Junkbusters!

A Persistent Problem

Photograph: Blake Discher

Junkware isn't new, but it has become so pervasive that many buyers of new PCs have started to complain. Jason York, a Detroit-area electrical engineer, didn't stop there: He created the PC Decrapifier, a handy little program that automates the uninstall process for many trial- and adware titles and also cleans out various startup entries. York got the idea for the Decrapifier after helping a friend set up a new Dell laptop a couple of years ago. "I was appalled at how much effort was involved just to get the PC into a usable state out of the box," York recalls. Most computer technicians and recent PC buyers have similar tales.

"I bought a Dell PC for my wife and was horrified at the amount of time she wasted killing never-say-die Craplets," says supercomputer specialist Lee Higbie of Fairbanks, Alaska. He adds, "I've heard that Dell now allows a no-trialware installation...without that option, I wouldn't consider Dell again."

We discovered that Dell does indeed allow PC purchasers to opt out of a lot of third-party extras when we recently bought a couple of Inspiron 530 desktops online. The computers arrived with far fewer non-Windows extras on them than the Dell-supplied Inspiron 531 we initially tested (for a comparison, click on the screen-shot thumbnail at left). To achieve that relative state of cleanliness, however, we had to carefully uncheck a lot of boxes as we went through Dell's lengthy customization wizard. Because we made no special effort to order gunk-free systems from the other vendors, we decided to keep the Inspiron 531 on our chart.

It's worth noting that some preloaded programs are quite convenient. Many people use Acrobat Reader, or the Roxio or Nero CD/DVD-burning software that comes with some systems. But most such extras are not so worthwhile.