DJI Mavic 3. WD Blue SN Top Sections Monitors. Projector Reviews. PC Games. There are many, many attempts out there to replace Windows Explorer a file manager marinating in weak sauce. Multi Commander stands out, providing multiple tabs, a file viewer, and dual panels to efficiently show you everything. Eventually in this life, you're going to run into an archive file—a single file with multiple files stored and compressed inside it.
They have different extensions, from RAR to ZIP to 7z and many more, and sometimes the program to open them costs you. Not 7-Zip. It opens all of those and more, and allows creation of new archives. It'll even encrypt the contents for safety. It's entirely open source.
It comes in multiple languages and lists all the drives with which it's compatible. It works on all versions of Windows. IrfanView pronounced ear-fan-view has been the leader in file viewing for over two decades. Not only does it view multiple file types, it can convert them, batch process changes, even play media. Plug-ins and add-ons give it even more power. With an enhanced version that works across platforms, XnView MP actually has multiple uses, like batch file conversion and support for image formats.
It's only free for private or educational use. View, manage, and compare your images with this fast and intuitive freebie. It supports a slew of image formats, plus a ton of RAW image formats from specific digital camera manufacturers.
It has companion apps for screenshots and photo resizing. When you don't need the full strength of Photoshop, but still want Adobe in your arsenal, the low-end, consumer-oriented Express is there to help you with the basics of image editing. It'll auto-fix a lot in your images, plus has photo filters and, of course, in-app purchases to extend functions.
Read our review of Photoshop Express for iPhone. It has all the high-end tools you could want for playing with graphics and, naturally, costs percent less than Photoshop.
Vector graphics illustration tools typically cost a lot but not Inkscape. You'll be designing, drawing, and shaping gorgeous SVG formatted files in no time with this tool. Check the online gallery for excellent examples of its capabilities on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Icecream Apps has many nice programs, but the most useful for designers with a batch of graphics that need a quick resize is the aptly named Image Resizer. Drag images to it, pick a size and a destination folder, and they'll be converted in an eye-blink.
Is Paint. Nothing is as powerful, but at this price—free—it is pretty close. For any minor and some major picture manipulation, it's fast, comprehensive, and easy to use.
Pixlr X is a "next generation" web-based photo editor for making quick adjustments and retouches to a photo when more advanced tools aren't available. Every change is automatically saved and it also works directly with Dropbox. As if high-end software that lets you fly across the globe isn't cool enough especially with all the same features of its online sibling, Google Maps , Google Earth Pro for the desktop—with advanced features like high-res printing, distance measuring, and global guided tours—is totally free.
It also comes in a web-only and mobile versions now. If all you need in life is a constant shuffle play of your music with the occasional advertisement , then Spotify is for you.
But if you can get over those confines, you're no worse off than when listening to FM radio, and arguably far ahead. Read our review of Spotify and Top Spotify Tips. The premier way to watch just about any video, ever, no matter what the weird codec, VLC has features like auto-rotating smartphone videos taken at the wrong orientation, and resuming playback from where you stopped.
Seriously, VLC plays back anything on all desktop platforms, and guarantees it comes with no ads, tracking, or spyware. Kodi has become the open-source serious media center. Run the software in one place and stream all your media you bring the content to other devices.
It's all about content, so it's the best option in many ways for a home media center. If you don't know or care what a media server is—you just want to stream your videos and music collection around the house—Plex is probably for you. Install it on all your devices, point it at some media, and those audio and video files become available on everything.
Even remotely over the internet. Over million use Discord for text and voice and video chatting—mainly while kicking each other's arses in online games. It's such a big deal with gamers, Discord even launched a game store to compete with Steam.
Maybe because Steam also has a chat option. One of the new class of messaging services with an ecosystems of apps for every platform, Telegram delivers not only easy communications, but also encryption security end-to-end.
Send messages, files, photos, animated GIFs the search is built in , and create channels of up to 5, people for broadcast. Our favorite mobile messaging service takes security seriously using its own open-source protocol to do end-to-end encryption, even on voice calls.
It's not as much fun as some of the others, but supports sending photos and video, plus group messaging. And it features a Windows desktop client when you're deskbound.
Don't ignore the pound messaging gorilla that is WhatsApp. It has billions of users worldwide. It offers end-to-end encryption, animated GIF support, group chat for up to people, document sharing, voice and video calls, one-tap voice messages, and a web-based interface you access by scanning a QR code with the app on your mobile device.
Evernote is your online repository for everything. Scan it, shoot it, type it, whatever, just put it in Evernote to find later. Most text, even in pictures, is made searchable. Organize the notes into Notebooks, then access it anywhere.
Despite some severe ups and downs in its business model, it remains our Editors' Choice for note-taking apps on multiple platforms—even if you can only use two devices plus the web interface for free. Once just a part of Microsoft Office, the sublime OneNote has become a free, standalone powerhouse for note taking across all the major OSes.
It still works with Office, syncs data across all platforms, and has full online access via Office. The most basic of online note-taking tools, Google's attempt is like advanced, customizable, high-end sticky notes you keep online. This is the ultimate replacement for the anemic Notepad included in all versions of Windows. Its multiple tabs, color-coded nest text, macro support, and WYSIWYG printing make it a must for anyone who hand-codes text for programming, or just wants to write with a minimalist interface.
Google Drive has morphed over the years to become the official place where you store your cloud files for use with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Drive's online and mobile equivalents to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Throw in the office suite aspects and the 15GB of free space online shared with other Google services , and you've got a real winner. For Android users , we give it a full 5 stars. The obvious choice for open-source Office tools. Inside are word processor, spreadsheet, and presentations programs, a vector graphics editor, a math formula editor, and a database.
It's a little more awkward to use than the desktop version of Microsoft Office, but you can't beat the price. Read our review of LibreOffice. Scribus is the open-source equivalent of Adobe InDesign for desktop publishing, or as close as you can get.
It even has built-in color separation and management and a lot more. Foxit Reader is free for not just reading, but also creating PDFs and collaboration on the files at least you can with the Windows version; Mac and Linux are more limited.
Send PDF files between them and even update the contents after the fact thanks be to the cloud. Adobe created the PDF format, so it stands to reason it would offer a pretty kick-ass free PDF reader, albeit one that's not as full-featured as some others Adobe has Pro tools it wants to sell you.
PCMag's top pick for software to take control of other computers is TeamViewer. Almost everything you need is free for personal use: desktop sharing, file transfers, even chat with remote users. The setup couldn't be easier. Kaspersky Free has perfect scores from independent antivirus labs and our phishing tests. The only thing it lacks is direct tech support. And yes, we know there are allegations about ties to the Russian government, but haven't seen any proof yet.
Use one cloud service and two devices with the free version and share access to encrypted files with others. BoxCryptor itself has zero access to your data or account info, so don't lose your password. LastPass is a true classic—despite some security issues , the free version remains one of PCMag's favorite password managers. It works on all versions of Windows. IrfanView pronounced ear-fan-view has been the leader in file viewing for over two decades. Not only does it view multiple file types, it can convert them, batch process changes, even play media.
Plug-ins and add-ons give it even more power. With an enhanced version that works across platforms, XnView MP actually has multiple uses, like batch file conversion and support for image formats.
It's only free for private or educational use. View, manage, and compare your images with this fast and intuitive freebie. It supports a slew of image formats, plus a ton of RAW image formats from specific digital camera manufacturers.
It has companion apps for screenshots and photo resizing. When you don't need the full strength of Photoshop, but still want Adobe in your arsenal, the low-end, consumer-oriented Express is there to help you with the basics of image editing. It'll auto-fix a lot in your images, plus has photo filters and, of course, in-app purchases to extend functions.
Read our review of Photoshop Express for iPhone. It has all the high-end tools you could want for playing with graphics and, naturally, costs percent less than Photoshop. Vector graphics illustration tools typically cost a lot but not Inkscape.
You'll be designing, drawing, and shaping gorgeous SVG formatted files in no time with this tool. Check the online gallery for excellent examples of its capabilities on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Icecream Apps has many nice programs, but the most useful for designers with a batch of graphics that need a quick resize is the aptly named Image Resizer. Drag images to it, pick a size and a destination folder, and they'll be converted in an eye-blink. Is Paint. Nothing is as powerful, but at this price—free—it is pretty close.
For any minor and some major picture manipulation, it's fast, comprehensive, and easy to use. Pixlr X is a "next generation" web-based photo editor for making quick adjustments and retouches to a photo when more advanced tools aren't available. Every change is automatically saved and it also works directly with Dropbox.
As if high-end software that lets you fly across the globe isn't cool enough especially with all the same features of its online sibling, Google Maps , Google Earth Pro for the desktop—with advanced features like high-res printing, distance measuring, and global guided tours—is totally free.
It also comes in a web-only and mobile versions now. If all you need in life is a constant shuffle play of your music with the occasional advertisement , then Spotify is for you. But if you can get over those confines, you're no worse off than when listening to FM radio, and arguably far ahead. Read our review of Spotify and Top Spotify Tips. The premier way to watch just about any video, ever, no matter what the weird codec, VLC has features like auto-rotating smartphone videos taken at the wrong orientation, and resuming playback from where you stopped.
Seriously, VLC plays back anything on all desktop platforms, and guarantees it comes with no ads, tracking, or spyware. Kodi has become the open-source serious media center.
Run the software in one place and stream all your media you bring the content to other devices. It's all about content, so it's the best option in many ways for a home media center.
If you don't know or care what a media server is—you just want to stream your videos and music collection around the house—Plex is probably for you.
Install it on all your devices, point it at some media, and those audio and video files become available on everything. Even remotely over the internet. Over million use Discord for text and voice and video chatting—mainly while kicking each other's arses in online games. It's such a big deal with gamers, Discord even launched a game store to compete with Steam. Maybe because Steam also has a chat option. One of the new class of messaging services with an ecosystems of apps for every platform, Telegram delivers not only easy communications, but also encryption security end-to-end.
Send messages, files, photos, animated GIFs the search is built in , and create channels of up to 5, people for broadcast. Our favorite mobile messaging service takes security seriously using its own open-source protocol to do end-to-end encryption, even on voice calls.
It's not as much fun as some of the others, but supports sending photos and video, plus group messaging. And it features a Windows desktop client when you're deskbound. Don't ignore the pound messaging gorilla that is WhatsApp. It has billions of users worldwide. It offers end-to-end encryption, animated GIF support, group chat for up to people, document sharing, voice and video calls, one-tap voice messages, and a web-based interface you access by scanning a QR code with the app on your mobile device.
Evernote is your online repository for everything. Scan it, shoot it, type it, whatever, just put it in Evernote to find later. Most text, even in pictures, is made searchable. Organize the notes into Notebooks, then access it anywhere.
Despite some severe ups and downs in its business model, it remains our Editors' Choice for note-taking apps on multiple platforms—even if you can only use two devices plus the web interface for free. Once just a part of Microsoft Office, the sublime OneNote has become a free, standalone powerhouse for note taking across all the major OSes.
It still works with Office, syncs data across all platforms, and has full online access via Office. The most basic of online note-taking tools, Google's attempt is like advanced, customizable, high-end sticky notes you keep online. This is the ultimate replacement for the anemic Notepad included in all versions of Windows. Its multiple tabs, color-coded nest text, macro support, and WYSIWYG printing make it a must for anyone who hand-codes text for programming, or just wants to write with a minimalist interface.
Google Drive has morphed over the years to become the official place where you store your cloud files for use with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Drive's online and mobile equivalents to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Throw in the office suite aspects and the 15GB of free space online shared with other Google services , and you've got a real winner. For Android users , we give it a full 5 stars. The obvious choice for open-source Office tools.
Inside are word processor, spreadsheet, and presentations programs, a vector graphics editor, a math formula editor, and a database. It's a little more awkward to use than the desktop version of Microsoft Office, but you can't beat the price. Read our review of LibreOffice. Scribus is the open-source equivalent of Adobe InDesign for desktop publishing, or as close as you can get.
It even has built-in color separation and management and a lot more. Foxit Reader is free for not just reading, but also creating PDFs and collaboration on the files at least you can with the Windows version; Mac and Linux are more limited. Send PDF files between them and even update the contents after the fact thanks be to the cloud.
Adobe created the PDF format, so it stands to reason it would offer a pretty kick-ass free PDF reader, albeit one that's not as full-featured as some others Adobe has Pro tools it wants to sell you. PCMag's top pick for software to take control of other computers is TeamViewer.
Almost everything you need is free for personal use: desktop sharing, file transfers, even chat with remote users. The setup couldn't be easier. Kaspersky Free has perfect scores from independent antivirus labs and our phishing tests. The only thing it lacks is direct tech support. And yes, we know there are allegations about ties to the Russian government, but haven't seen any proof yet.
Use one cloud service and two devices with the free version and share access to encrypted files with others. BoxCryptor itself has zero access to your data or account info, so don't lose your password. LastPass is a true classic—despite some security issues , the free version remains one of PCMag's favorite password managers.
It works on every major OS, browser, and mobile device, so you only need one master password to stay secure on every website and service you visit, no matter how you get there. Its slick interface and enhanced features make it an excellent, secure choice.
If you're looking to ditch a venerable tool like LastPass or others, you can import right into Myki. It's also a 2FA authenticator, so you can ditch Authy or Google Authenticator if you use this, and has added form-filling.
If you're really worried about being seen while surfing, a VPN isn't enough. The Tor Browser uses the Tor network to bounce your requests and responses all over the world.
No one knows what sites you visit or where you really are. You'll take a performance hit, but you'll be safe. For free, Prey will help you keep tabs on up three devices and many more if you pay.
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