Unnecessary software

Unwanted software can be introduced when a user searches for and downloads applications from the internet. Some applications are software bundlers, which means that they are packed with other applications. As a result, other programs can be inadvertently installed when the original application is downloaded.

Some indicators are harder to recognize because they are less disruptive, but are still unwanted. For example, unwanted software can modify web pages to display specific ads, monitor browsing activities, or remove control of the browser. Microsoft uses an extensive evaluation criteria to identify unwanted software. To prevent unwanted software infection, download software only from official websites, or from the Microsoft Store. Be wary of downloading software from third-party sites.

Use Microsoft Edge when browsing the internet. Microsoft Edge includes additional protections that effectively block browser modifiers that can change your browser settings. Enable Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows Modern browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have stopped supporting both as well.

Unless one is running Windows own Surface Pro other companies include a lot of their own bloatware pre-installed. Some of them are photo applications, gaming tools and side options for Windows utility tools which are highly unnecessary. Though we advise checking each and every utility provided by the manufacturers as some tools are made to check drivers and update BIOS which is very necessary and come in handy to run your system smoothly and timely update it.

Not only are the bloatware from manufacturers annoying, but Windows also has a fair amount of it. Some unnecessary games and Xbox applications might be useful for some but not helpful to others. The good thing about them is the majority of them can be uninstalled without hassle. Check for the applications installed on the system and watch out for such applications that seem not useful. Again, we advise double-checking for the application one is doubtful for as many applications are essentials.

These are a few applications one should remove from their system as soon as possible to clear up some clutter and get a smoother experience. Users on Windows 8 and 7 can click the start button and search programs and features for a similar list.

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It's easy to review the installed programs on your system in Windows Here, you'll see a list of everything installed on your PC. Those on Windows 8. This will open your a similar list where you can review everything currently installed on your system. To remove a piece of software, just click to highlight it and choose Uninstall. Depending on the software, it might uninstall immediately or require you to advance through some dialog boxes. See our guide to uninstalling programs on Windows 10 for more info.

Now, let's look at what apps you should uninstall from Windows—remove any of the below if they're on your system! QuickTime is Apple's video player.

While it's still a current program on macOS, the company hasn't supported the Windows version since Shortly after Apple announced the deprecation of QuickTime for Windows, Trend Micro announced that the software had a few critical vulnerabilities. Since Apple will never patch these, it's not safe to have QuickTime installed anymore. Removing QuickTime shouldn't cause any disruptions, as iTunes doesn't rely on it. CCleaner was once a trusted Windows app for cleaning junk, but its reputation went downhill after it was acquired by Avast.

Issues included forced updates without permission, data collection that enabled itself after restarting, and the software itself distributing malware unknowingly.

When we looked at CCleaner in , we found that it had cleaned up its act but was still largely unnecessary. You'll find suitable cleaning tools elsewhere, including those built into Windows itself. Follow our step-by-step guide to cleaning your PC and you can say goodbye to CCleaner. Many people have installed or accidentally installed a PC-cleaning app at some point.

The majority of these products range from useless to harmful, as Registry cleaners don't improve the performance of Windows at all. Read our guide to cleaning mentioned above for a proper cleanup method. If your computer feels slow, try some ways to make Windows faster. However, it's had a host of issues over the years that make it untrustworthy now. Aside from having ads crammed into the interface, uTorrent also includes offers for other software tools, which is annoying.

Its worst offense came in , when the app was found to bundle in cryptocurrency mining software without letting users know. This wasted your system resources in the background to make money for the company, which allegedly gave some to charity. There's no reason to bother with uTorrent now. We think qBittorrent is the best torrent client , as it's free of all this nonsense.

Adobe Flash Player is no longer supported as of January Though it's blocked in all modern browsers now, you should still uninstall local copies of Flash. This will keep you safe from any future security issues, since Adobe isn't updating it anymore.