Windows Start-Up Kit

Instead of posting a review, we feel that we should instead post you a quick Windows Start-Up kit for programs you should get as soon as you turn your computer on.

If you bought your Windows from a store, there may be some pre-installed programs already, and you might want to remove some of those. Firstly, your device may come with Adobe Reader, which can help view PDF files. If you do not use PDF forms, or files that can only be used in Adobe Reader, we recommend that you uninstall Adobe Reader. We will be showing a PDF alternative later on. Next, you may have Norton or McAfee, or a Microsoft Office Starter Kit. If these are full, paid editions, leave them on because you paid for them. If they are a free/lite version remove them. There are better alternatives. Also, many laptops come with random software from the manufacturer that may or may not be useful. Please consult someone else before removing those.

Now, moving on. Once you have uninstalled those unwanted programs you should start by opening up Internet Explorer and downloading Google Chrome from https://www.google.com/chrome. We recommend that you set this as your default browser. Google Chrome is super fast and has great features such as built-in flash player, and a built in PDF viewer. If you don't want Chrome, check out Firefox, Opera, or Safari.

Once you have your new browser installed, open it up and head to http://www.avast.com and download the free version of avast! antivirus. We recommend avast! because it is very easy to use and can scan pretty well. It also comes with some great features. After installing the free version, you will have to register. Simply enter in the information they ask, and you will be good to go.

Now that you have your antivirus installed, to help keep your computer secure, it is time to get some productivity tools. The most common one is Microsoft Office, which is a paid suite. We also recommend Microsoft Office because of how smooth the program runs and how you can make great reports out of it. If you are not willing to spend some cash, you may want to check out OpenOffice, which is a free productivity suite.

PDF's are become more common and you will need something to view them with. Because Adobe Reader is too large and has quite a few security holes we recommend checking out Foxit Reader for your pdf viewing. Foxit works great and has a plugin for Firefox as well. If you don't want Foxit, Google Chrome has a built-in pdf viewer, so you can just use that, however be warned, sometimes it does not open files up properly.

Photo-Editing is also a really convenient for fixing up photos, or making really cool effects on photos. Adobe Photoshop is a really powerful editor, and is constantly referred to as, as one of the best editing software around. The only problem is, is that it is quite pricey. If you don't have the cash, you may want to check out GIMP, which offers some pretty good editing for free. Some say it is better than Photoshop. If you don't want something super-powerful you may want to stick with Microsoft Paint (included with Windows) or check out http://www.getpaint.net/, which offers medium photo editing.

Entertainment is also hugely important in our world and you will definitely need a program to play your music and videos. VLC Media Player is the best bet for those who have plenty of different file types and don't need a cool UI. For people with Apple devices, you will need iTunes to sync, so you should download that.

After installing all of these programs, you may want to defragment your hard drive to increase performance.

After using these programs for a while, you may not like them and you might want to uninstall a few. For uninstalling, you may want to try CCleaner over Windows Add or Remove Programs. CCleaner is a great program for uninstalling because you can uninstall multiple programs at once, and remove any unwanted Cache and temporary files from Windows and other applications.

Windows 8 and higher will probably have an app store, so check that out for other cool applications

If you are getting sick of Windows and you want a change, you may want to try installing Ubuntu, which has a great easy-to-use interface. When installing, you may want to consult an expert.