The Microsoft Store is a safe place to download Windows apps and offers a wide selection for every use. However, there are still many amazing apps worth trying that aren’t on the Microsoft Store. They are completely safe to use and can solve real problems you may have or increase your operating system’s functionality.
Today I’ll list four useful free Windows apps that I use which aren’t available from the Microsoft Store. They’re worth downloading from trusted third-party sources and include Windows customization apps, privacy browsers, and other options, so there’s something for everyone.
Q-Dir
A better way to explore Windows
Q-Dir is a Windows Explorer alternative that displays four windows at a time instead of just one, so I can easily copy and paste files between them. The app goes a step further and lets me create multiple tabs within each window, so I can access as many file locations as I want on a single screen. I can also directly access the command prompt menu or shut down my PC directly from the File menu.
Navigation is simpler if I color-code each file type, so they’re easier to find at a glance.
Q-Dir offers numerous visual tools to customize the experience. Navigation is simpler after I color-code each file type, and they become easier to find at a glance. I can also use handy shortcut icons to rearrange the four panes and stack them in various configurations, like vertical, horizontal, or a mixture of both. The favorites option is useful because I can map a certain file location, then open it with a single click later instead of having to navigate to it.
Windhawk
User-friendy mods to improve Windows functionality
Windhawk is a Windows customization app that offers an impressive range of mods to improve Windows functionality. Some of the mods, like Translucent Windows and Taskbar Clock Customization are more for aesthetic improvements, while others, like Vertical Taskbar for Windows 11 and Legacy File Copy are functional upgrades that change the way Windows works. The best part of using Windhawk is that most modes have a user rating and I can easily activate or deactivate them at any time with convenient sliders.
The app offers countless Windows mods and some are more useful than others.
The app offers countless Windows mods and some are more useful than others. I can’t do without the Taskbar Clock Customization which changes the color of my clock and calendar to make it stand out on my taskbar. I also like the Chrome/Edge scroll tabs with mouse wheel mod, which lets me use my scroll wheel to navigate through different browser tabs. The Click on empty taskbar space mod is useful because I can configure it to open different apps when I double-click or middle-click on the empty space on my taskbar.
PicPick
A free screen capture tool
PicPick has replaced the Windows Snipping tool as my go-to screen capture app. It’s packed with features and offers numerous screen capture modes, like Full-screen, Window, Scrolling Window, Region, and Freehand. When I’ve decided what I want to capture, I can either grab it immediately or set a timer to three, five, or ten seconds if I need to highlight a right-click menu when I’m writing a tutorial. PicPick can capture from multiple displays simultaneously and includes a screen recorder, which I use for creating step-by-step guides.
PicPick can capture from multiple displays simultaneously and includes a screen recorder.
This app isn’t just for screen capture and includes other handy graphics tools. The color picker is one of the best because I can click on any color on an image, and it will find the exact match on the RGB color and display it in the included palette. Other tools, like the pixel ruler and protractor, are more niche features that appeal to professionals wanting to find the exact measurements and angles of onscreen objects.
WaterFox
A privacy-focused FireFox spin-off
WaterFox is a privacy-focused spin-off of FireFox. Instead of using Google’s Chromium Engine like Chrome, Edge, and other popular browsers, it uses the open-source Gecko Engine, which offers more transparency. WaterFox also uses Startpage as its default search engine, which blocks fingerprints, trackers and other identifying information while I’m browsing.
This browser shares FireFox’s DNS over Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) feature, which sends all information through a relay server and removes the IP address. Apart from privacy features, WaterFox provides a clean and intuitive interface free from AI clutter. It also offers a unique feature called Container Tabs. This feature can link profiles, like work or personal, to specific accounts and I can open each one in a different tab on the same browser window to keep my projects separate from each other.
