Over the years, I’ve amassed a collection of computer programs I cannot do without. I’m not talking little tools that make your computer-related tasks easier. I’m talking top-notch productivity boosters from hell.

Total Commander

If you learn how to use it on keyboard, you will be an unstoppable file-managing machine. This little app features two side-by-side panels and an awesome array of useful tools.

For example, how would you copy all *.jpeg pictures from C:\PICS/ALL/UNPROCESSED to D:\PICS/PICNIC? That’s right, you would go to My Computer, double-click C: drive, double-click folder PICS, double-click folder ALL, double-click folder UNPROCESSED, control-click all *.jpeg’s, right-click, choose COPY, then drill up, repeat for the destination drive, right-click, choose PASTE …

I got fed up with that method about the second time I had to do something like that. In Total Commander, you have two panels, source and destination. You TAB to select source. With UP, DOWN, and ENTER quickly find your source folder. Highlight with INSERT. TAB to destination folder. Hit F5 and you’re done.

Pretty soon, you’ll be able to wake up from dead sleep and still remember that F5 is copy, F6 is rename, F4 is edit file, F3 is view file, ALT+F7 is search, and so on … This is the best thing you can ever do for your computer-related tasks both at home and work. Trust me, if you are thinking productivity, in two weeks you’ll wonder how you ever got along without Total Commander. I haven’t even begun describing the multi-rename tool, the built-in FTP client, quick occupied space calculations, “compare directories” tool, view inside ISO and BIN images tool, quick-creating a file with SHIFT+F4, and a ton more …

Download for free here.

Acronis True Image

I’ve tried Norton Ghost and a few other backup solutions, but this one takes the cake. Fast, stable, reliable … awesome.

A while ago I installed Windows just the way I liked it, complete with programs, shortcuts, toolbars, etc. I then created a backup image of the entire hard drive with Acronis from DOS and saved it to Acronis Secure Zone, an invisible to Windows partition of the hard drive. If I feel my computer is getting bogged down with crap, I reboot, hit F11, point Acronis Startup Manager to Acronis Secure Zone, and in ten minutes my computer is spyware-malware-cookie-crap free. I highly recommend new Acronis version 9.0, which recognizes external USB drives from DOS. Best forty bucks you’ll ever spend on a backup solution.

AutoIt

AutoIt is HiddenSoft’s solution to repetitive task management through keystroke automation. The Basic-like scripting language will allow you to completely automate any program, including legacy. Always push the same combination of annoying buttons and menus to print 7 reports for your boss? Write a little code, and the same annoying combination turns into a click of one shortcut.

At work, I’ve created custom shortcut toolbars for colleagues, and they can’t live without them now. Seriously, why would you repeat the same annoying thing day after day when you can have AutoIt do it for you? New version supports GUI interface creation.

Download for free here.

IrfanView

If you are working with images and not using this app heavily, you are living in the past (probably still with your parents). IrfanView will turn the most ferociously loyal Picasa or ACDSee user into a sobbing little schoolgirl. Example? PRINT SCREEN, CTRL+V, select a rectangle, CTRL+Y, CTRL+S, bam! you got yourself a kick-ass cropped-out screenshot.

How about taking your huge digital picture files and turning them into renamed, sharpened, brightened, overlayed thumbnails? A few clicks of your fancy wireless mouse. Try it, it’s worth your time.

Download for free here.