Is this something that should concern me?
I use a MS supplied copy of Windows, wipe the drive, and start from scratch.
I also redo that about once per year.
one thing i did was to download windows 7 ISO- reformat my compute,r and install the new ISO and of course i had to go and find a few drivers for certain components in computer, but it’s now HP crapware free-
Something that torques my jaws is all the wortless crapware apps that come PRE-INSTALLED on my Samsung smart phones. And WORSE than that, is that the techs at the phone store tell me the apps cannot be uninstalled or disabled. Is there a brand that DOESN’T do that?
Ping
I stopped buying HP printers over 15 years ago because they came packaged with all sorts of software to run on PCs, and made it difficult to simply locate and install print drivers alone. It’s ridiculous that a peripheral device need 6 programs running in the background. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it was spyware
THANK YOU so much for posting this - my new(ish)HP was bogging down this week and now I know why; disabled and uninstalled the garbage program and all is well.
HP is spying on you should you happen to print out any posters that say, “It is OK to be white”.
We’re all being stalked.
What Tom Servo said.
I keep an external hard drive loaded with all programs and drivers needed to operate. I make an image with macrium (or easeus) and also put that on the external hard drive. I then use a small dedicated USB thumbdrive for starting the computer (since your hard drive drive is occupied for a reimage.
You do not own the software that is on your hard drive, unless you wrote the whole OS yourself.
You only buy a license to use a product that someone else created, owns, and maintains.
This includes MS, Mac, and Android operating systems.
As a user, and not an owner, you have no reasonable right to privacy involving the use of an operating system, software application, firmware, or communications networks that you did not create and maintain yourself.
If you don’t like the terms of their agreements, then create your own software, hardware, and encrypted communications systems.
Read the EULA sometime.
Hard to say.
I manage about 100pcs among other things and the first thing I do or have one of my minions do is to uninstall ALL the bloatware that comes on any brand name computer winds up in my facility.
The latest HPs I've seen have like 20 little craplets that all run and I'm quite sure they are scarfing up data and reporting it back to the mothership. I don't even allow the network cord to be plugged in before all that stuff is scrubbed off a machine. I prefer fresh installs but sometimes I get bargain machines that are too cheap to pass up.
My advice to you is to uninstall everything HP except the printer driver if you have an HP printer. Even then, uninstall the "suite" and just run the bare driver. If it's an inkjet The printer will stop working if the ink levels get low and all the laser printers have toner levels on the display.
Bkmk
DIE, CORPORATE SCUM!
PING!
check your control panel and look to the list of programs to uninstall; mine was installed without my knowledge or agreement on 21 Nov.
My HP computer is almost ten years old (bought used), and my laser printer, more than 15 years old. They run like lightning on either Linux or *BSD. Easy to use for business or design with free software, and everything works fine.