5 Must-Have Downloads for Windows 10

When Windows 10 was released, it brought with it new design principles and features that some people either love or hate. Regardless of which camp you fall into, there are plenty of things to download to customize your experience and enhance your productivity, whether you’re at home or work. These five must-have downloads software for Windows 10 will help get you off to the right start.

Download Software for Windows 10: CCleaner

If you’re one of those people who are still holding on to an earlier version of Windows, CCleaner is one app that everyone should download. Over at Piriform, they’ve updated their popular cleanup utility to work with every version of Windows from XP up to Win10.

Not only does it give your PC a thorough spring cleaning, but it also automatically frees up storage space by detecting and deleting duplicate files. Free yourself from useless clutter and reclaim gigabytes of precious hard drive space! CCleaner has been in development since 2003 and has evolved into one of the most comprehensive system cleaning tools available today. Plus, it's completely free! (Note: While CCleaner itself is free, they do offer other paid software)

Download Software for Windows 10: Google Chrome

Now that you’ve got your new computer, it’s time to replace your old browser. Google Chrome is a fast, efficient way to surf the web—and it won’t bug you with pop-up ads and such. If you need help downloading software for windows 10, check out our helpful guide.

Click here to get started! Not only is Google Chrome speedy and lightweight, but it also doesn’t hog up much of your hard drive space or memory like other browsers might. Although there are some nice things about other browsers—like Safari (free) on Mac or Internet Explorer (free) on Windows 8.1 —the best thing about using Google Chrome on either platform is just how easy they make browsing simple while keeping tabs on all your bookmarks, apps and search history in one spot.

Firefox Quantum

It’s only been a year since Microsoft launched its latest operating system, but what was once new is now old. Perhaps that’s why Mozilla is on it like white on rice with its updated browser, Firefox Quantum. It’s less than 15MB and comes with everything you need from a browser. Plus, if you can get used to its user interface (and we know you will), you’ll find it blazing fast compared to other browsers. Bonus: it includes a built-in ad blocker that doesn't rely on third parties to filter out those pesky ads and popups cluttering your web experience.

XMBC Media Player

Though Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 10, is a great upgrade from its predecessors, one area it might not completely cater to is streaming media services. That’s where XMBC comes in.

This open-source program allows you to stream movies and TV shows through your browser as well as via Netflix and Hulu. It can also be configured to support live streaming sources like Twitch and Periscope. The best part? XMBC Media Player does all of that at no cost to you—not even a subscription fee!

VLC Media Player

If you’re still using Windows Media Player, it’s time to move on. Media Player has been discontinued, and though you can still download a version for your computer, there are plenty of other programs that can help you play all sorts of audio and video files—with many more options to tweak and customize your playback experience.

There are several good free media players out there—VLC being one of our favorites—but if they don’t suit your needs, there are lots of paid ones as well. Here are some of our favorite free media players.