I'm fine with it as long as MS targets ruthless scam software advertising. After all, we don't reject intercepting and removing spam mail on our behalf so why should software be any diff?

Finally. Until there is the option to white-list whatever you want, this is the best feature they can add to Defender.

RonanH:

Not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand I've regularly found these programs on people's pc and they do induce panic in non-techy people. Sometimes inducing them to purchasing unnecessary software. On the other hand, this is Microsoft actively removing software from your pc that it doesn't think is appropriate. What's to stop them from deciding the same for other types of software in the future. "This emulator can run pirated software - deleted" "This bittorrent program can be used for downloading copyrighted material - deleted" Slippery slope.

My thoughts exactly.

Brought to you by the company responsible for plastering your start menu with advertising.

nosirrahx:

Brought to you by the company responsible for plastering your start menu with advertising.

And gwx.exe with the malware like close button.

Is Windows defender mandatory in Win10 or can it be switched off?

It can be turned off via group policy which requires Windows 10 Pro or higher (No GPEdit in the home edition unless the tweaks work manually via registry editing.) and it has some settings, turning it off outside of a group policy though I think it re-activates after a few days though settings in the program itself persists. 🙂

RonanH:

Not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand I've regularly found these programs on people's pc and they do induce panic in non-techy people. Sometimes inducing them to purchasing unnecessary software. On the other hand, this is Microsoft actively removing software from your pc that it doesn't think is appropriate. What's to stop them from deciding the same for other types of software in the future. "This emulator can run pirated software - deleted" "This bittorrent program can be used for downloading copyrighted material - deleted" Slippery slope.

I came here to say almost the same things verbatim. However, I do find 2 things pretty comforting: 1. You can always disable Defender (not like it's all that great anyway). 2. The line MS draws could be very distinct. The software they're removing are basically phishing scams. There's a big difference between "this software is doing something immoral/illegal to you" vs "you are doing something immoral/illegal with this software". Defender is meant to protect you, not others, so as long as MS sticks by that philosophy, I don't think they'll start removing things like emulators or torrent downloaders.

Size_Mick:

Aside from CCleaner, are there any other good cleaner programs out there? I've never run into one.

Good question - I haven't come across either. I don't like CCleaner but at least it gets the job done. Back when I used to use Windows on a regular basis, I would just manually do the things CCleaner did, but nowadays I just boot into Windows to play games so I don't feel like micro-optimizing anymore.

I stopped using cleaning software years ago, made zero difference to storage space and OS performance when I stopped using it, and afterwards I gained back the free time I had wasted using it. When even the legitimate ones are pointless, going after the scam ones is hardly a bad thing.

I used to have Registry Mechanic for a long time, up to about 3-4 years ago when I realized it's useless. I never had any issues though, and seeing all those big red numbers "fixed" gave me a placebo feeling of having my OS run faster... 😳 I still use CCleaner (an older version) from time to time though, but other than that it's just Windows Security Essentials and Malwarebytes.

Same, I used to use CCleaner to clean temp files and registry. In the end it was useless because most temp files and caches and registry are needed there, and most of them auto-regenerates to make the windows faster, that's why there are created on the first place. After many years, I stopped using it, and in the end I don't notice any difference. The only small difference I notice is probably CCleaner is able to clean more temp files than usually windows does, anyway, it's not that big of a difference, I think this kind of tools are not needed nowadays.

southamptonfc:

Is Windows defender mandatory in Win10 or can it be switched off?

I believe it turns itself off when a proper recognized AV is installed. Its off in my case at least with Avast. When I disable Avast temporarily, Defender turns itself back on. Not sure if it respects manual off with no proper AV.

ObscureangelPT:

Same, I used to use CCleaner to clean temp files and registry. In the end it was useless because most temp files and caches and registry are needed there, and most of them auto-regenerates to make the windows faster, that's why there are created on the first place.

To be fair, Windows usually does an atrocious job at cleaning up after itself. Y'know how there's that common trope where a PC seems to run faster just by simply reinstalling Windows, no matter how lean you kept your previous install? That can usually be narrowed down to the poor custodial work of Windows - other OSes don't encounter this issue (well, except iOS if you include Apple's deliberate slowdowns). I'm not sure if CCleaner fixes such problems, but I'm sure it helps. Windows 8-10 seems to be much better about cleanliness to the point where performance losses aren't a big deal, but it's still messy. On the other hand, 4+ thread CPUs and SSDs have been a commodity lately, where maybe the performance of Windows still degrades over time but the extra grunt from the CPU makes it less noticeable.

schmidtbag:

To be fair, Windows usually does an atrocious job at cleaning up after itself. Y'know how there's that common trope where a PC seems to run faster just by simply reinstalling Windows, no matter how lean you kept your previous install? That can usually be narrowed down to the poor custodial work of Windows - other OSes don't encounter this issue (well, except iOS if you include Apple's deliberate slowdowns). I'm not sure if CCleaner fixes such problems, but I'm sure it helps. Windows 8-10 seems to be much better about cleanliness to the point where performance losses aren't a big deal, but it's still messy. On the other hand, 4+ thread CPUs and SSDs have been a commodity lately, where maybe the performance of Windows still degrades over time but the extra grunt from the CPU makes it less noticeable.

Well 10 has a slightly more thorough cleaner than before, only its a manual option if users remember its there when checking drive properties.

This could be a good thing. I've seen so many PCs wrecked or made unworkable because of these junk apps. When I'm asked to fix them, most of the time it's just a matter of uninstalling the problem apps or doing a complete reset/reinstall of Windows. A lot of people have no idea what these apps are and I feel bad for any non-tech person having to deal with them. Microsoft should do what they can to filter out obvious junk apps for the sake of their users (and they're really the only ones who can).

I haven't thought that a PC runs faster after a new Windows re-install for years, it has to be pre W8 and maybe even older than that and back in the XP days. My W10 install is getting on abit now, and being in the Fast Ring I must have had dozens of OS updates, and everything is fine. Maybe things do slow down and newer hardware has now negated the need for software like CCleaner, or maybe the OS doesn't require it, but either way it still makes such software unnecessary.

Redemption80:

I haven't thought that a PC runs faster after a new Windows re-install for years, it has to be pre W8 and maybe even older than that and back in the XP days.

It should run faster after a fresh install. Main reason I guess is that you have not yet installed any programs that automatically start with windows 😀. Of course this was more more the case with older OS's and certainly hardware before SSDs time and adequate RAM. I believe last time I used a reg cleaner was back in Win 98 days. Then you could sort of tell a difference. When RAM was 64mb and 128mb, a 5-10mb registry could make a difference.

alanm:

Well 10 has a slightly more thorough cleaner than before, only its a manual option if users remember its there when checking drive properties.

I agree, though generally users shouldn't have to run that cleaner in the first place, and there's a lot it still doesn't do like proper upkeep of the registry. There's also stuff it does that it shouldn't be responsible for, like clearing web caches. Keep in mind, caches are only practical if they actually improve performance or are needed as a failsafe. This becomes especially apparent when the OS/filesystem is notorious for fragmenting the data on the disk (which is another ridiculous issue in of itself - as far as I'm aware Windows is the only modern OS that still has you defragment HDDs, and doesn't use TRIM on SSDs on-the-fly). If you've got multiple GB of superfetch caches on a laptop HDD, programs probably are not going to launch faster. If the majority of your RAM is untouched and Windows decides to swap old things into the paging file, you are losing performance. If you did a major Windows update (like the "Creators Update"), you don't need the cached installer files from the previous major update (especially if you've got a restore point). If you uninstalled a program and checked a box that said to remove all config files, chances are, you don't want the registry entries either. EDIT: I'm not trying to lecture you, I'm just ranting about how much I hate Windows' maintenance.

schmidtbag:

as far as I'm aware Windows is the only modern OS that still has you defragment HDDs, and doesn't use TRIM on SSDs on-the-fly).

It is a consensus that Windows support (and use) TRIM for SSDs since Win7 . It is easy to check: http://forums.crucial.com/t5/Crucial-SSDs/Trim-support-on-Windows-2008/td-p/90472

Run this in a command window and see what you get! RUN > CMD > fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify Replies back will be as follows: DisableDeleteNotify 0 = TRIM Enabled DisableDeleteNotify 1 = TRIM Disabled

And also:

Trim is optional. All modern SSD's have built in garbage collection and look after themselves during idle time.

mbk1969:

It is a consensus that Windows since 7 use TRIM for SSDs.

I know it does - I said TRIM on-the-fly. Windows schedules TRIM, whereas other OSes do it immediately, or at least give you an option.