Standard Practices For New PC, May 2017 Edition

May 23, 2017 9:44 AM

My mom just got a new laptop, and has asked me to "set it up" for her. (For example, removing bloatware and dealing with virus protection.) I was once a Windows power user, but I've been using Macs exclusively for about eight years now. What does setting up a new PC entail in 2017?

She'll mostly be using it for email and Excel, since the majority of her web browsing is on the iPad these days.

• What's the go-to bloatware removal tool these days?
• Where are we with anti-virus software? I remember Windows Defender being a good free option, but apparently that's built into Windows these days. Do I need to go beyond it?
• Any settings that should be tweaked to make her life (and mine!) any easier?

posted by Ian A.T. to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

I'm not aware of any specific bloatware removal tool.

Here's a quick run down. Setup a local account*. Then uninstall everything that's pre-installed. That'll take care of most of the HP bloatware. You can manually uninstall/hide most windows apps or you can use PowerShell to remove them. Then use ccleaner to remove leftover files and cleanup the registry.

Windows Defender is enough for day to day stuff. Be sure to check out Deezil's site for more advanced virus removal when you need it.

You'll want to disable Telemetry. And use Ninite to install 3rd party programs of your choosing (7-zip, Chrome, Firefox, Java, etc.)

Finally check the startup (task manager, ctrl+shift+esc, startup tab) to see what's running on startup. Disable or uninstall anything you don't want.

*My preference is to do all the initial cleanup/setup from a local account before I setup my own account.
posted by zinon at 10:16 AM on May 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

PC Decrapifier is what I use for bloat.

Avast for AV - not a fan of MS Security Essentials but Windows Defender is okay for malware, I think.

I think zinon's suggestion for using a local account for all the configuring, then setting up a fresh account when done is a great one.
posted by getawaysticks at 10:18 AM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Bloatware: just jump in the add/remove programs dialog and uninstall stuff. I would keep things that are like "HP Shortcut Buttons", those tend to do things like make the buttons above the keyboard work. I would remove stuff like "HP Supplies Manager" they will bug you.

Anti-Virus: Use Windows Defender. I like to install Spybot too, and run the immunize tool.

Make Life Easier: Install TeamViewer, and put a shortcut on the desktop, so when she inevitably has a problem you can just fire up TeamViewer on your computer, and get her to read the ID & password out to you and you can take control of her machine (or at least see what's on her screen).

Select all the software she might use on Ninite. Chrome, Firefox, SpyBot, VLC, , Open Office, etc, and Ninite will automatically install all of them for you. Leave the Ninite program on her desktop, and tell her once a month to run Ninite, and it will update her software.

If your mom has been using Windows 7 or earlier she might be confused by the start menu. With Ninite install Classic Start, and that will bring back the old start menu.

Remove all the shortcuts to Internet Explorer. So she has to use Chrome or Firefox. Setup a password manager like Lastpass on both Chrome and Firefox. Explain how to get Lastpass to deal with passwords.
posted by gregr at 10:20 AM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I can't speak to all the recommendations, but Lifehacker has a Set Up and Get to Know Your New Windows PC article which might provide some options.
posted by bluecore at 10:21 AM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Bloatware removal: PC Decrapifier

AV: Just use Windows Defender, but add on the paid for version of MalwareBytes to back it up.

Put TeamViewer on that computer so that she can run it to let you connect, and install it on your computer too so that you can connect in if she has issues.

Ninite will help you install things like Chrome/Firefox/TeamViewer/whatever else.
posted by deezil at 10:22 AM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Seconding Ninite! It is your friend.
posted by old_growler at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Adding:
* Set Chrome/Firefox as her default browser
* Install uBlock or another ad blocker with a Malware domains list.
* Teach your mom how to temporarily disable uBlock if something doesn't work.
* Teach her to say "No" or just close security popups, and to call you if she has questions.
* Teach her not to open attachments or click links in email, especially if they have to do with banking or buying things.
* Install Secunia PSI. It won't update everything, but she'll be better off with it than without it.
* Make a PC recovery disk or thumb drive now if you're given the option.
* Create a local administrator account for yourself and keep the password.
* Write down her Wifi network name, wifi password and router admin user and password. Either keep them with you or just stick them to the bottom of the router. Two years from now when something goes wrong, you (and she) will have no idea what these things are. Ask me how I know!

You other questions:
* I debloat manually.
* Just use the built-in antivirus.
* N'thing using a remote access tool that she can initiate.
posted by cnc at 12:21 PM on May 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Along the lines of zinon, I create a separate admin account, then a regular-user account which is what I tell the family-member to use and generally set to auto-login. Depending on how often you want to get a phone call asking for the admin password, it may be a good idea to turn UAC all the way up, which will prompt them for password every time something tries to modify the system. If I trust the user, I'll give them the admin username and password so they can do it themselves, which gives them a second to think about whether they want to enter it while they try and remember the admin password. But, having a separate admin user aside from the one Windows tries to create for you on first boot helps prevent a lot of carelessness issues.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:24 PM on May 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you, everyone for your incredible advice. I really appreciate all of you taking the time to answer so thoroughly. I'll let you know how it goes!
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:33 PM on May 23, 2017

I asked a similar question a few months ago. I've been running with just Windows Defender and so far no problems.
posted by Nelson at 4:19 PM on May 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks again for all your help. I did a lot of what was recommended here and the setup was a breeze.
posted by Ian A.T. at 11:07 AM on May 30, 2017 [1 favorite]