The Programs Each Computer Should Have

Antivirus protection

Antivirus software is critical for all PCs. Without it, you risk losing your personal information, your files, and even the cash from your bank account. So you should install an efficient antivirus program. It can help your computer work better. There are some efficient free antivirus programs, like Avast, Avira, Malware Hunter, and so on.

Backup

Nothing can save your computer and data from almost any disaster like a proper and recent back up. Backups are necessary because data has value. Whether this is sentimental, commercial, or legal value, a backup is a way of securing valuable information. The worst loss would be files of which we own the only copy in existence, such as personal documents or photos.

Install an image backup program such as Macrium Reflect.
Discard backups older than two months. This can often be done automatically.
Install a data-sharing program, such as Dropbox or OneDrive or similar, and store your data files in folders managed by the program for automatic off-site and cloud backup of the files you work on every day.

Browsers

Although Microsoft Internet Explorer comes pre-installed on Windows computers. There are several excellent free alternatives that everyone should try. These free alternatives can often be faster, have more options, and in many cases be more secure than Internet Explorer.

Internet Browser: Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox

Compression utility

When downloading files on the Internet you’ll eventually encounter a .zip, .rar, or other compressed file. Dealing with these files can be easy with the free file compression utility, WinRAR, 7-Zip.

E-mail

E-mail is yet another service that can be done freely. Most users today use online e-mail solutions. However, for those still using an e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook we strongly suggest Mozilla Thunderbird.

FTP, SFTP, and SSH Utility

Users who maintain their own web page or need to upload or download files to or from a server have to use an FTP utility or an SSH client.

FTP client: Filezilla

SSH client: Putty

Image editor and paint program

There are many great free solutions for editing and creating your images on your computer.

Image editor: GIMP

Paint program: Paint.net

Multimedia

There are dozens of different multimedia programs with different capabilities and limitations. Below are our top free multimedia programs for watching video files and recording audio.

Audio editing and creating tool: Audacity

Video and DVD Player: VLC and MPC-HC

Office Suite

An Office suite such as Microsoft Office is often one of the most expensive programs that a user can install on their computer. Why install these expensive programs when there are free solutions that are just as good.

Office suite: WPS Office

Notepad and Source code editor: Notepad++

How to Keep Your Computer Clean and Fast

Computers play important roles in life today. People all over the world use computers for everything. As time goes on, we found our computer become slow but have no idea on how to make it fast. Now I will show some useful tips to keep computers clean and running faster.

Clean the desktop. Remove shortcuts and icons that are no longer use from the desktop

Only install software that you need to have running on your system. Having software on your computer that you don’t actually need only increases the amount of used disk space on the said drive, whether it be your operating system drive or a secondary or external drive.

Uninstall unused programs. Removing or uninstalling some unused programs can free up much spaces in hard disk drive. In Control Panel, use Add or Remove function to uninstall the unused applications completely. Or you can download a freeware program called Revo Uninstaller, which you can download for free.

Install an efficient antivirus program. Virus can harm the computer and make computer in poor performance. These virus may copy and download many malicious files on your disk. The efficient anti-virus program can help block and remove virus on the computer. Even if you don’t want to pay for security software, there’s no excuse not to download a free Anti-Virus program such as AVG or Avast.

Clean up corrupt registry entries. When you install or uninstall programs, the registry files are created or modified. The registry file should be removed automatically but some software developer won’t add necessary code to delete the registry files. The registry entris will be more and more if you don’t clean them. If you are not an expert on computer, you are recommended to install software to clean up registry entries. For registry cleaning, we do not recommend a manual removal, since any improper deletion of registry entries may result in severe computer problems. we advise you to use some cleaner tool, such as Glary Utilities or CCleaner help you clean them. Learn more here. Or you can click the Download button below to get one for free.

Glary-utilities

How to Transfer Songs From CD to iPod, iPhone, or iPad

To get a music CD transferred over to your iPod, iPhone, or iPad, you’ll have to import it into iTunes first. Here’s how to transfer specific songs or all songs from a CD.

Open iTunes and insert the CD that you wish to import into the disc drive.
You might get a prompt to import the CD. If you want to import every song on the disc, select “Yes” and skip to Step 5. If you only want to import specific songs from the CD, select “No“.

iTunes Prompt to import CD

Select the CD icon located at the upper-left area of the screen.

Check the items you wish to import to iTunes, then select “Import CD“.

iTunes Import CD

Select your preferences for the import. You can use the AAC Encoder, MP3 or other. Select “OK” once you’re done with your selections.

iTunes Import CD settings

If your music library already contains tracks from the album you are importing, you will receive a prompt to overwrite them. Choose to “Replace Existing” or “Don’t Replace” as desired.

iTunes Prompt to Replace

Wait while the music is ripped to your iTunes library.
Once the import is complete, attach your Apple device to the computer.
Select the “Music” option at the upper-left portion of the screen to display all songs in your iTunes library.
You can now drag the songs you imported to the leftside of the iTunes window where a pane will appear containing the music on your device. Drop it right on your iPhone, iPod or other device.
Eject your Apple device when it’s done transferring the songs and enjoy.

Some older music CDs may actually be protected with DRM. You will need to use third-party software that allows access to import a disc like this. In some countries, there is some debate as to whether it is legal or not to use software to copy music off a DRM protected CD. Be sure you are following all applicable laws in your area if you attempt to do this.