Windows comes with a lot of pre-installed junk out of the box. This is called bloatware and has been a major problem to the point that removing bloatware from Windows 11 remains one of the first things people do after a fresh Windows install.
But among the pile of useless software that slows down your PC and causes unnecessary resource consumption, there are some genuinely useful programs. Some of these tools are genuinely powerful and can even replace paid alternatives altogether.
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Windows Security
Your built-in antivirus is better than you think
Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOfCredit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf
Windows Security gets a bad rap from people stuck in the past. It used to be weak, and it won’t protect you from everything out there, but for the average user, it’s more than enough protection. It doesn’t cost you a cent, comes enabled by default in Windows, and surprisingly doesn’t eat up all your system resources.
You also get real-time scanning, which catches malware automatically. You can schedule custom scans for specific folders or run comprehensive system scans whenever you want to. Apart from that, you get ransomware protection, firewall management, WI-Fi inspection, and family controls—all bundled in a neat package with a rather intuitive UI.
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Clipboard History
Copy and paste just got supercharged
Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOfCredit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf
This feature is criminally underrated. It’s extremely simple to use, and once you get the hang of it, copy-pasting, one of the most basic operations on a computer, becomes surprisingly easy. Just press the Windows Key + V shortcut, and you’ll see the last 25 items you’ve copied, including text, images, HTML, file links, and more.
For example, if you copy a link, then text, realize you need the link back, you don’t have to copy it again. Just open your clipboard history, and it’s right there. You can also pin frequently used items like code or text snippets so they stick around permanently, even during reboots. Microsoft lets you sync your clipboard history to devices via your Microsoft account as well.
Screenshots made simple—no third-party apps needed
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The Snipping Tool has gone from being a basic screenshot utility to a rather capable little tool. It also has an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature that extracts text from images.
It’s accessible via a simple keyboard shortcut (Control + Shift + C) and lets you take screenshots and quick screen recordings in different sizes and aspect ratios. There’s also a color picker built into the tool so you can grab a color code from any image on your screen.
You can edit images, highlight parts, draw shapes and symbols, and more before the final result gets copied to your clipboard. This makes screenshot sharing a far better experience than just relying on the Print Screen key. And unless you have a specific requirement, this is more than enough screenshot capturing and editing utility you need.
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Task Scheduler
A hidden automation gem right inside Windows
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Task Scheduler is another Windows tool that doesn’t see much use, but can do a lot once you figure out how to use it. As the name suggests, the tool lets you automate repetitive tasks based on time or system events.
Schedule weekly backups, launch specific apps at specific times, run clean-up scripts every weekend, or execute virtually any action on a predetermined schedule—the Task Scheduler is there for you. The interface is a little technical, compared to alternatives like RunMyJobs by Redwood, or Task Till Dawn, but it’s built right into Windows and can be an extremely useful tool to have once you get used to it.
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Microsoft Edge
The new Edge isn’t the Chrome clone you remember
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Yes, Windows slams you pretty hard in the face with Edge, but it’s for good reason. When Microsoft decided to port Edge to Chromium, I gave it another shot. Since, it has remained my primary and now backup browser in my long quest to find the perfect Windows browser.
It’s got just about every feature you need, the extension support that Chrome gets, and is much easier on your system resources and battery life. It’s one of the best browsers that aren’t Google Chrome, and it’s available on Windows the moment you’re ready to go. Additionally, if you’re already in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, the integration is seamless and saves you from bouncing between apps.
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Xbox Game Bar
More than just for gamers—this overlay does it all
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Yes, it says Xbox, but this isn’t gaming bloat, at least if you’ve got the hardware to handle it. The Xbox Game Bar is one of the best built-in screen recording tools on any OS. The design might be focused towards gamers, but I frequently use the tool to record quick videos of my display and other apps during work too.
There are tons of ways to customize the Xbox Game Bar on Windows, so you can dial the looks and features down to your preference. The only catch is that it requires you to have a bit more powerful system than the average user to be able to run it well and not have it eat up all your memory.
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OneDrive
The cloud tool that quietly keeps your PC backed up
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The only reason I don’t see OneDrive as complete bloat is that it is a useful tool if you’re into cloud storage. Yes, Google Drive and other cloud storage providers have apps you can download and get much of the functionality of OneDrive with your drive of choice, but the Windows integration OneDrive has is significantly better.
If you’re a Windows user, Microsoft 365 offers better value than Google One. That’s one of the reasons why I switched from Google Drive to Microsoft OneDrive for my PC cloud storage needs. It’s more convenient to use with computers and has useful features like Files On-Demand, where your files appear in the File Explorer but don’t take up local storage. You get 5 GB of free storage anyway, which is more than enough for backing up essential files and documents. Unless, of course, you plan to horde program setups, photos, videos, or any other media.
Windows can be full of bloat, yes. However, the next time you’re cleaning up your new Windows installation, there are some programs you can leave uninstalled. Not everything that comes preinstalled with Windows is complete junk—some of it can be extremely useful and might even remove the need for a third-party alternative.
