Sacrifice to the AV Gods update is now live! (Removes Disable UAC and Self-Elevation) Live Stream discovering the False Positive: ruclips.net/video/mJqNBBSViDU/видео.html Why I Hate Windows Defender (Code-Signing): ruclips.net/video/9P6r7DLS77Q/видео.html
Would be really nice if you could develop a sturdy exe emulator for Linux so that very specific software could be installed there (ex: Autocad), without the need of VMs. Windows itself is bloatware by default these days.
Hi Chris, as long as we're on the topic of security software.. I would love to see you do a long form video on Lynis (the security auditing software). It would be interesting to watch you run it on a clean install of debian/ubuntu/another popular distribution and walk through some of the warnings/notices that it provides. There may be other videos here on RUclips that do something similar, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what things are important to address and what are not. ***EDIT: This would probably be better suited for your second channel.
I absolutely lost trust in Windows Defender when or Edge for that matter when it flagged any 7z archives and wont allow people to download them regardless if they're safe or not. All 7z - blacklisted like that.
@@midimax2998 True, but it's still a bad practice in my opinion. Also I can only address the program's creator here, so the other considerations are kinda moot 🤷♂
The reason why I paid for the offline script from Chris is that he gives this away free for everyone. I used it once and knew that I had to support him. He STILL gives it away!
9 месяцев назад+48
"I will remove the edge disable option". Bruh, the place where I work depends on that feature: Edge keeps overriding defaults crucial to our workflow and opening potential security holes. Thank god we're in the EU and I guess in the future it will be a simple uninstall.
@@PhilipMarcYT ""Thank god we're in the EU." You're gonna regret that eventually." School shootings Public healthcare Incarceration rate Life expectancy Surveillance Education just name a metric that is worse in the EU.
I use Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC so I'm good until 2029, but then I think I'll switch to Linux since M$ looks like they're only going to make their OSes even worse than 11.
You should stop caring about linux user % it's bad for your health. Just sit back and laugh at the windows users instead :) If they want to torture themselves with that crap it's on them.
When I have windows stripped down and tuned to my liking, and the same with linux (Mint), they feel about as responsive as each other, with linux pulling ahead slightly in CPU benchmarks.
@@rimenahiThis! I've been using Linux alongside Windows for over a decade & despite the improvements, Linux still isn't even close to what Windows can do for me. Of course I'm a full nerd, debloating & tweaking my Windows ISO & making it the way I want it to be, so honestly, I'm laughing at most Linux users, who don't even go through any debloating process, before 💩 talking Windows.
Chris, I'm using computers more or less the way you do (multiple OSes, IT, development, etc) ....every OS has its own pros and cons and of course, its specialty use. Thank you for everything you've done for the community
I’ve been a long time supporter of your toolbox. Following your videos and work, I fully understood that M$ was flagging scripts. No way you would be doing us dirty. Keep up the great work!!!
I am really wondering about the comments here. To me, it is quite obvious that a tool elevating its privileges AND doing a UAC bypass has to be blocked. Thats not Defender doing a bad job, it's defender doing a great job... Additionally, from my (little) experience in red teaming, Defender is not a bad AV at all. It is often able to detect custom malware implementations while others miss it. However, in a targeted attack it is not particularly hard to bypass tho. Oh and also: think about what is worse in the case of anti viruses. False positives are annoying i agree. But a false negative potentially has much worse impact.
Hey, even though I don't use Windows anymore, if I did, I would absolutely use your tool. What you've done is impressive and making it opensource AND freely available is awesome. Keep up the good work! 🙏
hey Chris, could you recommend a really good antivirus that will not show all the false positives, yet will protect my system to the fullest possible level? I understand your frustrations for sure. I just discovered your software. Yeah, my head was buried in some sort of bovine exhaust and I don't have any excuses for not digging deeper until now. I do look forward to "playing" with your software on one of my backup laptops to see what i can get out of it and what not to do also. Nice challenge it appears. I also want to thank you for the time and effort you have spent in explain your "why's" of your codes. Most developers do not attempt that when they are questioned. You, my friend, challenged that. I applaud that, and appreciate it very much.
Chris - I just wanted to give you a shout on all that you do for the community. I work in the same industry and I appreciate the tool. Keep up the good work, and happy Easter!
MS is all in for stealing from open source, or running an extortion racket on software authors, but what's new. Apple, isn't any better. They do everything they can to lock people into the "brand". I have a retired friend, that just got sucked into a $1,700 bill for an issue with his "email". Apple dealer's answer, your computer is old, you need a new computer. I have been a contented LInux user for over 20 years.
I will only use Windows as long as this tool works! It has saved me soo much time managing my family's boxes & installing fresh windows. If they want to stop it and there's no way round I WILL permanently switch away from Windows as much as possible.
Windows 10 support ends in 2025 for Home/Pro users, and in 2029 for Enterprise LTSC user. I honestly love the LTSC edition as the bloatware was removed and there's not even a Windows Store! 😄
@@PhilipMarcYT Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 is supported till 2032. I'm not switching to WIn11 (or whatever new version MS comes up with next) till at least 2032.
Don't worry about those few who complain. You always said you use this tool at your own risk. Those kids should not use a tool designed for adults in the first place.
Does Linux support HDR playback yet? I use an OLED as a monitor and don't really care to jump across OSes just to play back content in its rightful quality.
iirc it does, however netflix and a lot of other streaming providers dont really like linux (for no apparent reason) so they are known to limit your bit rate and resolution. If you have a home media server you should be fine.
Please leave the remove all ms store apps and remove microsoft edge and onedrive, or, please include those in a separate companion app. I use those on every install, I dont have any issues with them either. These are super handy!
just hide it from the average user, i run it every update just to make sure ms didn't sneakily enabled one of there apps again. Never had issues that i could'nt resolve within minutes.
I used the removed edge option and the only issue was with Fusion 360, to fix it I only had to install webview manually. It could be interesting to have an option to remove edge and install webview.
I seldom touch Windows these days. When I do, the aggravation immediately kicks in, my blood pressure spikes, I see red and want to smash my keyboard against the Windows image on my monitor. Linux is my happy place; calm, serene, functional.
I’m not computer savvy at all so I might have misunderstood. Early in the video you mentioned if people pay a $300 “bribe” to get code “signed” they can bypass antivirus. That is scary.
Thank you for your good work and dealing with this kind of bs. As someone who has to use windows, be it only in vm, your toolbox is a lifesaver. Hopefully I'll be able to keep using old version of the script to remove edge, onedrive and store apps.
This is why I use LTSC, it's stripped down enough to work fine as a daily driver for the vast majority of people. Switching to Linux is easy to say but not easy to do when you've only used Windows and especially when you play online games or VR, most of the time you have to still use Windows.
I have had Eset antivirus for as long as I can remember, and it have never flagged your toolbox / script after all these years of me using your script on regular basis. I even have bought your executable and the executable have never been flagged by Eset either, even though I have ramped up the detection settings to max. Guess it is a Windows Defender problem, which of course is deactivated on my Windows system.
Wouldn't it be possible to just kind of replace the UAC check and the edge, microsoft store with a description, or a how-to ? Same goes for disabling windows defender (which I see you have as an open request on github)
Tbh i would better have false positives then no detections at all. Then I can test it in sandbox and look if it is really doing something malicious or not .
I mainly uses Arch (btw) on my laptop but also run windows when I want to hop on and do some multiplayer gaming/editing. I use your script to make using windows and needing to even touch it sometimes more digestible and feel LESS "spied on" (telemetry). I want to thank you for making this free and open for us non/beginner level power users, as a way to make windows as user friendly as it can be, despite everything their antivirus is throwing your way. Keep it up CTT!
So I was fighting this about a month or so ago with a python program I'm making that shows the system specs via wmi. I would change code around a tiny bit and it wouldn't get flagged. But then building it again and trying it on the same machine. Defender would nuke it. Drove me insane. Still have no idea why. Removing all my code from classes makes it not show up as a false positive. But then my code is a mess.
I use an M$ laptop offline for older game system modding - Window$ 8. The false flags that showed up on every .exe in W11 made me scratch my head (a lot). Moved to Linux on my main because of their actions.
Please keep going Chris, don't be discouraged, we love your work and trust you more than we trust Microsoft! For my part, I stood and will always stand behind you! Your Windows tool has been an integral part of every Windows installation I do since it was first released, and Microsoft's harassment 🤮of you won't change that in the slightest. On the contrary, I recommend it to everyone in my social network. So keep doing what you're doing and count on us being happy users! 👍👍👍👍 Thank you for your effort! Kind regards from: Hamburg/Germany Victor Martins
Looks like they might have done something else to, before I was using your tool to remove edge, it worked great, but now after the update, when i remove the edge, it still sits there, including the shortcuts.
I feel like it should still ask: "Would you like to elevate this script? It is needed for the script to work" no matter what, it should not run as admin without consent. Honestly, I've tried to switch the Linux so many times, but I've always had issues doing it. I had Wi-FI issues, Ubuntu had some issue, so I switched to Linux mint and I accidently deleted the wrong partition, because the "install alongside windows" was just missing and when I did it, bam everything was gone and had to reinstall my windows. It so fustrating because I can switch to Linux, all my apps work on it, or I could just dual boot windows if I come across any incompatibilities. And I know how to navagate my way around it, but I just keep on having issues that just don't allow to switch. Honestly if I get a new laptop, I just want it to be more compatible with Linux. I want to run a FOSS OS, where I know nothing bad is happening, where I know no spying is taking place, where I know the government does not screetly use my data to create a detailed profile of me. I really want to, but its just been really difficult.
I mean installing two OSs on a single drive is definitely possible, but it kinda sucks. If you install Linux Mint, get the Edge ISO, it will have a newer kernel and probably better support for your hardware. If you want to get a Linux compatible laptop there is System76, Tuxedo and Framework who have offerings catered to it.
I've been running a Fedora based system (Ultramarine) along side Windows on fairly recent laptops (couple years) and a new mini PC (only 6 months old). Have no issue with it installing or being compatible. Its a bit of pain dual booting, but it's about using the right tool for the job. Sometimes thats windows but mainly Linux.
same thing happenned to a software manager i built using python for my personal use. it just used winget like your code and it still flagged it and would even delete the app.exe file before i execute.
I remove Defender using a script because it is a pathetic resource hog and I run Windows without antivirus software. I have for many years without issues. I don't visit sketchy web sites, don't download cracks and don't open email attachments I was not expecting.
that's one of the problems why people stick to windows, no define answer to that query, I would recommend PoP OS when the new version comes out but that's not happening until summer or fall, Linux Mint might be the go to default option for now but even that one isn't the best option.
There's no definitive answer. Do you want a full or a lightweight distro? Do you want one that kind of looks like Windows to make you feel at home? The answer to the second one is Zorin OS.
First of all I want to say I understand your frustrations and thank you for what you do for the community. But here is my criticism/opinion I personally don't think that the program should self elevate. If it needs admin privileges for system access that's perfectly fine. I just think that the program should tell you that it needs to run in admin mode like other programs with a pop up or within the command line where it tells you it needs to do so. In terms of antivirus I still like to keep mine because, even though I am still being careful online, I do play a lot of games. My antivirus actually blocked me from playing black ops 3 due to the game having a vulnerability where other people can RCE. I was not aware of it and never thought that steam would sell a compromised game especially if it has a known vulnerability. I would love to fully switch to Linux but the main problem I currently have it a lot of games only work on windows because of the anti cheat software they use. I would like to just run them in a VM but the anti cheat catches that it's in a VM and does not run and I have heard rumors that some people get banned because of them trying to run the game in a VM. I honestly think we should be able to run games in a VM because of all the vulnerabilities there are and how new ones keep popping up, like the one with Apex. That way people don't have to have two machines and separate them on a vlan or on a separate network, so if one gets compromised the rest don't get compromised. So if anyone knows how to bypass anti cheat software from detecting VM can you please point me to a tutorial. Especially since now I just found out a lot of anti cheat software runs at a kernel based level 🙄
Hi Chris, Sorry you have to deal with this. Have you considered simply making a folder of the reg tweaks as .reg files, that users can execute? Yes it’s not as elegant but it should get round this.
thanks for the update and the tool! windows sucks but i still need it as a dual boot option on one of my computers for now, and this tool was a godsend. my main computer is Linux now for the first time, the wave of people switching is real
Good afternoon Chris Titus, could you make an iso of Windows 11 24h2 like the Windows 10 you edited in ntlite 77 prossesos How stripped down can we get Windows to just game
Thanks heavily to Valve's work on Proton, I only ever boot a windows PC to run AAA games that need extra FPS, or to take advantage of that system's GPU in Blender. Linux on a low power mini-pc is my go-to these days.
Only have Windows Defender installed (by default) as I don't want to run multiple AVs, but every few months I run Malwarebytes Free Edition. Thsnks for another great video!
Saw your project just now. And to best honest, you're literally saving Windows from Microsoft. It's almost like, Microsoft itself does'nt want Windows to become the best (or close to best) OS out there. And Thanks for keeping your project open source and free!❤
unfortunately MediCat does contain some infected executables. If you check them with VirusTotal, other AVs also flag them. And I'm not talking about the Hacktools like KMS,but actual trojans in a few of the portable software suites.
Sept 2024: Avast claims it will do a deep/full scan. Well you have to go to settings and turn those settings on. Even then, it does not actually decompress .rar contents to analyze. I tested it with a .rar known to contain various malware. Avast looks pretty bad just now.
Having to go through the experience of code signing, its absolutely horrific. How can i go to McDonald's, spend less than $5 and get great customer service, yet in order to be able to run my software without windows Defender popups, i have to spend $500 and receive very questionable customer support? FU I'm going to linux. Windows Telemetry isnt even code signed properly, btw.
I would just say that if you are charging $10 for an EXE wrapper. You might want to just sign it. I know $10 is nothing, but it's the principle. If you charge for something, provide something of quality. I am also a 20+ year windows vet and I am tired of it as well. Finally moved to Mint Linux.
And there is the gray area of false positives when it flags hacking tools like mimikatz or bloodhound. It's not doing what the user says it should and is not protecting the user. It's protecting the Active Directory. But fine, I totally get it :D
In the IT Industry its VERY common to Disable AV in order to run operations like Installs, Upgrades, Updates and SCRIPTS. Anytime you have a script doing admin-system level changes they will be flagged. Rightfully so... Just issue a notice, that AV must be disabled. Its common practice.
No it's not. what you do is you set the execution policy to unrestricted and create an exception for your business needs. If you are just disabling your AV to run scripts you are doing it wrong.
@@seangraylin I read a lot of Install/Setup guides for applications. It is more common than not to be told to disable AV During the install then add exceptions for App/Database paths once its installed. You are absolutely incorrect. The correct answer is to follow the manufactures instructions. In this case its Chris Titus Tech.
I feel like Windows needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to correct some major underlying issues. Problem is that in order for the rewrite to be of any actual value, backwards compatibility would most likely be completely broken. Since so many users rely on Windows as currently implemented, including many industries and even thr government, breaking backwards compatibility would prevent a rewrite from even being considered
I'm afraid it won't take that long and Microsoft will tweak Windows tamper protection to flag anything that alters system (including settings, not just components)
Hi, why does your tool deactivate my windows defender whenever i run it? Also when i select disk cleanup it gives me an error (but it still works). Please fix
That's the issue with any closed source software and centralized database. Whoever is in charge can easily blacklist you because he/she/they do(es)n't like you. Maybe Microsoft doesn't like those awesome scripts made in order to make their OS even better because they make them look bad and incompetent, so they decided to punish you instead of loosing face lol
I like your script! My goal is to trim down my mini PC to run good for music production. What is the best, fastest, free way to antivirus your system? Is it Windows defender
TronScript being flagged as a "trojan" now and if I get it to run, windows just reinstalls what was deleted. it just makes me want to move my gaming desktop into Linux even more. My work/school laptop is already Linux; might as well completely go Linux
"Just use Linux." I did that, and woke up to the XZ debacle. (Being sarcastic, of course. But man did I pick an interesting week to finally convert my gaming desktop to Fedora 40.)
Linux collecting more malware means it's growing in the desktop scene. Remember the early years of windows? The reason that there's billions of antivirus software written for windows and most of em being paid is that all of them were created to cure windows security issues in before windows defender era. I don't say malware is good I'm telling there's a different point of view to the XZ incident that you should consider.
XZ Didn't only affect Linux, it also effects every OS ( they all use it in some form ) the fact that it got found out in about 24h before it went into any full releases proves the fact that open source enables the best form of security. Not to mention that windows just had a crit 10 just a week ago.
Hay thanks for all your effort Chris!! Seriously!! But I do understand and have that same bad after taste trying to fix Windows! But yeah, you go!!! Cheers!
Hey Titus! is this something to worry or to take care? in my system your script gets started with PowerShell V1 defender told me that. I had that "Casdet!rfn" warning. I have only PowerShell V7 installed when I look in "Apps and Features" after restarting the CTT Utility like 6 times as admin it did finally load fully. in defender I could see from the 3 first attempts, that the path was pointing to: "amsi: \Device\HarddiskVolume7\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" I think I have your recommended settings for updates. and Win10
As a debian user and what i learned from CTT and LLT It's time for others to leave microsoft and move to linux And you may run win in a virtual environment
If you've ever had to step through the detailed Defender timeline of a machine managed by Intune in a corporate environment, you'd disable Defender on your personal machines. If you must run antivirus, install something else.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Sacrifice to the AV Gods update is now live! (Removes Disable UAC and Self-Elevation)
Live Stream discovering the False Positive: ruclips.net/video/mJqNBBSViDU/видео.html
Why I Hate Windows Defender (Code-Signing): ruclips.net/video/9P6r7DLS77Q/видео.html
Would be really nice if you could develop a sturdy exe emulator for Linux so that very specific software could be installed there (ex: Autocad), without the need of VMs. Windows itself is bloatware by default these days.
Hi Chris, as long as we're on the topic of security software.. I would love to see you do a long form video on Lynis (the security auditing software). It would be interesting to watch you run it on a clean install of debian/ubuntu/another popular distribution and walk through some of the warnings/notices that it provides. There may be other videos here on RUclips that do something similar, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what things are important to address and what are not.
***EDIT: This would probably be better suited for your second channel.
How about putting those "sacrifices" in separate repository? 🤔
Then again, we have git history to refer back to 🤔
how to make our windows to look like yours?
I absolutely lost trust in Windows Defender when or Edge for that matter when it flagged any 7z archives and wont allow people to download them regardless if they're safe or not. All 7z - blacklisted like that.
Why would you use a garbage browser like Edge? There's so many to choose from.
Years ago I used to use 7zip, but went back to WinRAR. Just prefer it.
deff something going on on your side. i manage 100-500 cpus in different places, never had this issue.
Yeah i agree with you I was trying to download KolibriOS and it was in a 7Z file, Microsoft Defender thought that KolibriOS was Malware.
i have it disabled xd the best antivirus is use comdom
@@laurentiudll It's not just him. Happened to me too.
Thanks for filling us in and keeping us updated on these issues Chris. Thanks for taking care of us Windows users.
IMO no user script should auto-elevate. Why just not make it show an error like: "This programs needs to be run in admin mode" ?
Agreed, I'll switch the auto elevation to a simple prompt.
It should not be possible in the first place. "Blaming" (in quotes because of kinda) the script creator is targeting the wrong address.
@@midimax2998 True, but it's still a bad practice in my opinion.
Also I can only address the program's creator here, so the other considerations are kinda moot 🤷♂
Yeah, it's better to manually run it using "sudo".
Also*
The reason why I paid for the offline script from Chris is that he gives this away free for everyone. I used it once and knew that I had to support him.
He STILL gives it away!
"I will remove the edge disable option". Bruh, the place where I work depends on that feature: Edge keeps overriding defaults crucial to our workflow and opening potential security holes. Thank god we're in the EU and I guess in the future it will be a simple uninstall.
no Blasphemy please, especially on Easter.
"Thank god we're in the EU."
You're gonna regret that eventually.
And besides, you can easily uninstall Edge if you really want.
@@PhilipMarcYT When are they going to regret it? I am in Texas and everything seems better somewhere else.
@@PhilipMarcYT ""Thank god we're in the EU."
You're gonna regret that eventually."
School shootings
Public healthcare
Incarceration rate
Life expectancy
Surveillance
Education
just name a metric that is worse in the EU.
@@PhilipMarcYTI am not going to get shot from a random dude/kid or killed by the police out of fun. so no, we will not regret it ;)
5:15 - Windows Security - a tent, with a screen door, and a $100 padlock, and, oh, yeah, the camel is already in the tent...
Microsoft blocks open source software and allows viruses and ransomware, this is how Microsoft works, that's why I left Windows 5 years ago.
I use Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC so I'm good until 2029, but then I think I'll switch to Linux since M$ looks like they're only going to make their OSes even worse than 11.
Microsoft Developers do dumb allow dangerous ports outbound 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Definitely can't use it anymore
@@PhilipMarcYT what is make this good ?
Same thing with firefox esr, its for stable environment made for enterprise case
@@ShOookYx
The more they Push us The more Users will Shift to Linux. Chris Let them do it. It's good for Linux user % UP.
You should stop caring about linux user % it's bad for your health. Just sit back and laugh at the windows users instead :) If they want to torture themselves with that crap it's on them.
Linux is total SHIT. Used Fedora and Arch for a good while and ram usage is higher than Windows, not many cracked software, can't use hacks.
When I have windows stripped down and tuned to my liking, and the same with linux (Mint), they feel about as responsive as each other, with linux pulling ahead slightly in CPU benchmarks.
@@rimenahiThis! I've been using Linux alongside Windows for over a decade & despite the improvements, Linux still isn't even close to what Windows can do for me. Of course I'm a full nerd, debloating & tweaking my Windows ISO & making it the way I want it to be, so honestly, I'm laughing at most Linux users, who don't even go through any debloating process, before 💩 talking Windows.
Exactly! Keep up the good work Microsoft. Keep digging your own grave!
As a developer, signing your executables is so expensive. I don't see why it costs so much. It's even more expensive to sign drivers.
Fucking cryotominers Protection on windows 11
The funny thing is Linux market share reached a new mile stone early this month
Yeah an earth shattering FOUR PERCENT!!
Microsoft is shaken to their cores at 72% ----------________-----------
4.46%
Chris, I'm using computers more or less the way you do (multiple OSes, IT, development, etc) ....every OS has its own pros and cons and of course, its specialty use. Thank you for everything you've done for the community
I’ve been a long time supporter of your toolbox. Following your videos and work, I fully understood that M$ was flagging scripts. No way you would be doing us dirty. Keep up the great work!!!
I am really wondering about the comments here. To me, it is quite obvious that a tool elevating its privileges AND doing a UAC bypass has to be blocked. Thats not Defender doing a bad job, it's defender doing a great job... Additionally, from my (little) experience in red teaming, Defender is not a bad AV at all. It is often able to detect custom malware implementations while others miss it. However, in a targeted attack it is not particularly hard to bypass tho.
Oh and also: think about what is worse in the case of anti viruses. False positives are annoying i agree. But a false negative potentially has much worse impact.
Hey, even though I don't use Windows anymore, if I did, I would absolutely use your tool. What you've done is impressive and making it opensource AND freely available is awesome. Keep up the good work! 🙏
hey Chris, could you recommend a really good antivirus that will not show all the false positives, yet will protect my system to the fullest possible level? I understand your frustrations for sure. I just discovered your software. Yeah, my head was buried in some sort of bovine exhaust and I don't have any excuses for not digging deeper until now. I do look forward to "playing" with your software on one of my backup laptops to see what i can get out of it and what not to do also. Nice challenge it appears.
I also want to thank you for the time and effort you have spent in explain your "why's" of your codes. Most developers do not attempt that when they are questioned. You, my friend, challenged that. I applaud that, and appreciate it very much.
I am a 35 year full stack Dev. Microsofts antivirus is a trojan.
Chris - I just wanted to give you a shout on all that you do for the community. I work in the same industry and I appreciate the tool. Keep up the good work, and happy Easter!
Darn. Did not know such issues would exist there.
Thanks for the video!
MS is all in for stealing from open source, or running an extortion racket on software authors, but what's new. Apple, isn't any better. They do everything they can to lock people into the "brand". I have a retired friend, that just got sucked into a $1,700 bill for an issue with his "email". Apple dealer's answer, your computer is old, you need a new computer. I have been a contented LInux user for over 20 years.
I will only use Windows as long as this tool works! It has saved me soo much time managing my family's boxes & installing fresh windows. If they want to stop it and there's no way round I WILL permanently switch away from Windows as much as possible.
Windows 10 support ends in 2025 for Home/Pro users, and in 2029 for Enterprise LTSC user.
I honestly love the LTSC edition as the bloatware was removed and there's not even a Windows Store! 😄
@@PhilipMarcYT Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 is supported till 2032. I'm not switching to WIn11 (or whatever new version MS comes up with next) till at least 2032.
Powershell literally blocked your tool for a while. Your fix happened pretty quick though. Zorin 17.1 Linux is pretty good.
Don't worry about those few who complain. You always said you use this tool at your own risk. Those kids should not use a tool designed for adults in the first place.
So in theory, someone could write a trojan, pay M$ to "sign" it and let it out in the wild? Crazy!
Yeah but in theory it wouldn't work.
Does Linux support HDR playback yet? I use an OLED as a monitor and don't really care to jump across OSes just to play back content in its rightful quality.
iirc it does, however netflix and a lot of other streaming providers dont really like linux (for no apparent reason) so they are known to limit your bit rate and resolution. If you have a home media server you should be fine.
is disable meant to be "disabled", or do you need to toggle it to green in order to disable it? I'm confused.
Please leave the remove all ms store apps and remove microsoft edge and onedrive, or, please include those in a separate companion app. I use those on every install, I dont have any issues with them either. These are super handy!
yeah atleast uploaded two type of your tool/app one that includes thoses features and one that dont
just hide it from the average user, i run it every update just to make sure ms didn't sneakily enabled one of there apps again. Never had issues that i could'nt resolve within minutes.
yes please
eww
I used the removed edge option and the only issue was with Fusion 360, to fix it I only had to install webview manually.
It could be interesting to have an option to remove edge and install webview.
I seldom touch Windows these days. When I do, the aggravation immediately kicks in, my blood pressure spikes, I see red and want to smash my keyboard against the Windows image on my monitor. Linux is my happy place; calm, serene, functional.
Oh really? Is it that bad for you? Try to claim your money from Micro$ on your Windows license.
I’m not computer savvy at all so I might have misunderstood. Early in the video you mentioned if people pay a $300 “bribe” to get code “signed” they can bypass antivirus. That is scary.
Correct. Here is where you go to buy the code signing: www.thesslstore.com/comodo/how-ev-code-signing-recognize-software.aspx
Why does it auto install chocolaty without user confirmation whether they want to install it or not?
Thank you for your good work and dealing with this kind of bs. As someone who has to use windows, be it only in vm, your toolbox is a lifesaver. Hopefully I'll be able to keep using old version of the script to remove edge, onedrive and store apps.
Windows defender and Bitdefender is flagging your software as a threat
This is why I use LTSC, it's stripped down enough to work fine as a daily driver for the vast majority of people. Switching to Linux is easy to say but not easy to do when you've only used Windows and especially when you play online games or VR, most of the time you have to still use Windows.
Fricken wild even turning off almost everything windows still removed the exe zip before i could even tell it what to so.
I have had Eset antivirus for as long as I can remember, and it have never flagged your toolbox / script after all these years of me using your script on regular basis. I even have bought your executable and the executable have never been flagged by Eset either, even though I have ramped up the detection settings to max. Guess it is a Windows Defender problem, which of course is deactivated on my Windows system.
Wouldn't it be possible to just kind of replace the UAC check and the edge, microsoft store with a description, or a how-to ?
Same goes for disabling windows defender (which I see you have as an open request on github)
Tbh i would better have false positives then no detections at all. Then I can test it in sandbox and look if it is really doing something malicious or not .
I mainly uses Arch (btw) on my laptop but also run windows when I want to hop on and do some multiplayer gaming/editing. I use your script to make using windows and needing to even touch it sometimes more digestible and feel LESS "spied on" (telemetry). I want to thank you for making this free and open for us non/beginner level power users, as a way to make windows as user friendly as it can be, despite everything their antivirus is throwing your way. Keep it up CTT!
I have to completely disable Bitdefender every time I run the script for anything. It's been like that for months
I use the utility/app 'Fan Control', which is now blocked when I first start my PC...wtf!
CTTWU: Oh, I see I'm not running with admin permissions - I'm just gonna go ahead and give myself those :)))
Could you add a function to remove Windows Copilot and Bing AI references on Windows?
I just bought your toolbox yesterday and it's awesome thank you.
So I was fighting this about a month or so ago with a python program I'm making that shows the system specs via wmi. I would change code around a tiny bit and it wouldn't get flagged. But then building it again and trying it on the same machine. Defender would nuke it. Drove me insane. Still have no idea why. Removing all my code from classes makes it not show up as a false positive. But then my code is a mess.
I use an M$ laptop offline for older game system modding - Window$ 8. The false flags that showed up on every .exe in W11 made me scratch my head (a lot). Moved to Linux on my main because of their actions.
why are you using $ instead of s?
Please keep going Chris, don't be discouraged, we love your work and trust you more than we trust Microsoft!
For my part, I stood and will always stand behind you! Your Windows tool has been an integral part of every Windows installation I do since it was first released, and Microsoft's harassment 🤮of you won't change that in the slightest. On the contrary, I recommend it to everyone in my social network.
So keep doing what you're doing and count on us being happy users! 👍👍👍👍
Thank you for your effort!
Kind regards from: Hamburg/Germany
Victor Martins
Looks like they might have done something else to, before I was using your tool to remove edge, it worked great, but now after the update, when i remove the edge, it still sits there, including the shortcuts.
That is why I do not use Windows Operating Systems. My Daily OS is Linux Mint Cinnamon
Mint just works.
Proxmox drives my Windows and other OS's
@@repairman2be250 you like to live on the edge!, i see 😆
@@abdirahmann Thanks for your comment. And I use very old Xeon E5 and X99 hardware.
@@repairman2be250 respect 🫡
With edge have you thought about implementing edge deflector.
I feel like it should still ask: "Would you like to elevate this script? It is needed for the script to work" no matter what, it should not run as admin without consent.
Honestly, I've tried to switch the Linux so many times, but I've always had issues doing it. I had Wi-FI issues, Ubuntu had some issue, so I switched to Linux mint and I accidently deleted the wrong partition, because the "install alongside windows" was just missing and when I did it, bam everything was gone and had to reinstall my windows.
It so fustrating because I can switch to Linux, all my apps work on it, or I could just dual boot windows if I come across any incompatibilities. And I know how to navagate my way around it, but I just keep on having issues that just don't allow to switch. Honestly if I get a new laptop, I just want it to be more compatible with Linux.
I want to run a FOSS OS, where I know nothing bad is happening, where I know no spying is taking place, where I know the government does not screetly use my data to create a detailed profile of me. I really want to, but its just been really difficult.
Now you are being flagged and whatever they can find on you will be collected.
I mean installing two OSs on a single drive is definitely possible, but it kinda sucks. If you install Linux Mint, get the Edge ISO, it will have a newer kernel and probably better support for your hardware. If you want to get a Linux compatible laptop there is System76, Tuxedo and Framework who have offerings catered to it.
I've been running a Fedora based system (Ultramarine) along side Windows on fairly recent laptops (couple years) and a new mini PC (only 6 months old). Have no issue with it installing or being compatible. Its a bit of pain dual booting, but it's about using the right tool for the job. Sometimes thats windows but mainly Linux.
I'd recommend a mac for you and also wear a helmet at all times
I still want to know how i can enable the razor app again, after I used your software to disable it, i can't re-enable it. There is no such function
I was curious if your video about "Removing all viruses" with the TronScript is still valid in 2024? Especially with the new Windows 11 was curious.
same thing happenned to a software manager i built using python for my personal use. it just used winget like your code and it still flagged it and would even delete the app.exe file before i execute.
Half the time I just turn off antivirus completely, everything. Than turn it back on and half the time it fixes it.
I've started getting a ton of false positives for existing scripts I have stored on my server, that I wrote myself! Defender is getting worse.
What are the recommended linux distros these days?
Linux Mint for Beginners
I remove Defender using a script because it is a pathetic resource hog and I run Windows without antivirus software. I have for many years without issues. I don't visit sketchy web sites, don't download cracks and don't open email attachments I was not expecting.
What is the best linux should I use?
that's one of the problems why people stick to windows, no define answer to that query, I would recommend PoP OS when the new version comes out but that's not happening until summer or fall, Linux Mint might be the go to default option for now but even that one isn't the best option.
@@kamelkadri2843 I know very little about linux but I will try Pop OS, thanks for the recommendation.
@@kamelkadri2843 thanks, I know nothing about linux but I will try PopOS btw
There's no definitive answer.
Do you want a full or a lightweight distro? Do you want one that kind of looks like Windows to make you feel at home?
The answer to the second one is Zorin OS.
@@hanhthien2948Do your research as there are a lot of distros so it suits your taste.
First of all I want to say I understand your frustrations and thank you for what you do for the community.
But here is my criticism/opinion I personally don't think that the program should self elevate. If it needs admin privileges for system access that's perfectly fine. I just think that the program should tell you that it needs to run in admin mode like other programs with a pop up or within the command line where it tells you it needs to do so.
In terms of antivirus I still like to keep mine because, even though I am still being careful online, I do play a lot of games. My antivirus actually blocked me from playing black ops 3 due to the game having a vulnerability where other people can RCE. I was not aware of it and never thought that steam would sell a compromised game especially if it has a known vulnerability.
I would love to fully switch to Linux but the main problem I currently have it a lot of games only work on windows because of the anti cheat software they use. I would like to just run them in a VM but the anti cheat catches that it's in a VM and does not run and I have heard rumors that some people get banned because of them trying to run the game in a VM. I honestly think we should be able to run games in a VM because of all the vulnerabilities there are and how new ones keep popping up, like the one with Apex. That way people don't have to have two machines and separate them on a vlan or on a separate network, so if one gets compromised the rest don't get compromised.
So if anyone knows how to bypass anti cheat software from detecting VM can you please point me to a tutorial. Especially since now I just found out a lot of anti cheat software runs at a kernel based level 🙄
Hi Chris,
Sorry you have to deal with this.
Have you considered simply making a folder of the reg tweaks as .reg files, that users can execute? Yes it’s not as elegant but it should get round this.
thanks for the update and the tool! windows sucks but i still need it as a dual boot option on one of my computers for now, and this tool was a godsend. my main computer is Linux now for the first time, the wave of people switching is real
Hey chris. i wanna know how u unininstall ur tool it didnt work for me. and i created an restore point,
Your right, and unfortunately its pushing out the little man, could it be done on purpose?
Good afternoon
Chris Titus, could you make an iso of Windows 11 24h2 like the Windows 10 you edited in ntlite
77 prossesos How stripped down can we get Windows to just game
Thanks heavily to Valve's work on Proton, I only ever boot a windows PC to run AAA games that need extra FPS, or to take advantage of that system's GPU in Blender. Linux on a low power mini-pc is my go-to these days.
Only have Windows Defender installed (by default) as I don't want to run multiple AVs, but every few months I run Malwarebytes Free Edition.
Thsnks for another great video!
Same. I just don’t want to pay for something that Microsoft had made for.
I get a similar problem with Bit Defender, after you install some tweaks it detects some viruses in windows
Saw your project just now. And to best honest, you're literally saving Windows from Microsoft. It's almost like, Microsoft itself does'nt want Windows to become the best (or close to best) OS out there.
And Thanks for keeping your project open source and free!❤
Recently i runned Medicat on laptop i was working on and defender gone into full panic mode removing or blocking everything
unfortunately MediCat does contain some infected executables. If you check them with VirusTotal, other AVs also flag them. And I'm not talking about the Hacktools like KMS,but actual trojans in a few of the portable software suites.
Sept 2024: Avast claims it will do a deep/full scan. Well you have to go to settings and turn those settings on. Even then, it does not actually decompress .rar contents to analyze. I tested it with a .rar known to contain various malware. Avast looks pretty bad just now.
Having to go through the experience of code signing, its absolutely horrific.
How can i go to McDonald's, spend less than $5 and get great customer service, yet in order to be able to run my software without windows Defender popups, i have to spend $500 and receive very questionable customer support?
FU I'm going to linux. Windows Telemetry isnt even code signed properly, btw.
Let's be clear. I LOVE your script and can't thank you enough.
Windows is designed by a crack head... best quote of all time
I would just say that if you are charging $10 for an EXE wrapper. You might want to just sign it. I know $10 is nothing, but it's the principle. If you charge for something, provide something of quality. I am also a 20+ year windows vet and I am tired of it as well. Finally moved to Mint Linux.
And there is the gray area of false positives when it flags hacking tools like mimikatz or bloodhound. It's not doing what the user says it should and is not protecting the user. It's protecting the Active Directory. But fine, I totally get it :D
In the IT Industry its VERY common to Disable AV in order to run operations like Installs, Upgrades, Updates and SCRIPTS. Anytime you have a script doing admin-system level changes they will be flagged. Rightfully so... Just issue a notice, that AV must be disabled. Its common practice.
how to disable a Spyware that's get automatically turn on even if smone turns off n no. of times
No it's not. what you do is you set the execution policy to unrestricted and create an exception for your business needs. If you are just disabling your AV to run scripts you are doing it wrong.
@@seangraylin I read a lot of Install/Setup guides for applications. It is more common than not to be told to disable AV During the install then add exceptions for App/Database paths once its installed. You are absolutely incorrect. The correct answer is to follow the manufactures instructions. In this case its Chris Titus Tech.
@@JoshsRUclips Sure you wouldn't mind telling me a few of those setup guides which tell you to disable AV then?
I think I last saw that in an install instruction about 20 years ago 👵🏻, it's not really a thing any more.
You're our superhero. Thank you for the tool, plus diligence on AV and Window$.
I feel like Windows needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to correct some major underlying issues. Problem is that in order for the rewrite to be of any actual value, backwards compatibility would most likely be completely broken. Since so many users rely on Windows as currently implemented, including many industries and even thr government, breaking backwards compatibility would prevent a rewrite from even being considered
I'm afraid it won't take that long and Microsoft will tweak Windows tamper protection to flag anything that alters system (including settings, not just components)
Hi, why does your tool deactivate my windows defender whenever i run it?
Also when i select disk cleanup it gives me an error (but it still works).
Please fix
That's the issue with any closed source software and centralized database. Whoever is in charge can easily blacklist you because he/she/they do(es)n't like you.
Maybe Microsoft doesn't like those awesome scripts made in order to make their OS even better because they make them look bad and incompetent, so they decided to punish you instead of loosing face lol
(they) did we discoved new species?
Everything it unknow marked as unsafe!
I'm not sure if it's due to the updated script, but both laptops now run better than ever, even the one with a regular HDD. So thanks, Chris!!
Had me nervous here... whew
Waiting for xz library backdoor video :)
I like your script! My goal is to trim down my mini PC to run good for music production. What is the best, fastest, free way to antivirus your system? Is it Windows defender
TronScript being flagged as a "trojan" now and if I get it to run, windows just reinstalls what was deleted. it just makes me want to move my gaming desktop into Linux even more.
My work/school laptop is already Linux; might as well completely go Linux
"Just use Linux." I did that, and woke up to the XZ debacle. (Being sarcastic, of course. But man did I pick an interesting week to finally convert my gaming desktop to Fedora 40.)
Linux collecting more malware means it's growing in the desktop scene. Remember the early years of windows? The reason that there's billions of antivirus software written for windows and most of em being paid is that all of them were created to cure windows security issues in before windows defender era.
I don't say malware is good I'm telling there's a different point of view to the XZ incident that you should consider.
XZ Didn't only affect Linux, it also effects every OS ( they all use it in some form ) the fact that it got found out in about 24h before it went into any full releases proves the fact that open source enables the best form of security.
Not to mention that windows just had a crit 10 just a week ago.
Is it possible for you to convert your script into a downloadable exe program?
No. A script is not a program, it does not hit the machine code.
Hay thanks for all your effort Chris!! Seriously!! But I do understand and have that same bad after taste trying to fix Windows! But yeah, you go!!! Cheers!
Hey Titus!
is this something to worry or to take care?
in my system your script gets started with PowerShell V1
defender told me that.
I had that "Casdet!rfn" warning.
I have only PowerShell V7 installed when I look in "Apps and Features"
after restarting the CTT Utility like 6 times as admin it did finally load fully.
in defender I could see from the 3 first attempts, that the path was pointing to: "amsi: \Device\HarddiskVolume7\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe"
I think I have your recommended settings for updates.
and Win10
I removed Defender with NTLite. Never looked back.
I removed much more than that and can still update just fine :P
@@Chibibowa I used to go hard but just do the basics. I block updates as well.
"What a nice little program you got there. Would be a shame if something happened to it.." -Microsoft
remove edge is my favourite tweak. I only use windows to test and use utilities like this to help all my friends still on the windows scam
I believed you chris. Your my motivation to learn phyton. Keep up the content for education.
As a debian user and what i learned from CTT and LLT It's time for others to leave microsoft and move to linux
And you may run win in a virtual environment
Not surprised. Spend my time between Nobara and debloated Windows.
Microsoft is desperate to make money. So rather than hiring a security expert to read through the code, they will charge you instead to make it "safe"
Yeah man, you're right.
If you've ever had to step through the detailed Defender timeline of a machine managed by Intune in a corporate environment, you'd disable Defender on your personal machines. If you must run antivirus, install something else.