During lifetime of my work with computers I collected a number of software tools. Keeping a downloaded copy of these programs is really a waste of space. Software quickly get outdated as new version released, so Windows Software Toolbox is a collection of links to websites where latest versions of applications can be downloaded. This list will be updated as I add/remove tools from my toolbox.
System
 | TaskSwitchXP - is an advanced task management utility that picks up where the standard Windows Alt+Tab switcher leaves off. |
| TrueCrypt - Free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux. |
 | 7-Zip - (Freeware) is a file archiver with a high compression ratio. |
| SVS Client Personal - (Freeware) is an Altiris Software Virtualization Solution Personal Edition. Allows to run applications in isolated environment. |
| Notepad++ - is a generic source code editor (it tries to be anyway) and Notepad replacement written in C++ with the win32 API. |
| Glary Utilities - free, powerful and all-in-one utility featuring - Disk Cleaner
- Registry Cleaner
- Shortcut Fixer
- Uninstall Manager
- Start-up Manager
- Memory Optimizer
- Context Menu Manager
- Tracks Eraser
- File Shredder
- File Undelete
- File Encryption and Decryption
- Disk Analyzer
- Duplicate Files Finder
- Empty Folders Finder
- File Splitter Joiner
- Process Manager
- Internet Explorer Assistant
- Windows Standard Tools
|
| FreeCommander - (Freeware) is an easy-to-use alternative to the standard windows file manager |
| WinCalendarTime - replaces the standard Windows clock with an enhanced clock, if you click on it a calendar is displayed. |
| SmartDefrag - is a powerful and free Diskeeper® alternative. |
 | GMail Drive - (Freeware) is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual file system around your Google Mail account, allowing you to use Gmail as a storage medium. |
| EnvMan - Environment Variables Manager (EnvMan) is a tool written in C# .Net intended to handle the administration of Windows Shell Environment Variables. It is designed to replace Control Panel System Environment Manager and easily manage long variable values. |
| Sysinternals Suite - The Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities have been rolled up into a single Suite of tools. |
| PDF-XChange Viewer - is smaller, faster and more feature rich than the Adobe Reader. Portable version is also available. |
| kbdru_ZH - Русская фонетическая клавиатура (Russian Phonetic Keyboard) - Instructions for Windows and Internet in Russian. |
| Windows XP Service Pack 3 - Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers. Get this one for free from Microsoft if you need to install on multiple computers. |
| Everything - is a Windows search engine, Locate files and folders by name instantly. |
 | CClearner - (Freeware) system optimisation and privacy tool. |
 | Avast! 4 Home Edition - is a full-featured Antivirus and Anti-Spyware package. Requires Free Registration. |
| Malwarebytes - an easy-to-use, simple, and effective anti-malware application. |
| Revo Uninstaller - innovative freeware uninstall utility. Uninstall, delete, remove programs and solve uninstalling problems. |
| SyncToy - helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers quickly and easily. |
| TeraCopy - is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed. |
| Sandboxie - creates virtual space to run program in. |
| HashTab - is a Windows shell extension which adds a tab called "File Hashes" to the Windows Explorer file properties. The tab contains the MD5, SHA1 and CRC-32 file hashes. |
| nCleaner - contains an advanced system and application cleaner with over 90 cleaning items available |
| WSCC - is a free, portable program that allows you to view, execute and organize the utilities from various system utility suites. |
| PDF Creator - is a free tool to create PDF files from nearly any Windows application. |
| EASEUS Partition Manager - is a Partition Magic alternative, a FREE comprehensive hard disk partition management software. |
| Toonel - compress all the data traffic transferred to and from our machine and minimise the use of the bandwidth. |
| Free ISO Creator - easily create ISO image from any files and folders (with the subfolders). |
| Unlocker - kill processes that prevent a file to be deleted. |
 | HijackThis – TrendMicro™ HijackThis™ is a free utility which quickly scans your Windows computer to find settings that may have been changed by spyware, malware or other unwanted programs. HijackThis™ creates a report, or log file, with the results of the scan. |
Software Updates Checkers
| FileHippo.com Update Checker - will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to FileHippo.com to see if there are any newer releases.These are then neatly displayed in your browser for you to download. |
| Secunia (PSI) - Personal Software Inspector. |
| DriverMax - a free tool to backup, restore, update Windows XP or Vista system drivers. |
Anti-Rootkits
| GMer - is an application that detects and removes rootkits. |
| Trend Micro RootkitBuster - is a rootkit scanner that scans hidden files, registry entries, processes, drivers, and Master Boot Record (MBR) rootkits. |
References
Below are the references to other web resources.
Temporarily turn off Windows Update restart nags using Leave Me Alone! - Download Squad
Utilizing Windows Search 4.0 (Part 1) - MakeUseOf.com
Nirsoft Freeware Tools and Utilities for Windows
Free CD/DVD File Recovery Tool - CD Recovery Toolbox - MakeUseOf.com
24 Great Open Source Apps for Admins & Technicians - Download Squad
50 Tools to Speed Up or Otherwise Enhance Your PC – CIO.COM
37 Essential Windows Utilities
100+ Download Sites – Daily Blog Tips
