Microsoft Under Fire for Re-Installing Windows 10 Bloatware After Every Update

[CyberTech]

Content source

https://news.softpedia.com/news/microsoft-under-fire-for-re-installing-windows-10-bloatware-after-every-update-521102.shtml

Microsoft Under Fire for Re-Installing Windows 10 Bloatware After Every Update

Bloatware in Windows 10 isn’t quite a new thing, and users have been complaining about this for several years already, but the problem is once again going viral after the release of the April 2018 Update.

A discussion thread on reddit has more than 1,000 comments, many of which are blaming Microsoft for what most call a super-aggressive strategy to promote games and apps that nobody would have cared about otherwise.

This time, it all started after the April 2018 Update re-installed a series of games which users previously removed, including Bubble Witch 3 Saga and Candy Crush Saga. It’s not a secret that many Windows 10 users uninstall these games when upgrading their systems to Windows 10 or perform a clean install, but the recently-launched April 2018 Update brings them back and makes it harder to get rid of them.

While at first glance deleting these apps comes down to a right click and hitting the uninstall button, they typically come back after a reboot. In fact, the whole thing is a bit more complicated, and it requires users to first log in to the Microsoft Store, update all apps and games, and only then remove the ones that they don’t need anymore, including the said games.
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Some considering a potential switch

This aggressive tactic is rapidly backfiring for Microsoft, and while we can’t quote many of the comments because of the language angry users have used, there are lots of Windows 10 users considering a potential switch to a different platform.

“This, along with the aggressive auto updates (great in theory, horrible when your PC is inaccessible abruptly for twenty minutes when there's a deadline in your face), is why I'm keeping a close eye on the Chromebook space when it comes time to replace my laptop,” one user said.

“I like Windows, but there's nothing keeping me loyal at this point and these little ‘unprofessional’ touches keep making me feel less and less fond.”

Earlier this year, Microsoft promised to get rid of bloatware in Windows 10, but only for the Workstation SKU, leaving users of Home and Pro to continue their fight with unwanted apps.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for a word on this and will update the article if an answer is offered.​

 

[TairikuOkami]

%WINDIR%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage"

I used this to uninstall all apps, including store, after restart, some were back plus a few extra. I was thinking, that without store, apps can not be installed, how silly of me. But moving tweaks ahead of it and prior to enabling internet, did it.

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "ContentDeliveryAllowed" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "OemPreInstalledAppsEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "PreInstalledAppsEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "PreInstalledAppsEverEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "SilentInstalledAppsEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "SoftLandingEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager" /v "SubscribedContentEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager\Subscriptions" /f
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager\SuggestedApps" /f

 

[tim one]

I know people who have switched back to Win 8.1 because of these issues.
Every few months you have to download a new OS version of Win 10 to get unwanted functions and inevitably slow down the system, and you must be skillful enough to eliminate this bloatware, an eternal war.
What is the point? It is just marketing!

 

[Weebarra]

Another company i would crack down on. How they get away with it, i don't know, if you have set your preferences then they should respect that. After the big W10 push where they sneakily changed the yes i accept or no big button thingy to trick people into downloading it, is it any wonder that people don't trust them ? You shouldn't have to constantly be on the lookout for an update that you don't bleeping want nor should you have to go extreme measures to remove or deny them.

P.S. - i'm on my angry horse today and hate ALL companies...... normal people like yous are fine

 

[dJim]

i never get any of those bloatware installed or reinstalled when upgraded.

 

[darko999]

i never get any of those bloatware installed or reinstalled when upgraded.

You must be from parallel universe, heh.

 

[brambedkar59]

What is the point?

How they get away with it

See the bright side of this, MS makes our lives so adventurous /s

MS slogan: Install Windows 10 and live your life on the 'Edge' (pun intended).

Happy customer reviews:
Customer: Once I was like you guys living a boring & dull life with an OS which just worked, no crashes, no forced updates but not anymore. I upgraded my life to Windows 10 experience, so many adventures, so many cool apps. I just love Candy Crush, cause only an idiot wouldn't love that cool app. When I wake up every morning I don't even know if my system would even boot up, and man when I see the beautiful BSODs, that just makes my day.

 

[Weebarra]

i never get any of those bloatware installed or reinstalled when upgraded.

You must be doing something wrong then

See the bright side of this, MS makes our lives so adventurous /s

MS slogan: Install Windows 10 and live your life on the 'Edge' (pun intended).

Happy customer reviews:
Customer: Once I was like you guys living a boring & dull life with an OS which just worked, no crashes, no forced updates but not anymore. I upgraded my life to Windows 10 experience, so many adventures, so many cool apps. I just love Candy Crush, cause only an idiot wouldn't love that cool app. When I wake up every morning I don't even know if my system would even boot up, and man when I see the beautiful BSODs, that just makes my day.

That is certainly an alternative way to look at it i guess, is that what they call "thinking outside of the box"

 

[yitworths]

i never get any of those bloatware installed or reinstalled when upgraded.

Yea...I also don't understand why people consider those bloatwares when the OS itself is a spyware. Telemetry is hard-coded in Windows X & others are complaining about bloatwares. Btw anyone may ask Cortana to fix Windows X privacy issues.But that query itself won't remain private. BOL to all WX users for their ups & down with every new upgrades.

 

[dJim]

yeah but like i said, i never get preinstalled any " extra program,game etc" but telemetry on windows it´s much less than google + android. and android devices come with muuch more bloatware

 

[Daviworld]

It truly is annoying, for my home win 10 pc and the few work win 10 pcs I manage. After every update all the effort you put into removing bloatware is automatically reinstalled. Unless you lift the hood and prevent it from doing so, in the ugly dirty fashion.

My only question to Microsoft is, why? *sigh* let your app store grow organically and let your user's decide what they want on their PC's based off popularity and don't go ignoring their efforts by installing crap they don't want.

Honestly the only time I have ever been in the win 10 store was to install subsystem Linux Debian and OpenSUSE

 

[SumTingWong]

How can you check it if you have the game bloatware?

 

[Janl1992l]

i never get any of those bloatware installed or reinstalled when upgraded.

Hm i dont get them too. Uninstalled them along, long time ago via iobit uninstaller. Never came back after a update, the april update doesnt bring them back. Hope it stays that way. But no big deal at all to remove bloat again when it is there again.

 

[Daviworld]

How can you check it if you have the game bloatware?

usually it is those obscure game's, like minesweeper and such. After removing them, usually after a big update they suddenly reappear with little new tabs above them, indicating they have been reinstalled

 

[SumTingWong]

usually it is those obscure game's, like minesweeper and such. After removing them, usually after a big update they suddenly reappear with little new tabs above them, indicating they have been reinstalled

IObit Uninstaller detect 27 unwanted Windows Apps and 7 third-party apps on my gaming rig.

 

[Daviworld]

IObit Uninstaller detect 27 unwanted Windows Apps and 7 third-party apps on my gaming rig.

lol, wow. I typically have about 12-17 I visually review and uninstall. If you uninstall them, just watch and make sure Window's doesn't reinstall them

 

[SumTingWong]

lol, wow. I typically have about 12-17 I visually review and uninstall. If you uninstall them, just watch and make sure Window's doesn't reinstall them

Alrighty. I will uninstall those that I don't really need it at all.

 

[Flengo]

This isn't new one bit. It's one of the things that eventually made me get sick of Windows enough to move completely over to Linux.

 

[Deleted member 178]

People in security forums are a niche, a specie living in a deep cavern in the middle of the jungle of a remote island hidden by fog in the middle of nowhere; with rules and motivations alien to others.

90% of the Average Joes in the real world don't care of telemetry and enjoy the apps store and those pre-installed games, you don't like it? suck it up.

MS is a business and do what is best to get load of cash, i would do the same if i was the CEO, my bank account is more important than few thousands geek's opinion...

And as Mr Spock said "the need of the many overweight the need of the few".

Welcome to real world. (as sad at it is).

 

[tim one]

People in security forums are a niche, a specie living in a deep cavern in the middle of the jungle of a remote island hidden by fog in the middle of nowhere; with rules and motivations alien to others.

Great @Umbra