What is BloatWare and Crapware
Remember those Thanksgiving dinners, where when you finished you needed to loosen your belt? Well, that is how some computers are after being fed a ton of completely unnecessary programs prior to your purchase. On top of that, there are several questionable downloads on the internet that are happy to feed it more.
Both Bloatware and Crapware get their names from being unnecessary software. If you have ever installed a printer, you can be sure you have a lot of bloatware. Prior to purchasing your computer several organizations are happy to pay, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and just about every other PC maker to add additional.
Unless you notice them and happen to click on them you may not even notice they are there. Even Microsoft will add bloatware to your system that until recently did not fall into the same category as being bloatware but even that has changed.
Bloatware vs Additional Apps
Bloatware – One of the characteristics of bloatware is that sooner or later if you use them will inform you that to get the real benefits of this software you should purchase the paid version or at least pay to add additional features.
Additional Apps- Usually small programs designed to add additional functionality to your computer. Many of the software programs added by the same companies that now add bloatware were used to provide users with additional programs that were installed in a “finished form”.
Finished Apps vs Come-Ons
Finished Apps – One example is the Windows Calculator App. It is pre-installed on your Operating System (OS). It is not needed to operate the PC so is considered bloatware but if you ever need one, it is handy. Windows never tries to sell you an upgrade of that app because it is provided as a finished product. Years ago, printer companies supplied you with a small app that informed you of your ink levels.
Come-Ons – Those same printer apps are no longer just handy apps. They are outright sales pitches that continually try to push you into buying ink from them and only them. One of the worst Come-Ons pre-installed on your PC is the free Anti-virus programs they work like a carnival barker and try to frighten users into continued protection at a cost. Programs like the pre-installed Avast Anti-Virus program are the worst to me because once the free trial is complete you can be left without protection. It would be much better to have the free Defender programs up and running when you purchase the program, and it will continue to upgrade and protect you for free.
Big Business
Unfortunately, this has become big business and the come-ons have far outpaced the handy finished apps. Some major offenders like Norton wait until you purchase one of their products before they bombard you with constant pop-ups trying to sell you additional software.
Major Offenders
Some companies like Norton mentioned above fall into a category of their own but until you purchase Norton, Some of major offenders are:
Lenovo: While they have supposedly cleaned up some of the unnecessary preloaded software, (see list) they still load a lot.
Dell: In my opinion, Dell has made progress in the number of bloatware preloaded on your PC but the useful programs they do preload are very intrusive. Dell’s Support Assist can be a memory hog but their well-documented back-up and system recovery programs are worth the intrusion.
HP/Epson: If you own either of these printer brands you can check the number of programs installed alongside the printer software. Enter “Control Panel” in the search area of the taskbar. Select “Uninstall a program” from the categories and it will open a list of the programs installed on your PC. If you select “Publisher” in the column headers it will sort the list alphabetically by vendor.
Windows: Since its inclusion, Solitaire has been one of the most often used games on any Windows system. There are, however, many more. To see the list of application software on your system. Press the [Win] +[R] key on your keyboard to open the “Run” program. Type shell:appsfolder and click OK. This will open a list of applications installed on your system. Not all were installed by Windows. If you installed some yourself, they will be included in this list.
To remove any applications, you no longer want on your system. Right-click on the image or name and select Uninstall from the list.
Summary
Most newer systems have plenty of memory and storage and removing some of the applications will not improve your system’s performance. On slower systems or systems with limited storage, removing them will free up valuable storage space. If any of the applications provide pop-ups you no longer wish to see, removing the app will remove the pop-ups. It is up to you to decide if you want.
Windows has been adding additional applications since it was first released but until recently, they all fell into that finished form type of application. Now with the release of Clipchamp, a video editing software they have installed a program on your PC that requires additional purchases to release the full potential of the program.