Shane's Software (updated 7/26/2019)

Productivity

• Text Editors

  • Notepad++ - What Notepad SHOULD be.  Don't have to be a programmer to love it.  Does almost everything - plugin capable.
  • EditPad Pro - Still one or two tasks I use this for.  RegEx is deeply integrated.

• Antivirus

  • Windows Defender - We laugh, but as long as you have a backup like Malware or Trend, it does a fine job.
  • Malware Anti-Bytes - If you install NOTHING else, use this.
  • Trend Micro - Those looking for a traditional package with low false positives, this is it.

• Graphics / Video

  • Paint Shop Pro - For "regular" users - Paint Shop Pro is cheap, powerful. Unless you HAVE to use Photoshop, this is it.
  • Corel Video Studio - Unless you HAVE to have Premiere or some other insane priced package, this does it all - and then some.
  • Greenshot - Insane replacement tool for "snipping tool" or "print screen".  Tons of features, super light and free.
  • VLC - Plays ANYTHING.  Insane UI configuration.  Great stretching of video so you can watch stuff slightly faster without a lot of impact.

• Audio

  • Adobe Audition - Overpriced, but took the place of Cool Edit (still IS Cool Edit at the core).
  • Audacity - Free, but not the best in terms of UI.  Still, you need a job done, this could do the trick.
  • Zortan Media Studio - Catalog and tagger.  TONS of features, reasonable price. Try it - even if you have software you already use.
  • MP3 Splitter Joiner Pro - The name says it all.  Lots of batch features, aggressive naming - looks like shit, but works like a charm.

• Drive / Search / Tools

  • MyDefrag - If you still defrag, this is free and probably the best thing out there.
  • Everything - The ultimate, fast, flexible file finder.  Small footprint, find anything you need instantly.  Once you try it, you can't live without it.
  • SpaceSniffer - A visual tool for finding space hogging files and folders.  Hypnotic to watch.  I use it quarterly to clean up.
  • Directory Opus (Advanced Search) - Everything is good for fast file searches.  When you need heavy rule driven conditionals?  Dopus does it.
  • Advanced Find and Replace - You know how it is ... you have dozens of files that need something 'search and replaced' (think a web site). Now, you can load each document, make the fixes, save, and go to the next one. Or you can use this killer program. It can not only search and replace, but 'add before' or 'add after', and so much more.
  • WinRAR - I finally bought it.  While Sabnzbd and other tools will handle a lot of archive processes, WinRAR just can't be beat.  Dopus has support for it too - but from time to time, you need the native app.
  • AOMEI Backupper Pro - The ONLY tool I found for copying a BIGGER hard drive DOWN to a SMALLER SSD.  Simple, easy and even optimizes for SSD storage of data.  Free for a lot of uses.
  • AOMEI Partition Assistant - Forget chasing around copies of other partition tools.  This is small, effective for what you need it for.
  • fHash - Easy to use context menu integrated file hash generator.

• Desktop

  • Fences - If you use your desktop as a dumping ground like I do (it is okay to admit it), take charge in a beautiful way.
  • Start10 - Make Windows 10 (or 8) look and feel like Windows 7.  Not free, but cheap and IMHO the best thing out there.
  • Directory Opus (Hotkey and more) - Once again, Dopus brings features like system wide hotkey macro/launching and more.
  • Windows Manager - Comes in various versions for 7, 8 and Windows 10.  Best overall startup editor I've seen.  TONS of other stuff in one neat interface.  Not super cheap but brings a huge set of tools into an easy to use place.

• Ripping / Encoding / Conversion / Burning

  • Audials One 2019 - If you can watch it or hear it? Rip it! Grabs video from framebuffer, not a screen recorder
  • DVDFab - While expensive, it takes place of needed AnyDVD.  Best to buy the one or two modules you need during a sale.  Going lifetime is almost worth it if you need more than one or two modules.
  • AnyDVD - Removes copy protection on DVDs and BluRays so you can use your favorite tool to convert.  Not cheap, but a powerful solution.
  • Display Fusion - If you have more than one monitor, you should own this.  Period.
  • MetaX - Need to retag VIDEO metadata?  Better have a look at this.
  • IMGBurn - Still the go to tool for burning discs.  Get the BetaNews version that doesn't have adverware as part of the install.
  • PowerISO - this is THE swiss army knife of CD/DVD images. Includes easy to use unlimited virutal drives for mounting CD/DVD images (works with more formats than you can shake a stick at including ISO, BIN, etc.), includes a nice image maker/burner as well.
  • Wondershare AllMyYouTube - My choice for ripping HQ video from YouTube and other web services
  • Wondershare Streaming Audio Recorder - Want to rip from Google Music, Spotify, etc?  This is what you're looking for.
  • Applian Software - If you can't find a tool to rip media from the internet?  These guys probably have the tool you need.
  • FreeRip MP3 Converter - Need quick and dirty good quality MP3 ripping for CDs still?  Here you go!
  • Zortan Media Studio - Also rips .... and rips well...

• Development

  • Visual Studio Community Edition - Hey, gotta work with .NET?  Might as well work with Visual Studio (and this is free)
  • Dreamweaver - ShiftIDE is my tool of choice for most web development.  But, for complex layouts?  Hard to beat DW.
  • ShiftIDE - Web based IDE for server side languages, client side code, etc.  Two sites for free, low cost for more.  I LOVE this.
  • dbForge Studio - Be it mySQL or MSSQL, forget about Microsoft's tools or clumsy phpAdmin.  Invest some bucks and get this DB IDE.
  • Autobackup for MYSQL - Backup your remote databases automatically - and with ease. Best tool I've run across.  There is a free tool I used a couple times, but I always come back to this.

• Everything Else

  • Directory Opus - Organizing, renaming; everything you can do with files, you can do with this.
  • Dreamweaver - I still enjoy using this for visual layouts and such.  I use ShiftIDE for almost everything else now.
  • Nitro PDR (Reader | Pro) - Hands down the best PDF software on the market.  Reader does almost everything for free.  Pro version is half the prices of Adobe and does more.
  • WinRAR - (Multi-Format Pack/Extract) - If you need to make archives as well as extract them, or need lots of configurable features, try this program out.

Internet

• Remote Control

  • Team Viewer - I've tried them all.  VNC, LogMeIn, etc.  This is the ONLY tool that makes it through my company's firewall.  It's free, easy to use, and it is available on Android and ChromeOS.
  • Zoho Assist - No more COMMERCIAL USE DETECTED.  Free for up to 5 PCs. Only limitation I've found is no file transfer tool

• Browser

  • Chrome
    • Gmail Checker - If you use Gmail, you probably need to give this a look.
    • AdGuard - This is THE way to block ads on Chrome.
    • Enhanced Steam - Steam? Yes?  Then you should have this installed.
    • Privacy - Privacy.com's official extension.
    • Honey - I'm new to this, but looks damn cool with automatic checkout coupon location and entry.
    • LastPass - I use Last Pass for ALL browser and site passwords as well as secure notes, etc.  Available on pretty much every platform, cheap, and pretty damn secure.
    • Canned Replies - A sort of clipboard tool... Use it ALOT

• FTP

  • Directory Opus - Once again, Dopus does something people pay extra for.  Treat FTP like any other folder and leverage Dopus' power.

• Cord Cutting

  • Plex - The best way to play and stream your stored content
  • Sabnzbd - Interfaces between Sonarr and usenet to download content
  • Sonarr - If you do TV, you need this server software.  Works in hand with NZBGeek and Sabnzbd.
  • Newsleecher - Oddball searches
  • NZBGeek (indexer) - Human indexed usenet.  Used with Sonarr.
  • NZB 360 (Android) - Maintain your entire cord cutting experience in the palm of your hand.
  • BitTorrent - Torrenting is uber dangerous - but if you get desperate ...

Software as a Service

• MultCloud - Maintain dozens of cloud storage in one simple web based interface.  Copy to and from, run sync jobs - friggin' AMAZING.
• Newsleecher (w/Supersearch) - Techinically it is a program, but Super Search, etc. are SaaS based.  Quick, easy.
• ShiftIDE - I do almost all my web development with this and dbForge Studio with Dreamweaver for initial complex layouts.
• Gmail - Duh
• Google Photos - Used to be a big Picassa fan;  Google bought 'em and now it is the definitive storage and sharing medium.
• NZBGeek (indexer) - Human indexed usenet.  Used with Sonarr.
• Last Pass - My go-to solution for browser/site passwords, secure notes, software keys, etc.
• Privacy.com - Create credit cards on the fly against your bank account.  NEVER use the same card twice online.  Protect youself.  Amazing stuff.  Currently free too.