Lenovo promises to stop bundling crapware on PCs
Crapware (also know as "bloatware" or "junkware") is the stuff that hardware makers install onto their devices on top of the operating system. Hardware makers do it because profit margins in the PC business are razor thin, and they are more than happy to install junk onto new systems in exchange for a few bucks.
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One of the most commonly installed items of crapware - not to mention the most profitable - is antivirus software. Lenovo itself bundled trial versions of McAfee LiveSafe on its PCs. However, given that Windows now includes a free, fully-functional - not to mention excellent - antivirus package, it's wholly unnecessary and nothing more than a cash grab by the OEMs.
Lenovo had bundled Superfish onto certain consumer PCs "to improve the shopping experience using their visual discovery techniques," but this backfired when it was discovered that the software made systems vulnerable to attack.
Now Lenovo is pledging to give customers a far purer Windows experience.
"We are starting immediately, and by the time we launch our Windows 10 products, our standard image will only include the operating system and related software, software required to make hardware work well (for example, when we include unique hardware in our devices, like a 3D camera), security software and Lenovo applications," the company said in a statement. "This should eliminate what our industry calls 'adware' and 'bloatware.' For some countries, certain applications customarily expected by users will also be included."
The company has also published information on how consumers can remove Superfish.
Additionally Lenovo has promised to post information about all the software it preloads onto PCs along with an explanation of what it does.
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