XPS 17 (L702x) unofficial 'carpware' thread (US version)

there is a lot of contrary discussion about i) what and how much 'crapware' (yes, i know it says 'carpware' in the title) is loaded on the new 702x i.e. enough to compromise performance or not, and ii) the best way to eradicate it.

in the US is there consensus about what constitutes the undesirable programs?

are there discernible advantages to 'clean installs' v. merely uninstalling undesired software? thanks.

to kick-off, my system has the following; i note what i suspect might be removed without harm and have questions about others. what do others recommend?

Camera Software 2.X, Factory Install
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Skype VOIP Application
DataSafe Local BackUp eliminate this upon arrival? some suggest this is not useful.
PC-Restore, Dim/Insp eliminate this upon arrival? some suggest this is not useful and is included on the system disk
DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron eliminate?
DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG what is this?
Cozi-Calendar what is this? does it sync with, complement Outlook or other calendars?
eBay Webslice what is this? should it be eliminated?
Windows Live Wave 4 what is this?
Resource DVD (L702X) what is this? a system recovery disk?
WHITEPAGES.COM,Webslice eliminate?
Dell Support Center Software 3.0 eliminate? what does it actually do?
Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Roxio Creator Starter, FI
McAfee Platinum, 15 Month, MUI this is almost universally seen as a resource hog w/better alternatives
Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Business, English
Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement once read; does this reside elsewhere-on Dell's site?
DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB what is it and is it worth using?
Software, DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB see above
S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks huh?

coda what about ancillary programs such as fonts? this program can slow down boot-up; can it be modified in such a way as to minimize impact and still have it available? Have you discovered others like that?

 

I never use online backups - for me, that's what secondary and external HD's are for. That said, if you're into cloud computing, the datasafe may be something you wanna keep

I typically keep the Dell software (can't remember the name) that checks for current drivers, BIOS, etc, simply because it does the work of checking for me - if you're not as lazy about keeping up-to-date as I am, you may wanna get rid of it

I'd get rid of ebay and whitepages (who uses a phonebook anymore? even a digital one is useless)

The other stuff I don't know enough about to comment on

 

At our store, we take pride in un-delling (toshi, hp, etc) the laptops the second they come out of the box. We strip it down to what is truly needed and replace the garbage sw with better options.

Use this site, it rocks -- Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once

Good clean software that even us techs use. After tunings, we get about 20-30% better system response and performance than out of the box.

 

To add onto what whackamac said, remember to defrag your computer; last laptop I bought from a store ran like crap until I uninstalled a bunch of junk and defragged it - then it ran like it should

 

kill macafee post-haste and download microsoft security essentials ( http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/). it's all you need.

 

^This. You can also use pcdecrapifier to remove all of the ones you want to all at once. It will even show you programs installed but do not show up elsewhere.

 

Thanks. that looks like a useful site. what are your professional recommendations for the following:
a music player;
music/audio editor (Audacity is on the Ninite site- have you any experience with it) and, of course,
CD burning software

all of those capabilities are 'built-in' to the systems we are receiving; are there better (free) alternatives; certainly there may be better alternatives for purchase, but where is the point of diminishing returns? from the sounds of it, through your business you see a broad spectrum of the various apps.....

Thanks to xmacro: makes sense to defrag when 'cleaning up'....as does the 'lazy man's' option to let dell check for current drivers, etc. i am not that meticulous that i would keep up....

bydoempire- another vote of confidence for McAfee.....

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. BELAY THAT ORDER SAILOR!!!!

Granted MSE is not as bad as Mcafee or Norton, there are far better and leaner options out there. Over the years of doing repairs and fumbling through bad anti-virus, etc... we came to a great pair that do the trick...

Avast! Anti-Virus Free AND
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

These kill 99% of even the most difficult infections. If you actually buy Malwarebytes ($25) it has proven to be the most bullet-proof solution that exists. I use it on several large servers that used to be prone to infection before I took their account over... This combination is lean and mean and will not slow down your computer like the others.

Microsoft Security Essentials is okay but it is a bit heavier on the system than Avast...

Stay away from AVG too. They used to be our shop choice about 2 yrs ago, but they decided to go BIG and box their software. Of course their R&D suffered and frankly AVG 2011 stinks. Our customers hate it compared to older AVG versions.

If you prefer, there is even a better free antivirus that is better than Avast!. It is called Avira. It is VERY strong. Only side effect is that you have to close a popup every time it updates that asks you to buy it. No big deal for a FREE antivirus that is FAR better than many paid antivirus programs.

We give this program + Malwarebytes to problematic clients that cannot stop downloading from frostwire and other virus prone illegal file sharing sites. And a nice hefty bill . No mercy for pirates... You may be getting "free" software, but you will pay eventually. Usually us tech shops that remove all the infections that stopped you from downloading more illegal stuff.

It's great. Illegal software downloaders literally just paid for my new loaded XPS 17 3D that I just bought. Thanks guys! Keep up the good work!

For the rest, just remember, they are constantly writing viruses to defeat the antiviruses. Just because you have the "latest and greatest AV" does NOT mean you are never going to get infected. Viruses, Spyware, RootKits, Trojans, Adware, and others infect in many different ways now which is why it is so hard for the AV softwares to keep up. There is no single tool that truly does everything. But these 2 tools I recommended will sure get them off if they do get on there...

BTW... RootKits are a different breed. They register themselves as legitimate system files fooling even the best AV softwares. BUT! there is a program for that too... Google it... cant give away all the trade secrets