esssential software for Windows

a/v:

<players>
winamp
vlc

<audio creation>
audacity
mixxx
fre:ac

<video creation>
obs
kdenlive
handbrake

storage:

<virtual>
windirstat
7zip

<physical>
mydefrag
imgburn
dban

images:

<raster>
gimp
mspaint (the older the better)

<vector>
inkscape

<3d>
blender
sfm

office:

notepad++
libreoffice (prev. openoffice)
foxit reader

health:

f.lux

flash:

newgrounds player

browser:
brave
tor
firefox

<firefox plugins>
ublockorigin
privacybadger
httpseverywhere

elite cool people:
famitracker
vs buildtools for c

built-in:

<use>

notepad
paint
run:cmd.exe
windows defender

<disable>
sticky keys (hold Lshift for 5 seconds)
cortana
search space in taskbar