Did you get a new laptop last year so you could work from home? You’re not the only one. Desktop and laptop sales jumped by 15% last year as everyone scrambled to adjust to lockdowns.
A year later, you’re probably figuring out how to make the most of your laptop. They can start to slow down and you might not get the most out of the device.
The good news is that there are free laptop software programs that add a lot of functionality to your laptop. It doesn’t matter if you’re going back to school or if you want to start a business.
What are the free programs that you need for your laptop? Keep reading to find out.
1. Avast Antivirus
There are countless laptop hacks every day. You don’t want to leave your laptop exposed because you didn’t install antivirus software. It can also help you in finding best proxies for sneaker bots.
One of the most popular free programs out there is Avast Antivirus. It’s highly regarded by tech experts and novice computer users as a powerful tool to protect you from viruses.
2. LibreOffice
Every student and professional needs to have some kind of word processing software along with other office productivity tools.
Most people assume that their only option is to spend money on Microsoft Office. You have an alternative, and it’s free.
LibreOffice is a productivity suite based on Open Office, which is an open-source office suite. With LibreOffice, you have tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and math formulas. It’s available for Mac and PCs.
If you want to know more about LibreOffice for Mac and other free ways to get Word on your Mac, check out this article at setapp.com.
3. NordPass
Did you know that computer breaches happen because of weak passwords? They’re hard to remember, and you probably don’t want to have to reset your password every time you visit a site.
Like most people, you use the same password for dozens of sites. The problem with that is if your password is compromised on one site, it’s compromised on every other site.
That happens all too often because millions of passwords get stolen on a daily basis. Your best defense is to have a password generator and locker for all of your passwords.
You don’t want to use your browser because it’s vulnerable. NordPass is a free tool from the same folks at NordVPN. It’s a useful tool to use to keep all of your passwords safe and strong.
4. PhotoScape X
Do you post a lot of images on your website or on social media? You probably need to edit the image, resize it, and compress the image size before you upload it.
Most photo editors cost a lot of money. You don’t need to spend a small fortune on editing software. Photo editing laptop software is free with PhotoScape X.
Do you have RAW files from your camera? PhotoScape X can edit them as well as JPEG files.
5. Malwarebytes
You want to protect your laptop from ransomware, spyware, malware, and every other threat. Avast picks up a lot of threats to your laptop, but not all of them.
Malwarebytes gives you an extra layer of security to protect your laptop. There’s a free version of this tool, and the paid version for one device is about $40 a year.
6. Audacity
Podcasters, you depend on quality audio for broadcasting. Need to record a voice-over for your next project?
Audacity is the tool you need for both situations. It’s free and open-source.
It’s a great tool for editing, recording, and if you have multiple audio tracks. It’s simple and powerful.
7. Davinci Resolve
Do you dream of being the next great YouTuber or need to create videos for your business? You have to learn how to edit them.
One of the best editing tools out there is free. Davinci Resolve is a powerful editing suite that lets you do basic editing and add incredible effects.
There is a paid version, but you should be fine with the free one. There’s a learning curve to the software, but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube that show you how it’s done.
8. Workrave
The average person sits for 12 hours a day. That sedentary lifestyle leads to cardiovascular risks, even if you do your daily workout.
It is recommended that you get up and move around for a few minutes every hour. Yet, it’s hard to step away when you get lost on a project.
Enter Workrave. This is a simple program that locks your computer to remind you to get up, stretch, and move during the day. You can set the frequency of the breaks and how long the breaks are.
It’s the perfect remedy for a sedentary lifestyle.
9. Google Drive
Even the best laptops have been known to crash. What would happen if you lost all of your files? Think about the contracts, documents, and pictures you’d lose.
That’s why you have to back up everything. There are a few ways to do that. You can buy an external hard drive and use that as a backup device.
The alternative is to upload everything to the cloud. Google Drive lets you upload 15GB of data for free. If you need more than that, you can access 100GB of data for $20 a year. There are additional plans if you need to go beyond that.
The Best Free Laptop Software for You
Everyone wants to do things faster and better. There is a lot of laptop software that helps you accomplish your goals, but they seem to cost a lot of money.
This article showed you that you don’t need to spend anything to be more productive. You just have to give the laptop programs in this article a try.
Now that you have some productivity tools to try, check out the Technology section of this site for more great tips.
