What programs to remove from Updated Windows 7 to 10 Laptop?

Old laptop. Dell inspiron n5010. i3-370 processor, 4gb ram and 500gb hard drive. Its either 5400 or 7200rpm hard drive.


Laptop is real slow. But did the windows update to get 10. I see there is windows defender so you can scan for virus/malware. I see other programs in this computer include


avast
malwarebytes
adguard
hitmanpro


I removed avast. What about the other ones? I know malwarebytes you should keep. But don't you need 2? Like something like windows defender or avast and something like malwarebytes?


I ask this because i think some of this adguard or hitmanpro could make this laptop lag more so i want to remove it.


I assume just keep malwarebytes?

You should only ever have one anti virus active at a time as if there is mor than one they can conflict and therefore not work. You can have more than one scanners as long as only one is resident. Windows defender and malwarebytes should do the job unless your high risk. If it a 5400 rpm swapping to a ssd will make the system fly as would more ram. A 480 gig ssd is about £50

All my computers, about 10 of them, run Windows Defender only.

Malwarebytes is often recommended alongside Defender. However, in your situation, I'd have it that Mal must manually be activated. So that it's not always on in the background. You have to pay to have that feature and so the free version is manual.

Also -- Malwarebytes finds stuff Defender doesn't.

Your PC will crawl if you ever run both at the same time.

Well in my personal laptop dell xps, i only ran the windows defender because i read that is all was needed. Then when i asked question on the malware forum, i was told you should have 2... windows defender or something like avast and something that checks malware like malwarebytes.


So malwarebytes is not needed then? Yea i thought malwarebytes would find stuff defender doesn't. But the free version of malwarebytes doesn't do this but windows defender does?


For me, only windows defender is on. I don't run malwarebytes unless i do a scan... this is for my computer though.

1. Install a cheap SSD which will make the laptop fly!
2. Defender is fine
3. Check you now have digital licence then consider doing a clean install and then install only the programs you really need Clean Install Windows 10
4. Use Autoruns to check / disable which 3rd party stuff runs at start-up https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sys...loads/autoruns
5. Ensure you backup your full system - Macrium Reflect Free is excellent

paulyjustin said:

Well in my personal laptop dell xps, i only ran the windows defender because i read that is all was needed. Then when i asked question on the malware forum, i was told you should have 2... windows defender or something like avast and something that checks malware like malwarebytes.

No, not Avast. That can be too intrusive. Difficult to remove too, there's an Avast tool to do that. Avast Uninstall Utility | Download aswClear for Avast Removal

So malwarebytes is not needed then? Yea i thought malwarebytes would find stuff defender doesn't...

Many here like to use the free version of Malwarebytes alongside Defender. That's an on-demand scanner only, it doesn't provide active protection (so won't interfere with Defender) but can be used to do a manual scan occasionally for reassurance (though usually it won't find anything that Defender has missed). ADWCleaner from Malwarebytes is another scanner that can do the same.

Malwarebytes | AdwCleaner - Free Adware Cleaner & Removal Tool | Malwarebytes


Defender does not by default detect and block Potentially Unwanted Programs/Aplications (PUPs/PUAs) except in the Enterprise edition. But it can be enabled in any edition, including Home.

Enable or Disable Windows Defender PUA Protection in Windows 10

CountMike said:

...most ready made brand name computers and laptops come with tons of SW not really needed and each one takes a chunk of your computer's resources which can seriously hamper it's performance.

ADWCleaner can be useful there. It now not only detects and removes PUPs, it also finds and can remove all your OEM pre-installed software. Be careful though, some may not be 'bloatware'. You may want to right-click on a few and excluded them.

Probably a good idea to make a Macrium system image before you remove anything, just in case you delete something useful by mistake!



Malwarebytes | AdwCleaner - Free Adware Cleaner & Removal Tool | Malwarebytes