Goodbye, bloatware! How to clean out Windows 11’s cruft [Video]

You may have already experienced it yourself with a new desktop PC or notebook: After the final installation of Windows 11, the desktop is covered in icons — much of which is bloatware. Common culprits are test versions of security suites and virus scanners as well as programs for image editing, photo books, and cloud services.

The PC manufacturers (OEMs) aren’t thinking of your interests with the software, but rather filling their own bank account. This is because money is paid for each installation of bloatware, and if the customer (i.e. you) takes out a paid subscription to the software, there is a tidy commission thanks to tracking links and traceability.

In addition to bloatware — some also call it crapware — there are a number of other Microsoft programs and apps on your PC that you probably neither know nor need. This is because Windows itself also installs numerous …