PC cleanner for free?

[ivtec]

Hi guys anybody tried any of these Pc Cleaners,it says free,they let you scan and find to many errors but to fix they want you to register,what´s the deal here,if i register do they want money?

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolso...r-programs.htm

[vinceroger69]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

ccleaner is a free version works very well imo
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

[selldoor]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I have used CC cleaner but you need to be careful or you could clean out something you shouldnt. Keep backups!!
If you have a specific problem maybe better to look for a fix for that.

Their free scan will just pick out any problems - if you want to see some and you run windows XP just click start- control panel- administrative tools -
event viewer - application - Im pretty certain it will find many.

In the UK there are various scammers who prey on the elderly they ring
up and get them to do the above then say there you are loads of errors - we can fix that for you. They then either charge or worse still ask you to type in some code which gives them access and a key logger so they can pinch your passwords. I always keep them talking on the phone for as long as possible
then advise them I am having the call traced ---- click!!!!!!.

[8ternity]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I recommend you "iObit Advanced Free Cleaner" which is good and not corrupt important data.

[kc8adu]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

iirc thats one of the annoying scamware ones.
ccleaner is the only one i use.

I recommend you "iObit Advanced Free Cleaner" which is good and not corrupt important data.

[canadaboy25]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I for one hate things like that but I also hate the lack of privacy on the interweb so maybe I'm just too old fashioned.

[c_hegge]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I never have and never will use any PC cleaning/tuneup, registry fix, driver update tool or anything of that nature. They do absolutely nothing helpful and usually cause problems.

[trebo]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I second that.
since I stopped using them, I seem to have next too no problems
the only things I use are avg and malware but only run the scan part of them occasionally

[canadaboy25]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

Yeah me too if I have any issue I always do it manually.... even from DOS

[Agent24]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I used to use Norton SystemWorks years ago, but it wasn't perfect either. On a clean install of Windows XP it found numerous registry "problems" that it wanted to fix....

I use CCleaner now, for temp files etc. I disable most of the things it cleans so I don't lose cookies, history, program MRU lists etc. I don't use the registry part - haven't tried a registry cleaner in years. IMO they break more than they fix...

[SteveNielsen]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I've used a very old regcleaner (Jouni Vuorio 4.3) that is no longer available and it doesn't work with hyper-threading or multicore CPUs. Just like any other registry cleaner one must be careful and pay attention to what you are doing to avoid creating problems. I generally do not use any PC cleaners other than trusted anti-spyware and anti-virus programs.

[momaka]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

ccleaner is the only one i use.

Same here.

I started using CCleaner back when it was still called Crap Cleaner (some 8 years ago?!). Instantly became addicted to its functionality back then and still am to this day. Haven't been keeping up with the latest versions as of the last 3 years, so I can't say how good it is now, but their older versions can still be a huge time saver.

On my everyday PCs, I use it daily before shutting down to wipe out temp files and history as well as Windows logs and a few other things (nothing in the registry, though).

Back when I used to intern at an IT place, CCleaner has saved me hours, if not days, of time. When you have 30 mis-configured laptops brought in the middle of the week that need to be done by Friday so that they are ready for the following week, it's CCleaner time for sure. First off, many of the computers I worked on had a crap-ton of unnecessary processes running in tray. Now, I could go in each program's settings and try to disable automatic start-up, or I can just go in a single window in CCleaner and do them all at once. The latter option is a no-brainer.

The best part is that there is a portable version of CCleaner that you can run directly off of your flash drive without installing. And it remembers your settings. Very handy in situations like mine above. Also very handy when someone brings me an infected computer to take a look at. The first thing I do is run CCleaner and disable almost all of the start-up items. Then, I run the cleaner to flush the temp Windows directories. Many viruses still run out of the Windows temp directories.

I never have and never will use any PC cleaning/tuneup, registry fix, driver update tool or anything of that nature. They do absolutely nothing helpful and usually cause problems.

In general, many of these do indeed do nothing useful or helpful, especially the driver update tools.
But useless temp files do accumulate over time in Windows, and they just take up HDD space for no reason. You could use the Windows built-in clean-up tool - which is slow and IMO sucks... or just do it with a single click in CCleaner.

I've also used the registry cleaner in CCleaner a few times, but I can't say it's making any majorly noticeable difference in anything. Mostly found references to old DLL files, which were no longer on the system, thus no longer need, and a few extension association problems, which also wasn't a bad idea to remove. It didn't pick up any false-positives, though (unlike many of the leading tune-up utilities), so overall it is not bad. I still don't use it much though. In fact, I only use it if I suspect there is a registry problem with anything, and even then I check carefully what it picks. Overall, I am not to keen on using registry cleaners, so I am with you all that it's better to dissuade people from using them.

[goontron]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

my PC cleaner is a Cron script.

[Agent24]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

my PC cleaner is a Cron script.

What do you clean with that? I've always wondered about Linux temp files etc.

[Gianni]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

On Xp I have used and I use sometimes WiseDiskCleaner to remove unnecessary stuff and temp files.

For the registry I use WiseRegCleaner, you find them here

http://www.wisecleaner.com/

I had not a single problem with them but while with disk cleaner you see the free space at the end of the process, with the registry cleaner it is difficult for me to say if it really does something really useful, at least I can say it does no damages anything.

Unfortunately as almost all software today they have change the programs and I don't like them, I'm still using old version because they are more user friendly IMHO.

There are also portable version, so you don't need to install them.

http://www.wisecleaner.com/download.html

Ciao
Gianni

[stj]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

What do you clean with that? I've always wondered about Linux temp files etc.

probably deleting all the auto-generated "preview" images that Dolphin and other file managers generate.
that and wiping browser cache makes one hell of a difference.
my browser caches over 80meg a day!

[goontron]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

probably deleting all the auto-generated "preview" images that Dolphin and other file managers generate.
that and wiping browser cache makes one hell of a difference.
my browser caches over 80meg a day!

yes, it does those and removes pre formatted manpages that are too old.

[877]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

+1 for ccleaner, I also use spyware blaster which is free (if you don't mind manual updates).

[SteveNielsen]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I've never used ccleaner and was under the impression that it was spyware/adware stuff. But dang near everything is now days. I use SuperAntiSpyware (free) and AVG (free), if I need to ever look deep into the registry I use either RegEdit or HijackThis but when I do so it is something specific to look for and remove. Usually reg entries with orphaned files and other invalid entries don't cause a problem but if I get an error indicating they do then I take action. There again though, I try to know what I am about to delete before I actually delete it, no matter what tool is used. I still use RegCleaner 4.23 on PCs that will run it (not hyper-threading or multicore processors) and it has caused no problems for me to use the "do them all" registry cleanup actions.

[Agent24]

Re: PC cleanner for free?

I've never used ccleaner and was under the impression that it was spyware/adware stuff.

CCleaner is fine. But if you downloaded it from sites like CNet or Download.com you will find it comes bundled with crapware.

I always download from their official website here: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard

Note that the installer will ask if you want to install Google Chrome, but that's easy to opt-out of.