Installing Clean Win10 on new laptop?

[MPTech]

Due to an untimely accident (my wife dropped my laptop on the kitchen ceramic floor, so early Fathers Day!), I'm looking for an inexpensive replacement.
My old laptop was due for a replacement anyways, so I wasn't too upset.
I found a good deal on HP 15-af131dx Notebook with Win10 and some other pre-installed software.

2 questions:
#1. Can I re-install a clean version of Win10, without all of the pre-installed stuff? (a link would be VERY appreciated).
(I've installed MANY clean OS's before, but not Win10 yet, any gotcha's?)
#2. What are good maintenance / security Apps to install, post-fresh OS? (I typically install Malware-bytes, MS Security Essentials, and a couple others I can't remember off the top of my head)


Thanks!

[jdc2000]

For a clean install, you may want to read through several of the links below to get an idea on what is involved.

http://www.windowscentral.com/how-do...ion-windows-10

http://www.pcworld.com/article/30424...right-way.html

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/cl...all-windows-10

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...0+new+computer


You will probably want to create the installation media to do this. Since this is a new laptop, you shouldn't have any data on it. It is not a Lenovo or Dell, so you shouldn't have bad security certificates or bad updater apps, although you may still want to disable any HP updaters anyway.

As for security, Windows 10 is your biggest threat in that area, since the default settings will send almost everything you do to Microsoft. The links below have some ideas on how to turn off as much telemetry as possible. Note that you may want to get Win 10 Pro to help with this, since it has more control than Home. Win 10 Enterprise would be best, but you probably can't get that on your new laptop with purchasing it separately.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-...ranoids-guide/

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-configu...acy-1716204024

http://www.pcworld.com/article/29717...-by-piece.html

http://www.eweek.com/security/slides...-settings.html

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...ity+windows+10


MalwareBytes is always good to have, as well as your preferred antivirus software. You may also want to consider a third party firewall, as the built-in Microsoft firewall will allow any connection to Microsoft's servers, some of which you might want to prevent.

[Midknyte]

You should also download the device drivers BEFORE you do a clean install.
http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/.../model/8961406

[Train]

Specs
http://support.hp.com/id-en/document/c04797004

memory

Maximum memory: 16GB
Slots:2 (2 banks of 1)
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compat...8amd-series%29