Although it has gotten better in recent years, many affordable PCs – especially the kind that are blown-out on days like Black Friday – are loaded with annoying bloatware. Bloatware can not only slow-down a PC and consume computing resources, but it wastes storage space, occasionally bugs end-users with incessant prompts, and can also be used an attack vector for destructive malware.
Anytime I get my hands on a new PC that’s bogged down by bloatware, these are the first things I do to tighten it up and get the machine running at its best...
1) Immediately after booting the machine for the first time, run Windows Update to install all of the latest patches, updates, and drivers available for Windows. Assuming the new PC has Windows 10 (which just about all of them will at this point), simply type “Check For Updates” in the Search / Cortana field next to the Start button and hit Enter. A new window will open – click the “Check For Updates” button there, and Windows Update will do its thing. With a brand new PC, you’ll usually have to initiate Windows Update a few times to get all of the updates available.
2) Uninstall unwanted programs, toolbars, and utilities. Again, assuming the machine has Windows 10 installed, put the mouse cursor all the way in the lower-left corner of the screen (until you can barely see the tip of the pointer), right-click your mouse, and then left-click on “Programs and Features” at the top of the menu that appears. Go through the entire list of programs that are installed and uninstall anything you’re certain you won’t use. If you’re not sure if something can be safely uninstalled, Google it and you’ll find the answer. Most toolbars, game trials, anti-virus trials, and the like should go in my experience.
3) After you’ve updated the machine and removed the unwanted apps and bloatware, perform a disk cleanup. Open File Explorer, then click on “This PC”, highlight your C: drive, then right-click on it and choose “Properties” from the menu. Right there on the General Tab that pops up, click on the “Disk Cleanup” button at the lower-right, and in the new window that opens, tick all of the boxes in the “Files to delete” list, and then click OK. The cleanup process could take a few minutes.
4) Disable unnecessary startup applications. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL, and then click on “Task Manager” in the menu. When Task Manager opens, click on the “Startup” tab at the top. A list of all of the programs that start with Windows will appear. The vast majority of items in the list can usually be safely disabled. If you’re not sure about a particular listing, quickly do a search for the name on-line and you’ll be able to ascertain its usefulness. My personal machine has only one thing launch automatically at startup – an AntiVirus app.
5) Install your own AntiVirus / AntiMalware programs. Free, high-quality AntiVirus / AntiMalware programs are readily available on-line. In my experience, Avast Free or AVG Free are very good choices, augmented by the free edition of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. You DO NOT want to have multiple AntiVirus programs running concurrently though, so be sure to uninstall any trialware AV junk that may have been included on the PC. You can find Avast here, AVG here, and MalwareBytes AntiMalware here.
If you have any rituals you perform on a new PC, I’d love to hear about them. Make sure to comment below with your best tips and help fellow readers.
