up vote 3 down vote favorite
3
share [g+] share [fb]

Possible Duplicate:
What are some “must have” Windows programs?

I do a lot of desktop administration and my stead here at superuser has introduced me to a lot of tools that are extremely useful but pretty buried in the net. So I was wondering if people had any other FREE tools that most people don't know about that is useful for desktop administration or even just cool convience tools. Here is a few I found to be amazingly useful:

PSTools - Mark Russinovich really made a lot of cool tools. This makes remote administration a lot easier, you can run any Dos command remotely and do a lot of other cool stuff without installation on the host computer!

Process Monitor - Another Russinovich developed program. This allows you to see EVERYTHING happening on a computer, pretty amazing.

Little Registry Cleaner - Windows often makes a mess of the registry, things like Add/Remove Programs taking forever to load and random errors oten get fixed by this guy.

GMER - Rootkits? Not with this guy!

Synergy - Allows one mouse and keyboard to control as many computers as you want just like multiple monitors.

Mdesktop - Gives Linux/Mac like multipal desktop functionality to Windows.

AutoHotKey - Amazing tool to do all kinds of enhanced scripting, from changing a key functionality to automating mouse processes!

Well that's all I can think of, hopefully these help someone out. If someone else has any, I'd like to see them!

link|improve this question
You need to narrow it down, and look to see if it's been done before as it probably has. – tobylane Jan 19 '11 at 15:49
You should probably limit this to Windows only. And AutoHotkey, being about every 5th answer to Windows input/scripting/hotkey questions, hardly qualifies here. – Daniel Beck Jan 19 '11 at 15:53
Another question that screams Community Wiki! Helpful but lies in the gray area. – abel Jan 19 '11 at 15:55
Ah, you already had synergy listed, I didn't see it the first time I read your list. +1 for a great app. – Kyle Jan 19 '11 at 16:02
feedback

closed as exact duplicate by honk, Arjan, Daniel Beck, Dennis Williamson, Mehper C. Palavuzlar Jan 19 '11 at 16:37

This question covers exactly the same ground as earlier questions on this topic; its answers may be merged with another identical question. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

5 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

WinMerge is very good for differencing and merging files and folders (for example, text files which have changed in time)

ClipX is awesome for handling your clipboard, complete with history and search. Also, it has a very small memory footprint and barely uses resources.

Launchy enables access for all your programs and files directly from your keyboard (it was more useful in windows xp than windows 7 because of the new start menu, but I still use it nonetheless).

link|improve this answer
Definite +1 for ClipX – Skizz Jan 19 '11 at 15:54
1  
WinMerge Looks amazing for checking version differences. Already downloading. DLing ClipX too :) – Jeff F. Jan 19 '11 at 15:55
feedback
up vote 3 down vote

WinDirStat is my favorite utility for visualizing disk space: http://windirstat.info/

WinDirStat

link|improve this answer
Nice, that looks pretty cool. I've used Tree Size Free, but that looks way more awesome :) – Jeff F. Jan 19 '11 at 15:39
feedback
up vote 2 down vote

TeamViewer is a tool I use a lot to remotely control or FTP to a remote machine. It is free as long as you are using it for non-commercial use. You can also create an account with TeamViewer so that you can save other people's/computers IDs and passwords for convenient access. Also, this tool can be used in Windows Mac, Linux, or even mobile... How cool is that? Remotely controlling a computer with your iPhone. Wow...

alt text

link|improve this answer
1  
+1, this with QuickSupport is awesome for helping people quickly even if they haven't installed the program – bruno077 Jan 19 '11 at 15:55
1  
Damn, you left out your ID and PW! – Kyle Jan 19 '11 at 15:55
I've used LogMeIn, but this looks pretty cool too. – Jeff F. Jan 19 '11 at 15:58
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

Anyone who has to live on SSH sessions via puTTY should know about Connection Manager - it's a beautiful way to organize all those session (link w/tutorial): http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2009/03/putty-extreme-makeover-using-putty-connection-manager/

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

I love PDF Xchange it's so much better than reader and editing with it is so easy.

Synergy got this program working for a camera system on a TV and it is amazing! No need for a hardware KVM and it's quite stable.

I also enjoy using CutePDF for printing to pdf.

CCleaner is a must have for admins.

This list would not be complete without MalwareBytes that is always the first place I go when users have a virus.

If any admin has ever lost a device on the network you probably used a ip scanner Angry IP is my favorite for this hands down.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.