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  • Hacker News
  • My favorite anti-spyware tool for Windows is Linux.
    by segfaltnh
  • This isn’t helpful to the fairly large percentage of people who are forced to use Windows by their employers
    by smt88
  • Huge fan of this. I run it once on a fresh format, and then I never have to worry about Windows annoying me again.

    (And no, I simply do not like Linux or even macOS enough to switch over, despite being perfectly competent. That, and I play video games that will never be compatible.)

    by ChoosesBarbecue
  • You should check your settings (or run this again) after each major update, because Microsoft loves to reset some settings to default.
    by celsoazevedo
  • I'm always hesitant to trust these things after one of them turned off CRL checking because external connectivity = bad!!1
    by taspeotis
  • This is highly welcome. MS practically forces you to use something like this. It's like an ad blocker.
    by isolay
  • This is more a decrapifier than an "anti-spy tool". Yes, it also lets you easily block things like microphone access and disable AI features, but it's not a firewall.

    I started using it with Windows 10 because I could disable most of the crap Microsoft was using with a few clicks. When I reinstalled Windows 11, this was one of the first things I ran because of how much shit there's now (weather, news, recommended apps, ai, etc). I have almost everything disabled.

    We can do the same by following some guides, setting up system policies and go to 20 different menus, but this does the same in 1 or 2 minutes.

    Unfortunately, over the years, ShutUp10 has also suffered from some enshittification itself. Now there's a message tell you to buy the premium version, more branding, etc. I understand why, and considering it still does the job and still runs without having to install it, perhaps I shouldn't complain too much especially when it's free, but it used to be more "bare-bones"... something that I prefer on these tools.

    by celsoazevedo
  • I removed my dual boot in 2009, so the last windows I used on a personal computer was Vista. I switched my close family (parents and even my grand mother) to Linux years ago, nevertheless I still am the tech-savyy go-to person for other people and I am completely disconnected from what's going on the Windows world. Is an antivirus still needed there? Are there some good tools that should always be installed on a computer? The only thing I usually do is to put as many free software as I can (Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, VLC, Gimp...) But then what ?
    by flaburgan
  • Yes, antivirus is still required but as long as you have decent common sense, the built in antivirus and antimalware on Windows (sometimes known as Windows Defender or Windows Security) is good enough for most users (the only use case where I can see commercial AV solution being of any use is for compliance checklists). Chocolatey, Winget, and Scoop are all good options for installing software.

    Oh and you will love Powershell 7 on Windows Terminal. It is a delight and a breath of fresh air if you ask me.

    by collabs
  • No source code? No thanks but no thanks.

    There also seems to be a lot of ‘privacy’ tools popping up on github lately. It’s a good time to be wary of any if you don’t trust the author 100%.

    It’s like when HIV emerged in the 80s - the disco days of free love are over. Be wary of who you’re sleeping with, and always wear a condom.

    by afpx
  • a myriad STDs existed before HIV.
    by vlyan
  • O&O has been around for decades, they're among the OGs of third party functionality providers for Windows.
    by mschuster91
  • There are plenty of better open source alternatives like FlyOOBE:

    https://github.com/builtbybel/FlyOOBE/

    by swat535
  • > There also seems to be a lot of ‘privacy’ tools popping up on github lately.

    FWIW, O&O ShutUp10 dates back to 2015, with the launch of Windows 10. This isn't v10, it's "Shut Up, [Windows] 10!".

    O&O Defrag has been a trusted tool since 1998.

    That said, I largely agree with "No source code? No thanks." as I don't want to worry about a private equity group buying O&O Software and doing with it what they will.

    by nerdsniper
  • - imagine a version of windows made from the ground up with 0 spyware, 0 adware, 0 bloatware

    - 100% minimal designed for absolute performance coded ground up in rust

    - backward compatibility by required drivers on the fly instead of bloating the OS with 30 yrs of support for all the. 456257963423512 hardware device types

    - Its called "Windows Maximal" priced 4x the cost of Windows Home

    - when are we getting this version of windows?

    by vivzkestrel
  • > - 100% minimal designed for absolute performance coded ground up in rust

    Rust didn't exist in 90s yet Windows' performance was pretty good speed, consumption or bloat-wise.

    by kasabali
  • We had it, it was called Windows 2000, and it was awesome. FreeBSD on the server and Windows 2000 on the desktop, a match made in heaven. It was a beautiful year.

    Since then, computing has only deteriorated.

    by Gud
  • Windows LTSC / IoT comes pretty damned close. It's the only version I install. I'm always shocked by the <20 processes running in Task Manager on a clean install.
    by nerdsniper
  • You may also check out https://github.com/flick9000/winscript. It has a GUI, but generates a powershell script.

    https://github.com/ramensoftware/windhawk is also worth mentioning, I use it to unfuck the Taskbar.

    by nilslindemann
  • Open-source alternatives that offer similar functionality:

    - WinScript: https://winscript.cc/

    - Winhance: https://winhance.net/

    I find O&O ShutUp10 easier to use and understand.

    by pentagrama
  • https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator made all those tools obsolete and useless for the most part, "debloating" after it's installed is always bad business.

    https://wpd.app works well too for extra telemetry and https://github.com/builtbybel/privatezilla still works with Windows 11 but again autounattend.xml works magic.

    by eahm
  • > https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator made all those tools obsolete and useless for the most part, "debloating" after it's installed is always bad business.

    Unattended is no "magic". Go ahead and inspect the xml file created by that utility, all the customization and debloating is practically same as running a script post install.

    If you really want to debloat before it's installed you want this: https://ntlite.com/

    by kasabali
  • Unless I am doing something wrong, you should also use WPD and Winaero Tweaker, and preferably Windows 8.1 or lower, although that can be debated down to 98.
    by yunaflox