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The most common bloatware we found on laptops and how to get rid of them (www.which.co.uk)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Unwanted pre-installed software, known as bloatware, is the bane of new computer buyers. We give the lowdown on the worst offenders and how to get rid of ones you don’t need.

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[–] 27 points 8 months ago (22 children)

Never a good idea to use a computer with the preinstalled operating system.

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  • [+] -8 points 8 months ago (21 children)

    So most people shouldn't be using PCs anymore, or...??

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  • [–] 21 points 8 months ago* (9 children)

    No you should install your own OS.

    Even if you're using windows you should at least be using a cracked version of LTSC so you can stay away from win 11 while still catching sw updates.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (4 children)

    Any link to find a safe cracked version of LTSC ?

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago* (2 children)

    Sure.

    You can verify windows ISO's with file hashes from here if you're paranoid.

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  • [–] 6 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    To be a bit more direct, you shouldn't download "pre-cracked" isos. Just download the real install media and use mas-grave to spoof activation/licensing.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    Most people can't.

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  • [–] 12 points 8 months ago* (2 children)

    *won't

    I very seriously doubt most people are physically or mentally incapable of taking an hour or two once to teach themselves how to preform a basic maintenance task on a machine they use daily.

    Just as car owners should know how to put on a spare tire or replace a headlight, you should understand basic computer maintenance if you're an adult who relies on one.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    I mean, most people should, yeah, but most don't. Hell, most people I know can't change a flat on their car, either, and I personally couldn't change my car's headlight. Probably would've figured it out, since I could change the spark plugs, but still. I think it also comes from a different source, though. It's always been anxiety over ruining things for tech, or sending all of your money to a Nigerian prince. Nowadays it's because tech has become more of a black box (like cars) for capitalism reasons, so most people just... Don't look into it. They don't fix their own cars, they don't fix their own computers, they take them to the dealership, or to GeekSquad.

    I honestly don't even know if I would've learned half of what I know if I grew up with today's tech. It's a lot more locked down now, so you can't just curiously fuck around with it and see what you can do without breaking it

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago (9 children)

    Why would you say that. It's true that most users take a blase attitude to security these days, and it's normalised by articles like this. It's just basic good practice, whether buying a new or used PC, to do a clean install because even if you think you've removed the bloatware, you can't really trust there's no secret malware. Especially these days when so many companies want to spy on users it really isn't just paranoia.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago*

    Although there were also pre-installed bootkits already (sits in the bootloader, installs itself on the new OS). Lenovo, Dell, i think HP too? Always laptops. And some Galaxy phones with Computrace.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago* (7 children)

    All true, but most users don't have the know-how or resources to change anything about their OS so they're stuck with that, bad idea or not. Their alternative would be using no PC at all.

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  • [–] 10 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    This is often the pushback I get when making this point but I would argue that especially non tech-savvy users are vulnerable. The alternative is asking a trusted friend to do a clean install, which should be the advice of this article, that or a guide on how to do it. It's irresponsible to publish an article aimed at a naive user who has received a computer full of bloatware and tell them to "just remove all the bloatware".

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Ok I'm with you that only removing the bloatware is bad advice, but my point stands that many people don't have any of these options. And I'd argue that getting spied on by ad agencies is better than being left behind at the digital divide.

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  • [–] 7 points 8 months ago

    The article could have literally been a beginner's guide to installing an operating system instead. But for some reason in the last 20 years or so there's been a complete allergy to teaching anyone even the most elementary computer skills and it's holding society back. I'm not sure it is worth being spied on by ad agencies for what it's worth, especially if you're not going to learn to become any more than a passive consumer.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (3 children)

    Most everyone buying a laptop has the resources. Know-how is incredibly easy to fix. Installing a fresh OS isn't difficult at all. If you can't figure that much out then no, you probably shouldn't be using a PC Stop giving people a pass to be willfully ignorant.

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