PCs, for a long time, had a bloatware problem. The major PC manufacturers—Dell, Asus, Acer, and the like—had a bad habit of including "free trials" of software like Norton AntiVirus on new devices.

Remember installing Windows 7 and not getting a metric ton of bloatware? Those were the good days. Nowadays, modern Windows versions come bundled with all sorts of third-party apps pinned to the Start ...

A clean Windows install is a great way to keep your PC feeling snappy. However, every time you do this, certain critical features are reset to their Microsoft defaults—including some that could lock ...

To clean-install Windows 11 without Bloatware, boot your PC with the Windows 11 USB drive and press any key to continue. When Windows Setup asks you to select the Time and Currency format, from the ...

It’s that time of year again—temperatures are dropping, leaves are changing color, and Microsoft is gradually rolling out another major yearly update to Windows 11. The Windows 11 25H2 update is ...

For a certain kind of computer buyer, the first thing you always did with a new laptop or desktop from a company like Dell, HP, Acer, or Asus wasn’t to open the box and start using it. Instead, you ...

Above and beyond the benefits of a fresh do-over, clean installing Windows 11 improves security, exposes new features, and more. With the Windows 10 end of support date arriving on October 14, ...

As part of its recent campaign to make Windows the platform of choice for "hybrid work," Microsoft is rolling out a new security feature. It's called Smart App Control and it's kind of like Windows ...

Windows Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow. 1] Are you using the right product key? Make ...