Most of the time, when we look for whether a show is good or not, we mostly look at the positive reviews. And that makes it seem like all the programs we can find on the Internet are good. Far from reality, history has shown us that there are programs that, despite being very popular, have been the worst that we have been able to install on our computer. Even today several of them still exist. Have you used, or do you use, any of them?
Internet Explorer, the old browser that is still on our PC
Today, the most widely used web browser is Google Chrome, followed by Edge and Firefox. However, there was an era when Internet Explorer was the most widely used browser. Was he the fastest? No. Was it the most comfortable? Neither. Did he have eyelashes? Until its latest versions, no. The safest? Quite the opposite. And the most compatible? Less. Then why? Simply because the user sticks to customs.
Internet Explorer today no longer works with many websites, and others redirect the user to newer browsers like the ones we have mentioned. This year IE is scheduled to disappear. But it will always live in our memories.
QuickTime, Apple’s useless player
QuickTime became very popular when content began to be distributed over the Internet using Apple codecs. This was one of the few (if not the only one) that could decode these formats. It was a program that played the Apple files well, but then it crashed in standard videos and songs. A software too simple and, at the same time, complicated and ugly.
On macOS, the player works fine. The problems are mainly focused on Windows.
Norton Antivirus, the worst bloatware that the PC brings
Norton Antivirus has been (and still is) a nightmare for users. This program is usually one of those that are installed by default when we buy a new PC (as part of the bloatware) and offers us a few days of trial and then pay the license. We find problems when uninstalling Norton antivirus, and this antivirus doesn’t make it easy at all. Sometimes the PC can even stop working and forces us to restore it to factory settings (reinstalled on the computer).
Since the arrival of Norton 360, this software is no longer so aggressive. But even so he remains (along with McAfee) one of the most hated.
Windows ME, what need was there?
Not everything is programs. Microsoft has also screwed up more than once with its operating systems. Although it has never done anything as bad as what it did with Windows ME . This was the successor to Windows 98 SE and the predecessor to Windows XP, but it had nothing to do with the prestige of both operating systems. An ugly, poorly made and buggy OS that luckily had a very short life.
People talk about Windows Vista too. However, if you knew how to use it, they weren’t such a bad operating system. And a proof of this is that the Kernel, and most of the code, is the one that has been used in Windows 7. And it is still used today in Windows 10.
Microsoft Security Essentials, more viruses than antivirus
Windows Defender is, today, the best free antivirus that we can install on the PC. But it is not the first security software developed by Microsoft. Microsoft Security Essentials was an antivirus that began to take its first steps in the era of Windows XP. Of course, the worst thing we could install and use on the PC. Until Windows 7, this has been the worst antivirus in existence, in performance, security and reliability.
Fortunately, things change.
Ask and other browser bars
Nowadays it is rare to find it, but do you remember the browser bars? Many programs, companies and search engines installed these bars in our browser to “help” us navigate in an easier and faster way. If you think about it coldly, they were an awesome track and trace add-on. Installing a bar, like Google’s, didn’t hurt. But if we weren’t careful it was easy to end up with 15 or 20 bars anchored in the browser .
Flash Player, chronicle of a death foretold
Adobe Flash Player has been one of the most important plugins in the history of the Internet. If the webs are as we know them now, they are, in part, thanks to him. This allowed to insert dynamic content, animations, sounds or videos in the pages when HTML did not allow it on its own. However, standards change, and when something looks like a sieve vulnerabilities begin to be discovered.
Flash went from being a vital add-on to something that had to be uninstalled as soon as possible. Luckily, since January 2021 Flash is no longer supported. The add-on is dead, and with it we have gained in security and performance.
iTunes, an “everything and nothing” for Windows
Apple and Windows have never really gotten along. Just like QuickTime, iTunes on Windows has always been one of the worst programs we could install. However, if we had an iPhone or an iPad, we have no choice. This program is very heavy and activates a large number of processes and services that are running all the time on the PC.
The arrival of the UWP version of this program has smoothed things out a bit. But still it is still very heavy software and if we can avoid it, it is better to do so.
