Summary
Most of us have a list of apps we always install on a new PC. While those lists are never identical, there are a few popular ones you’ll find on almost every Windows PC. Apps like Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, CCleaner, and LocalSend have been around for so long that they’ve built a reputation of being “essential.” But I personally don’t install any of them anymore, either because I’ve found better alternatives or because they simply aren’t necessary. Adobe Acrobat It’s bad news for your storage Adobe Acrobat is an app you’ll find on most PCs simply because Windows doesn’t ship with a native PDF viewer. Microsoft Edge handles PDFs by default, but it’s too basic and far from ideal when you’re working on multiple documents at once. Adobe Acrobat has a free version, and it works great for viewing, annotating, printing, and signing documents. So yes, I get why so many people use it. My only problem is that it can take up enormous storage over time. It also never fails to nag you with a prompt to upgrade to its premium version. For PDFs, I like PDFgear more because it’s completely free and also lets me edit and convert documents. And if I simply want to preview a PDF, I prefer PowerToys’ Peek feature because it’s much faster. WinRAR or 7-Zip Windows can already do their job WinRAR and 7-Zip are two apps that’ve helped me a lot, and I have huge respect for both. They used to be among the first apps I’d install on a new PC, but that’s sadly not the case anymore now that Windows 11 can handle ZIP, RAR, 7Z, and TAR files natively. You can simply right-click on any of these files and extract their contents. Windows can even compress files into these formats while giving you control over the compression level. Apps like WinRAR and 7-Zip aren’t completely useless, of course. They do offer specialized tools needed for password protecting an archive or splitting one into parts. But the truth is, those are pretty niche for most people, myself included. So, as legendary as these file compression tools are, I don’t install them on my PC anymore. CCleaner More background noise than actually cleaning We all love a PC that’s free of clutter, so apps like CCleaner are an easy sell. It promises to clear junk files, speed up startup times, clean system logs, and optimize performance with a single click. It also includes tools for cleaning the registry, updating drivers, uninstalling apps in bulk, and freeing up disk space. The only thing is, Windows can already handle most of these tasks natively. You have Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense for clearing temporary files and freeing up storage. Windows is also good at handling routine maintenance on its own, so many of CCleaner’s other tools are also largely unnecessary. The bigger problem with CCleaner is that it doesn’t have the cleanest reputation when it comes to respecting user privacy. So yes, even if you find it useful, it’s still worth reconsidering if you really need it. LocalSend It’s good, but there’s a better one This one’s a bit tricky because LocalSend is arguably one of the best apps for moving files between devices. I used it for years myself until I came across PairDrop. PairDrop fixes the two things that always bugged me about LocalSend. First, you don’t need to install it on your devices since it works directly in the browser. You simply need to open pairdop.net on both your devices, and they’ll detect each other as long as they’re on the same network. After that, you can share photos, videos, documents, archives, or anything else. This makes it ideal for one-off transfers. The other big advantage is that PairDrop can work even when both devices are not on the same network. You can create a temporary room to pair both devices and share files over the internet. If you want to use PairDrop to transfer files to your own devices regularly, you can pair them permanently too. Any antivirus software You seriously don’t need it For all the things I hate about Windows, I have to give credit to Microsoft for making it secure out of the box. The built-in Windows Security app is now capable enough for keeping your system secure without any extra help. So as long as you keep your PC updated to the latest build (and don’t do anything silly), a third-party antivirus tool just isn’t necessary. If anything, they can cause more harm than good by constantly running background scans and blocking legitimate apps from connecting to the internet. The only reason some Windows laptops still ship with an antivirus program preinstalled in 2026 is a business partnership. It’s not there because your PC needs it.