Another site with good basic information

[steve2470]

https://www.computerhope.com/tips/

Check it out.

[Ohiogal]

1. Wow, thanks, I'll definitely bookmark this!

[hunter]

2. I've got some comments on their top 10 free program choices...

... which seem a little out of date in the Windows 10 era.

https://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip80.htm

I've been using Microsoft's own anti-virus software on Windows machines for several years now, since it was Microsoft Security Essentials. It's no longer supported on XP machines (like XP itself) so Avasti is a good choice for those machines. (Linux might be an even better choice for XP era hardware if you know someone who can set you up, or you want to explore Linux yourself.)

Other Windows anti-virus software, especially paid solutions, tend to become a great annoyance. Microsoft's anti-virus software seems to work well enough. The first thing I do on any new Windows machine is remove trial versions of paid anti-virus software in favor of Microsoft's own free software. I've seen naive computer users falling for pop-ups that appear on malicious web sites "reminding" them to update their trial versions of anti-virus software, with a convenient link to malware, of course, and instructions to ignore warnings.

Malwarebytes is an essential tool in any Windows repair toolkit.

(Which is partially why I recommend Chromebooks for naive users, or users who don't want to fuss around with Windows; anyone who is never going to use complex Excel spreadsheets, edit videos, or play the latest computer games. But that's another story...)

I'm using the Opera web browser again on x86 machines, but honestly, most websites today are designed for Chrome. Google has taken over the world. The Opera browser has built-in ad blocking. The best ad blocker for Chrome is u-block origin. (Accept no substitutes. uBlock Origin is completely unrelated to the site "ublock.org&quot

For quick image processing, Irfanview is like a Swiss Army Knife. It converts nearly any image format to any other, and it's batch processing tools are excellent. I frequently use it to resize images for the internet. GIMP will do all that stuff too, but Irfanview is much leaner for utility work as opposed to creative work.

https://www.irfanview.com

The Open Office brand was acquired by heavy-handed giant corporation Oracle many years ago causing many of its developers to flee. They moved on to create Libre Office. LibreOffice is the truly free, open source office suite.

https://www.libreoffice.org

Because I frequently use multiple computers, I find portable apps extremely useful. I can keep all my stuff on a usb stick and carry it around in my pocket if I want to. Using wine, these portable apps also work on Linux machines.

https://portableapps.com

Portableapps are also very useful on Windows machines that have limited hard drive space; machines that shouldn't have ever been upgraded or sold with Windows 10.

The list of available portableapps is itself a good source of free software gems.

[Egnever]

3. Agree with almost all of this

It is very rare these dyas I suggest a paid antivirus to my customers and then only for the ones who click on every free offer they see.

Win 10 with defender and a Malwarebytes sub is a good solution for the majority of users.

[hunter]

4. It's "the ones who click on every free offer they see" who are in most need of Chromebooks.

Better let the Google watch over them than me.

Yes indeed I would let the devil Google take them.

[Egnever]

5. Agreed chrome books are great for novices

Have a client that can hardly find the power button that I put on a Chromebox. It has saved her countless calls to me at this point.

In fairness win 10 is much better than previous versions when it comes to infection. Still nothing can stop those folks who are decieved by any popup they see.