Technology

How to Remove Bloatware From Your New PC

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2023

How to Remove Bloatware From Your New PC

A brand-new Windows computer should be pristine. After all, you haven’t gummed it up yet with software, right?

Leave that to the computer manufacturers who load your new PC with “free” software you don’t want. You might call it bloatware, crapware, shovelware, or crudware, since it’s basically useless to you. There’s a reason for doing it, of course—bloatware offsets the price of super-cheap PCs on retail shelves, even if only by pennies.

I’ve had few major problems with bloatware when buying PCs directly from a vendor. But in retail, it’s a whole other world of garbage. For example, a few years ago, my 75-year-old technophobic father got a new PC to replace his dying Windows Vista system, which he mainly used to print pictures. I couldn’t really recommend spending a lot of money to get it fixed. “Just go find an off-the-shelf PC for under $400; it’ll be fine,” I said.

Hardware-wise, that Acer Aspire X (Model AXC-605G-UW20) he purchased at Walmart was sufficient. The specs all qualified as an upgrade.

Acer at Walmart

(Credit: PCMag, Walmart)

To sell this PC for $399, however, Acer sold out my parents and wasted hours of my family’s lives.

Using TeamViewer remote-control software, I could see that the system was a mess, though all my father had done was install the software for his beloved (but dying) Kodak printer. The desktop was awash with at least 15 icons for needless, worthless crap. Opening up the Uninstall a Program control panel revealed even more. We tried to uninstall the obvious things, but they persisted.

With many of the uninstall routines, the dialog boxes had giant buttons that would say “Uninstall and Get PC XXXXXX” or something similar. If we just wildly clicked where the button was, the uninstall might work—but something else was installed in its place. We had to look carefully for the fine print on the dialog boxes that read “Delete Only” or similar. Tricks and traps abounded.

Back then, I turned to Slim Computer from Slimware Utilities, which kept a database of bloatware and helped identify it on a new Windows PC. It has since been discontinued, but current options include Bulk Crap Uninstaller(Opens in a new window) and Should I Remove It?(Opens in a new window) (The excellently named PC Decrapifier was another favorite, but has also been discontinued.)

Should I Remove It?

(Credit: Reason Cybersecurity)

These utilities point out some bloatware but might not automate removal—in which case you still have to go through the normal uninstall process, which might be filled with tricks and traps to keep your new PC full of bloatware. So you’re on your own to an extent. But there are ways around that.

‘Potentially Unwanted’ Crap

Dad’s then-new Acer PC also came with actual malware, in the guise of “potentially unwanted programs,” or PUPs.

The programs don’t call themselves that; it’s a term used by anti-malware companies such as MalwareBytes(Opens in a new window). It describes software you probably didn’t install on purpose, that you don’t want, and that you’ll likely find unusable. But it’s necessary to say “potentially,” because it’s possible you really wanted to install a toolbar for your browser called “Search Protect” from a company named Conduit(Opens in a new window) or a search engine for your browser called Binkiland.

In reality, that’s about as likely as wanting to be set on fire. Both of those “programs,” among others, were on Dad’s PC. They existed only to take over his browsing experience; each appears on a list of browser hijackers(Opens in a new window) from Wikipedia. Check the list, and delete any you see. The list can and will go on and on, as hijackers make new threats. It’s telling that searching for “Search Protect” or Binkiland brings up absolutely no link for people to download those programs—only to remove the hijackers’ files.

These programs did a number on my dad’s PC. I couldn’t get the installed browsers (IE and Firefox) to go to a website to download new tools to deal with those threats. I had to download the clean-up software to my workstation, then use TeamViewer to do a remote file transfer of the EXE installer to Dad’s desktop.

Also note that at this point, we uninstalled McAfee Security Suite, which came free with the Acer as well. You may not consider antivirus software to be bloatware, but it certainly can be. Acer didn’t put it on there to be altruistic; McAfee paid for placement. McAfee was likely to slow the PC more than other AV products we could install later, and it would eventually cost $79 after the trial was over. No, thanks.

Here’s a rundown of the tools used to clean the hijacking PUPs:

MalwareBytes

The free version of MalwareBytes comes with a trial of the Premium version, so it’s worth running on every fresh installation of Windows. Also, the scans take a lot less time on a new Windows install. After 14 days, you lose features such as real-time protection and anti-ransomware, but it’s worth running up front. Just remember after that two weeks, you should get some real-time anti-malware protection.

Steven Gould’s Cleanup

This donationware(Opens in a new window) does the trick for Windows XP on up.

CCleaner

This Windows cleanup tool can not only scrape away temp files and other detritus, but it can also uninstall apps built into Windows. I’m not talking bloatware but actual apps that Microsoft created to work with Windows. Consider them OS-sanctioned crap. Click on Tools, then uninstall, and you’ll get a list of possibilities to delete. (This suggestion might be controversial: CCleaner got hit with data-collecting malware in 2017, and in 2020, Windows’ own antivirus flagged it as a PUP but seems to have now cleaned up its act.)

I ran each of these tools multiple times, MalwareBytes in particular. It kept finding instances of the PUPs, so we turned to the internet (which we could finally surf again) to find instructions(Opens in a new window) for manually deleting individual PUP files. Which we did, with glee. After cleanups were run, the system wasn’t totally bug-free. But it was certainly cleaner than it had been hours before.

Don’t Do What We Did

Let me make it clear: I do NOT recommend going through the steps above.

If we bought that computer today, it would come with Windows 11. Start with a full reset of the OS using the Windows 11 Reset Tool. It’s the first thing anyone buying a new PC at retail should do after they take it out of the box. This should set the PC back to a pristine state, without bloatware (except the Microsoft-supplied stuff you may not want, such as the Edge browser).

Recommended by Our Editors

Give Your PC a Fresh Start

(Credit: PCMag/Microsoft)

Better yet, vote against bloatware with your wallet. Buy a PC from a maker that guarantees a clean Windows install or at least offers it as an option. Microsoft, naturally, has a clean version of Windows on its Surface devices.

Again, that’s clean as defined by Microsoft—you may not want OneNote or Microsoft’s Mail app. But it’s a lot easier to get rid of Windows add-on software than other bloatware. Right-click anything you see in the Windows Start menu and select Uninstall.

Custom-built-PC manufacturers that promise you a bloatware-free installation of Windows include Maingear(Opens in a new window), Falcon Northwest(Opens in a new window), and Velocity Micro(Opens in a new window). Another option is to go with a local reseller. Or, buy a Mac or a Chromebook and avoid Windows altogether. Or to save money, install Linux on your old PC. (That wasn’t really an option for my dad.)

If you’re wedded to using an older version of Windows, the only surefire way to get the same result is to reinstall the OS completely with a totally fresh, clean configuration. That’s not possible with most retail PCs that came with Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. Whether the operating system installer is an image on a partition of the hard drive or comes on a USB flash drive, it’s likely going to install Windows with all the bloatware, fresh as an outhouse, as well.

You can also find the option to download ISO files of Windows 7 and 8.1 and even 10 at the Microsoft Software Recovery site(Opens in a new window). You’ll need to verify a 25-character product key from a retail version of Windows to download and fully activate the operating system. Keys from computer makers—called OEMs, or original equipment manufacturers—won’t work.

Software Recovery Site

(Credit: PCMag/Microsoft)

Why Is This Happening?

You might be wondering why big-name PC makers and software developers are loading all this bloatware with extra “internet wrapper” PUPs on new systems. The answer? Money, of course. As PC sales dwindle, so do software purchases, and companies scramble to make up for their losses.

For more details, read this article by How-To Geek(Opens in a new window). It examined programs from every major download site, including CNET’s Downloads.com, Tucows, FileHippo, Softpedia, Snapfiles, and more. Every site bundled crapware into the desired software. Some of those sites have multiple download “buttons,” some of which are actually ads, on every page, to obfuscate and confuse users into downloading the wrong thing. That story is from pre-COVID 2019, but it’s unlikely anything has changed. PC sales went up a bit during the pandemic but are back in freefall.

Always download software from the original developer’s site—if you can find it. Unfortunately, even Google search results tend to default to download sites such as those listed above.

Years ago, pundit Ed Bott called for a PC “Truth in Labeling Act”(Opens in a new window) to force PC manufacturers to tell users everything that is pre-installed. This is an excellent idea that will never happen. It would also be great if download sites, some of which claim they don’t allow any type of malware(Opens in a new window), would do the same.

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Technology

Elon Musk is being sued by the feds over the way he bought Twitter

Published

3 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Elon Musk is being sued by the feds over the way he bought Twitter

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has resulted in a federal lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he broke securities laws with a late disclosure, and saved $150 million in the process.

Before Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion, before he tried to back out of that deal, before he was forced to go through with it, and before he changed its name to X, he started by acquiring a substantial stake in the company but didn’t reveal that fact until weeks later.

The only problem, as the SEC pointed out then, is that by the time he disclosed that stake, it was outside the agency’s required 10-day window. They claim that he should’ve filed his paperwork by March 24th, 2022, instead of when he actually did, on April 4th (and then again on April 5th). During that period, they say he purchased more than $500 million in shares of the company.

However, with only a few days left before the Trump administration takes over and installs a new head of the SEC (along with Elon Musk reportedly snagging an office in the White House complex), it’s unclear how far the lawsuit will go.

The SEC claims Musk cost investors at least $150 million due to the late disclosure and that he harmed any investors who sold stock between March 25th, 2022, and April 1st, 2022. Its lawsuit is seeking the money Elon made as a result of holding off on the disclosure, as well as a civil penalty and other punishments.

Technology

First 15 things to do or try first when you get a new iPhone

Published

4 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

First 15 things to do or try first when you get a new iPhone

Apple announces new iPhones every year, and I often wonder if that’s truly necessary. A launch every two years seems more reasonable, especially since the new iPhones are often only marginally better than the ones released the year before. This has been the case since the iPhone 12.

However, in 2024, Apple introduced a range of interesting features with the iPhone 16. While these features don’t necessarily justify an upgrade if you already own the iPhone 15 or even the iPhone 14, they make the iPhone 16 a worthy purchase if you’re using an older model or an Android phone.

If you’ve already made the purchase, or if you’ve bought another iPhone, here are the first things you should do and try when you fire up your new phone. (First things to do if you got a new Android)

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iPhone packaging (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

1) How to update your software to iOS 18.2 or later

First things first, let’s update your software to iOS 18.2 or later:

Open Settings
Tap General
Select Software Update
Tap Update Now
Enter your passcode and agree to terms
Wait for the installation to complete

Steps to update your iPhone’s software (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IPHONE, IPAD FROM MALWARE

2) How to add a passcode or biometric authentication

To add a passcode or biometric authentication to your new iPhone after updating to iOS 18.2 or later, follow these steps:

Setting up a passcode

Open Settings on your iPhone
Tap on Face ID & Passcode (for iPhone X and later) or Touch ID & Passcode (for earlier models)
Tap Turn Passcode On
Enter a six-digit passcode. If you prefer, tap Passcode Options to choose a four-digit numeric code, a custom numeric code or a custom alphanumeric code.
Re-enter your passcode to confirm it and activate it

Setting up biometric authentication

For Face ID:

Go to Settings
Tap on Face ID & Passcode
Enter your passcode, if prompted
Tap on Set Up Face ID
Hold your device in portrait orientation and position your face in front of the device, then tap Get Started.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup

Face ID & Passcode on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

IS IT TIME FOR ME TO UPGRADE TO NEW IPHONE?

3) Setting up Apple ID and iCloud

Create or sign in to Apple ID:

Open the Settings app
Tap on Sign in to your iPhone at the top
If you don’t have an Apple ID, select Don’t have an Apple ID or forgot it? and follow the prompts to create one.
If you have an Apple ID, enter your credentials and sign in.

Enable iCloud:

After signing in, go back to Settings
Tap on your name at the top, then select iCloud
Choose which services you want to enable (e.g., Photos, Contacts, Calendars)
Tap iCloud Backup and toggle it on to automatically back up your data.

Create a Free Apple Account on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MUST TURN-OFF PRIVACY SETTINGS ON YOUR IPHONE

4) Personalizing settings on iPhone

Customize Display:

Open Settings
Then go to Display & Brightness
Tap Light or Dark for the background you’d like
You can tap on Text Size to adjust text size
Then use the slider to adjust the brightness you prefer.

How to personalize your iPhone’s display and brightness (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Customize sound preferences:

Tap on Sounds & Haptics
Adjust the slider where it says Ringtone and alerts to customize from quieter to louder.
Scroll down and tap the following to adjust the sounds for each: Ringtone, Text Tone, New Voicemail, New Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts and Reminder Alerts.

Steps to change your iPhone’s sounds and haptics (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

5) Configuring privacy settings

Manage Privacy Settings:

Go to Settings
Scroll down and click apps
Select the app you want to review the privacy settings for
Adjust the permissions as needed for location services, camera, microphone, allow tracking and other settings. Adjust as necessary for individual apps.

6) Pick your own lock screen shortcuts

By default in iOS 18, you get flashlight and camera shortcuts on the lock screen, but now you can finally customize them.

Long-press on the Lock Screen
Tap Customize
Then choose Lock Screen
You can tap on the existing shortcuts to change them to your preferred apps or features by selecting the desired app or feature from the list that appears.
If you prefer, you can remove them entirely to keep your lock screen clean and simple by tapping the delete or remove option next to the shortcut.

Steps to customize your iPhone’s lock screen (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

7) Setting up Family Sharing

Here’s how to enable Family Sharing on your iPhone:

Open your Settings app
Tap your name
Go to Family Sharing
Set Up Your Family
Press Continue
Select family members that you want to invite
To create an account for a child, select Create Child Account at the bottom and provide their name and birthday.

8) Download some useful apps

There are millions of apps available, such as Apple Maps, Google Maps and even apps to plan a party in the App Store. To download useful apps on your new iPhone, follow these straightforward steps:

Locate the App Store icon on your home screen and tap to open it.
You can explore various categories by tapping on Apps at the bottom of the screen or using the Search tab to find specific apps.
Once you find an app you want, tap on it to view more details, including descriptions, ratings and screenshots.
Tap the Get button (or the price if it’s a paid app) next to the app you wish to download.
If prompted, authenticate your download using Face ID, Touch ID or your Apple ID password.
The app will begin downloading and installing automatically. You can monitor its progress on your home screen.
Once installed, the app will appear on your home screen.
Tap its icon to open and start using it.
You can press and hold any app icon until they start wiggling, allowing you to drag them into folders or rearrange their positions.

Image of the App Store icon on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

9) Activate spam filters for text messages

Having a strong spam filter on your iPhone is beneficial to protect yourself from unwanted text messages and scams. But beware that this may also filter out some legitimate messages from people who are not in your contacts list.

Open Settings
Scroll down and tap on Apps
Then, scroll down and tap on Messages
Toggle on Filter Unknown Senders to filter text messages from unknown contacts into a separate list

Steps to activate filters for text messages (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

10) Use visual intelligence

On all iPhone 16 models, you can use Camera Control with visual intelligence to quickly learn more about the stuff around you. Just press and hold the Camera Control, which is a new button on the right side of the device, and you can do things like look up info about a restaurant or business, translate text, get a summary, have it read out loud and more.

You can even use it to find details about a business, like its hours, services and contact info. Depending on the place, you might also be able to check reviews, make a reservation or order for delivery.

To use this feature, point your iPhone camera at the business in front of you, then press and hold the Camera Control. Next, either tap the Camera Control again or select the business name at the top of the screen. Depending on the business, you can:

View the hours of operation by tapping Schedule
Place a delivery order by tapping Order
Browse the menu or available services by tapping Menu
Make a reservation by tapping Reserve
To call the business, visit its website or access other options, tap the More button.

iPhone using visual intelligence (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO SCHEDULE FREE SESSION WITH APPLE SUPPORT

11) Log how you’re feeling

Apple made several changes to the iPhones with its iOS 18 update, including updates to the Journal app. You don’t need the latest iPhone 16 to try the app’s mindfulness option for journal entries; any iPhone with iOS 18 will do. When you open the Journal app, tap the icon that looks like a tiny tree, and you’ll be able to log your mood for each day and see how it changes over time.

Journal app on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

12) Give Action Button a try

The Action Button is part of the iOS 17 operating system for the iPhone 15 series and continues into iOS 18 for the iPhone 16 series. This customizable side button lets you choose a specific function to perform when pressed, such as turning on silent mode, focus, camera, flashlight, voice memo, recognize music, translate, magnifier, controls, shortcut and accessibility, depending on your settings. Essentially, it acts as a quick access key for a chosen action. Here are the steps to customize the Action button on supported iPhone models:

Go to Settings
Tap Action Button
An image of the side of the iPhone will appear showing icons representing actions you can assign to the Action button.
Swipe left or right to choose an action. The name of the action will appear below the dots.
If additional options are available for the selected action, a button will appear below the action.
Tap it to see the list of options.
For Controls, Shortcut and Accessibility actions, you need to tap the button below the action and select a specific option. Otherwise, the Action button won’t do anything.

Action button on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

13) Try out the new Passwords app

I always stress the importance of using a password manager to store your passwords. Let’s be honest, we all have a ton of apps and services that require an account and password. If you use the same password everywhere, you risk having your important info stolen by cybercriminals. But it’s also impossible to come up with a unique password for every app and remember them all.

Password managers make life easier by storing your passwords and filling them in when you log into apps. But they usually charge a monthly or yearly fee. That’s where Apple’s Passwords app comes in. It works just like a password manager but without the extra cost. Open the app from the App Library, and it’ll keep your login details encrypted and synced across all your devices.

While Apple’s new Passwords app in iOS 18 offers a convenient and cost-free solution for password management, it’s important to consider its limitations. These include its exclusivity to the Apple ecosystem, lack of compatibility with Android or Linux devices and limited functionality outside of Safari and Apple apps. For those seeking a more comprehensive password management solution that works across various browsers and apps, check out my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.

14) Use ChatGPT and writing tools

Apple introduced Apple Intelligence for iPhone 15 Pro and newer models running iOS 18.2, bringing a range of AI tools and ChatGPT support. ChatGPT is now built into various parts of iOS, and if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or above, you can take full advantage of this integration.

You can use Apple’s enhanced Writing Tools to access ChatGPT directly in apps like Notes, Mail and any other text input field. Whether you need help spicing up your notes or generating complex programming scripts, ChatGPT is up for the task. Here’s how to get started; you’ll need to enable ChatGPT integration.

Head to Settings
Click Apple Intelligence & Siri
Tap ChatGPT and toggle on next to where it says Use ChatGPT.
From there, you can scroll down and Sign In to your own ChatGPT account or even upgrade to ChatGPT Plus.

ChatGPT and writing tools on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

15) Install strong antivirus protection

Antivirus software can help protect your new iPhone from malware, phishing and other threats. The best way to protect yourself from having your data breached is to install antivirus protection on all your devices. Having strong antivirus software on your devices will alert you of any known malware that is targeting you, warn you against clicking on any known malicious links in phishing emails and ultimately help protect you from being hacked. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your iPhone, Mac, Windows and Android devices.

Pro tip: Prioritize regular backups to safeguard your data

Making data backups a regular part of your iPhone maintenance is crucial. This way, you can protect yourself against uncertainties. Whether it’s a hardware malfunction or a security breach, having a recent backup will let you recover quickly.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

When you get your new iPhone, there are several essential steps to take to ensure you’re getting the most out of your device. Start by updating to iOS 18.2 or later to access the latest features. Next, security measures like a passcode or biometric authentication should be set up for added protection. Personalize your settings by customizing your display and sound preferences, and don’t forget to enable Family Sharing if you want to connect with loved ones. Also, explore the App Store to download useful apps. Additionally, make sure to give the Action Button a test run for quick access to your favorite functions. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to maximizing your new iPhone’s capabilities.

How do you feel about the annual iPhone releases? Do you think they provide enough value each year? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

North Korea linked to crypto heists of over $650 million in 2024 alone

Published

11 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

North Korea linked to crypto heists of over 0 million in 2024 alone

Hackers in North Korea stole a total of $659 million in crypto across several heists in 2024, according to a joint statement issued today by the US, Japan, and South Korea. The report specified five such incidents, like the $235 million theft from the Indian crypto exchange WazirX that is being newly attributed to the Lazarus Group. That organization is estimated to have stolen billions across previous attacks over the last decade, including $625 million stolen from Axie Infinity in 2022.

As recently as September 2024, the United States government observed aggressive targeting of the cryptocurrency industry by the DPRK with well-disguised social engineering attacks that ultimately deploy malware, such as TraderTraitor, AppleJeus and others. The Republic of Korea and Japan have observed similar trends and tactics used by the DPRK.

A warning issued by the FBI last September noted that their methods to gain access for delivering these payloads include “individualized fake scenarios,” such as enticing victims with prospective jobs and business opportunities. All three countries advised businesses in the industry to check out the latest warning to reduce their risk of “inadvertently hiring DPRK IT workers,” as described in this recent report by CoinDesk.

They’ve also used long-time common phishing tactics against employees of crypto firms, such as convincing impersonations of trusted contacts or prominent people of interest in related industries, with realistic photos and information likely lifted from public social media accounts of known connections.