PCs, for a long time, had a bloatware problem. The major PC manufacturers—Dell, Asus, Acer, and the like—had a bad habit of including "free trials" of software like Norton AntiVirus on new devices.

For a certain kind of computer buyer, the first thing you always did with a new laptop or desktop from a company like Dell, HP, Acer, or Asus wasn’t to open the box and start using it. Instead, you ...

Above and beyond the benefits of a fresh do-over, clean installing Windows 11 improves security, exposes new features, and more. With the Windows 10 end of support date arriving on October 14, ...

After trying out in-place upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 from 23H2 and measuring the differences, we tried a clean install to see if this was the better way to go. Microsoft this week lifted another ...

As part of its recent campaign to make Windows the platform of choice for "hybrid work," Microsoft is rolling out a new security feature. It's called Smart App Control and it's kind of like Windows ...

Microsoft has not yet removed a mandatory clean install requirement for a Windows 11-exclusive feature, which is said to boost performance. Performance gains are something likely everyone looks ...