Question DriverEasy Program Safe to Leave Installed on Windows 10 PC?

[The Guy From The Thing]

I’ve been browsing reddit, quora, and other miscellaneous sites regarding DriverEasy; some say it’s full blown malware, others say it’s safe but unnecessary, and some say it breaks their PC

I have had DriverEasy installed since at least October last year on 2 different computers; my new PC has had DriverEasy installed since February


it definitely is a money scam, but like an idiot, I paid for it (for some reason), and I’ve probably used it about 2 or 3 times since February when there’s been a bunch of drivers that “need updates”

I’ve had no problems with DriverEasy or the installation processes, yet people call it malware. I’ve scanned MalwareBytes and WindowsDefender countless times over these past few months for security and nothing has ever cropped up; additionally, I’ve never seen any adware or noticed anything abnormal with my PC’s performance


is it safe to just leave DriverEasy installed on my PC, given I don’t use it for driver installations anymore and that its never seemed to cause issues on my old PC (October-February), or my current one (February-Present)?

sure I could use RevoUninstaller to get rid of it or just use Device Manager/google here but I still use DriverEasy to easily see if there’s any drivers I should install from the websites. I’m not looking for steps on how to uninstall it, or alternatives, I’m just looking to see if it’s okay to keep DriverEasy installed in my situation

 

[rgd1101]

it works, until it doesn't and start breaking

 

[The Guy From The Thing]

it works, until it doesn't and start breaking

you mean DriverEasy specifically? or are you talking about any program/app in general

 

[USAFRet]

It is crapware, whether you paid for it or not.

Why leave it?
It is doing, at best, nothing for your system. And at worst...installing/updating crap.
In the really bad world, malware and harvesting your specs and data.

 

[The Guy From The Thing]

It is crapware, whether you paid for it or not.

Why leave it?
It is doing, at best, nothing for your system. And at worst...installing/updating crap.
In the really bad world, malware and harvesting your specs and data.

like I said, I’ve mainly kept it just so I can easily and neatly see what drivers might need updating, and in case uninstalling it through Control Panel or the Uninstaller leaves traces, or if RevoUninstaller messes something up


it doesn’t update drivers on its own, but I know the drivers it does install can pose problems, which is why I stopped using it for that

I guess I’m just confused because I read so many things about how DriverEasy is malware and gets flagged by people’s antiviruses and installs adware, yet none of my antiviruses detect anything with it and I definitely don’t get adware. a lot of those posts are from 2-5y ago so I’m just unsure if it’s like an “older” version that was plagued with issues or if I just got lucky with my installation; was shocked to see it was apparently so bad

 

[The Guy From The Thing]

It is crapware, whether you paid for it or not.

Why leave it?
It is doing, at best, nothing for your system. And at worst...installing/updating crap.
In the really bad world, malware and harvesting your specs and data.

decided that I’ll probably use RevoUninstaller when I get home to uninstall DriverEasy and delete its registry files, if I can


iirc, the files/pathways highlighted in Bold are the only ones that RevoUninstaller actually deletes when clearing the app’s registry, even if you’ve checkmarked everything else


if I clear all the DriverEasy files in the registry through RevoUninstaller, will that have any affect on the drivers I’ve installed through the program in the past? will it also uninstall those drivers and create system instability or performance problems or something of the like?

or would the drivers that DriverEasy installs be placed somewhere else that wouldn’t be affected by deleting the program’s registry? I’m just not sure if it would treat DriverEasy as the tool to get those drivers, or if the drivers are literally tied to DriverEasy

 

[ubuysa]

I've been analying BSOD memory dumps for many years, most software BSODs are caused by wrong/bad/missing drivers. I've seen far more people suffer driver BSODs through using third-party driver install tools like Driver Easy than from using the proper driver support channels.

The problem with these tools is that you a) can't be sure the driver they select really is the right driver for your system (and the number of BSODs I see suggests that often it's not) and b) you don't know where the driver has come from.

If you want a stable system then drivers should be sourced from ONLY these locations (and in this order)

1. The PC/laptop vendor's website (especially for laptops, where the drivers are often customised).
2. Windows Update. Vendors submit their drivers to Microsoft where they undergo WHQL testing and are then included in Windows Update. If the vendor marks the driver as 'automatic' it's installed automatically by Windows Update. If the vendor marks it as 'manual' it's included in the list of optional updates which you can install if you need to - so don't forget to check in optional updates for driver updates!
3. Your motherboard vendor's website, for anything included on the board.
4. The website of the specific hardware vendor for which you need a driver.

 

[USAFRet]

decided that I’ll probably use RevoUninstaller when I get home to uninstall DriverEasy and delete its registry files, if I can


iirc, the files/pathways highlighted in Bold are the only ones that RevoUninstaller actually deletes when clearing the app’s registry, even if you’ve checkmarked everything else


if I clear all the DriverEasy files in the registry through RevoUninstaller, will that have any affect on the drivers I’ve installed through the program in the past? will it also uninstall those drivers and create system instability or performance problems or something of the like?

or would the drivers that DriverEasy installs be placed somewhere else that wouldn’t be affected by deleting the program’s registry? I’m just not sure if it would treat DriverEasy as the tool to get those drivers, or if the drivers are literally tied to DriverEasy

Uninstalling it won't affect any drivers in your system.