Install this app All you gotta do is install it to a USB and boot from it and then bloat free! 😎

What OS would be helpful. I assume you mean Windows.

If running Home, that's half the problem. It's got more crap than Pro, and lacks support for Group Policy. If you can run Pro, it's a big help.

WinDebloat on Github works very well.

Even better is to use the LTSC (Long-term Service Channel) versions of Windows. These already have almost no bloat, and won't break stuff from updates, because they only get security updates twice a year. No monthly feature updates.

The LTSC link above also has activation scripts, provided by microsoft.

At this point basically all drivers will reinstall automatically from windows update. Just grab a USB drive and reinstall windows fresh if you don't want to deal with uninstalling everything.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

https://christitus.com/windows-tool/

This is a good one, been using it for years if I ever need to install Windows for some godforsaken reason.

Linux, BSD

using a third-party utility to forcibly remove or delete programs is somewhat risky and may screw something up or otherwise cause more problems than you believe it to be 'fixing'.

nearly all the 'bundleware' on mass market systems is well-behaved (as far as uninstalling goes), these days. just uninstall the crud you don't want. leave stuff designed for the hardware, though, like hotkeys and osd and whatnot. if you're unsure if something is needed, ask someone knowledgeable.

then go through windows settings and turn off the crap you don't want or use tried-and-true shutup10 (which works with 11, too) and its 'recommended' settings. note that disabling settings in it may require you to use that utility again later to re-enable something (some settings can no longer be modified from windows itself unless switched-back by su10), so keep the shutup10 executable around in case it's needed later.

irm christitus.tech/win | iex

in admin command prompt

https://get.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/

😛

Honestly? Easiest method is to do a fresh install. I use Windows LTSC which essentially skips all the bloat and spyware in consumer versions of Windows.

If a fresh reinstall isn't viable, there's a collection of batch scripts someone built a while ago called Tron (it fights for the user!). It does a lot of diagnostics, repair, debloat, and optimization, but takes a long time to run.

https://github.com/bmrf/tron

If you're running Windows, do a fresh install of stock Windows version, because manufacturers like HP often add keyloggers and shit into their own tools.

The windows installer, just wipe the thing and reinstall

I've heard good things about privacy.sexy.

https://pop.system76.com/

Simply uninstall everything you don’t want. There’s not a lot, MS told OEMs to stop loading excessive crap a while back else they would make them stop loading anything at all.

You can uninstall any 3rd party antivirus. Defender is good enough these days.

Don't use a pre-installed OS, ever. You don't know who's had their hand in it between the manufacturer and you.

Wipe it and install from scratch; Windows, Linux, whatever.

BCUninstaller is pretty good

The comments here are really reinforcing the stereotypes about Lemmy.

Yes. Linux.

https://ubuntu.com/

windows generally collects all unnecessary data in a folder, including some system files that aren't required, its called system 32 (I think originally it held 32 bit programs in 64 bit systems, which were obsolete and just "failsafe" options) but they don't want you to know this so they hid it deep in the system and also removed your permission to delete this.

https://www.linuxmint.com/

Yeah, Linux

https://archlinux.org/

Added bonus, you can tell everyone you use Arch!