Windows is the operating system of choice for a large number of laptop and personal computer users. Were you to surf the internet for applications that enhance its performance, the list is endless.

And yet, there is a niche category of apps which are rare and handy in nature but used very sparingly. These are powerful apps in their own right and can turn the novice user into a pro.

1) Process Explorer

The default Windows task manager can provide you with a lot of information regarding the programs running on your computer, detailing the amount of performance impact it is having.

But in case you need to pry more for additional information as to what program is accessing which particular file or directory, use Process Explorer.

It provides information about which handles and DLL processes have opened or loaded on your computer. It bifurcates information into a layout of what each program is up to, files currently in use, etc. It is a very powerful program with a variety of features which can be explored upon by any user.

Download here

2) Ultimate Windows Tweaker

During the days of using Windows XP, various kinds of hacks, tips and tricks used to be shared in order to tweak and customise it. That used to involve a ton of risk for novice users, who had no clue as to what they were doing and ended up ruining their Windows installation altogether.

Enter Ultimate Windows Tweaker, a tool created exclusively for all the tweaking you ever wished to perform on your Windows operating system.

Ranging from changes to the taskbar, the lock screen, making your system faster, registry tweaks ... you name it and it is available in this awesome tool. The coolest thing is that it is free

Download for Windows 7/8/10 here

3) Speccy

When Windows slows down and performance worsens, many experts advice upgrading your system’s RAM. For a novice user, however, mostly clueless about the specs of their machine and what particular component needs upgrading, Speccy can be a very useful tool to have at your disposal.

It can provide info regarding the CPU temperature, status of your hard drive to a complete rundown of what model and manufacturer your machine is from.

Download here

4) Wireless Network Watcher

Want to modulate and monitor what devices are connected to your Wi-Fi device, along with the corresponding IP and Mac addresses?

Wireless Network Watcher, a freeware tool, does precisely that.

It can assist in detecting who is stealing your Wi-Fi or which unknown device is connected, etc. It will also work over Ethernet wired networks too.

Download here

5) WinDirStat

All of us have faced that dreaded message on Windows, ‘running out of space please delete files to free the space’. Enter WindDirStat, which is a disk statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Windows.

Scan all your hard-drive using WindDirStat, and reveal the folders that are draining or eating up the most space.

The information is bifurcated into what file types are chewing up space, etc. If the default Disk cleanup tool is not doing the job for you, get WinDirStat.

Download here

6) Sandboxie

At some point, all of us have run dodgy programs on our computers that have either ruined a Windows installation, or infested our valuable documents and folders with spywares and viruses.

Sandboxie is a tool freely available that can allow you to run those dodgy programs in an isolated space, independent of your other programs and data which can prevent it from making any permanent modifications to your computer.

It also provides a safe route to test unverified apps independently.

Download here

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 25th, 2015

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