Update: Looking for more apps to help tune up, clean, and repair your computer? Check out this list of six programs that help you solve your problems for free!
Nobody likes useless junk taking up valuable hard drive space. Fortunately, there's a whole slew of good, free programs out there to help us keep things ship-shape. And yes, most of them are called [
letter] +
Cleaner. Here are five worth checking out.
If you use one of these apps, share your thoughts in the comments! As always, if I missed your favorite please share it with us!
(open source, installer)
pictured - While it only handles file cleanup and is a comparatively large download (it's Linux and Windows compatible and runs about 8Mb with GTK), Bleachbit supports a much larger list of programs than most of the other cleaning apps. Apart from all major browsers, it also tidies up after Google Earth, Flash, Java, Second Life Viewer, Skype, Vuze, and more. Found 63.7Mb of crap files on my recently-cleaned drive.
CCleaner (freeware, portable, installer) - The most widely-known name in computer crud removal. CCleaner has a lot going for it: it's easy to use, scans quickly, cleans the registry, and also includes a lightweight Add/Remove programs alternative and startup items manager. Found 36.1Mb of junk and 20 registry issues on my machine.
Comodo System Cleaner (freeware, portable, installer) - CSC does file, registry, and privacy cleaning and also packages an autorun manager, system tweaker, and CRC checker. 32 and 64-bit versions are provided for both the portable version and installer. The installer doesn't play nice with Windows 7, but the portable version will get the job done - just double-click CSC.exe to get things started.
FCleaner (freeware, portable, installer) - Like Bleachbit, FCleaner doesn't handle registry cleanup. It does an excellent job of finding garbage files, turning up about 15% more than even Bleachbit. Also features an uninstaller, startup manager, and quick links to system tools like the command prompt, system restore, scheduled tasks, and Security Center. Found 72.7Mb of files.
Glary Utilities (freeware, portable, installer) - This one packs a whole lot more functionality into one package than the others, but it's still under a 5Mb download. In addition to scanning for files, registry issue, and broken shortcuts, Glary can also check for malware, optimize memory, edit your context menu, shred and encrypt files, and analyze drive usage. It's a must have, and totally free for personal use (and well worth paying for at the office). Found 23.4Mb worth of files and 42 registry issues.
nCleaner (freeware, installer) - In addition to cleaning files, nCleaner features a system monitor, Windows tweaker, free space shredder, and startup manager. It also supports an absolutely enormous set of plugin applications including ACDSee, ICQ, Incredimail, Kazaa, Winamp, and Windows log files. Doesn't provide an estimate on cleaning runs.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
a said 2:21PM on 6-09-2009
how do each of these stack up to Advanced SystemCare 3? that's like the standard for these utilities.
Reply
Lee Mathews said 2:27PM on 6-09-2009
Well, for one thing NOD32 didn't throw any heuristic with the other 6...It did with System Care...
David said 3:23PM on 6-09-2009
Been using CCleaner for years now. Never really looked for an alternative seeing that it does quite the job on both files and registry. I wish that it had some sort of built in updater though. I feel like I have to visit filehippo every week to get the new micro-update.
Reply
Lee Mathews said 3:27PM on 6-09-2009
Check the options screen in CCleaner, there's a checkbox to enable update checks. Also, there's a link at the bottom of the main window to do it manually ;)
Geir said 6:08PM on 6-09-2009
Use FileHippo's Update Checker, it is one of the best 3rd party software update finders and makes a nice complement to Windows/Microsoft Update.
Kenn.keeper said 4:27PM on 6-09-2009
I for one have been using Glary Utilities for quite some time now. It goes into your system just far enough to clean it without any damage. I have tried most of the others but always came back....
Nice to see that more freeware is being shown.
As always, Free is Good
Kenn........
Reply
minibar said 6:11PM on 6-09-2009
it's not about how much cruft they eradicate b/c they may delete desirable data, so saved space is a poor metric. what matters is that they clean up smartly while preserving desirable history and cookies. no single app i've found can do this, and some methods are too harsh, particularly wrt registry operations but i've also found deleting prefetch files before windows gets to the job may affect system tray icon loading. others take an all-or-nothing approach e.g. to eliminating cookies. with opera, safari, ie, firefox, and chrome each having their own ideas about privacy it's no surprise this is a mess (given that browsers implement it; of course corporate leadership is severely lacking.)
sometimes i need to flush session cookies at news sites to continue reading so i use del_session_cookies Fx ext (Firefox extension.) since not everyone needs to track me i use a cookie white list Fx ext. Better Privacy Fx ext is useful for managing flash super cookies. of course, Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-out Fx ext and judicious use of ccleaner. this doesn't catch everything, but properly configured with anti-virus and firewall it lets me browse somewhat safely.
the only registry cleanup operation i use anymore is WinASO defrag when internal fragmentation gets too high. also, system restore and disk imaging with regular data backups are a god send.
Reply
carrie pacheco said 6:27PM on 6-09-2009
I'm noobe at alot of this computer stuff, but I do know that win32 sends a lot of viruses,trojans and worms ny way. Yie I do hace a really good protection system and none of them are active, but Adobe ( for school, and Java for computer files) just seem to live on delivering bugs and stuff. I would really lik somp sound advise, that doesn't turn out to be a joke on a noobe, that happens a lot you know.
Reply
minibar said 7:41PM on 6-09-2009
@ carrie pacheco
i've always looked at internet security is an adaptive sport, so that as threats and defenses evolve, i adapt to maintain reasonable protection. different websites have different risk levels, so parse url's to see if it is a reputable company you're visiting or something else based in a region well known for exploits.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10080428-83.html
(some anti-virus have a "link scanner" to partially block exploits)
especially for young people one of the biggest threats is downloads. in firefox i have an extension (download status bar) that optionally scans downloads, and messenger has built-in download scanning. it takes a minute to setup the first time, but after that you can copy and paste the scan line into a fresh config in seconds and never touch it again. (some anti-virus have live file-system protection which may help.)
i also recommend scanning files transferred over a direct connection to a friend's computer on a home/school/office network, although i have no automated method for that.
best wishes.
carrie pacheco said 11:08AM on 6-10-2009
Thank You very much,I'll do that.
Lalpasha said 10:25PM on 6-09-2009
I combine ccleaner with PureRa http://raproducts.org/purera.html and my PC's good to go. Although I do have to use a paid product (Window Washer because of the many available Plugins) once in a while to give my PC a thorough cleaning.
Reply
Lee said 11:50AM on 6-10-2009
It's a pity Glary forces you to install the Ask toolbar. Thats a deal killer right there.
Reply
Gardiner Westbound said 11:16AM on 6-10-2009
Glary lets you opt out of installing the Ask toolbar. Just uncheck the box on the install dialog.
Lee Mathews said 11:53AM on 6-10-2009
Portable version = no toolbar, no install of any kind
Lee said 1:08PM on 6-10-2009
Nope. It's part of the user agreement.
Lee Mathews said 1:09PM on 6-10-2009
Did you try the portable version? There's no ask toolbar in it. Period.
Muffin_man said 9:14AM on 6-11-2009
Damn this thing is good. Fixed over 300 problems with my registry and found 777.4 MB of junk on my hard drive.
Reply
LILCOOB61 said 10:38AM on 6-24-2009
i am having trouble with the speed of my computer i have nortan and i scan it quite often but for some reason it used to be faster than it is now what would be the best to download for free to clean out my computer and get it running faster?
Lee Mathews said 10:39AM on 6-24-2009
We've got a post coming up at 3pm today that you might want to check out. It just might help you fix your bogged down system!
Mike said 5:29PM on 6-24-2009
I use window washer a couple times a week. At first it would load on booting in 10 seconds, now it takes a full minute. Is it saving what it washes and that's why it has gotten progressively longer to load? Does anybody know.
Reply