IDrive
You get 5GB free from IDrive to back up files from all your devices. If that’s enough, you’ll find this service more than up to your needs. It’ll even back up your photos and videos from Facebook. (Read our review of IDrive, a PCMag Editors’ Choice.)
(Wondering about Google Drive? It’s on the list, but down under Office Suites.)
AOMEI Backupper
The standard, free version of this tool can create a full system image, back up entire drives or specific partitions, schedule backup of files and folders you specify, even fully clone a smaller drive to a larger drive for an upgrade (or a hard drive to a solid state drive for a speed boost).
Recuva
Recuva (say it out loud) is a must on the tool belt of any techie: it’s the key to helping recover a lost file. It’s easy to understand, though should really be installed before you lose a file. It’s portable, so you have the option to run it from a USB thumb drive. (Read our review of Recuva.)
Filezilla
The former computer-science project is now one of the best standalone file transfer protocol (FTP) clients around. It’s a must-have for website owners who transfer a lot of files to a server, fast. It comes in a client and Windows-only server option.
Teracopy
Windows copies files between folders and drives just fine. TeraCopy takes over that job and makes it sing—it’s faster, better looking, provides more information/feedback, and can recover from transfer errors.
File Management
Multi Commander
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.
7-Zip
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.
Evernote
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.
Foxit Reader
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). Foxit’s MobilePDF apps are on iOS and Android. Send PDF files between them and even update the contents after the fact (thanks be to the cloud). (For more, read How to Convert PDFs to Word Documents and Image Files.)
Kaspersky Free
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.) (Read our review of Kapersky Free, a PCMag Editors’ Choice.)
BoxCryptor
This app creates a folder where everything inside gets AES-256 and RSA encrypted. 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. (For more, read How to Encrypt a Document Stored on Google Drive.)
ShareX
ShareX might have too many options, but if you love choice—both in how to take a shot (like a scrolling capture or OCRing text) and what to do with it after (it supports 80 different destinations and plenty of annotation options)—this is the capture utility you need for your Windows PC.
IObit Driver Booster
Sometimes the only software you want to update are the drivers that connect your hardware components. Driver Booster checks them to see if the hardware manufacturers have anything new that will make your system purr like a kitten. It creates a restore point before installing drivers for you, just in case something goes awry, and comes a free Windows Software Updater to run once the drivers are updated.
IObit Uninstaller
This is the tool you need to get rid of stubborn programs, plug-ins, and toolbars on a Windows PC. It outpaces the competition by including a community-based suggestion feature, so the rest of the internet is helping you delete extraneous crud from the PC, too. (Read our review of IObit Uninstaller Free, a PCMag Editors’ Choice.)
Ninite
Ready to install a whole butt-load of programs for Windows all at once, like after you purchase a new PC? Don’t grab them all individually—visit Ninite to check off all the programs you want. Then download a custom installer that will place all the programs on the PC in one massive installation session.
Unchecky
This doesn’t uninstall as much as it prevents installs. We’ve mentioned how you might be accidentally getting Windows software you don’t want when you install something you do. Unchecky ensures all the checkboxes in the installer programs are unchecked, and warns you if you may be getting a potentially unwanted program (PUP) or offer
AutoHotkey
Love your macros in Microsoft Word? Now imagine those same keystrokes performing similar actions in every single program in Windows. That’s what AutoHotkey brings to the table—a full scripting language for Windows.
HWiNFO
This system-information utility does the most thorough audit of your computer and peripherals you’ll ever see. Pick the version you need for either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, whichever you have installed. The portable version can run from a thumb drive.
FileSeek
Windows search is rarely up to snuff. This utility offers ultra-fast search, checking inside folders and files, looking for patterns, and even uses Regular Expressions for advanced searches. It doesn’t even have to index files in the background to work. Save your searches for use again later.
Trelby
Fancy yourself a budding screenwriter, but lack the funds to buy high-end tools like Final Draft? Trelby does a damn fine job of helping you keep the formatting correct, remembering character names, and even importing and exporting to formats used in Hollywood.