No matter how careful you are, problems tend to crop up on Windows and macOS anyway — from little annoyances you can't get rid of to full-blown system-wide issues that make it hard to use your computer normally. We've got some good news for you though: You can find plenty of free apps to help at least ameliorate some of the problems, if not outright fix them.

Windows: I'm sitting in Las Vegas as I type this, and little makes you want to launch yourself off the face of the Earth faster than running into a group of loud, yelling bros looking for that next sweet bar where they can fill up on Coors Light.

Mac: It makes us sad that Apple has basically abandoned the App Store on macOS. Just take a look at the experience you get on your smartphone or tablet compared to the one you get on your laptop - it's night and day. That's OK, though; we're more than happy to provide recommendations for amazing macOS apps even if Apple doesn't want to do it itself.

Mac: Just because we love symbolic links on Windows so much - thanks, Steam Mover - we're going to show you a handy macOS app that lets you set up symbolic links on Apple's operating system as well.

Windows: Most computer geeks know about WinDirStat, an incredibly useful utility that shows which folders and files are taking up so much room on your drive. It's a must-have app, because you'll be surprised - heck, I've been surprised - how many times you might find some random, triple-buried folder on your desktop that's using an unseemly amount of space.

There are plenty of resources that let you download stuff for free - but most of them aren't legal. To save your eternal soul, we've compiled a list of the best (mostly) copyright-free freebies that the internet has to offer - from books and artwork to music and video games.

Mac: As much as we'd love it, Clipy is not a macOS version of Clippy, that little animated Windows paperclip that asks you how you're doing and gives you useful life advice. It's a must-have utility that makes your macOS clipboard 10 times more powerful, if there was any way to measure that sort of thing.

This one's almost a cop-out, since all Windows users should know about WinDirStat by now. This app has been out for nearly 15 years, and it's one of the most helpful tools you can use to clean up your hard drive.

It's been nearly a decade since we last checked out Lockhunter, an incredibly useful Windows app that ensures you'll always be able to remove files and folders that File Explorer refuses to delete. Developer Crystal Rich Ltd continues to update the app with useful features, but sporadically: It took around 3.5 years to go from version 3.1 of the app to version 3.2.

This app isn't something you'll probably have to use very often -- we hope -- but it's a great tool if you're upgrading your system and need to move everything from an old hard drive to a new drive.

Today we're taking a look at Rufus, a lightweight utility that makes it incredibly easy to create bootable USB flash drives.

Go ahead and get your Breaking Bad jokes out of your system. We'll wait. Once you're done, we recommend installing Amphetamine as soon as you can. This app is a super-tiny download, and it's like giving your macOS machine caffeine pills. Once activated, your system will stop going to sleep.

If you've been gaming on Valve's Steam service for a decent amount of time, you've probably heard of Steam Mover. It's a great tool for transferring your multi-gigabyte Steam games to different hard drives on your system, in case your primary hard drive is running out of space (or bursting at the seams).

There is not shortage of free mobile and desktop applications available on the internet. Unfortunately, most of them are either rubbish or trick you into parting with your cash via in-app purchases. But if you take the time to sort the wheat from the chaff, you'll find plenty of excellent apps that truly are free.

We're thankful every day for all the free apps out there that improve our lives (and the developers that make them!). Here are 50 our favourites.

Windows: In OS X, you can select a file and press Space for a quick preview of it. You can't do that in Windows -- at least not without Seer, a free utility that gives you the same power. Tap the space bar to bring up an image, video or audio file in a quick view, and press space again to dismiss.

Windows: Microsoft really, really wants you to upgrade to Windows 10, but if you're a happy Windows 7 or 8.1 user, you shouldn't be forced to upgrade. Never10 gives you control over whether Windows will upgrade itself.

Windows: If you're looking to get more out of the clipboard function than merely shuttling one-off snippets of text back and forth, ClipManagerexpands the text, image, and file handling power of the clipboard.

We love what Microsoft's done with Windows 7, but when we boot into Windows after spending a good amount of time on a Mac, here are 10 applications we sorely miss.

Macs are their own little universe of hardware, design, and software. It's an incomplete universe, like any other, but a nerd can dream. These are 10 applications we wish made the jump from Windows to Mac to make it a better place.