---
title: "How to Remove Bloatware From Your New PC"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/6d420816-91e0-42de-a9e8-9ef0ba2e969e
source_url: "https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-rid-a-new-pc-of-crapware"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/technology/stack/bf7ba824-0025-419b-8f5d-40d645a4f580
summary: "This article explains the problem of bloatware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) that come pre-installed on budget retail Windows PCs, using a personal anecdote about a family member's Acer Aspire purchase as a case study. It reviews tools such as Bulk Crap Uninstaller, Should I Remove It, and Windows10Debloater, and warns readers about deceptive uninstall dialogs and browser hijackers like Conduit and Binkiland."
tags: "bloatware, windows-pc, pup, malware, browser-hijacker, uninstaller, crapware"
key_entities: "Windows (technology), Acer (organization), TeamViewer (technology), Bulk Crap Uninstaller (technology), Should I Remove It? (technology), Windows10Debloater (technology), ThisIsWin11 (technology), MalwareBytes (technology), Conduit (organization), Binkiland (technology), Slimware Utilities (organization), Slim Computer (technology), PC Decrapifier (technology), Walmart (organization), Kodak (organization), PCMag (organization), Reason Cybersecurity (organization), bloatware (concept), potentially unwanted programs (concept), browser hijacker (concept)"
classification: "tutorial"
content_hash: "sha256:6562d051abeef5c1cd2a39bc3361884fbd74a776ad502273a110e3d2789af74f"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 3301
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# How to Remove Bloatware From Your New PC

That brand-new Windows computer you got for the holidays should be pristine. After all, you haven't gummed it up yet with software, right? Leave that to the computer manufacturers who load your new PC with "free" software you don't want. You might call it bloatware, crapware, shovelware, or crudware, since it's basically useless to you. There's a reason for doing it, of course—bloatware offsets the price of  super-cheap PCs  on retail shelves, even if only by pennies. I've seldom encountered problems with bloatware when buying PCs directly from a vendor. But getting a PC at retail, it's a whole other world of digital garbage. You May Also Like For an extreme example, a few years ago, my 75-year-old technophobic father got a new PC to replace his dying Windows system, which he mainly used to print pictures. I couldn't really recommend spending a lot of money to get it fixed. "Just go find an off-the-shelf PC for under $400," I said. "It'll be fine." Famous last words. Hardware-wise, the Acer Aspire X model he purchased at Walmart was sufficient. The specs all qualified as an upgrade at the time. (Credit: PCMag, Walmart) To sell this PC for $399, however, Acer sold out my parents and wasted hours of my family's lives. Using  TeamViewer  remote-control software, I could see that the system was a mess, though all my father had done was install the software for his beloved (but dying) Kodak printer. The desktop was awash with at least 15 icons for needless, worthless crap. Opening up the Uninstall a Program control panel revealed even more. We tried to uninstall the obvious things, but they persisted. With many of the uninstall routines, the dialog boxes had giant buttons that would say "Uninstall and Get PC XXXXXX" or something similar. If we just wildly clicked where the button was, the uninstall might work—but something else was installed in its place. We had to look carefully for the fine print on the dialog boxes that read "Delete Only" or similar. Tricks and traps abounded. Back then, I turned to Slim Computer from Slimware Utilities, which kept a database of bloatware and helped identify it on a new Windows PC. It has since been discontinued, as was the excellently named PC Decrapifier. Current options include Bulk Crap Uninstaller , Should I Remove It? , ThisIsWin11, and Windows10Debloater . (Credit: Reason Cybersecurity) These utilities point out some bloatware but might not automate removal—in which case you still have to go through the normal uninstall process, which might be filled with tricks and traps to keep your new PC full of bloatware. So you're on your own to an extent. But there are ways around that. 'Potentially Unwanted' Crap Dad's then-new Acer PC also came with actual  malware , in the guise of "potentially unwanted programs," or PUPs. The programs don't call themselves that; it's a term used by anti-malware companies such as  MalwareBytes . It describes software you probably didn't install on purpose, that you don't want, and that you'll likely find unusable. But it's necessary to say "potentially," because it's possible you really wanted to install a toolbar for your browser called "Search Protect" from a company named  Conduit or a search engine for your browser called Binkiland. In reality, that's about as likely as wanting to be set on fire. Both of those "programs," among others, were on Dad's PC. They existed only to take over his browsing experience; each appears on a list of  browser hijackers  from Wikipedia. Check the list, and delete any you see. The list can and will go on and on, as hijackers make new threats. It's telling that search results for for "Search Protect" and "Binkiland" and their ilk bring up absolutely no link for people to download those programs—only to methods for removing them. These programs did a number on my dad's PC. I couldn't get the installed browsers to go to a website to download new tools to deal with those threats. I had to download the clean-up software to my computer, then used TeamViewer to perform a remote file transfer of the EXE installer to Dad's desktop. Also note that at this point, we uninstalled  McAfee Security Suite , which came free with the Acer as well. You may not consider  antivirus software  to be bloatware, but it certainly can be. Acer didn't put it on there to be altruistic; McAfee paid for placement. McAfee would eventually cost $79 after the trial was over. No, thanks. Here are a few tools you can use to eliminate hijacking PUPs: MalwareBytes MalwareBytes  comes with a 2-week limited-time free trial of the Premium version, so it's worth running on every fresh installation of Windows. Also, the scans take a lot less time on a new Windows install. After the trial, you lose features such as real-time protection and anti- ransomware , so make sure you get some  real-time anti-malware protection . Steven Gould's Cleanup! This donationware does the trick for Windows XP on up. If you like it, make the $3.99 donation. Piriform CCleaner This Windows cleanup tool can not only scrape away temp files and other detritus, but it can also uninstall apps built into Windows. I'm not talking about bloatware but actual apps that Microsoft created to work with Windows. Consider them OS-sanctioned crap. Click on Tools, then uninstall, and you'll get a list of possibilities to delete. (This suggestion might be controversial:  CCleaner got hit with data-collecting malware  in 2017, and in 2020, Windows' own antivirus flagged it as a PUP but it seems to have now cleaned up its act.) Avast Cleanup Another pricy option ($29.99 per year for 1 PC) that thankfully has a 30-day trial of its full abilities, Cleanup does more than just bloatware, such as cleaning up disk space, browser data cruft, and putting wasteful programs to sleep if you don't want them deleted. Same with AVG Tune-Up , which Avast Cleanup is based on. (CCleaner, AVG, and Avast are all part of the same company , along with Avira and Norton.) Windows PowerShell Included in Windows 10 and 11, this powerhouse version of the command line can nix many unwanted items, but you have to have some comfort with the command line and knowledge of what's unwanted and wanted software for the OS. Here are some instructions . I ran each of these tools multiple times, MalwareBytes in particular. It kept finding instances of PUPs, so we turned to the internet (which we could finally surf again) to find instructions for manually deleting individual PUP files. Which we did, with glee. After cleanups were run, the system wasn't totally bug-free. But it was certainly cleaner than it had been hours before. Don't Do What We Did Let me make it clear: I do NOT recommend going through the steps above. If we bought that computer today, it would come with  Windows 11 . It makes it easy to see what's installed in the Start Menu, right-click things you don't want, and select Uninstall. (If it's just a link to an installer, you should be able to select Delete.) But you can also go nuclear on bloatware. Start with a full reset of the OS using the  Windows 11 Reset Tool . It's the first thing anyone buying a new PC at retail should do after they take it out of the box. This should set the PC back to a pristine state, without bloatware (except the Microsoft-supplied stuff you may not want). Recommended by Our Editors The Best Security Suites for 2026 The Best Antispyware Software for 2026 The Best Antivirus Software for 2026 If you do a full install of Windows 11, one known "bug" that prevents any bloatware install is to select "English (World)" or "English (Europe)" as your language of choice--and the install is clean (but still with Microsoft stuff). Change to "English (US)" after the install. (Credit: PCMag/Microsoft) Better yet, vote against bloatware with your wallet. Buy a PC from a maker that guarantees a clean Windows install or at least offers the option. Microsoft, naturally, has a clean version of Windows on its Surface devices. Again, that's clean as defined by Microsoft—you may not want OneNote or Microsoft's Mail app or even the  Edge browser . But it's a lot easier to get rid of Windows add-on software than other bloatware with the uninstall-from-the-Start-Menu option. Custom-built PC manufacturers may offer a bloatware-free installation of Windows; in the past Maingear ,  Falcon Northwest , and  Velocity Micro did. Or go with a local reseller. Or, buy a  Mac  or a  Chromebook  and avoid Windows altogether. Or to save money, install Linux on your old PC. (That wasn't really an option for my dad.) If you're wedded to using an older version of Windows, the only surefire way to get the same result is to reinstall the OS completely with a totally fresh, clean configuration. That's not possible with most retail PCs that came with Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. Whether the operating system installer is an image on a partition of the hard drive or comes on a USB flash drive, it's likely going to install Windows with all the bloatware, fresh as an outhouse, as well. You can also find the option to download ISO files of Windows 7, 8.1, 10, and 11 at the  Microsoft Software Recovery site . You'll need to verify a 25-character product key from a retail version of Windows to download and fully activate the operating system. Keys from computer makers—called OEMs, or original equipment manufacturers—won't work. (Credit: PCMag/Microsoft) Why Is This Happening? You might be wondering why big-name PC makers and software developers are loading all this bloatware with extra "internet wrapper" PUPs on new systems. The answer? Money, of course. As PC sales dwindle, so do software purchases, and companies scramble to make up for their losses. For more details, read  this article by How-To Geek . It examined programs from every major download site, including CNET's Downloads.com, Tucows, FileHippo, Softpedia, Snapfiles, and more. Every site bundled crapware into the desired software. Some of those sites have multiple download "buttons," some of which are actually ads, on every page, to obfuscate and confuse users into downloading the wrong thing. That story is from pre-COVID 2019, but it's unlikely anything has changed. PC sales went up a bit during the pandemic but are back in freefall . Always download software from the original developer's site—if you can find it. Unfortunately, even Google search results tend to default to download sites such as those listed above. Years ago, pundit Ed Bott called for a PC "Truth in Labeling Act"  to force PC manufacturers to tell users everything that is pre-installed. This is an excellent idea that will never happen. It would also be great if download sites, some of which  claim they don't allow any type of malware , would do the same. About Our Expert Eric Griffith Senior Editor, Features Experience I've been writing about computers, the internet, and technology professionally since 1992, more than half of that time with PCMag. I arrived at the end of the print era of PC Magazine as a senior writer. I served for a time as managing editor of business coverage before settling back into the features team for the last decade and a half. I write features on all tech topics, plus I handle several special projects, including the Readers' Choice and Business Choice surveys and yearly coverage of the Best ISPs and Best Gaming ISPs , Best Products of the Year , and Best Brands (plus the Best Brands for Tech Support, Longevity, and Reliability). I started in tech publishing right out of college, writing and editing stories about hardware and development tools. I migrated to software and hardware coverage for families, and I spent several years exclusively writing about the then-burgeoning technology called Wi-Fi. I was on the founding staff of several magazines, including Windows Sources, FamilyPC , and Access Internet Magazine . All of which are now defunct, and it's not my fault. I have freelanced for publications as diverse as Sony Style, Playboy.com , and Flux . I got my degree at Ithaca College in, of all things, television/radio. But I minored in writing so I'd have a future. In my long-lost free time, I wrote some novels, a couple of which are not just on my hard drive: BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale," according to Publishers' Weekly ) and a YA book called KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY . Go get them on Kindle. I work from my home in Ithaca, NY, and did it long before pandemics made it cool. Areas of Expertise Mobile Phones Wireless Carriers Video Streaming Services Networking Latest By Eric Griffith It's a Brand New Day for Spider-Man: How to Watch All the Marvel Movies and TV Shows in Order Readers' Choice: The TV, Home Audio, and Streaming Brands You Like Best The Best Networking Hardware for Work, According to IT Pros 111 Hidden iOS Tricks Most iPhone Users Completely Miss You Could Probably Use a New Router. Our Readers Have Recommendations More from Eric Griffith Read Full Bio