Is it safe to use Chrome’s Reporter tool?
Is it safe to use Chrome’s Reporter tool? As a user, you may be concerned about privacy. If you are not sure about your network privacy, you can simply check the authenticity of the tool by simply moving your cursor over the .exe file. You can see that the component is digitally signed by Google with the file description as Chrome Cleanup Tool. So this tool is completely safe. It is worth mentioning that the reporting tool does not have any network communication. The only job of this tool is to inform Chrome about software that may not work conventionally with the Chrome browser.
Chrome Software Report Tool vs. Chrome Cleanup Tool
In other words, the software reporting tool is associated with the Chrome cleanup tool. Yes, you got it right! Both tools are identical. So, you might be wondering what could be the need to have them as a separate tool. According to Google, the software reporter tool reports the scans to Chrome, and based on the scan reports, the Chrome browser prompts the user to remove unwanted software via the Chrome cleanup tool.
While the tool helps remove obstacles that could hamper the browser experience, many users are mainly concerned about their huge CPU consumption when running the tool in the background. The tool could run for approximately 20 minutes which may slow down your other activity on the system. It is worth noting that unless you run the troublesome third-party software on a regular basis, this tool may not be a source of the intrusion.
Disable the Google Chrome Software Reporter tool
You will find the Software Reporter Tool in the following path on Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows:
C: Users USERNAME AppData Local Google Chrome User Data SwReporter VERSION software_reporter_tool.exe
While it is simple and fairly straightforward to delete, uninstall or delete the contents of the entire folder or rename the executable file, doing so only offers temporary relief as Google starts pushing the Software Reporter tool into the system again, whenever you update. Web browser.
So a more viable option is to remove permissions so that no user has access to the folder.
To do this, do the following, Right-click on the SwReporter folder and select Properties from the menu.
Next, in the Properties dialog that appears, switch to the Security tab.
Next, select Advanced and choose the “Disable Inheritance” option.
Next, click the “Remove all inherited permissions from this object” option in the block inheritance window. When confirmed, the action will remove all permissions inherited from this object.
Finally, select Apply and hit the OK button.
Now no other user will have access to the Software Reporter tool, and therefore no updates will be applied to it.
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