Windows Survival Kit

The story...

Most modern Linux distributions come packed to the gills with useful software; even unbundled software can be had merely by adding a repository to apt or yum and telling these programs to fetch. Apt and yum do all the rest.

By contrast, Microsoft® Windows®, out of the box, is pretty bare-bones, and Microsoft® Windows® lacks an automated package management system for third-party software. Whenever you first start using a Microsoft® Windows® machine, you have to waste a lot of time downloading and installing loads of software just to make it adequately usable. This usually involves searching and trawling all over the web, clicking by hand through silly licensing agreements, clicking by hand through installation wizards, etc.

Equally alarming is when your friends and relatives buy a Windows box and go around obliviously browsing with Microsoft® Internet Explorer®, or reading email using Microsoft® Outlook®, which is roughly like watching someone you love poke themselves in the arm with a dirty used hypodermic needle. Most computer-literate people have the experience of setting up, cleaning up, fixing, etc. computers for people in their social circle, part of which consists of installing a bunch of safe, secure software and then telling the owners to use it.

This web page lists a bunch of direct links to useful software that I consider essential. I'm making it for my own convenience, when I find myself in the situations above, but I imagine it will, in theory, be useful to others too.

I link to the persistent URL that's as few clicks as possible to the actual installable executable. However, some essential Windows freeware (e.g., Adobe® Reader®) doesn't allow public third-party redistribution unless you ask permission. In those cases, the link points to the page where you can begin the annoying click-through process to get the software. Other software is not available as a self-installer at all; for these, I link to the FTP site, web page, etc. where instructions can be found.

One of the lovely things about proprietary software is that great software can disappear forever --- either because the company dies, or because the company chooses to withdraw it in favor of an "upgrade" that's actually inferior¹. Where software's no longer publicly available, or where I have doubts that it will remain publicly available in the future, I have mirrored the installer locally.

Primary survival: General utilities

Secondary survival: Hacking

Miscellany