CCleaner, does it really help a windows PC?

[_Grid21]

So every so often I use CCleaner on my computer too, what I think is, help my Windows workstation be a little cleaner and get rid of extentions, temp files, and registry keys. However, I wanted to ask, does it really help or work on Windows to run a problem that cleans your windows OS? 

 

Thanks in advance! 

[The Sloth]

yes 

[Kick]

https://decentsecurity.com/#/registry-cleaners/

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2563254/microsoft-support-policy-for-the-use-of-registry-cleaning-utilities

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2015/06/digital-snake-oil/

 

It's generally no longer recommended. 

 

Edit: Registry cleaners are not recommended. I guess using CCleaner to get rid of temp files isn't horrible.

[Scruffy90]

I only use it to clean up my temp files. I have a lot of programs and dont feel like going into each piece of software to clean up.

[SageOfSpice]

I find it does to an extent. I've done the worst case scenario and ran it on somebody's computer who downloaded every option toolbar ever, and saw very slight improvements after running it. At the very least, I've never seen it break anything and it's a convenient way to get rid of temp files.

[samiscool51]

it's ok to get rid of temp files on a system

but it's not the best, i generally blast my systems with it every week but thats what i do

[_Grid21]

6 minutes ago, Kick said:

https://decentsecurity.com/#/registry-cleaners/

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2563254/microsoft-support-policy-for-the-use-of-registry-cleaning-utilities

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2015/06/digital-snake-oil/

 

It's generally no longer recommended. 

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, Fooshi said:

Beyond freeing up some space, not really. In fact, messing with the registry might break things as opposed to fix it. Hasn't happened for me yet, though.

Well the part I noticed was CCleaner seemed to think the certain files that are installed, needed to be cleaned, even though they are still there, I could always just reimport my registry if something doesn't seem right.

EDIT: should I just reimport my supposedly "cleaned" registry? Just so nothing happens?

[Princess Luna]

CCleaner is  somewhat still good, especially for the temp files like mentioned, but I wouldnt really advise it any more nowadays, unless for specific use such as getting rid of windows.old folder etc.

 

stay away from other ´´performance boosters´´ though, stuff like advanced system care from iobit which is quite famous are likely to do more damage than good.

[Kick]

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

CCleaner is  somewhat still good, especially for the temp files like mentioned, but I wouldnt really advise it any more nowadays, unless for specific use such as getting rid of windows.old folder etc.

 

stay away from other ´´performance boosters´´ though, stuff like advanced system care from iobit which is quite famous are likely to do more damage than good.

Are windows.old folders protected somehow? Why would you need a third-party tool to delete them? 

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

CCleaner is  somewhat still good, especially for the temp files like mentioned, but I wouldnt really advise it any more nowadays, unless for specific use such as getting rid of windows.old folder etc.

 

stay away from other ´´performance boosters´´ though, stuff like advanced system care from iobit which is quite famous are likely to do more damage than good.

 

I've heard that. I usually use what Microsoft built into their own OS because they would know what needs to be cleaned, and usually I just go through temp folders on my own since I know where they are.

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, Kick said:

Are windows.old folders protected somehow? Why would you need a third-party tool to delete them? 

They are in that you need to take ownership of them to delete them as a user admin. I've done this myself since I know how windows server permissions work.

[Godlygamer23]

I tend to run it on a regular basis, particularly after installing NVIDIA drivers to remove any temp files that might be present. It can remove a fair amount of junk, but the registry cleaner(just like any others out there) needs to be used in a cautionary way. It might be pretty safe to run the module, but it's not perfect and it can delete something Windows requires. 

[Godlygamer23]

2 minutes ago, Kick said:

Are windows.old folders protected somehow? Why would you need a third-party tool to delete them? 

Disk Cleanup is sufficient for that.

[Kick]

1 minute ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

They are in that you need to take ownership of them to delete them as a user admin. I've done this myself since I know how windows server permissions work.

Thanks, I haven't had to mess with any machines with recovered / upgraded OS in a while, totally forgot it needed that. 

[HelplmChoking]

Nope, it won't be at all noticeable beyond a placebo. Just maintain your machine properly.

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, Kick said:

Thanks, I haven't had to mess with any machines with recovered / upgraded OS in a while, totally forgot it needed that. 

Oh yeah, windows perms can be a headache, but if you do it a lot like I do it's not hard to forget. If you do just message me again and I can help you out.

[_Grid21]

2 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

Nope, it won't be at all noticeable beyond a placebo. Just maintain your machine properly.

Sounds good, thanks. I'll just be importing my backed up registry now. 

EDIT: On second thought since I've already deleted these "keys" I am not sure if I should import it again.

[Godlygamer23]

4 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

Nope, it won't be at all noticeable beyond a placebo. Just maintain your machine properly.

As far as I'm concerned, that's part of the maintenance factor.

[_Grid21]

I have another question, what about programs like RevoPro which uninstalls the program and deletes that programs left over reg keys, Is that safe or good to use?

[Mira Yurizaki]

CCleaner has other tools that dig into the system like killing startup programs that don't appear in Task Manager's startup tab and context menu entries.

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

CCleaner has other tools that dig into the system like killing startup programs that don't appear in Task Manager's startup tab and context menu entries.

But again, is it better to just simply go to the program that is running and tell it not to startup instead of having some third party application do it?

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

But again, is it better to just simply go to the program that is running and tell it not to startup instead of having some third party application do it?

It's only deleting the startup entry. I guess it can cause issues, but only if the program re-creates the entry upon startup.

[kirashi]

24 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

So every so often I use CCleaner on my computer too, what I think is, help my Windows workstation be a little cleaner and get rid of extentions, temp files, and registry keys. However, I wanted to ask, does it really help or work on Windows to run a problem that cleans your windows OS? 

 

Thanks in advance! 

IT Consultant with 10+ years in the field reporting in here, 5 of which were spent selling and repairing computer in a retail environment. Short answer: it's not really necessary for today's operating systems. (Unless you run MacOS which STILL DOES NOT have a way to actually uninstall applications. In 2017. WTF Apple. Why you make my life difficult?)

7 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

I have another question, what about programs like RevoPro which uninstalls the program and deletes that programs left over reg keys, Is that safe or good to use?

Long Answer: RevoUninstaller and CCleaner have some useful features outside of cleaning up the registry. I'll use CCleaner to manage startup items, since it's easier than dealing with Task Manager, the Startup Folder, and Task Scheduler separately. I'll also use RevoUninstaller and CCleaner to uninstall stubborn programs, or programs that install but for some reason failed to create proper, working uninstallation entries. (Why developers, why?)

 

Isn't it better to disable startup from within the program itself? Yeah, it is, but some programs (Skype can die anytime now) don't let you easily do this without logging in first, which is completely counter productive. 

 

I still use both on client computers, and will indeed use the registry cleaning portion of CCleaner. However, I DO NOT use it blindly. Meaning, if I need to cleanup someone's registry, I'll first make a backup, then scrutinize why CCleaner flagged something for removal. If I understand why it was flagged, such as an orphan file association with a program that's no longer installed, then it goes bye-bye. Otherwise I skip it, since you can definitely remove things you should not.

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

It's only deleting the startup entry. I guess it can cause issues, but only if the program re-creates the entry upon startup.

So what do you think of RevoPro? I asked a few thread postings back.

[Godlygamer23]

2 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

So what do you think of RevoPro? I asked a few thread postings back.

I don't have experience with that program.