Crapware Continues to Ruin the Windows Experience

[steven36]

Windows 10 faces an existential threat. And no, it’s not the iPad Pro, at least not yet. Instead, this threat comes from within. And though Microsoft understands the threat, it still refuses to do the one thing that will solve the problem.

 

 

I am referring, of course, to crapware.

 

Over a year after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared that he wanted users to “love” Windows 10, Microsoft and its PC maker partners have only undermined this effort. And they’ve done so in the most horrible way, by being untrustworthy, and by undermining the Windows 10 experience.

 

Of course, Microsoft is also overly-aggressively and unapologetically jamming a free Windows 10 upgrade down customers’ throats. And while it feels it must do this to reach its artificial goal of one billion Windows 10 devices within two to three years, it is sacrificing long-term goodwill for short-term headlines.

 

Interestingly, Microsoft and it’s PC maker partners are also making the same basic mistake: They continue to install crapware on the PCs that they sell to unsuspecting customers, and doing so even in the wake of high-profile security and privacy issues, notably from Lenovo and Dell.

 

If this issue sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a topic I’ve been writing about for years. Last year, I forcefully made the case in Sorry, Satya: No One Will Ever Love Windows Until You Fix This Problem. And this year, I’m back to say that Microsoft has simply refused to cut off the heroin-drip of illicit income that is crapware.

 

And to be clear, Microsoft could fix this problem. All it has to do is require its Windows OS licensees to adhere to certain requirements related to the installation of extraneous crapware on their PCs.

 

So you might think, well nothing has changed then. Except that one thing haschanged: With Windows 10, Microsoft is doing it too. Yep, even a stock install of Windows 10 is loaded down with crapware. Especially, but not uniquely, the Home version that ships on consumer PCs. I’m talking 3D Builder, what the hell that is. Candy Crush whatever. Get Office and Get Skype apps. And much more.

 

Even Microsoft’s vaunted Signature PCs, which have evolved over the years to focus on a cleaner, more reliable, and more stable system image, are thus in some ways loaded down with crapware. Some of which the average user will never be able to uninstall. (Advanced users, and readers of this site, know there are ways around this.)

 

Paradoxically, it’s even worse on Surface devices, where Microsoft bundles additional apps, including at least one—the New York Times Crossword app—that requires a paid subscription.

 

Fortunately, the crapware that comes with Windows 10 (and Surface) won’t slow down the PC, especially over time, as is the case with the extraneous crap that PC makers pile on. Indeed, non-Signature PC experiences are reaching new heights of absurdity: While unnecessary third-party anti-virus solutions that crap out in a month were once the source of great ire, today some PC makers are actually displaying pop-up video ads too.

 

I used to believe that PC makers were the worst thing that ever happened to the PC, but Microsoft is making a strong case for lumping them in the same category. Here we have a company that has righted some many wrongs from the Windows 8 days. But it’s undercutting the experience with in-OS crapware, in-OS advertising, and an overly-aggressive free upgrade that is turning away former fans. Tack on the FUD-based claims of privacy invasion that Microsoft has ineffectually addresses, and you have the makings of a platform exodus.

 

This is all avoidable. All Microsoft and its partners need to do is look beyond the short term and understand that their behavior today is planting the seed of discontent in customer minds. And when it comes time to upgrade that crapware- and advertising-laden OS, they’re going to start looking around. At Mac. At iPad. At Android. Or at Chromebook.

 

No, none of those systems is better, let alone perfect. But the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. And Microsoft and its PC maker partners are making it look a lot greener.

 

So what’s a poor user to do?

 

Buy an expensive Surface PC, or a reasonably-priced Signature PC, when possible. That will minimize the impact of crapware nicely, and even though you will need to uninstall some Windows 10 crap, none of it will damage the long-term performance or reliability of the system. If you buy a “normal” PC from a PC maker or retailer, try sticking to the business PC end of the spectrum, where the prices are a bit higher but the crapware is less common. (HP and Lenovo are particularly good at this.) Keep up to date on my Clean PC articles, of course. And basically hope and pracy that Microsoft will collectively wake up and start doing the right thing before it’s too late.

 

You never know.

 

The Source

 

[VileTouch]

it's the user's decision to wether install crapware or not. MS has no place telling people what to install.

 

my computers have ZERO crapware....save from that revived and nullified version of bonzi buddy ...

just kidding

[steven36]

1 minute ago, VileTouch said:

it's the user's decision to wether install crapware or not. MS has no place telling people what to install.

 

my computers have ZERO

The problem i found most of  its default programs  is crapware  always . Ive not used IE since 2006 , I never used Windows Defender  I  never used there Media player  ,  Every since windows 8.1 they had windows store  and they pre install loads of apps that i had  to uninstall .   They make poor quality  built in apps  that i never used why not just let users decide what they want to install from there store . I even uninstalled the the store and all the apps when I used Windows 10 its bloat ware .  Then my friend told me when the 1st major  update came out  it installed all the crap back on windows 10 . I had went back to windows 8.1 were I can remove it once  and be done with it by then.

[haxzion]

Windows 7 all day long until i find a game that supports DX12 and doesn't support vulkan.

[steven36]

1 minute ago, haxzion said:

Windows 7 all day long until i find a game that supports DX12 and doesn't support vulkan.

That's no help to someone who bought pcs with Windows 8 /8.1 or Windows 10 on them ..Most people that buys PCs never pirate windows they just use whats on it  unless they offer a free upgrade . And  this deters  people from buying  pcs  not only does the vendor install crap ware now Microsoft does too . If they cant give away something free without forcing it on people  how do they ever expect  to sell it ?

[VileTouch]

23 minutes ago, steven36 said:

The problem i found most of  its default programs  is crapware  always . Ive not used IE since 2006 , I never used Windows Defender  I  never used there Media player  ,  Every since windows 8.1 they had windows store  and they pre install loads of apps that i had  to uninstall .   They make poor quality  built in apps  that i never used why not just let users decide what they want to install from there store . I even uninstalled the the store and all the apps when I used Windows 10 its bloat ware .  Then my friend told me when the 1st major  update came out  it installed all the crap back on windows 10 . I had went back to windows 8.1 were I can remove it once  and be done with it by then.

have you ever installed windows with no internet connection? and had to play sound or look at a picture to make sure it was the one to be copied over? defender might as well not be there once i install and update kaspersky...but until then it's a good, baseline antimalware. same for windows firewall.
Internet explorer/edge continues to be the prefered tool to download and install other browsers. (although i use chocolatey for that now) for one simple reason: it beats wget in usability.

 

[steven36]

Just now, VileTouch said:

have you ever installed windows with no internet connection? and had to play sound or look at a picture to make sure it was the one to be copied over? defender might as well not be there once i install and update kaspersky...but until then it's a good, baseline antimalware. same for windows firewall.
Internet explorer/edge continues to be the prefered tool to download and install other browsers. (although i use chocolatey for that now) for one simple reason: it beats wget in usability.

 

If you buy a new pc with windows 8.1  I highly  recommended installing it  without internet  ..I made the mistake  of taking it out the box and doing it once with internet  and by the time it installed  it was full of get windows 10 crapware  and ask me did i want to install windows 10 .

[VileTouch]

1 minute ago, steven36 said:

If you buy a new pc with windows 8.1  I highly  recommended installing it  without internet  ..I made the mistake  of taking it out the box and doing it once with internet  and by the time it installed  it was full of get windows 10 crapware  and ask me did i want to install windows 10 .

doesn't happen if you install windows 10 instead of 8.1

...just saying

[steven36]

15 minutes ago, VileTouch said:

doesn't happen if you install windows 10 instead of 8.1

...just saying

 When I installed windows 10  then it installed Microsoft Edge Browser , Cortana  and its data sucker there no way to opt out of windows updates  and candy crush  and all kinds of ads it takes to much work to make windows 10 useable for me   i had to uninstall  I used IDM  for years in windows i dont download trough browsers  even on Linux I use uget  and J Downloader .

[Sylence]

1 hour ago, haxzion said:

Windows 7 all day long until i find a game that supports DX12 and doesn't support vulkan.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_DirectX_12_support

 

people already playing games with DX12 cause most of them are already released 

[Holmes]

Use windows ten lite:

 

https://sourceforge.net/projects/windows-10-lite/

 

To create a custom windows ten installation that has no crapware easy as that.

[straycat19]

Just run Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB.  It has no Windows Apps, no Edge, and no monthly changes to the core OS.  We switched from the enterprise version to the LTSB version because Microsoft, at least for now, is not screwing with it.  Although 99.99% of our computers are still running 7 or 8.1 and we have no plans to roll out 10 other than the test bed systems.  We always skip a version so 10 is the version we skip.  Heck we still have systems running XP and 98 because of the software that is run on them will not run on anything newer and we have to support old scientific instruments that may still be used.  Even have stocks of 20 year old laptops because the interface for some old instruments is a pcmcia card that only works in Windows 98. 

[VileTouch]

3 hours ago, steven36 said:

 When I installed windows 10  then it installed Microsoft Edge Browser , Cortana  and its data sucker there no way to opt out of windows updates  and candy crush  and all kinds of ads it takes to much work to make windows 10 useable for me   i had to uninstall  I used IDM  for years in windows i dont download trough browsers  even on Linux I use uget  and J Downloader .

I... have to disagree with that. it's gotten to a point where blocking everything you don't like takes just a few minutes. and i'm yet to see one of those ads people speak of.

Cortana is good...as long as it's offline.

 

 i suggest you take another look at tools like OOSU10 and Spybot Anti-bacon

[jbleck]

44 minutes ago, VileTouch said:

i suggest you take another look at tools like OOSU10 and Spybot Anti-bacon

did Spybot release a slimming tool for win 10 too?

it'll be the next thing i try if they do 

[steven36]

2 hours ago, VileTouch said:

I... have to disagree with that. it's gotten to a point where blocking everything you don't like takes just a few minutes. and i'm yet to see one of those ads people speak of.

Cortana is good...as long as it's offline.

 

 i suggest you take another look at tools like OOSU10 and Spybot Anti-bacon

Quote

 

7 ways Windows 10 pushes ads at you, and how to stop them

Windows 10 may be “free,” but there’s a price to pay for claiming your no-cost upgrade from Windows 7 or 8: The operating system’s brimming with ads designed to coax you into buying this app or using that Microsoft service.

Some of the ads are pretty unobtrusive, to be fair. Several get right up in your face, however—an unfortunate experience in any case, but one that hurts even more if you’ve already dropped $100-plus on a Windows 10 license rather than snagging a free upgrade. Fortunately, most of Windows 10’s ad pushing can be disabled with a few simple menu tweaks, and it’s worth making the effort to do so, since Windows 10 is the best Windows yet once you get rid of irritating crap like this.

Roll up your sleeves, folks. It’s time to start silencing those annoying Windows 10 ads.

Lock screen ads

Let’s start with the inspiration for this article. In February, Microsoft began displaying ads on Windows 10’s lock screen, after promising to roll out lock screen ad units nearly a year ago. And while the Rise of the Tomb Raider ads looked gorgeous, well, they’re still ads. And they’re only the beginning, unless you disable lock screens ads now.

The option to disable Windows 10 lock screen ads.

To do so, simply head to Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen and turn off the box that reads “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen.” That option only appears if you have a Picture or Slideshow selected as the Background option, though. If you’re pulling in Bing images from the Windows Spotlight setting, you won’t be able to disable that setting.

Start menu ads

I never thought I’d be writing “How to turn off ads in the Windows Start menu,” but here we are.

As you’re scrolling through your Start menu, you’ll occasionally see “Suggested” listings for Windows Store apps that you don’t actually own. They’re not technically ads, as the developers aren’t paying for inclusion in your Start menu; rather, it’s a program created by Microsoft to suggest further app installations based on your Windows Store history. Either way, you might not want to see them.

The option to disable Windows 10’s Start menu ads... er, suggested apps.

The easiest way to disable Start menu ads is to right-click one when you see it, then select “Turn off all suggestions” from the options that appear. If you want to be more proactive, head to Settings > Personalization > Start and disable “Occasionally show suggestions in Start.”

 

Get Office and Skype

Some of the most annoying native Windows ads are the pop-up notifications cajoling your to get Office or Skype, even if you already have Office and Skype. It’s an irritating takeover of the otherwise useful Windows 10 Action Center.

Nooooooooooooo.

There are a couple of ways to eradicate the ads. You could open the Start menu and head to Settings > System > Notifications & actions, then slide the Get Office app’s slider to off in the “Show notifications from these apps” section.

But why only silence the notifications? If you’re never going to accept Microsoft’s offer, just delete the Get Skype and Get Office apps completely. The simplest way to do so is to open the All Apps section of the Start menu, then right-clicking and selecting Uninstall for each of the offenders.

Cortana loves Bing

This isn’t really an ad, but by default, all of the web searches conducted by Windows 10’s Cortana digital assistant send you to Bing, and there’s no way to ask it to ping other search engines instead. It makes sense—Microsoft makes Bing, and Bing serves as the cloud-based backend for Cortana’s brains—but diehard users of other search engines will be disappointed. Unless you hack your way around it, that is.

Chrometana’s search engine options. Pick DuckDuckGo for maximum privacy, if you’d like.

Firefox users have it the best. By default, that browser will show the results for any web searches you launch from Cortana in the taskbar in the search engine of your choice. High-five, Mozilla! Chrome users will want to install the Chrometana extension to perform the same switcheroo. In our tests, it’s not quite as bullet-proof at redirecting Cortana as Firefox is, but it’ll get the job done the vast majority of the time.

Branded

Finally, why you’re clearing house, consider turning off the unique advertising ID that Microsoft assigns you so it can track your movement across Windows Store apps, and then serve you targeted ads. This is enabled by default during a stock Windows installation unless you explicitly choose to hand-pick your settings options and disable it.

The option that lets you disable your unique ad identifier in Windows apps.

First, open the Start menu and head to Settings > Privacy > General and slide “Let apps use my advertising ID for experience across apps (turning this off will reset your ID)” to off.

Disabling in-browser ad tracking tied to your Microsoft account is another beast entirely, and takes another step. Open your primary browser and navigate to https://choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out, then slide the “Personalized ads in this browser” setting to off.

But wait, there’s more…

C’MON.

…in terms of both ads and more Windows 10 tips. While there’s no way to disable the ads in Solitaire and Minesweeper (sacrilege! horror!) short of paying $10 per year per app—not even a one-time purchase, but a subscription—let us help you tweak and tune the operating system to its fullest potential.

After reading this article, checking out PCWorld’s advice on curing Windows 10’s worst headaches and seizing back your privacy seem like natural choices for your next read. Or if you’re looking to crank things to 11 with (now blissfully ad-free) operating system, our guide to Windows 10’s best tips and tweaks will show you all sorts of powerful nooks and crannies.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3039827/windows/7-ways-windows-10-pushes-ads-at-you-and-how-to-stop-them.html

 

 

And none of you're  suggestions about windows 10 in this topic  gets rid of the problem  of buying a new pc full  of crapware  if you go out and pay $700 or more for a new PC the last thing most normal users would want to do is reinstall windows . And even if you did use a work around the problem still exist tell Microsoft  removes  the problem themselves. people been buying windows pcs for 30 years and never needed a work around before  I'm a more technical user and i have to be board off my rockers to want to install a O/S of any kind and Ive not had a desire to install this seed of the nsa since like sept 2015 im not in to abusing myself, The workarounds you suggest are more stuff people would do if they were upgrading a old pc to windows 10 disabling the problem with various workaround dont get rid of the problem its only a temporary   when ever it updates to redstone  all these problems will comeback . Then it will comeback again next year when redstone 2 comes out again and again tell Microsoft ever to decides to remove them

When people like the blogger  Paul Thurrott  in the OP  starts complaining about windows 10 you know it  is very bad the same guy back in June 2015 said he was going to write a book about how good windows 10 was.

 

Topics for windows  at Nsane went from how to activate windows in years past  to how to  remove and disable all the crapware with the birth of Windows 10 .

 

 

[Nedal0]

Not sure what t make of this whole thing. Windows is Windows, Mac is Mac and Linux is Linux. There are lots of other OS's out there and there always is a choice. 

 

Make that choice, Stick to it !!!!!!!

[steven36]

15 minutes ago, Nedal0 said:

Not sure what t make of this whole thing. Windows is Windows, Mac is Mac and Linux is Linux. There are lots of other OS's out there and there always is a choice. 

 

Make that choice, Stick to it !!!!!!!

I came on the internet in 2001 i bought my 1st pc  ..All i ever knew was windows, i never thought about using  other O/S(s) tell i tired windows 10 and they said it was going to be the last windows ever I said OMG  and started  using Linux some and Windows 8.1 gets updates tell 2023  i see no need to install all my pcs  to Linux  yet . Maybe by 2023 Microsoft will have got a better plain when it never sells good. It makes me sad to have to chose between the 2  because of a bad make .

[CODYQX4]

3 hours ago, straycat19 said:

Just run Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB.  It has no Windows Apps, no Edge, and no monthly changes to the core OS.  We switched from the enterprise version to the LTSB version because Microsoft, at least for now, is not screwing with it.  Although 99.99% of our computers are still running 7 or 8.1 and we have no plans to roll out 10 other than the test bed systems.  We always skip a version so 10 is the version we skip.  Heck we still have systems running XP and 98 because of the software that is run on them will not run on anything newer and we have to support old scientific instruments that may still be used.  Even have stocks of 20 year old laptops because the interface for some old instruments is a pcmcia card that only works in Windows 98. 

We have a PC running 95 where I work because the software talks to a very expensive machine and it's thousands of dollars upgrading either way. When it dies I guess I'll just have to VM up Windows 95 to keep that software working.

 

Damn PC is definitely old enough to drink, that's for sure.

[heyyahblah]

Windows Defender is a piece of crap and is totally broken in Windows 10, don't believe me I have the ultimate wicked test.

 

Install a fresh copy of W10 in a VM (so you don't mess up your own system) have everything default on, including Windows Defender. Then run the FFF keygen for WinRAR posted safely here from nsanedown :). As soon as you run that keygen W10 is fucked. Windows Defender will keep asking to clean and quarantine and delete the file constantly. Once its gone, even if you reboot and clean system files or add it to exclusion it will keep on popping up.

 

Not sure if this was fixed, but I learned the hard way twice when I forgot on fresh installs I ran winrar keygen after installing winrar and didn't disable defender, I had to format W10 again, lol. Try it. Its a never ending loop of cleaning a file that isnt there anymore.

 

Beta, broken ass O/S. (Oh yea, wait for REDSTONE), why? Is redstone a finished product? Is that why I got banned from 10 forums for telling the truth? By a cock sucking W10 fanboy admin? LOL.

 

 

[heyyahblah]

more ranting continued ...

 

Just wait until SHITSTONE (opps I mean REDSTONE) comes out. That will be a dosey.

 

They are planning to remove file explorer with the ribbon how it is in 7/8.1 and make it a stupid METRO APP style with tabs (bullshit) which will be hard to navigate and dumbing it back down to XP days (even worse) less features then XP because it will be METRO STYLE without the ribbon, which I hope if anyone that has to use W10, Classic Shell will write a Classic Explorer Window for it.

 

The migration and removal of Control Panel into SETTINGS.

 

SETTINGS MENU is the worst piece of shit I have ever had to navigate in my entire life. I get lost constantly and whenever I do try to make changes they are so f**king dumbed down that I end up going into control panel and doing it from there. Tell me how they plan to get all the features of control panel, like NETWORK MANAGEMENT and DEVICE MANAGER and a proper BATTERY/POWER MANAGEMENT and SECURITY & MAINTENANCE MENU into settings? Am I going to have to navigate through 50 tabs just to reach the destination?

 

When I can just open up CP, click SETTINGS or SECURITY or NETWORK or WHATEVER I want and have access to advanced menus via context or 1 click? Tell me who the F**K are they catering too? A stupid tablet?

 

What MICROSHIT doesn't realize is that WINDOWS PHONE = DEAD. SURFACE SUCKS and SOON will be DEAD, why? Because Android tablet and iPAD for iSHEEPLE dominate the market and that won't change. No one wants a surface or a windows phone. Everyone either wants a SAMSUNG or iPHONE. Simple as that.

 

So why Windows is making everything all stupid touch based with stupid little ON-OFF SLIDE SWITCHES is beyond me. Cater to your desktops and IT professionals and businesses that rely on Widnows. let the hipsters keep using iMAC and the servers will always run on LINUX, and pro IT guys will always use Linux and UBUNTU. So F-OFF.

 

Microshit really messed up with W10 and thats the truth. Making everything all "TOUCH INTERFACE". More then 90% of the people that will use W10 will not have a touch screen. Only a surface or some chinese knock-off W10 tablet, thats it. To ruin the entire interface is beyond my comprehension, and the forced BS updates just puts the icing on the cake. 

 

Just leave file explorer and CP how it is, and DELETE SETTINGS crap. And don't get me started on a rant about the stupid Windows store. Like I'm stupid enough to buy junk from there.

 

All these "INNOVATIONS" are like 8 years too late. Should have started same time with PLAY STORE and iTUNES, Microsoft MORONS. Satya and Gabe Apu have no idea what people want, no f**king clue. No idea what the point of W10 FEEDBACK was if they didn't bother to listen to anyone normal, just the stupid hipster junkies.

 

/end

 

 

[Holmes]

You can use windows ten lite and it can work if you havent tried it then dont talk negative about it.  From what I have read spybot anti-beacon is pretty good.

[VileTouch]

8 hours ago, steven36 said:

And none of you're  suggestions about windows 10 in this topic  gets rid of the problem  of buying a new pc full  of crapware  if you go out and pay $700 or more for a new PC the last thing most normal users would want to do is reinstall windows . And even if you did use a work around the problem still exist tell Microsoft  removes  the problem themselves. people been buying windows pcs for 30 years and never needed a work around before  I'm a more technical user and i have to be board off my rockers to want to install a O/S of any kind and Ive not had a desire to install this seed of the nsa since like sept 2015 im not in to abusing myself, The workarounds you suggest are more stuff people would do if they were upgrading a old pc to windows 10 disabling the problem with various workaround dont get rid of the problem its only a temporary   when ever it updates to redstone  all these problems will comeback . Then it will comeback again next year when redstone 2 comes out again and again tell Microsoft ever to decides to remove them

When people like the blogger  Paul Thurrott  in the OP  starts complaining about windows 10 you know it  is very bad the same guy back in June 2015 said he was going to write a book about how good windows 10 was.

 

Topics for windows  at Nsane went from how to activate windows in years past  to how to  remove and disable all the crapware with the birth of Windows 10 .

 

 

again, i am yet to see the lock screen ads or start menu ads.none. some apps come preinstalled like the candy crush saga, but that's the first to go and doesn't come back. re: other app icons that i haven't installed myself...nope. never seen that either. get skype and get office... well, yes, but there's no point since i already have skype and office so they are removed and don't come back on their own.
also i do not install apps with built in ads. never.

[steven36]

29 minutes ago, VileTouch said:

again, i am yet to see the lock screen ads or start menu ads.none. some apps come preinstalled like the candy crush saga, but that's the first to go and doesn't come back. re: other app icons that i haven't installed myself...nope. never seen that either. get skype and get office... well, yes, but there's no point since i already have skype and office so they are removed and don't come back on their own.
also i do not install apps with built in ads. never.

Well i grues  you must be special  not like the rest of the ones on windows 10 like Brad Chacos and Paul Thurrott  who  use Windows 10 as well  these articles  were written by Windows 10 users , Most bad stuff I read about it was wrote by windows 10 users or people who at lest tired it.  When its users complain like they do,  that dont help to get M$  its billion users .

[haxzion]

13 hours ago, saeed_dc said:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_DirectX_12_support

 

people already playing games with DX12 cause most of them are already released 

Since im not a heavy gamer i wouldn't know much about it.I'm currently rocking The Witcher 3 and it's gonna take a while until i start a new game.

But Hitman and Tom Raider running DX12 might make me install Win10 on my second SSD.

[VileTouch]

7 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Well i grues  you must be special  not like the rest of the ones on windows 10 like Brad Chacos and Paul Thurrott  who  use Windows 10 as well  these articles  were written by Windows 10 users , Most bad stuff I read about it was wrote by windows 10 users or people who at lest tired it.  When its users complain like they do,  that dont help to get M$  its billion users .

i think they are overplaying it to draw attention. in reality it's not nearly as bad as they paint it. unless it's someone sorely inexperienced with computers in general