Regarding CCCleaner

[JD]

I've seen this program referenced a number of times in this forum.
I run CA Antivirus, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, and Windows Defender twice a week.
What can cccleaner do that can't be done through normal Windows cleanup
procedures--Disk Cleanup, etc?
Is this program a "registry cleaner"? Are there potential dangers in using
it?
Thanks for any input.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I've seen this program referenced a number of times in this forum.
I run CA Antivirus, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, and Windows Defender twice a
week.
What can cccleaner do that can't be done through normal Windows cleanup
procedures--Disk Cleanup, etc?
Is this program a "registry cleaner"? Are there potential dangers in using
it?
Thanks for any input.

It's not a registry cleaner, though it can remove some orphaned entries, if
you tell it to.

The regular windows cleanup does not actually remove a lot of the files you
might think it does, and you can test this by running Windows Cleanup and
then the Analyze feature in ccleaner. I've seen ccleaner remove a gig or
more of files that Windows cleanup missed.

Simply put, Windows Cleanup is nowhere near as extensive as ccleaner; both
have to be run for each user account to get the temp folders for those
accounts.

As a caution, if you have ccleaner remove cookies, and if you do online
banking or shopping, it can remove a lot of your settings for things like
card numbers. Just uncheck the "cookies" box to prevent this.

HTH
-pk

 

[db.·.. >]

it's ok, but not great
however, you seem to
be doing a good job
of maintaining your system.

if you want to do a
great job then include
this in your routine:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/default.htm

---------
also, be sure to include
chkdsk because it will
insure that your master
file table is reconciled
to your file system.

and if you want to achieve
optimum performance
then disk wiping the
unused disk data every
couple of months will
benefit the performance
of your system.

 

[DL]

Do all these malaware apps you run twice a week actually find anything other
than tracking cookies?
Are you visiting dubious sites or downloading unofficial stuff?
Do you have a decent Firewall? & I dont mean win default firewall

 

[JS]

Go to their web site and take the tour.
This should give you a good idea of what it can do.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

JS
www.pagestart.com

 

[p]

It's not a registry cleaner, though it can remove some orphaned entries,
if you tell it to.

The regular windows cleanup does not actually remove a lot of the files
you might think it does, and you can test this by running Windows
Cleanup and then the Analyze feature in ccleaner. I've seen ccleaner
remove a gig or more of files that Windows cleanup missed.

Simply put, Windows Cleanup is nowhere near as extensive as ccleaner;
both have to be run for each user account to get the temp folders for
those accounts.

As a caution, if you have ccleaner remove cookies, and if you do online
banking or shopping, it can remove a lot of your settings for things
like card numbers. Just uncheck the "cookies" box to prevent this.

HTH
-pk

Or you can specify which cookies not to delete.

P

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Or you can specify which cookies not to delete.

P

That too. Also, you can download the "slim" build so you don't have to
say no to the extra toolbar. Get this via the "other builds" link on the
download page.

-pk

 

[JD]

Never had a virus or malware and been running Windows since '95. But I don't
think I'm overdoing it. Just reasonable precautions.

 

[Jo-Anne]

It's not a registry cleaner, though it can remove some orphaned entries,
if you tell it to.

The regular windows cleanup does not actually remove a lot of the files
you might think it does, and you can test this by running Windows Cleanup
and then the Analyze feature in ccleaner. I've seen ccleaner remove a
gig or more of files that Windows cleanup missed.

Simply put, Windows Cleanup is nowhere near as extensive as ccleaner; both
have to be run for each user account to get the temp folders for those
accounts.

As a caution, if you have ccleaner remove cookies, and if you do online
banking or shopping, it can remove a lot of your settings for things like
card numbers. Just uncheck the "cookies" box to prevent this.

HTH
-pk

I've noticed lately that a couple websites I shop at have found another way
to keep my info. I delete all Cookies and Temporary Internet Files every
night when I shut down the computer. But when I go to some sites where I
used to have to type in the info again, I'm now recognized. I don't know if
this is good or bad.

Jo-Anne

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I've seen this program referenced a number of times in this forum.
I run CA Antivirus, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, and Windows Defender twice a week.
What can cccleaner do that can't be done through normal Windows cleanup
procedures--Disk Cleanup, etc?

CCleaner's only real strength, and the only reason I use it, lies in
its usefulness for cleaning up unused temporary files from the hard
drive. It differs from the native Windows tool in that it allows more
granular control and you can specify which folders you want scanned.
For instance, WinXP's disk cleaner will examine only the profile folders
of the user who is running the utility. On a single-user machine, this
is fine, but on a family or other mult-use machine, the ability to clean
temorary files from all of the user profiles at once is a great time saver.

Is this program a "registry cleaner"? Are there potential dangers in using
it?

CCleaner includes a registry cleaning option, but you needn't use
it. I tried the latest version on a brand-new OS installation with no
additional applications installed, and certainly none installed and then
uninstalled, and CCleaner still managed to "find" over a hundred
allegedly orphaned registry entries and dozens of purportedly
"suspicious" files, making it clearly a *worthless* product, in this
regard. (Not that any registry cleaner can ever be anything but
worthless, as they don't serve any *useful* purpose, to start with.)

As a registry "cleaner," it's not significantly better or worse
than any other snake oil product of the same type.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Go to their web site and take the tour.
This should give you a good idea of what it can do.
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Do you always refer people to advertising and marketing hype when they
ask for serious advice?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[JS]

If you read the original post it implied that JD had not tried the
application. There is nothing wrong with looking at a product (Free or
otherwise) and deciding if it meets your needs. This is true of both
hardware, software and operating systems. As for marketing hype I could give
you a wide screen vista full of that at most any site.

JS

 

[cyrano]

I've seen this program referenced a number of times in this forum.
I run CA Antivirus, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, and Windows Defender twice a
week.
What can cccleaner do that can't be done through normal Windows cleanup
procedures--Disk Cleanup, etc?
Is this program a "registry cleaner"? Are there potential dangers in using
it?
Thanks for any input.
I have used the ccleaner for some time now. and I do find it a useful tool

I use it when I have finished for the day, to clear out any accumulated
rubbish and I have not up till now had any problems with it. Cyrano

 

[Onsokumaru]

I've noticed lately that a couple websites I shop at have found another
way to keep my info. I delete all Cookies and Temporary Internet Files
every night when I shut down the computer. But when I go to some sites
where I used to have to type in the info again, I'm now recognized. I
don't know if this is good or bad.

Jo-Anne

It sounds more like the form filling option offered by browsers.

Check your options to see if your browser, or toolbar add-on is set to
remember text typed into fields.

 

[nr]

One quick CCleaner question: when I used it, it would erase the
'previously used' entries for Excel, Word, etc. (in the File/drop down
list). Is there a way to have it NOT clear those items when running?
Thanks for any help.

 

[Richard in AZ]

Yes, check the options you want to erase and uncheck the options you do not
want to erase!
"Read" is a four letter word, but some times we have to read the options and
instructions before we act.