Portable software is nothing new, but a lot of people may never realize it exists. Typically, you just download a program and install it on your PC, and the files are stored and scattered in such a way that makes it very hard to move those files onto a USB drive. Programs tend to be highly dependent on the structure of the Windows file system.

Thankfully, some members of the community have taken to fixing this by making portable versions of many apps. And thanks to that work, I’ve been setting up a USB drive with all the software I need to use most often. And if you’re wondering why, I have good reasons.

Use them on all my devices

No need to install them over and over

I test a lot of software on a few different computers, sometimes due to necessity and sometimes for simple convenience. But my essential apps tend to be necessary everywhere. Things like my web browser, a simple photo editor, a screenshot capture utility, and even an office suite can all be useful on different devices, and having to download and install them each time gets tiring and isn’t always feasible.

While the most prominent tools aren’t all available as portable apps, many options are, including Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox for web browsing; GIMP or PhotoFiltre for basic image editing, ShareX for advanced screenshots and screen recording features, and LibreOffice for the more typical office tasks. This covers all my basic needs, and while they’re not all my favorite tools for these tasks, they’re the ones that exist, and they do the job better in a pinch than having to take the time to install them again.

It’s especially useful in more edge cases where my internet may be down or I’m setting up a computer for the first time and I’m in a pinch, so I don’t have the time to get things set up the way I’d prefer.

Help others in a pinch

When you need the right software

As anyone who’s remotely tech-savvy is probably aware, having any knowledge of computers is often enough to make you the IT expert in the family or even your friend groups, so you may end up having to use some tools on other people’s devices. Portable apps can also help here, as I can carry these tools with me in a very portable and tiny package to use on someone else’s PC.

Much like with my own computers, this means I can help them even if I don’t have an internet connection wherever I end up meeting them, or even if the internet is just broken on their PC. I can include tools such as ClamWin if I need to run an antivirus check, and tools like BCUninstaller which I can use to remove apps in bulk. These apps (and a lot more) have portable versions I can run off of a USB drive on any Windows computer, which makes them extremely useful in these kinds of situations.

My apps, my data

Browse in public, keep your data private

Another major benefit of using a portable app, especially a web browser or anything that can keep records of your data, is privacy. Typically, a web browser will save your browsing history on your PC, which makes it easy to view any pages you’ve visited. On your personal PC, this is a good thing, since it makes it easier to go back to websites and pages you’ve visited before, plus it keeps you signed into those websites. But if you find yourself using a public computer, that data can be used to track your activity or even log into your accounts.

You can work around this by deleting your browsing data or using private browsing windows (also called incognito), but that requires an active decision on your part each time, plus it can take away one of the best parts of a web browser: accessing frequently-used websites more quickly.

With the portable version of a web browser, all that browsing data is still saved and accessible by you, but it’s always saved on the USB drive where the app is. The network you’re using may still see your visited websites, but only those managing the network will have that ability, not everyone who uses the computer after you. Plus, they can’t sign into your accounts or anything of the sort.

What’s more, these portable apps can allow you to bypass restrictions certain public computers may have, such as preventing the installation of apps that require administrator permissions. Portable apps typically run anywhere and have no special permissions, so you can run them without restrictions.

I’m fortunate enough to travel with my own laptop frequently, but if you rely on public computers, a flash drive with portable apps is great so you can still have that peace of mind while being able to use the programs you want. I would have loved to know about this back when I was in school.

Portable apps are great

Whether you have multiple computers at home, you need to help friends in a pinch, or you’re out and about relying on public computers, portable apps can be incredibly helpful additions to your arsenal. If you have a flash drive you often carry with you, it’s worth packing some of these apps in there so you can always have access to them in a pinch. It’s up to you to determine what you’re more likely to need, but this website has a long list of apps where you can start looking. For many others, developers may provide portable versions themselves, so you’ll just have to look around.