Craig Crossman photo Craig Crossman
National Newspaper Computer Columnist

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PROGRAM GETS RID OF PROGRAMS

Advertising these days is just about everywhere. Most media, be it print or broadcasting, is advertising driven because it works. When I watch TV, I anticipate when the commercial is about to appear. Sometimes I watch because many of them put in the effort to make them somewhat entertaining as well as informative. But I always have the option to watch them, flip the channel or take a break. With newspapers and magazines, it's pretty much the same. If I see something of interest, I'll look further. If not, they get ignored.

I'm still not sure if I like seeing ads before I go to see a movie in the theatre. At first, I was outraged when I saw an ad before the movie. But they're getting better at it. Some of the ads are downright entertaining.
Theaters are now using some kind of PowerPoint advertising equipment before the actual projector begins rolling the previews. For the most part, I've come to accept advertising within these venues. But let me say right now that I'll never come to accept ads and telemarketing calls pushed to my cell phone. It's invasive and many times I even have to pay for the ad via some kind of connection fee. Yet there's one other venue that I'm still on the fence about when it comes to advertising and that's my computer.

The Internet is ad driven and I'm OK with that. I understand how advertising makes possible so many of the free services I enjoy online. But there's another kind of advertising that may be crossing the line or at the very least, giving it a really strong bend. I'm referring to what happens when you buy a brand new computer and turn it on for the first time.

There sitting on your brand new, pristine desktop are countless icons pitching products and services with special offers. Your system tray is piled full of little icons that represent applications and utilities that immediately go online to see if all of these unsolicited products are up to date. Some ads may auto-start and run like some kind of desktop application pretending to be a helpful program launcher menu but displays ad banners while it runs. This happens because the company who made your new computer has sold this advertising space on your computer to those companies who are trying to convince you that you need their products and services. Now maybe if you are brand new to computing, all of these pitches may be of some service in helping you to get started. Maybe. If you're an experienced user who has just bought a new system, these things will be nothing more than an irritation. Chances are you already know about them and probably even own a few of them too. So now you're going to have to take the time and be rid of each and every one of these things which can take you hours if not days to do. But fortunately, you may not have to.

The PC Decrapifier is a free program that was written by someone who's been through this too many times and wants to spare you from sharing that same experience. And if you're a PC technician, for a small fee you can use the PC Decrapifier as a tool to clean up any new equipment you might be selling to your clients. PC Decrapifier is pretty easy to use. Just download the utility from the PC Decrapifier website and run it on any newly purchased computer. It was originally designed for use on Dell and HP computers but according to the PC Decrapifier website, it can be used on just about any new computer you wish to "decrapify."

When PC Decrapifier runs, you see a window with a list of all the products and ads it can identify. At that point, you can choose to place a checkmark next to any or all of the listed items and click on the Process button. PC Decrapifier will then begin cleaning your PC. If nothing is found, the display will notify you and the program will simply end.

In a world of advertising driven media, it's nice to know that there's something out there that gives you a choice in the decision making process when you turn on that shiny new computer for the first time. Granted you may want to keep, purchase and subscribe to any number of these things. But then again, you may not and if that's the case, then you'll find PC Decrapifier to be of value.

www.pcdecrapifier.com




 


Craig Crossman is a McClatchy-Tribune newspaper columnist writing about computers and technology. He also hosts the nation's longest running nationally syndicated radio talk show on computers and technology, Computer America, heard on both the Business TalkRadio Network® and the Lifestyle TalkRadio Network®, weeknights at 10PM Eastern time.  Visit his website at http://www.computeramerica.com

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