Security News > 2023 > March > Google euthanizes Chrome Cleanup Tool because it no longer has a purpose

Google is bidding adieu to an application that enabled Chrome users on Windows systems to get rid of unwanted software.

The Cholocate Factory's Chrome Cleanup Tool was introduced in 2015 - initially as a standalone product and later integrated into the Chrome browser - and has run more than 80 million cleanups over the past eight years.

Newer tools that can protect surfers and a changing threat landscape are making the Chrome Cleanup Tool increasingly irrelevant, so with the release this week of Chrome 111 for Windows, the cleanup app was swept out.

"Starting in Chrome 111, users will no longer be able to request a Chrome Cleanup Tool scan through Safety Check or leverage the 'Reset settings and cleanup' option offered in chrome://settings on Windows," Jasika Bawa, product manager with Google's Chrome Security Team, wrote in a post.

The Chrome Cleanup Tool likely won't be missed by too many users.

The number of discoveries of unwanted software on Windows systems has also fallen off, with only 0.06 percent of Chrome Cleanup Tool scans run by users in February finding such software.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/03/11/googe_chrome_cleanup_windows/