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Installing software safely and with minimal impact
by
Leo Notemboom
May
26, 2013
I’d wager that the number one
cause of system stability issues, disk space loss, unexpected behavior, and
even malware is the software that we actually invite onto our
machine.
I’m not talking about opening
the accidental attachment. That’s bad when it happens, but it’s not
as prevalent as what I’m discussing.
No, I’m talking about the
stuff that we actually ask to download - the stuff we seek out.
I’m talking about the
software that we explicitly and intentionally install on our
computers.
Installing software safely is
all about taking a few steps to minimize the impact of what we’re about to
do to our machines.
Avoid it if you can
My number one recommendation
for keeping your machine clear of cruft* is to think carefully before
installing anything.
[Ed. Note: * Cruft is commonly used to refer to the mess left
inside of software as it is revised and updated. Cruft is also occasionally
used to refer simply to poor quality hardware or shoddily produced software,
which might be referred to as “crufty”.]
I’m not really talking about
updates. Those are things that you almost always want. I’m talking about
new programs, add-ons, plugins, and other things that so often vie for our
attention and play on our curiosity.
I’m also not saying to never
install anything. That kind of defeats the purpose of having a general purpose
computer or computing device.
What I am asking you to
do is think about whether you really need whatever it is you’re
considering installling. Is it something you’ll actually use or is this idle
curiosity? Do you understand why someone or something is even suggesting that you
install some random tool that you’ve never heard of? If you’re ever not sure,
just wait until you find out more. You can always install something later if
you find that you have a need and use for whatever it is.
But remember: a program
that’s not installed can do you no harm.
Do your testing elsewhere
Sometimes, we just don’t
really know if the software we’re looking at is something worthwhile. In fact,
we won’t know until we actually try it out – perhaps it’s a trial version
or it’s just a package that we’re installing, because we really need to
play with it a bit before we decide to invest further.
As you might imagine, this
happens to me all the time.
One approach to testing
software safely is to use what you might call a “sacrificial machine” – one
that you don’t really care about or isn’t particularly important.
If you don’t have a second
physical machine available for that, one solid approach is to use a virtual machine. This is nothing more than a software simulation
of PC that runs within a window on your desktop. I actually have several
virtual machines that I’ve set up here on my main desktop machine: one each for
Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8. When it’s running, it’s like having a completely
separate PC except that it’s running on my single desktop.
Testing your software
elsewhere allows you to avoid having any of the side effects of that software
from appearing on the machine that you do care about – the one that
you use every day. Once you determine that the software is indeed going to be
useful, you can then install it “for real” on your main machine. That test or
virtual machine can be left alone, reformatted, restored from a backup, or
completely discarded depending on your own desires.
Of course, if you decide that
the software is not what you had in mind, then you’ve come to that conclusion
without putting your most important machine at risk.
Choose custom – always
As a way to be helpful and
ensure that software is installed with the most appropriate set of optional
components, many setup programs will offer you a default installation.
Essentially, this is a set of decisions made for you that ideally install the
application in a comfiguration that’s ready to go for the most people. It’s
been a convenience and an easy way to get software installed quickly without
needing to spend a lot of time understanding obscure details.
Unfortunately, in recent
years, the default choice is very often the wrong choice.
As we’ve seen, many software
vendors, particularly those whose products are free, are including in their
default installations unrelated additions. More often than not, that comes in
the form of an additional toolbar that will later appear in your web browser,
but this “foistware“ (as it’s sometimes referred to) can
actually run the range from the benign to the downright malicious.
A case where a (fairly reputable)
software package actually tries to discourage the “Custom” installation path.
The only way to avoid it for
many software installations is to select the Advanced or Custom option, if it’s
offered during the setup process. That typically exposes all of the optional
choices that you might have, including whether or not to accept the
unrelated software that you probably really don’t need.
Un-check options you don’t need
Regardless of whether you
needed to select Custom or Advanced to expose them, many software installers –
particularly for larger packages – include an array of options that allow you
to pick and choose what parts of the product you actually want to have
installed on your machine.
Regardless of what type of
package you’re installing, if there are options exposed, it’s worth having
a look and seeing whether the additional components are indeed items that you
need. If not, consider un-selecting them, so that they’re not installed. Not
only does this reduce the amount of disk space that the install will take, but
it typically also reduces the impact on system resources (like the registry)
and reduces the number of components that may need to be updated in the future.
Opt out of unrelated options
As mentioned earlier,
software packages will often include components that aren’t even a part of the
software that you’re installing. Typically, this is a source of additional
revenue for the software vendor, but in general, it simply adds confusion
and unnecessary software to your machine.
Custom installation option revealing
items actually unrelated to the software being installed.
The most common additional
and unrelated items are things like toolbars or limited trials of more powerful
paid versions of the free software that you’re installing. Unwanted changes
aren’t always limited to software, but they will also often include unexpected
changes to browser search engines and home pages.
Opt out. Just say no. Or, at
least make it a decision on your part that you actually want whatever it is
that’s being offered.
My guess is that saying no
will keep your machine cleaner and your experience less frustrating.
Start when Windows starts isn’t always needed
Many programs install
components that want to start running every time you reboot or log in to
Windows.
In some cases, it’s the right
thing to do. You want your anti-malware tools to always run without having to
think about them, so having them start when Windows starts is a pretty clear
choice.
At the other end of the
spectrum are utilities that just don’t need to run right away, period, yet
the installer (or rather, the developers who created the installer)
feel that their program is just so important that it must run always
and as soon as possible.
And of course, many programs
are somewhere in the middle. If used often, it makes sense that they start
automatically, but if used only occasionally, it might make more sense to free
up the resources and speed up the boot time by only starting them when actually
needed.
When you encounter a setup
option relating to automatically starting, think twice. It’s very possible that
you don’t need the program to do so, and as a result, you’ll end up with a
slightly faster boot time, and more system resources like CPU and RAM available
for the things that you really do want to run. (It’s sometimes worth reviewing
the options or preferences for programs you already have installed that start
automatically and turning it off for those for which it makes sense.)
Summary
I’ve presented a few
recommendations when it comes to installing software to keep your machine
running as clean and as fast as possible.
Those are:
> Don’t install software unless
you actually know you need it.
> When simply testing software
for fit, try to do so on something other than your primary or most important
machine.
> Always choose the “Custom” or
“Advanced” installation path so as to see all available options.
> Uncheck options that you
don’t want or need.
> Uncheck options that are
actually unrelated to the software that you are installing.
> Think carefully about whether
the software actually needs to start with Windows, if that’s an offered option.
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