Easily tweak scheduled tasks with PC Tasks Optimizer

Smart PC Utilities has released PC Tasks Optimizer, a quick and easy way to manage your core Windows scheduled tasks.

There’s no technical talk about "events" or "triggers", as instead the program just displays a list of statements about how you use your computer: "I do not connect any devices via Bluetooth", "I do not use Microsoft Active Directory", "I do not want Windows to routinely defrag my hard disk", "I do not share my media library", "I have disabled Windows Remote Assistance", and a whole lot more.

To configure your system, all you have to do is set or clear the checkbox next to any statement, then click "Optimize Tasks", and PC Tasks Optimizer will enable or disable the relevant scheduled tasks.

That’s great for novices, but if you’re a more experienced user than you might like to know exactly what changes the program is going to make.

Fortunately the developer understands this, and clicking the arrow to the left of any statement displays the name of any related task. You can then manually enable or disable these as required.

PC Task Manager has some issues. It requires installation, for instance, and there’s no real reason other than the developer hopes you’ll install the bundled adware as well (though don’t be put off, pay attention during setup and this is completely avoidable).

The program doesn’t back up your settings, either. We’d like to see it offer to create a system restore point, at least, to ensure you can restore your original tasks if something goes wrong, but right now you’ll have to do that yourself.

PC Tasks Optimizer does provide an unusually simple way to view and adjust your core system scheduled tasks, though, and if you don’t want to delve into the regular Task Scheduler then it might be worth a try.