📋 Senka Wolf's Recommended Software List

A collection of my recommended and favorite software across different platforms, including macOS, Windows, web browser extensions, and development tools. Each time I perform a fresh installation of a new operating system, I refer to this list and select the programs to install.

The applications listed below are organized alphabetically.

• Items marked with are open-source software and link to the source code.
• Items marked with are free.
• Items marked with are paid for.
• Items marked with are for Apple Operating Systems.
• Items marked with are for Windows Operating Systems.
• Items marked with is a service and not software.
• Items marked with are Browser Extensions. I will try to link to Chromium and Firefox versions.
• Items marked with are Development Tools.
• Items marked with are my daily used software/services.

Note

Icon by Icons8

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Applications
  • Audio
  • Backup
  • Communication
  • Compression
  • Data Recovery
  • Developer Tools
  • Email
  • Games
  • Graphics
  • Online Storage
  • Productivity
  • Security
  • Terminal
  • Text Editors
  • Utilities
  • Video
  • Web Browser
• Browser Extensions
• Guides
• Miscellaneous

Applications

Audio

• Cider → Cross-platform Apple Music experience.
• Sleeve 2 →
• Voicemeeter → Audio Mixer Application endowed with Virtual Audio Device used as Virtual I/O to mix and manage any audio sources from or to any audio devices or applications.
• Voicemod → Real time AI voice changer & soundboard.
• Audacity → Recording and editing sounds.

Backup

• FreeFileSync → Folder comparison and synchronization software that creates and manages backup copies of all your important files.
• Rclone → A command-line program to manage files on cloud storage.

Communication

• Discord → A instant messaging and VoIP social platform.
• TeamSpeak 3 → A VoIP social platform.

Compression

• 7-Zip → Utility for manipulating archives. Formats 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR are supported fully, other formats can be unpacked.
• WinRAR → A powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files.

Data Recovery

• TestDisk → A utility that helps recover lost partitions or repair corrupted filesystems making non-booting disks bootable again..

Developer Tools

• FileZilla → FTP, FTPS and SFTP client.
• Github Desktop → A GUI for using GitHub.
• HeidiSQL → Powerful and easy client for MySQL, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
• MySQL Workbench → SQL IDE for mySQL.
• WinSCP → FTP, FTPS and SFTP client.
• XAMMP → Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl for creating a development environment.

Email

• Proton Mail Client → End-to-end encrypted email for Proton Mail users.
• SimpleLogin → Create and manage email aliases to protect your privacy and inbox from spams and phishing.

Games

• Battle.net → A digital distribution service and storefront for Blizzard Entertainment.
• Epic Games → A digital distribution service and storefront for video games.
• OpevIV
• Origin → A digital distribution service and storefront for EA.
• RetroArch → A frontend for emulators, game engines and media players. ¹
• Steam → A digital distribution service and storefront for video games.
• Uplay → A digital distribution service and storefront for Ubisoft.
• Virtual Desktop Streamer → Use your VR headset tp connect wirelessly to your computer(s) to watch movies, browse the web, play 2D games or stream PCVR games.
• WeMod → World's best application for modding thousands of single-player PC games.

Graphics

• Adobe Photoshop → A photo editing and raster graphic design software which allows users to create, edit, and manipulate various graphics as well as digital art.
• GIMP → A Photoshop-like program that's free.
• Paint.NET → General-purpose raster graphics editor program.

Online Storage

• Hetzner - Storage Box → Self-managed online storage which supports FTP, SAMBA/SCP, SSH/rsync/BorgBackup and WebDAV.

Productivity

• Adobe Acrobat Reader → PDF reader and editor.
• Chocolatey → A package manager for Windows.
• Dropover →
• f.lux → Automatically adjust your computer screen to match lighting.
• Logitech G HUB → Customize and optimize your Logitech G gaming gear, such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and webcams. ²
• Maccy →
• Magnet →
• Notion → Productivity and note-taking web application.
• Optimizer → A advanced configuration utility designed to enhance your privacy and security on Windows.
• Stream Deck → Client software to work with the Elgato Stream Deck devices. ³
• UniGetUI → Intuitive GUI for the most common CLI package managers.
• Winutil (Chris Titus Tech's Windows Utility) → Windows Utility to Install Programs, Tweaks, Fixes, and Updates.

Security

• Malwarebytes → Advanced anti-malware software.
• NordVPN → Lithuanian VPN service.

Terminal

• MobaXterm → Xserver and tabbed SSH client.
• Putty → SSH and telnet client.
• Termius → Secure and easy-to-use SSH client

Text Editors

• Atom → A hackable text editor for the 21st Century. ⁴
• Notepad++ → A source code editor which supports several programming languages.
• Sublime Text 4 → Powerful text editor for code, markup and prose.
• Visual Studio Code → Build and debug modern web and cloud applications.

Utilities

• Amphetamine →
• AnyDeck
• balenaEtcher → Flash OS images to SD cards and USB drives, safely and easily.
• CPU-Z
• CrystalDiskInfo → A utility that monitors and displays the health of your hard drive, including basic information, S.M.A.R.T. values, and disk temperature.
• File Juggler → Automatically renamed, moved and deleted files based on rules.
• Hidden bar →
• HWInfo → A comprehensive system information and diagnostic tool that offers an extensive range of features.
• LocalSend
• NordPass
• Rufus
• RustDesk
• ShareX ⁵
• SignalRGB
• TopNotch →
• Ventoy
• Windhawk → Customization for Windows programs. ⁶
• WinDirStat
• YaTQA

Video

• Fraps
• Medal
• NVIDIA ShadowPlay → Hardware-accelerated screen recording utility available as part of Nvidia's GeForce Experience and Nvidia App softwares for GeForce GPUs.
• OBS
• Plex Desktop
• Sony Vegas Pro
• VLC → Multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

Web Browser

• Brave → Fast, secure, and privacy-focused Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers, and offers a built-in VPN, AI assistant, and search engine.
• Zen Browser → Open-source fork of Mozilla Firefox, with its main focus being privacy and customizability.

Browser Extensions

• 2FAS - Chromium/Firefox → One click and your 2FA token is automatically entered. ⁷
• AdGuard Adblocker - Chromium/Firefox → Blocks against advertising on Facebook, Youtube and more plus pop-ups.
• Chrome Mask - Firefox → A one-click toggle to spoof as Chrome in Firefox.
• ClearURLs
• NordPass
• NordVPN
• Privacy Badger
• SimpleLogin
• SponsorBlock for YouTube

Guides

• How To Setup Windows 11 PC Without Microsoft Account
• Show Hidden Files
• XBackBone Config & Setup
• Windhawk Setup

Miscellaneous

• privacytools.io → Recommended reading for online privacy.
• VirusTotal.com → Analyse suspicious files, domains, IPs and URLs to detect malware and other breaches.
• Recorded Future Triage → Analyse malware samples free using a state-of-the–art malware analysis sandbox.
• netboot.xyz → Web-based tool that lets you boot into different operating systems using PXE.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Footnotes

1. You can see my RetroArch setup here. ↩

2. Logitech G HUB only works with Logitech gaming products, you will need Logi Options+ for there non-gaming lineup. ↩

3. Either Stream Deck IOS or Android mobile app or Stream Deck device is needed. ↩

4. Atom is End of Life as of 2022 and has been archived. Older versions are still available to use. ↩

5. You'll need a service to upload you're images too. I've always self-hosted ShareX-Custom-Upload for the past 5 years but this repo isn't being supported anymore. I'd recommended XBackBone as a alternative, I will be migrating over. ↩

6. See my list of mods and config here. ↩

7. Requires mobile app to pair with extension. ↩