15 Portable Apps that Every Windows User Should Carry

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These days, everyone has a pile of spare USB drives laying around with lots of space to use. Well, you can use those spare USB flash drives to store some useful portable apps and bring them along for your trip. For those who don’t know what portable apps are, they are nothing but the software programs which run without any need for actual installation. The beauty of these portable apps is that they are fully functional, requires no admin rights and creates no junk (mostly) whatsoever. So here are some of the best Windows portable apps that you can carry in your pockets and work on any computer comfortably.

1. Firefox or Google Chrome

Portable web browsers are very helpful as they lets you browser the internet without leaving any trace of your personal information like browsing history, cookies, login sessions, etc. Moreover, you can also carry or sync all your bookmarks without any extra effort. While there are a lot of portable web browsers, Firefox and Google Chrome are the most reliable one other there.

2. 7-Zip

Every now and then, you will find yourself in need extracting or compressing files. 7-Zip is a free and open source application with high compression ratio and a powerful file manager.

3. GIMP

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open source image editing tool with powerful features and acts like a perfect alternative for Adobe Photoshop.

4. IrfanView

IrfanView is a free, fast and compact image viewer with all the basic tools. Moreover, Irfanview also supports a lot of graphic types like icons, movies, vectors, etc.

5. FileZilla

FileZilla is a free, powerful and standalone FTP and SFTP program with features like Site Manager, Drag and Drop interface, download and upload queues, etc. A must have tool for any web developer.

6. ImgBurn

ImgBurn is a powerful program that lets you burn a CD/DVD. Along with that, you can also create image files and burn image files into a CD/DVD.

7. VLC Media Player

VLC is a great media player. Being portable makes it even better. Using VLC media player portable, you can play a wide range of file formats along the regular CD’s and DVD’s.

8. Foxit Reader

While there are a lot of portable PDF readers, Foxit PDF Reader is highly secure and has a lot of features for annotating PDF documents. If you are looking for a simple and minimal reader, then Sumatra PDF Reader is another good alternative.

9. KeePass or LastPass

KeePass and LastPass are a great password managers which lets you securely store and manage all you passwords. While KeePass is just an offline password manager, LastPass is an Online password manager and will also integrate with Firefox and Chrome portable versions.

10. CalmWin

Portable antivirus softwares are very much important as to scan the infected systems or to scan a file or two on other PC. CalmWin is a free and portable antivirus software with high detection rates and fast scanning.

11. SuperAntiSpyware

Along with antivirus software, you may also need an anti spyware software as to scan an infected PC or to avoid any malicious apps that you download. SuperAntiSpyware serves the purpose best.

12. CCleaner

CCleaner is a free Windows clean up utility which lets you clean the junk off your Windows system and makes your computer faster and more secure.

13. Notepad++

Notepad++ portable is the best Notepad replacement with full-fledged features supporting code editing and syntax highlighting. It is one of the best choices for programmers and web developers.

14. OpenOffice or LiberOffice

OpenOffice and LiberOffice are the best portable replacements for Microsoft Office. These free software lets you easily create and edit your office documents like spreadsheets, presentations, etc.

15. WinDirStat

Using WinDirStat, you can quickly analyze the disk usage in a nice TreeMap view and can clean any unnecessary files that are consuming your hard disk space.

Bonus: Linux Distributions

Linux distributions installed on a USB drive are sometimes a life saver when you can’t boot into your Windows system. Moreover, they provide a secure environment for your web browsing activity avoiding any keyloggers or viruses on the infected computers (like the public computers in cafes)

So, these are our choice of apps for this round. What are your favorite portable apps for Windows system? Do share your thoughts and experiences using the comments form below.

 

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15 Portable Apps that Every Windows User Should Carry