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Microsoft starts bundling Windows 11 with its 'PC optimizer' app in some regions (www.neowin.net)

submitted 5 months ago by lemmee_in@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world

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PC optimizers are not a new concept, and they have been around for quite a while. Nowadays, many consider them unnecessary, but having an official program made by Microsoft that is capable of (allegedly) speeding up your PC may sound quite appealing.

However, Microsoft's PC Manager has already raised quite a few eyebrows when customers caught it recommending some questionable optimizing techniques, injecting affiliate links, and shamelessly claiming your PC needs repair if Bing is not set as the default search engine. Yikes.

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[-] henfredemars@infosec.pub 42 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Cool idea MS. If only you had access to the OS itself to prevent it from gradually slowing down and littering the system with junk. Since we can't fix Windows (Only the maker of Windows can do that!), let's make a dedicated band-aid app to fix Windows.

Maybe whoever is working on Windows will get the message and fix those problems that your tool was built to fix.

Funny thing that my Android phone and Linux desktop don't need antivirus, don't accumulate junk in registries or system folders, and don't require dedicated optimization tools.

[-] mynachmadarch@kbin.social 16 points 5 months ago

Although I agree in general, the antivirus complaint isn't really fair. Windows was by and large the largest install base, especially in the corporate sector. It only makes sense it became the most targeted. Scam apps and that's do exist on Android and Linux, they're just mitigated other ways. For now.

[-] henfredemars@infosec.pub 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I see it more as a distribution problem. It’s unrealistic to expect users to download software and verify that the sources are trustworthy. Having some kind of store with developer accountability goes a long way to preventing malware. That, and sandboxing.

It’s always possible to write malware for any platform. It’s not entirely a fair comparison.

[-] shasta@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago

Windows has a store. Most people just choose not to use it.

[-] henfredemars@infosec.pub 1 points 5 months ago

Microsoft tries to offer one, but there’s not a lot of incentive for developers to use it.

[-] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

'Antivirus' is a cope. Anti-libre software bans us from removing malicous source code.

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this post was submitted on 24 May 2024

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