the way the thumbnails were before you started changing them? Simply click Restore Defaults.
Best Free Dj Software For Windows 7
Download Windows 7 Taskbar Thumbnail Customizer | Price: Free
Win7Zilla
Here's another excellent Windows 7 tweaker--and it may well be the best of the bunch. Not only does it let you change just about any part of the operating system, but in many instances it also shows you exactly what each adjustment will do, which is rare in a system tweaker.
Win7Zilla puts you in charge of almost every part of the operating system, with an incredible amount of fine-grained control. On the Start menu alone, for instance, you can perform more than two dozen tweaks. Now imagine having that level of control over virtually every aspect of Windows 7, from the desktop to the Control Panel to security settings, as well as to Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and beyond. You also get other practical tools, such as a file cleaner and a Registry cleaner.
What really sets Win7Zilla apart is how clearly it explains the effects of your changes. It provides succinct descriptions in plain English--but better yet, it also shows you screenshots, so you can see what will happen. No other tweak utility does this.
Best Free Backup Software For Windows 7 64 Bit
If you're willing to pay for a Windows 7 tweaker, you won't do better than this one.
Download Win7Zilla | Price: $16 (free trial)
Best Free Cloning Software For Windows 7
Next: Five Essential Windows 7 Downloads