George Ou on Crapware

Okay, I admit it: I love George Ou.

George, who blogs on ZDNet's site, is one of the clearest-thinking guys in IT, and his posts are written with a clear eye and a lack of bias. In a world where stream-of-consciousness blogging and bias is almost expected, George is a welcome voice.

His latest blog is a must-read if you just purchased a new PC.

Why? Chances are, upon starting up you new computer, you encountered the problem commonly referred to by industry experts as "crapware": pre-installed, branded, often-castrated software designed to promote the download and installation of a premium product.

We have to deal with this stuff all the time - many PCs these days often come with multiple security programs pre-installed, many of which are not designed or configured in any way that would enhance security.

We've encountered situations where manufacturers purposely leave out the uninstall program altogether (which, if you read one of my most recent posts, fits the definition of "spyware".)

As a result, Authentium has become expert in uninstalling crapware from multiple manufacturers as a precondition of installing *actual security* - i.e. fully-functional security applications.

Anyway, back to George. If you have recently encountered crapware upon purchasing a new PC, check out George's latest blog posting - "Killing The Crapware Problem on PCs". It provides a crystal-clear, step-by-step explanation of how to deal with all the stuff that brand-new PC's throw at you on startup, including an analysis of the best utilities for the job.

Here a direct link to the story - happy uninstalling.

Note: George's post leads off with a link to one of the funnier Mac vs. PC ads. I doubt there is a computer user alive that can't relate.