Have you bought a new device with the Microsoft operating system installed? Excellent… but get down to work quickly, since the first thing you have to do is uninstall certain Windows programs , which will help you get even better performance from your computer.
Some of these apps are simply out of date; others are Windows bloatware (bloatware), or even malicious software. Delete them right now without fear!
Windows bloatware
Having to remove manufacturer bloatware is annoying, and Microsoft packs a lot of it into Windows 10, which comes in the form of apps from the Microsoft Store. Fortunately, you can uninstall most of these unnecessary programs without much hassle.
Some of the default modern apps, like Xbox and Weather, are useful for certain people, but others, like Candy Crush Saga, can be uninstalled. If you need help with that, we recommend visiting our guide on how to uninstall bloatware.
Bloatware from your PC manufacturer
You’ve probably noticed that your PC comes with several manufacturer-owned apps by default, unless you’re running a premium device like the Surface Pro or installed Windows from scratch on a new desktop. Laptops from HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo are more prone to this problem.
The thing is, none of them are necessary for Windows to work, be it photo apps, gaming tools, or anything that duplicates Windows utilities, although some like Lenovo System Update, which is used to update drivers/BIOS, are worth it. worth keeping.
To find out what each manufacturer can remove from your system, you can visit the Should I Remove It? site, which gives an overview of what each program does along with a rating.
Microsoft Silverlight
Silverlight is a plugin that once enabled rich media content in browsers. Years ago, this type of plugin was required on many websites, but now it is deprecated and no longer useful. According to W3Techs, less than 0.03 percent of websites were using Silverlight as of early 2021.
In fact, modern browsers don’t even work with Silverlight; Chrome and Firefox have not had support for this for years and it was never supported in Edge. Ultimately, you won’t lose anything by uninstalling Silverlight.
Java
Java comes with two components: on the desktop and the browser plugin (which is known to have security issues). Although it was once quite common, very few websites use it today.
W3Techs shows that about 0.013 percent of websites use Java, and modern versions of Chrome and Firefox do not have support for it. Unless you are an Android developer or use some specialized Java-based software, you should uninstall it.
Adobe Flash Player y Shockwave Player
Adobe Flash Player is no longer supported as of January 2021. While it is now blocked in all modern browsers, you should still uninstall local copies of Flash. This will keep you safe from future security issues as Adobe will no longer update it.
Also, Adobe Shockwave Player was discontinued in 2019. The company no longer offers it for download, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll find a website that needs that plugin. Both Flash Player and Shockwave Player are unnecessary now, they are just memories.
CCleaner
CCleaner was once a reliable Windows junk-cleaning app, but its reputation soured after it was acquired by Avast. Problems included forced updates without permission, data collection being enabled after reboots, and software itself unknowingly distributing malware.
In 2020 his performance improved, but it was still unnecessary. You can find other suitable cleaning tools, such as those built into Windows.
QuickTime
QuickTime is Apple’s video player. While it is still a program that is live on macOS, the Windows version has not received support since 2016. Shortly after Apple announced the deprecation of QuickTime for Windows, Trend Micro announced that the software had some critical vulnerabilities, and as Apple will never fix them, it’s not safe to have QuickTime installed anymore. To replace it, you can use the program called VLC, which plays almost everything.
uTorrent
This software was once considered the standard for downloading torrent files. However, it has had a number of problems over the years, which make it unreliable now. In addition to ads cluttered across the interface, uTorrent also includes offers for other software tools.
In fact, in 2016 it was discovered that the app included cryptocurrency mining software without users’ knowledge. In short, there is no reason to have uTorrent now, and if you need something similar, you can download qBittorrent, which is hassle-free.
WinRAR
Having a file compression and extraction tool is useful, but WinRAR is not the best option for it. The app is already something of a joke due to its old “shareware” license. The WinRAR “trial” can be downloaded for free, although it asks you to pay after using it for some time.
However, the app is never locked if you don’t pay, so it can be used indefinitely. Despite this, there is no reason to use WinRAR; there are others available that meet those needs, such as 7-Zip.
