Which options does IT have for Windows 10 bloatware removal?

Windows 10 is notorious for coming preloaded with bloatware in the form of unnecessary apps such as Candy Crush, Netflix and Xbox. This bloatware can waste system resources, diminish employee productivity and, in some cases, weaken the OS' security.

There are a few options that IT has for Windows 10 bloatware removal.

One option is to use a PowerShell script. IT pros will have to begin by using the Get-AppxPackage cmdlet to get the names of all of the application packages that are installed on the system. The list of packages tends to be fairly long, and so IT can make the output more manageable by appending the pipe symbol, followed by Select-Object PackageFullName.

Once IT admins know the names of the packages that they should remove, they can use the Remove-AppxPackage cmdlet, followed by the package name. IT can use this script to remove bloatware from all Windows 10 PCs without having to configure each machine individually.

Another approach for Windows 10 bloatware removal is to use image-based deployments. The idea is that the IT department installs Windows 10 onto a VM and then configures Windows according to the organization's needs. This includes removing any unwanted applications. Next, IT creates a deployment image from the installation and uses it to push Windows 10 to the organization's PCs. The end result is that each PC will receive a clean copy of Windows without the bloatware.

Regardless of which method IT uses to get rid of the unwanted apps, it is a good idea to implement an AppLocker policy to block unauthorized software. This will keep the bloatware apps from coming back in the future, and will also keep users from installing applications that IT did not sanction.