Definition of Inflated Software (Bloatware)

When we buy one computer or a smartphone new, it is very common to spend the first moments eliminating applications that do not interest us at all, but that for contract reasons or services offered by the device manufacturer itself, they come pre-installed.

These applications receive, in English, the name of bloatware, a term that in our language has been translated non-literally as “software inflated".

The software inflated is made up of all those programs that offer us a service or product, are installed or pre-installed by default, and are configured at the same time that the operating system configuration is performed at the same time first

Major manufacturers of both computers and mobile phones include bloatware on your products. A typical case is the antivirus.

Usually, in any new Windows computer that we buy, we will see how an antivirus is included, which has a user license that can range from three months (to test it), up to one year of use. Once this period is over, we will find ourselves in the position of either renewing it, or replacing it. for another equivalent (or uninstall it and continue without antivirus, which is not at all recommendable).

Thus, we find the software McAfee (Intel-owned company) normally installed on Dell and HP machines, although it is not the only agreement that is evident in practice.

Antivirus is not the only one bloatware that we usually find on a computer or smartphone new

System of storage in the cloud (Dropbox, OneDrive, ...), management services and photo paper development, or the purchase of spare parts of all kinds accompany them.

In some cases, this bloatware has contained security holes or back doors that facilitated access to the machine and user data to the manufacturer

This was the case with Superfish, a bloatware installed by Lenovo on their computers which, in early 2015, was shown to contain an error in their code source that facilitated access to the user's system.

To avoid making many users feel annoyed, some companies have adopted the practice of proposing the installation of the applications, with the consequent option to decline, or simply include links that lead to their download from Internet to later be installed.

In this way, it is left to the user's choice what to install in addition to the operating system Basic and its related applications. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers opt for this solution.

Photos: Fotolia - Teguhjatipras / 31moonlight31