Notepad++

Notepad++ at a glance

Notepad++ is a lightweight, open-source code and text editor for Windows — a long-standing favourite for quick edits, logs and config files. Don Ho ships regular releases, often with fixes to the bundled Scintilla component and plugin handling.

For admins Notepad++ runs with user rights and is, in security terms, harmless in itself, but it opens files from untrusted sources and the plugin ecosystem runs with its privileges — so source it from the official site and keep plugins to trusted ones. Updates arrive via the built-in updater or winget. New versions bring editor improvements and occasional security fixes. For managed environments the installer/MSI keeps rarely-used machines current; watch for outdated portable copies on shared systems.