Advice Request What are the essential programs that you will still install on your Windows system in 2026, and what are the programs that you will stop using?

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By 2026 I still think what matters isn’t the program’s name, but the role it plays.

A guardian that keeps an eye on what comes in and what goes out, backing up the native security. Because relying on that alone is like leaving the door wide open and hoping the thief gets bored.

A manager for the system’s digital diet: not to erase telemetry completely (that would be like expecting Windows to stop talking to itself… impossible and even counterproductive), but to put it on a diet so it doesn’t choke on unnecessary data. The point isn’t to silence it, but to teach it to speak less loudly.

An archivist to handle backups, because the day something fails you’ll realize your “plan B” was just blind faith.

An optimizer that keeps performance steady without turning your PC into a steroid-fueled gym rat: it’s about avoiding stumbles, not running marathons.

And an alternative browser, because marrying yourself to just one is like trusting monopoly love to never leave you stranded.

In short: security, control, backup, performance, and freedom. Names change, needs don’t. 😉
 
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These days, the Essentials that I always install.

1 Brave
2 Chrome
3 3rd party antivirus
4 IrfanView
5 VLC Media Player
6 Snagit (not so much a must have anymore with the Windows options, Snipping Tool & Photos/editing)
7 A Stand alone VPN (which may not come with the AV)
8 Proton Pass
9 Google Drive (mainly for syncing, and light back ups)
10 No back up software, I have nothing important to backup that I can't use a flash drive or Google Drive for if needed.

Anything else is from the Windows options, like Calculator, Defrag, Notepad etc.

Edit: and maybe Patch My PC portable, as a software updater is included with Avast free.
 
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Sampei.Nihira said:
Don't forget to publish your list of softwares.;)(y)
Click to expand...
The list is not yet complete, but in general it will be as follows:
  • File Archiver: 7-Zip or WinRAR.
  • Software Uninstaller: Revo Uninstaller or HiBit Uninstaller.
  • File Search Utility: Everything or WizFile.
  • Image Viewer: IrfanView or FastStone Image Viewer or XnView Classic.
  • foobar2000: Because it's the client recommended by Radio Browser for Windows (yes, I still listen to radio stations).
  • HWiNFO.
  • MPC-BE.
  • Web browser: Mozilla Firefox or any other Firefox-based browser.
  • Notepad3.
  • Screenshot Capture Tool: Snipping Tool is good, but I'll try Greenshot as it's under active development again.
  • SumatraPDF: I stopped using PDF readers a decade ago and usually rely on web browsers to read PDF documents, but I installed it after reading the recommendations.
  • System Informer.
  • Total Commander.
  • Microsoft OneDrive: Only because I have a Microsoft 365 subscription, otherwise I would use MEGA instead.
There are some useful tools that I used to use, but I don't think they're essential. They help simplify some tasks, and I'm not sure if I'll continue using them:
  • WizTree.
  • LockHunter.
  • Registry Finder.
  • Autoruns.
  • ContextMenuManager.
  • UCheck.
To improve Windows in terms of privacy and performance, I've been testing Wintoys, Winaero Tweaker, and Chris Titus Tech's Windows Utility. However, due to some recommendations warning against their use, I'll use the following guide to manually optimize Windows. Here's the complete list of other programs and platforms for those interested: GitHub - StellarSand/privacy-settings: Guide to privacy settings for most major software and services.

The category of programs that I removed from my Windows operating system in 2026 was system and registry cleaning programs; I believe they are no longer necessary.

Note: I know there are more advanced programs compared to the ones I mentioned in each category of my list, such as PeaZip, VLC Media Player, ShareX, etc., but I found myself only using the main feature in the selected programs, so I targeted programs that were light on resources and small in size, not because my device lacked resources, but because I usually do not use advanced features.
 
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lokamoka820 said:
The list is not yet complete,
There are some useful tools that I used to use, but I don't think they're essential. They help simplify some tasks, and I'm not sure if I'll continue using them:
  • WizTree.
  • LockHunter.
  • Registry Finder.
  • Autoruns.
  • ContextMenuManager.
  • UCheck.
Click to expand...
just wondering... does something replace / outperform Autoruns? I find it useful to run it every once in awhile on my win10s.
 
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I’m with you, @simmerskool . Autoruns is like that lover you never wanted to make official, but somehow you can’t quit: you know the relationship is toxic, repetitive, even boring… and yet, when Windows starts whispering too loudly at night, you end up calling again 😏.
It’s the cruel reminder that “digital freedom” is mostly a myth: we’re still chained to the same old rituals, checking startup entries like they were relationship confessions. Autoruns isn’t shiny or modern, but it proves that even in 2026 we still need old tricks to feel in control.
And yeah, I just hope the Bot doesn’t scold me for this bitter metaphor… it already watches me like a digital hall monitor with a ruler, ready to smack me for every mischievous DLL 🙃.
 
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simmerskool said:
just wondering... does something replace / outperform Autoruns? I find it useful to run it every once in awhile on my win10s.
Click to expand...
I won't replace it with another program; I simply don't use it regularly. It's helpful to find and delete the startup entries for programs that have been removed (the yellow ones), but I have a few observations:
  • It doesn't display startup entries for Windows Store programs (HiBit Startup Manager does).
  • It displays all entries as enabled, which is confusing (I think this is because it displays them at the system level, not the current user level).
 
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Divine_Barakah said:
So I am going to list my apps

Security:
1 Eset Essential
2- Adguard VPN
3- Adguard DNS
4- Cryptomator
5- Dashlane
6- Enpass

Productivity:

1- Wondershare PDFepement
2- Swifdoo PDF
3- MS Office
4- OnlyOffice
5- TidyTabs
6- Joplin

SYSTEM Utilities

1- Smarty Uninstaller
2- Kerish Doctor
3- Hard Disk Sentinel Pro
4- Macririt Partition Expert Pro
5- AOMEI Backupper Pro
6- Winrar

Browsers

1- Vivaldi
2- Brave
3- Firefox

Cloud Storage

1- Koofr
2- Filejump
Click to expand...
How do you like koofr especially the upload speeds? I saw them on stack social but I also read horrid reviews regarding upload throttling once you go beyond 30 gig.
 
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cartaphilus said:
How do you like koofr especially the upload speeds? I saw them on stack social but I also read horrid reviews regarding upload throttling once you go beyond 30 gig.
Click to expand...
The service is excellent and I mean it. Download/upload speeds are fantastic. It gives you granular control over your shared links.

The only downside is their security is very strict sometime like if you are using webdav and enter the generated app password wrong, their security system blocks access to your cloud for some hours. The same happens if you enter the wrong password three times in the login page.

One other limitation is if you buy a lifetime plan, you can never change the email registered to it and they argue this is to prevent service abuse.

One other minor issue is the Windows app which fails to display sync icons and you need to go into registry and delete the sync icons entries related to OneDrive.

Other than this, I did not expereince any major issues.
 
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I have quite a few portable apps & fixers as well such as O&O Autoruns, & a few Nirsoft apps.


Progs.jpg
 
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I'm not a fan of registry cleaning as such, if I uninstall a program I will usually have a search for entries using Registry Organizer or similar but I don't use the registry function of HD Cleaner though when I gave ran it out of interest it don't find much - I do try really not to install & uninstall & if its a unknown program just for interest I usually image first then image image back thereby keeping the system cleanish- I'm getting to know what I like now though so don't mess with things as I may once have (I think its called getting older) My list on there is much the same as it was I suppose a year ago apart from McAfee which I've used since July :):):)
 
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Based on my testing, HDCleaner always finds the fewest registry entries to remove, and it also recognizes most of what other registry cleaners have found to be unsafe to remove (if you enable Advanced Mode in the Cleanup section), so I think it is generally safe, but I don't have enough experience to judge.

@roger_m Based on your experience, how safe is HDCleaner for cleaning the system registry? Thank you.
 
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Zero Knowledge said:
ESET
AppGuard
Privazer
Privacy_Eraser
Perfect Privacy
IVPN
Bitwarden
SumatraPDF
Mullvad Browser
Firefox
Brave
MPC-BE
qBittorrent
AutoRuns
pestudio
SysMon
FRST
fullevent_LOG
SYSTEM_informer
M365_Copilot

* Forgot VS_Code, & VeraCypt & GPG4win, removed WFC & M365.
Click to expand...
Isn't appguard an overkill for your setup?
 
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Zero Knowledge said:
Yeah probably, but I'm still on the half price COVID deal so may as well use it. Once you whitelist/deny all the apps it's no trouble really.
Click to expand...
I thought you were on the lifetime deal. I am not sure but personally I would not pay for it and would use sth else or stick to Eset on it's own.
 
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