Best program/application you've ever used

[jetman]

Rollback RX has done a good job for me. It has its problems, but it has saved me many more times than it has failed me. I highly recommend it. (I have never used Shadow Defender but from what I have read, Rollback RX might be able to do the same thing- plus more ?).

PCloud is also an excellent piece of software that I am very impressed with. Much better than Dropbox- and cheaper too.

 

[Soulbound]

Back in the days:
Web browsers: Crazybrowser from back in the days, then firefox then chrome
AVs: NOD32 (the old one), Avast (pre 5 era), Norton (old ones)
Behavior Blocker: Emsisoft Mamutu (while it lasted)
Firewall: Sygate Personal Firewall (while it lasted) then Kerio/Sunbelt Firewall (while it lasted)

Nowadays:
There's no best software. There's QOL software, then others that just do what it is supposed to do.

 

[Tsiehshi]

- Microsoft Excel. Microsoft products get a lot of (not undeserved) flak for bloat and vulnerabilities, but this one just plain works. It's just more powerful with more QoL features than its equivalents like OO Calc.

- MAX Data Recovery. Not a particularly well-liked piece of software as far as I know, but I was so impressed with it when I managed to repair the corrupted files from broken GTA San Andreas CDs with it back when I was a teenager.

- Notepad++. Fast, light and just works.

- QupZilla. Yes, it may be rough around the edges, sometimes freeze up trying to restore sessions with too many tabs, lack a split-screen source inspector or an extension support, have an old-school GUI, but it's largely stable, light and fast with a unique, clean file structure (DLL over JS), which makes it harder to develop malicious extensions for it. Even though it can theoretically be done, there are too few QZ users for it to be worthwhile.

- uBlock Origin. It's just the best ad blocking browser extension.

- Tampermonkey. Not only does it help you write useful content scripts, it can also be used for quickly testing the content scripts you're using in an extension you're developing.

- The older versions of Malwarebytes.

I also like the games GTA San Andreas, Mount & Blade: Warband, Vangers: One for the Road etc... and Minesweeper. I'm not too demanding about graphics and stuff.


PS. Honorable mentions for these two:

- 7-Zip. Not only is it fast and powerful, but it can also directly extract most compressed file formats. Too bad it's not always compatible with WinRAR archives.

- Python. If programming languages count, this one also deserves a place. It's clean, easy to read and write with indents instead of brackets and semicolons all over the place. New libraries and packages can easily be installed with the pip script.

 

[DeepWeb]

CopyQ - Clipboard manager. Using it religiously. I don't know how I lived without it until now. Windows should have a clipboard history integrated.

Microsoft Office - It will always be the most beautiful, most feature complete Office suite.

Comodo Firewall - It is honestly too good to be free.

Eset Internet Security - is probably the greatest AV I have ever used and the only one I would ever pay for. It rarely bothered me with false positives, does its job well and feels so lightweight that I had to check if it was turned on at times. But it's not really necessary on Windows 10. Highly recommend on Windows 7.

Notepad++ - Like CopyQ, a must. How do people even live without it.

Revo Uninstaller Pro - Just like CopyQ and Notepad++, it goes where Microsoft has fallen short. All of my programs get uninstalled through this. No more leftover files and registry entries.

ShellExView - Shell Extension Manager For Windows - ShellExView is another thing that Microsoft should have included in Windows out of the box. Disable annoying context menu entries for good.

fix-windows-privacy by modzero - One click applies all the privacy tweaks. It's the first thing I install on any new Windows 10 build.

ScreenToGif - Record your screen, edit and save as a Gif or video - I live for this. Although I upload the gifs to ezgif.com to further optimize them.

http://www.tc4shell.com/ - Is a Windows Explorer shell that allows you to open compressed files (from zip to exe) as if they are regular folders inside Windows Explorer. Unfortunately if you have Windows 10's kernel hardened it will occasionally crash explorer.exe due to Windows denying it access.

 

[deemanthax]

browser - firefox
player - potplayer
antivirus - Bitdefender free , Emsisoft
Revo Uninstaller Pro
IDM
MS Office
CCleaner (used few months back not anymore)
WinRAR

 

[TairikuOkami]

1) Security software - shutting down a computer with CCleaner - it prevents tons of malware simply by cleaning temps, caches, etc.
2) Game enhancing software - WiseCare, I could replace any other software, but this one, it prevents Windows problems as well.

 

[ForgottenSeer 55474]

hey it must be the Russian audio player AIMP4

 

[bribon77]

There are a lot of good ones, I know I'm going to fall short on the list. But for me the best I've ever used is exe radar NVT . and Shadow Defender, And Comodo Firewall.

 

[Garzaman]

Comodo Programs Manager (I use 1.2.188360)-this just works so good but needs tweaks to run on W10
Inkscape-what would the world be without free image tracing/vectoring?

Thanks for showing me this soft, but isn't works for me, surely because I´m 8.1 user.

Spoiler: images

 

[brambedkar59]

Best applications I have ever used:
I would say SMPlayer (for all video needs), Comodo Firewall (until I came to MT I didn't know it was a full on security suite, thanks to @cruelsister and MT), VS (who knew a full system lockdown was so easy, thanks dan ), 7-zip (just can't even imagine my pc without it), RAPR (driver store explorer for cleaning out old unused drivers, must have for those with teeny tiny SSDs), aomei backupper (an image backup is a must for sleeping like a baby without any worries), and EEK for house cleaning
Edit: forgot my old buddies CCleaner and Firefox.

 

[Deletedmessiah]

Basically the same I think.

Set all the exes in the CPM folder to W7 compatibility. @roger_m I think created a batch file for it to work. Maybe he still has it. You can see here in his post (#43) he mentions it:

Should I use System Optimization software and which?

Not sure but the certificate may be out of date, so W8/10 software restriction policy might block the file from running. Even the installer might be blocked idk. I think you would have to get around that.

Here is a much more recemt post (#12) by @roger_m about using CPM:

Q&A - Uninstall program selection

Maybe he could give you the tips you need...

Thanks for the tips!

 

[RoboMan]

Nice thread and thanks for creating it.

My top #3 software i thank the most for having are:

• VoodooShield (really split in before and after on my PC)
• PatchMyPc
• VeraCrypt

This three give my the highest sense of security and privacy.

As a bonus, i would like to add NetLimiter as a very useful program. Helps me to limit the bandwidth used for every pogram and avoid lag when gaming/downloading/updating.

 

[roger_m]

How do you run it on Win 10?

Do this at your own risk, as CPM can cause issues in rare cases. I'm using the beta of v2 of CPM.

downloads.comodo.com/cpm/download/setups/CPM_SETUP_2.0.0.3_xp_vista_server2003_win7.exe

To start with, disable driver signature enforcement. This is only a temporary setting, and when you reboot again it will be enforced again.
How to Disable Driver Signature Verification on 64-Bit Windows 8 or 10 (So That You Can Install Unsigned Drivers)

Right click on the CPM installer in Explorer, select Properties go the compatibility tab and then set it run in Windows 7 compatibility mode.

When it has installed, before rebooting, do the following:
Create a batch file with the following text in the "C:\Program Files\COMODO\COMODO Programs Manager" folder, and run it from an admin Command Prompt. I called it compat.bat. But you can call it anything you like as long as it has the .bat extension.

for %%x in ("*.exe") do reg.exe Add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers" /v "%%~fx" /d "~ WIN7RTM"

Open regedit, and go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\ComodoGroup\ComodoProgramsManager\Installer and delete CPMRestartCheck.

Now you can let the installer finish, and when Windows restarts, CPM will be working.

 

[AtlBo]

Thanks for the tips!

Gonna try the below with with the 1.2 version I have on another PC here (I keep the installer around but File Hippo or File Horse will have it I think). I'll let you guys know how it goes. Fingers crossed...

Do this at your own risk, as CPM can cause issues in rare cases. I'm using the beta of v2 of CPM.

Some notes on CPM

I think the only possible problem is when CPM removes a shared .dll. However, it by default asks the user whether to remove the file each time a file is shared. I just select no every time. Honestly, I don't even think this happens 1/50+ times I ever use the program. Then I believe it's usually a case where a dev with more than one app on a PC shares keys/dlls between the programs, like in a common folder or system 32 or whatever. In I think 6 years this is the only thing I have run across that could be any kind of an issue. Haven't had any myself.

CPM installs a 600 MB database on the root (C:\) drive called fileimage.dat. If CPM loses touch with this file it won't be able to remove traces...only use normal program installers. In this case, make sure the CPM service is running and set to Automatic. If that doesn't resolve the problem, try a reboot. If still no go, cut and paste fileimage.dat to a remote drive and reboot. Then makes sure CPM service is off and restore the file back to where it is supposed to be. Then restart the CPM service set to Automatic, reboot, and see if the program shows again which programs are being monitored. This hardly ever happens too, but it can happen with cleaners removing the file (the worst case since the date is gone) or an optimizer turning off the service. I have been able to reestablish the connection whenever it broke before.

Don't know why there are rare programs CPM won't monitor. Seems like much of it is MS type apps to do with updates etc. but some other programs too. Maybe they don't have any keys or .dlls sometimes. Anyway, it is a superb program imo, and I have seen it remove 3000 fragments before lol. Ironically, I think it was Comodo Firewall which I was wanting to reinstall due to a breakage. I had installed it once over the top but it didn't fix the issue. Somehow, it ended up being 3000 fragments to remove with CPM.

With CPM 1.2.x, make sure to block CPMPopulateDBTool.exe. It's harmless, but it attempts to contact the Comodo servers to share what's in your database (the files names of the programs you installed). Comodo cancelled that part of the program in v1.3, but this tool will run if not blocked. The server aren't even set to acknowledge the feature. Watch out for Geek Buddy if you go for v1.3. Choose the Custom installation to uncheck Geek Buddy. Doesn't have the CPMPopulateDBTool.exe issue though...

Thanks for the walkthrough @roger_m...

 

[Deleted member 65228]

and when you reboot again it will be enforced again.

It will only be enforced again after reboot if you disabled it via start-up sessions for that one session only. If you enable Test Mode via bcdedit.exe, it won't be automatically re-enforced again; you'll have to manually disable it via bcdedit.exe.

If you're installing an unsigned device driver, that device driver won't be able to load after disabling test mode. You can install and load an unsigned device driver while the enforcement is disabled however once it is re-enabled, that unsigned device driver will no longer function because it'll be blocked from loading by PatchGuard (and thus this only applies to 64-bit of course).

 

[roger_m]

These are three programs, I've thought of. No doubt, I may think of more later.

• Comodo Programs Manager
• IObit Uninstaller
• Hard Disk Sentinel

CPM is excellent, particularly if you want to cleanly uninstall security software. But from time to time it stops working and I have to reinstalled it.

Two features stand out about IObit Uninstaller. It can do batch uninstalls, where it can uninstall multiple programs, one after the other and then scan for leftovers afterwards. It can continue working after a reboot, so it scan for leftovers or continue uninstalling programs when doing a batch uninstall.

What I really like about HD Sentinel is that it gives a detailed description of any SMART errors it find with hard drives, which explains if the issues with the drives are serious. Other software I've used does not give a description of the problems.

 

[roger_m]

CPM installs a 600 MB database on the root (C:\) drive called fileimage.dat. If CPM loses touch with this file it won't be able to remove traces...only use normal program installers. In this case, make sure the CPM service is running and set to Automatic. If that doesn't resolve the problem, try a reboot. If still no go, cut and paste fileimage.dat to a remote drive and reboot.

Thanks for the information. There are times where due to CPM not working, I've uninstalled and then reinstalled it, which has meant CPM has lost its database of installations. Now I know what file to backup. However, I have worked out how to reinstall CPM without losing anything. I run the installer again and then delete the CPMRestartCheck registry key.

Don't know why there are rare programs CPM won't monitor.

I right click on the installer in Explorer and select Install and monitor setup using CPM, to make sure it gets monitored.

With CPM 1.2.x, make sure to block CPMPopulateDBTool.exe.

I've found it can cause system slowdowns due to high disk usage. I have unchecked "Take part in our Application Contribute Program" in CPM's settings, so it doesn't run.

CPM v2, can actually do a scan for leftovers for programs it has not monitored, just like Revo and IObit Uninstaller. But, from by very brief testing, it seems that Revo and IObit find more leftovers.

 

[roger_m]

If you're installing an unsigned device driver, that device driver won't be able to load after disabling test mode. You can install and load an unsigned device driver while the enforcement is disabled however once it is re-enabled, that unsigned device driver will no longer function because it'll be blocked from loading by PatchGuard (and thus this only applies to 64-bit of course).

That makes sense, and I realise that there is actually no need to disable signature enforcement to install CPM. I read about it on some forum, but now that I think of it, I have installed CPM on Windows 8 and 10, without disabling it.

 

[Deleted member 65228]

@roger_m Comodo issue out code signing certificates so I'd suspect they were able to sign their own device drivers for the CPM software hahahaha Easiest way for you to check is find the drivers for CPM (find the running service/s -> find file path from it with a tool like Process Hacker) and then check the PE details to see if its digitally signed.

If you have it working without Test Mode enabled without disabling driver signature enforcement at each boot then this already means they sign their drivers

 

[outlawxtorn]

Emsisoft
Voodoo Shield
Kerish Doctor
Process Lasso
Steam