Applications you may no longer need on your PC

Tom Scott, one of our Kickstart scheme recruits shares his knowledge about outdated applications you may be able to wave goodbye to!

There are a few pieces of software that have become obsolete over time, and as such, should be removed from your PC. So here is a handy little guide to those you should be removing, and how to remove these programs safely, so you don’t uninstall or delete an important file or application you do need!

Adobe Flash Player

You once needed this software to access things such as YouTube or to listen to audio on the internet. However, since January 2021, this software has become obsolete – nothing on the internet needs to use it in any real capacity. As we have moved forward from that, we need to remove it from our PCs. For Adobe Flash Player it is simple. In the Google search bar type ‘How to uninstall Adobe Flash Player’ and the website will show you how to uninstall it safely and fully.

CCleaner

This software was once a staple on all Windows PCs and laptops as it helped clear out junk on your computer; however, it has now been taken over by Avast. CCleaner had some issues to begin with, such as forcing updates, allowing itself to collect your data after you restarted and even installing malware on your computer. It has stopped doing that now, but it is now largely unnecessary as you can easily find better cleaners. Windows also has its own cleaner on newer operating systems, which is quite effective. To uninstall CCleaner, you must first close it fully, then go to the search bar next to the start button on Windows 10. Search for Apps and Features, find CCleaner, right click it and hit uninstall, then select yes.

Microsoft Silverlight

Much like with Adobe, Microsoft Silverlight was a web frame development software that allowed you to access sites and applications. Now, much like Adobe, Microsoft Silverlight is pretty out of date as the times have changed and technology has moved on. Since this is now outdated, it is safe to say that it needs to be uninstalled. To do this, as with CCleaner, click on the start button in the bottom left-hand corner and click on the control panel. Once you are on the control panel, head to Programs and Features, locate Microsoft Silverlight, right click then hit the uninstall button. Your PC will give you a notification once it has finished doing so.

There are several programs no longer in use because they are outdated or something better has come along. If you think a program might be slowing your PC or making it work harder than it needs to, check what is running in the background. Google any programs you might not recognise or suspect may not be of use anymore – more often than not, you will find that this is the case.

Thomas Scott
BLN Admin Assistant – Kickstart Recruit