Discussion on:
View:
Show:
Spybot search and destroy has been there for ages. I'm surprised it did not make it to the list
It is continuously updated so if you get it today, it is the latest version.
that wasn't the case just a month ago. You could get all the release candidates, and betas you wanted from Safer-Networking, but they would time out and ask for a donation. My 1.6 version updated to v. 2.0 a few weeks ago on updating manually through the console. I can already see improved results.
PC Decrapifier is the most ideal on new computers and the fastest one to get the job done. All others are equally good but they are better on individual situations when you have to uninstall a program that doesn't go away e.g. Revo Uninstaller. I haven't tested SlimComputer yet but i know WinPatrol is very good system configurator and CCleaner is the best for clean up and speed up your computer.
Nothing beats decrapifying a new computer as wiping its HDD out of the box, installing Windows, drivers and the software YOU plan using. This generally will make a very noticeable improvement in performance over just trying to uninstall the unwanted crap from the factory installation.
Unfortunately, most manufacturers no longer offer software installation discs with the PC, let alone the Windows OS disc. While most do give a "Create backup DVD" option, this usually only creates a DVD set that restores the computer back to its factory state, i.e. along with all the crapware. So most users are out of luck unless they know someone who can lend them a Windows 7 installation disc.
Some business PC/laptop models (i.e. with Windows 7 Professional) still come with installation discs and tend to have less pre-installed software than consumer PCs, so it may be worth a little extra for a business model.
Unfortunately, most manufacturers no longer offer software installation discs with the PC, let alone the Windows OS disc. While most do give a "Create backup DVD" option, this usually only creates a DVD set that restores the computer back to its factory state, i.e. along with all the crapware. So most users are out of luck unless they know someone who can lend them a Windows 7 installation disc.
Some business PC/laptop models (i.e. with Windows 7 Professional) still come with installation discs and tend to have less pre-installed software than consumer PCs, so it may be worth a little extra for a business model.
Nothing beats decrapifying a new computer as wiping its HDD out of the box, installing Linux and the software YOU plan using. This generally will make a very noticeable improvement in performance over Windows. And, no crap!
I have used Ubuntu dual booted with Windows for a number of years now. I have watched more distros edgy up to where they need to be burned to DVD since the ISO is too large for a CD-R.
Also, there are still apps I do not use on Linux. Some, if they are removed, nuke the system. I prefer a netinstall but not many flavors of offer that. And none that work for me.
So, the answer seems to be with Windows to build your own computer and use the System Builders disk. If you're on Tech Republic, you most likely don't need Microsoft support.
Paul
Also, there are still apps I do not use on Linux. Some, if they are removed, nuke the system. I prefer a netinstall but not many flavors of offer that. And none that work for me.
So, the answer seems to be with Windows to build your own computer and use the System Builders disk. If you're on Tech Republic, you most likely don't need Microsoft support.
Paul
They're not fighting it, they're actively adding it. I once saw a remark by a Windows fan stating that Linux users have such personalities that they can't resist fiddling with the system, often till it's broken. There must be some truth in it; I would love to say my system is lean, clean and mean with not an ounce fat to it. But I'm getting old and to hell with all the fiddling. The various Linux distributions are adding all this bloat for prettiness sake. They want to poach users from Windows. As you know, appearance is king in today's world and function takes a second seat. Luckily the new hardware lets everything run fast, even with all the bloat. And the new disks are so huge. My first computer had a 20MB hard drive and ran DOS. I'm running Debian on newish, but far from top of the line and state of the art computers , and I'm happy with the speed. There's a Debian minimal install how-to online and I've tried that, but one has to add many things to use youtube etc. So, in the end I use an install coming with all the codecs and players and it works out of the box for everything and runs more than fast enough.
while MS offers OEM's cheaper licenses for copies sold without physical media, it's unlikely to happen while PC margins are commonly accepted to be razor-thin.
We paid for that shiny new PC so we shouldn't have to beg the manufacturer for a Windows disk. This has been one of my pet peeves for a long time. If I want to wipe my drive for whatever reason I shouldn't be stuck with the stupid factory preload from a restore partition as my only choice. PC manufacturers should bite the bullet for the extra few bucks it would take to include a damn Windows disk!
that use recovery partitions, offer a software recovery console that makes it possible to re-install just the utilities you want. I've used it several times to repair corrupt utilities. Because of blu-ray, I've needed the installed "crapware". Buying a separate software or freeware is not an option; I've tried that in the past - much to my chagrin-(paid solutions are horrible!) I actually like the software that came with my PC! I've only uninstalled the ones that Secunia PSI says are no longer supported and/or end of life.
The recovery disc would reinstall all of the Crapware the manufacturer had originally loaded onto the machine.
Amazed to discover it installed AVG Security Toolbar without asking.
Both now uninstalled and won't be used again.
Both now uninstalled and won't be used again.
During install there was a checkbox for AVG Toolbar, I recall un-checking it.
J.Ja
J.Ja
AVG, alongside many other freeware apps often include these sneaky boxes you have to uncheck during the installation. They are frequently disguised as a part of the normal installation, but load all the toolbars, taskbar icons etc. I cannot stand that practice.
I understand it is currently the price of some free softwares, but those litle "extras" are aggravating. I have not installed a third party toolbar in nearly ten years, and I don't recall using them even before I stopped allowing that crap to be installed.
Install from Ninite. Go to Ninite.com, select what you want to install, and it will install without the crapware.
Have used Revo for two years now and won't install software without it. Use it once or twice and you'll see how much pure crap is left over after a typical uninstall. It has never corrupted my registry or crashed my machine. Five stars for sure. The paid version is well worth the $s.
I live and breathe with Revo. It is the first thing I install on a new computer. It does a great job.
I've been using CCleaner for years. Mainly to clean my browsers' temporary folders in order to delete any thus get my system protected from malware. A must.
I got a warning from IE (direct from MS) when trying to download SlimComputer. I did download it and scan with ESET. Found no problems. MS is tagging the download site as having bad downloads.
As far as Revo and CCleaner, they are both on my portable app's thumb drive, both good products. Pirform has a few other useful tool to look at when your on their site also.
One unmentioned product is Autoruns. I use it often to see what is actually running on a machine.
As far as Revo and CCleaner, they are both on my portable app's thumb drive, both good products. Pirform has a few other useful tool to look at when your on their site also.
One unmentioned product is Autoruns. I use it often to see what is actually running on a machine.
some resident crapware has high-jacked your browser and caused these alerts. I've learned to never underestimate the ruthless tactics of that industry.
I have been using WinPatrol for probably 7 years and it is the one program I will never go without. The free version works great and the Plus version (which I own) would be a bargain at 3x (if not more) the price at which it's offered. It has kept more crap off of my systems than I can count.
as it can actually stop the worst violators from running. Of course you have to pay for either the Anti-malware or Mamutu product to get that feature. I am not a shill and only work for I and my clients. I actually use both WinPATROL and Mamutu.
(edited)Actually Comodo's Defense+ that comes with the free firewall is probably just as good, except it is a kernel level solution, and can conflict with other similarly coded security solutions. Winpatrol and Defense+ are the poor man's Zeus defense!
(edited)Actually Comodo's Defense+ that comes with the free firewall is probably just as good, except it is a kernel level solution, and can conflict with other similarly coded security solutions. Winpatrol and Defense+ are the poor man's Zeus defense!
One thing (among many) that I like about Win7 is it's good on-board back-up and recovery routines.
I tend to buy PC's from Dell in bulk, and while one batch will differ from the next, I can safely spend a day decrapifying a PC and getting it up to full running order with everything I need on it, and all the rubbish I don't need off it. Having done this I can take a native system image of the, now perfectly configured machine, and spend no more then a couple of hours re-imaging all the other machines in the batch. Barring machine name changes prior to plugging in to the network, they're ready to go and bloat-ware free.
It also means I've got a nice clean install image if, in the future, I need to start again from scratch because of systems problems. Anything software related that I spend more then 1/2 an hour trying to fix without success, I just format the disk and reload the image. Saves me LOADS of time.
I tend to buy PC's from Dell in bulk, and while one batch will differ from the next, I can safely spend a day decrapifying a PC and getting it up to full running order with everything I need on it, and all the rubbish I don't need off it. Having done this I can take a native system image of the, now perfectly configured machine, and spend no more then a couple of hours re-imaging all the other machines in the batch. Barring machine name changes prior to plugging in to the network, they're ready to go and bloat-ware free.
It also means I've got a nice clean install image if, in the future, I need to start again from scratch because of systems problems. Anything software related that I spend more then 1/2 an hour trying to fix without success, I just format the disk and reload the image. Saves me LOADS of time.
Wise Disk Cleaner works great is fast and has an option for slimming the system down by uninstalling windows addons
Not just slap down a fresh o/s image.
Most new computers have serial key right on box.
Just get a copy of Windows 7 from a buddy, reinstall and input new key.
De-crapping is nice, but the bloatware is so overwhelming sometimes, you most likely waste hours trying to find it all and still leave things behind.
Most new computers have serial key right on box.
Just get a copy of Windows 7 from a buddy, reinstall and input new key.
De-crapping is nice, but the bloatware is so overwhelming sometimes, you most likely waste hours trying to find it all and still leave things behind.
I keep a portable version on a flash drive for troubleshooting pc's. It's simple to use and works very well. I've used it for a couple of years now and no issues yet.
I've used Glary for years on my laptop and on a flash drive for others and it's been great. It's also easy to train users to run the 1-click maintenance on a regular basis.
1. Get tools to save hard drive images and do partitioning.
2. Save the OEM hard drive image.
3. Clean the system using the tools you list and more like registry cleaners etc. etc.
4. Once you have ripped out the junk, install what you want and make your customized changes (add partitions, Linux, dev tools etc.)
5. Re-image the system so that you can backstep to this image when your system fails, it always fails at the worst times.
6. Repeat as needed.
2. Save the OEM hard drive image.
3. Clean the system using the tools you list and more like registry cleaners etc. etc.
4. Once you have ripped out the junk, install what you want and make your customized changes (add partitions, Linux, dev tools etc.)
5. Re-image the system so that you can backstep to this image when your system fails, it always fails at the worst times.
6. Repeat as needed.
Good article, but some of the products in the discussion thread might be additional fodder for the article.
Anyway very appropriate... Thanks
Anyway very appropriate... Thanks
theres a bunch of addons that will take any webpage, convert to pdf and email you the result in a zip file, i dont remember the exact names offhand but you can find them easily on mozilla addons page
To refresh your memory, JGSecurity, pdfit and Web2PDF Converter are two such Mozilla add-ons. Please see my original post on this at http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-371329-3664367?alertspromo=100901&tag=nl.rCOMBINED 
You're thinking about Nitro. An excellent PDF utility and way better than Adobe's PDF reader! They have the paid version, (-30% right now) which can let you edit .pdf files directly, the free version, where you can't edit a .pdf but can easily roll your own, and the Firefox add-on available through the Firefox add-ons page.
Go to the gallery version, and copy/paste the text and pictures into a word processor called Jarte (free; Google it). You can copy pictures into a Jarte text as easily as text. Once that's done, clean it up and save the file. Then save the file again, but as a .pdf. Nitro will usually take over at this point (Just print and in the requester print as a .pdf. Make Nitro your main PDF app) and make a very proper .pdf file. And if you don't like the output, fix the Jarte .rtf file, save it again and make the .pdf file again, just overwriting the first, or second or third, one. Easy as cake and easier than pi.
Thanks for writing up an article with all the apps on one page rather than making everyone step through one of those darn picture galleries to read it piecemeal. Rarely did I ever get past the second or third page of those gallery articles before ditching. So much easier to just have all the info right in front of me at one time.
I clicked to it (slideshow!), and was delighted to actually see a link to this format. Would've skipped the article otherwise. Very thoughtful to provide a version to us slideshow-averse members, JJ; thank you!!
Removing crapware from new desk/laptops used to be quite a chore; it's much less of an issue these days and the tools mentioned above can help.
What the world needs is a way to remove crapware from Android smartphones (I'm looking at YOU, Verizon Wireless). Delete-protecting that stuff and threatening to void warranty for removing it: not nice.
What the world needs is a way to remove crapware from Android smartphones (I'm looking at YOU, Verizon Wireless). Delete-protecting that stuff and threatening to void warranty for removing it: not nice.
- Keyboard Shortcuts:
- Prev
- Next
- Toggle
