The PC Decrapifier

This version has been cooking up for quite some time now. Version 2.0.0 brings you a complete rewrite of the application. I got to the point where I exceeded the limits of the scripting language I was using and the program was becoming a maintenance nightmare. This isn't to say anything bad about the scripting language, in fact, it's one of the coolest tools I've used. However, it just wasn't designed for what I needed to do.

A new version has just been posted with lots of great updates! This version focused on removing crap from the latest Toshiba Laptops. Some of the newly detected apps are: Norton 360, Microsoft Office 2007 Trial and Activation Assistant, Quickbooks Financial Center, Napster, Memeo AutoBackup and Picasa 2. There were some additional bug fixes for WildTangent Games (again!) and Symantec LiveUpdate.

So, Sony's been in the tech news this week for rolling out their new "fresh start" option. This gives you the privileged to pay Sony an additional $50 to get a PC without crapware. To me this really shows the character of Sony. Back in September 2007, PC World did a test a bunch of PCs and gave them a "Junk Rating." Sony was the top offender. So, instead of trying to improve their image by just not installing the crap, they want to charge you more to "remove" it.

Just released 1.8.8 with some bug fixes and new items detected. Enjoy!

Click here to download

Just added to the website.. a new feature to allow you to submit and vote on crap applications (crapplications, get it?). Ok, so join in and tell us about the worst of them, vote and add comments. They can be full applications that were pre-loaded on your computer or maybe you (or your kids) downloaded some spammy application. Or, maybe there's a desktop or system tray icon that shouldn't be there. Let us know.

Interesting story over on the Consumerist website about a customer who had some problems with his PC after uninstalling some of the bloatware. He was told it was his fault and he shouldn't have done that.

PC World just did an article in the November 2007 issue of PC World called "Junkbusters!" The article talks about the PC Decrapifier and also includes a picture of yours truly. Of course this will sound biased, but this actually one of the better articles I've seen on the crapware problem.

Announcing the release of version 1.8.6 of the PC Decrapifier.

New features include:

• Ability to check for a more recent version of the PC Decrapifier
• Removal of MANY more desktop icons
• New algorithm for WildTangent games, greatly improving detection
• Disabling of Travelocity Gadget in Vista
• Fixed a problem with removal of Google Desktop
• Added removal for BigFix
• Uninstall list now provides link to more detailed information

Click here for the download

I've now added the "What it Removes" list to a sortable database. The descriptions and comments are still fairly sparse right now, but they will be updated further as time permits. You can check out the new list by clicking on "What it Removes" under the "Features" link to the left, or just click here.

I've now added a news feed to the front page of the site. I'll be updating this regularly with interesting PC Decrapifier related items, including release notifications. Be sure to add this RSS feed to your favorite RSS reader (such as Google Reader.)