Advice on cleaning bloatware off of a new PC (www.bestbuy.com)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Reverendender@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I helped my 77 year old mother purchase a new laptop, and I want to be sure to get all the bloatware off of it, and set her up with with some better privacy options. I am aMac guy at home so I haven't done this kind of thing for many years. (I use Windows at work, so I'm quite familiar and capable, but obviously I have to rely on IT knowing what they are doing (they don't)). I did make sure to get the pro version of Windows 11. I'm going to set her up with Proton mail I think. This is the computer that is coming:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-thinkbook-16-g6-abp-amd-in-16-touch-screen-notebook-amd-ryzen-5-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-gray/6565272.p?skuId=6565272

(Forgive me if this is not the correct place to post)

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[-] knightly@pawb.social 5 points 1 year ago

Keeping new versions of Windows secure is a fool's errand. Sure you can uninstall the bloatware, disable the telemetry, etc., but there's nothing to keep Windows from using an update to put it right back on.

If you want your Ma' to not have to worry about any of that, then it's time to switch to Linux. Mint is a good variety for people coming from Windows.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

I am totally on board with this, but I cannot convince her to learn something new at this stage of the game. I have tried.

[-] legofreak@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

Mint looks quite similar, and if she asks "Microsoft applied an update and now the start menu looks different."

If all she does is browse the internet and read emails, she'll never know the difference. You could even set up the splash screen to display the Windows logo or just disable it all together.

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

She Blogs on WordPress also

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this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024

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