How to Audit Installed Programs on Your Windows PC

Three places Windows stores installed software, and how to tell legitimate apps from bundled junk or outright malware.

9 min read · Beginner friendly

If unfamiliar programs are showing up on your PC, do not panic and start uninstalling at random — some of those apps are legitimate Windows components. This guide walks you through every place Windows tracks installed software so you can identify what is really there.

Step 1: Settings → Apps → Installed apps

1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps
2. Sort by Install date (newest first)
3. Look for anything installed in the last 30 days that you do not recognise
4. Click the three dots next to suspicious entries → Modify to see the publisher

Step 2: Control Panel → Programs and Features

The classic Control Panel sometimes shows desktop programs that the new Settings app misses. Press Win + R, type appwiz.cpl, press Enter. Sort by Installed On and look for the same suspicious window of dates.

Step 3: Scheduled Tasks and Services

Some malware does not install as an app at all — it just adds a scheduled task or a Windows service.

1. Open Task Scheduler from the Start menu
2. Browse Task Scheduler Library and look for anything with no description or an obviously random name
3. Open Services (services.msc) and sort by Name; investigate any non-Microsoft services that are running

How to tell legitimate from suspicious

• Has a real publisher (Microsoft, Intel, NVIDIA, Realtek, your laptop maker) — almost certainly fine
• No publisher and a generic name (e.g. "PC Speed Pro", "System Updater") — very likely junk or malware
• Installed on a date you were not using the PC — investigate
• Cannot be uninstalled normally — strong sign of unwanted/malicious software