What apps have changed the way you work this year?

Filed under: Security, Browsers

As a tech blogger, I install dozens, possibly hundreds of apps on my PC every year. Many of them are pretty cool, but I still end up uninstalling most of these programs because the truth is I just don't need them. But every year a few apps earn a permanent space on my computer and change the way I work and play.

Looking back over 2009, I can honestly say there weren't a lot of apps that made the cut. Here are the ones that did:

• Microsoft Security Essentials - This free security suite offers real-time protection and on-demand virus and spyware scans. It's much lighter weight than solution I'd previously used from AVG, Avast, and others and it's now one of the first apps I install on any computer.
• Google Chrome - OK, I know that this web browser was released in 2008, but it came out of beta this year. And more importantly, this is the year it became my default web browser. It's fast, light, does an excellent job of separating running processes, and has taught me that I don't need all the add-ons and plugins that are available for Firefox (although Chrome did add support for extensions recently).

Of course, there have been updates to many of the apps I regularly use, and I'm using th elatest full or beta versions of programs including Skype, GIMP, AbiWord, Digsby, Openoffice, VLC, Audacity, Foxit, and many other programs. But these are all utilities that I started using years ago.

What have you installed this year that's changed the way you do things?

What apps have changed the way you work this year? originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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