On a default Windows installation, a long list of background services and tasks remain active. While useful in specific cases, they can hurt performance on computers with more modest resources, whether it's the processor or available RAM. PC Tasks Optimizer offers a relatively simple way to control and disable certain functions that would normally require extensive manual editing.
One of the big problems users face when maintaining their computer is separating the most positive tasks from what falls into the “placebo effect” territory. For decades we've accumulated and applied different “tricks” that are ultimately worthless, yet they keep appearing in many utilities for one reason: time taught us we shouldn't give Windows the benefit of the doubt.
This means its factory configuration is better prepared for stability than for performance, and that the concept of optimization doesn't come exclusively through an increase in speed, but also through greater efficiency, freeing up resources that are usually wasted.
Disable or Turn Off Tasks and Services
This is where we find PC Tasks Optimizer, a small application that presents different options to disable or turn off tasks and services in our operating system. A curious detail about PC Tasks Optimizer is that it offers these options in the first person, for example, “I don't connect any device via Bluetooth” or “I don't want Windows to defragment my hard drive.” This makes interpreting some lines a bit more complicated, and it's evident that English isn't the developer's primary language, but if we expand the content we'll see the official description of each item (in the system's original language) and what function it fulfills. Once the actions are marked, the rest is a matter of pressing the “Optimize Tasks” button and restarting the computer.
PC Tasks Optimizer works with all versions of Windows from Vista onward, but requires the .NET Framework 4.5, which shouldn't be a problem with Windows 7 and later. The installer is under five megabytes, and during our tests we saw no advertising or additional modules. Those who want to take that “extra step” in Windows optimization might want to take a closer look.
Official site and download: Smart PC Utilities
