If you recently bought a new Windows computer, odds are it came loaded with lots of software you don’t want or need. Often referred to as crapware, this unwanted software often runs when your computer starts and uses memory and processing power, making your computer take longer to start and respond sluggishly.
Even experienced computer users have trouble eliminating crapware. Who knows which programs are drivers or support software for hardware features, or simply junk the manufacturer was paid to install? I have never purchased a computer that came with a list of all the software installed with explanations of what it does or what will go wrong if I remove it. So what do we do? Most of us simply live with sub par performance because we’re afraid to remove anything that came with the computer.
A few companies have produced tools to help us deal with this problem. One notable company is ZSoft. ZSoft Uninstaller will automatically find entries that are considered crapware. Now there’s no way ZSoft can recognize all possible junk software, but at least you can have confidence that you’re removing known junk and not something your computer really needs to function.
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August 10th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Is there a tool like this for Mac computers?
August 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Gail, Apple computers don’t ship with unwanted software as so many Windows computers do. Also, it’s much easier to uninstall software from your Mac; just drag the application file to the trash! That being said, there are some programs that leave a few traces around that you wouldn’t eliminate just by deleting the application file. There are several good uninstall applications for Mac but the best ones aren’t free.
AppZapper is one of the best Mac uninstallers which will remove any leftover preference files but it costs $12.95. AppTrap is a free alternative. I haven’t tried AppTrap, so I can’t comment on how well it works. I’ll give it a try and post my results.