Setting up a brand-new PC? A handful of tools are worth installing immediately, before you even start customizing anything else.
A real antivirus (Windows Defender is actually solid now, but confirm it's active and updated).
7-Zip – Free, handles virtually every archive format you'll encounter.
A secondary browser – Useful for testing, logged-in-elsewhere browsing, or just as a backup if your main one has issues.
A password manager – Set this up before you start creating accounts for everything else, not after.
A backup tool or cloud sync – Set up before you accumulate files you can't afford to lose.
Driver update utility (or just manually check your GPU/motherboard manufacturer's site periodically).
What's the first thing you install on every fresh PC setup?
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