Author Topic: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?  (Read 5861 times)

230RN

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How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« on: March 09, 2015, 04:48:02 PM »
Are they worth the ten or so bucks I see them as advertised?

I realize they may not have the latest malware definitions, but I'm thinking more in terms of general cleaning up of trash.  I reckon one could do this manually, but for the unsophisticated person, this could take quite a while to learn the detailed ins and outs of computer maintenance.

Do they themselves stick malware or spyware on your machine?

Be nice to just plug one in and let 'er rip, instead.

Terry
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Calumus

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2015, 04:59:53 PM »
Link?

vaskidmark

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2015, 05:12:37 PM »
https://www.wincleaner.com/ 

But the second item to come up on a Google search is https://zookaware.com/wincleaner-one-click-cleanup/?gclid=CJ2mrZWXnMQCFRIjgQodY4AASA

CCleaner and Glary Utilities are free and regularly updated.  I run them consecutively.  First time CC then GU, and the next tim,e I use them GU first followed by CC.  (Don't ask me why - I'm just weird that way.)

stay safe.
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lee n. field

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2015, 06:18:14 PM »
junk
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At thy right hand pleasures for evermore.

230RN

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2015, 06:35:33 PM »
Link?

Oh, I was just operating from the info on the TV ads.  Should have prowled around for a link.  

Thanks, vaskidmark.

Junk, how and why?  Advantages versus disadvantages.  The "advantages" are obvious from their ads and the price, of course.  

Updated regularly for an additional fee?  Or for a given time period and then they stop and you have to buy a new edition?
« Last Edit: March 09, 2015, 06:43:04 PM by 230RN »
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lee n. field

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2015, 07:31:26 PM »
https://www.wincleaner.com/ 

Every single thing about that page makes me want to scream "keep that **** away from my computer!"
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Angel Eyes

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2015, 08:49:49 PM »
Every single thing about that page makes me want to scream "keep that **** away from my computer!"

It looks like the software equivalent of this:



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vaskidmark

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2015, 08:52:13 PM »

Updated regularly for an additional fee?  Or for a given time period and then they stop and you have to buy a new edition?

If I'm hearing the commercials properly, you get a defined-time license - probably with some sort of drop-dead date installed.  Buy a new one.

Again, CCleaner and Glary Utilities are free and updated regularly, as well has having good to excellent ratings from CNET.

stay safe.
If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege.

Hey you kids!! Get off my lawn!!!

They keep making this eternal vigilance thing harder and harder.  Protecting the 2nd amendment is like playing PACMAN - there's no pause button so you can go to the bathroom.

Hawkmoon

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2015, 09:51:06 PM »
Again, CCleaner and Glary Utilities are free and updated regularly, as well has having good to excellent ratings from CNET.

Never heard of Glary, but I have used, and I trust, CCleaner. But I don't especially like it. My usual clean-up tool kit is Avast! anti-virus (full scan, please), followed by Malwarebytes. Both are free, updated regularly, and reliable. Sometimes I follow up with Spybot.
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Calumus

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2015, 11:15:30 PM »
Wincleaner is the first one I found when looking around. From what I've just read, it basically deletes temp files and "cleans" your registry. It sounds similar to most of the "speed up your PC" junk that's out there. Probably about half of the reinstalls I've done for clients over the years have been a direct result of them trying out registry boosters, and one click PC optimizers. Pretty much everything you need to maintain your PC can be had for free, its just a matter of going down the line doing regular maintenance. Once a week, run the built in Windows disk clean up. When that's done, run CCleaner. If you're not especially savvy, just do the clean up portion, leave the registry alone. Next, grab Defraggler from the same place and use that to defrag every couple of weeks. Assuming you still have an old fashioned platter drive that is, do NOT defrag an SSD. Keep on top of Windows updates, as well as updates for other software you run. Java, skype, flash etc. If you download each of those programs, just place the shortcuts on the right edge of your screen in the order I gave you, top to bottom. Then, once a week, just run down the list. Start at the top, and work your way down.

Ron

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #10 on: March 09, 2015, 11:33:22 PM »
Over the years I've used various free PC utilities.

Currently I'm using Glary Utilities and it works fine.

Other freebies I use semi regularly or as needed are Malwarebytes and CCleaner.

MS Security Essentials is my only running virus protection. I'm using FireFox with adblocker and noscript addons and have been virus/spyware free for a real long time. Haven't had an infection on this machine and only had one on my last.
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Perd Hapley

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2015, 12:19:21 AM »
Junk, how and why?  Advantages versus disadvantages.  The "advantages" are obvious from their ads and the price, of course.  

Updated regularly for an additional fee?  Or for a given time period and then they stop and you have to buy a new edition?


I concur with those telling you not to pay for "clean-up" programs. CCleaner, and other free tools, do the same thing, probably just as easily.

https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

When you install, check the box for enabling "intelligent cookie scan." It makes things easier.


This might sound complicated, but it really is not:
I run CCleaner about once or twice a month. I run the "Cleaner" function," and then run the "Registry" cleaner. It will ask if you want to save the deleted registry files. I click yes, and then I rename the saved file to something like "Registry." That way, if it deletes a registry entry it shouldn't have, I can go back and click on that saved file, and it will be added back in, automatically. After that, every time I run CCleaner, I save the registry files to the same filename, so I only keep the most recently deleted files on hand. So far, CCleaner's never screwed up my registry.
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Nick1911

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2015, 12:25:07 AM »
I'm going to show my ignorance here, but -- with modern versions of Windows, are these programs really necessary at all?

Calumus

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2015, 01:49:21 AM »
I'm going to show my ignorance here, but -- with modern versions of Windows, are these programs really necessary at all?

Yup. Updating a Windows 7 install from service pack one to current will leave about 2Gb of temp files sitting on your hard drive. That's on top of everything else left over from browser history, error logs (I've seen 19GB windows error logs) old restore points, etc. CCleaner gets rid of even more junk that's left behind. Using CCleaner on the registry in XP, Vista, and 7 can make a pretty big difference on an older install too. I've read too much back and forth about using it on the registry in 8/8.1 to touch it. If you still have an old school platter hard drive, defragging with a good program can make a noticable difference in how the PC runs. My personal favorite is Vopt; but the best free one I've tried is Defraggler from the people who do ccleaner.

RevDisk

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2015, 10:08:39 AM »
Are they worth the ten or so bucks I see them as advertised?
(snip)
Do they themselves stick malware or spyware on your machine?

No. Yes.

If you want speed, reformat your PC and reinstall Windows once a year. Every other year if you're lazy. Use Ninite to reinstall your apps. Keep up on patches. Don't install crap or pirate crap. Buy a decent AV. That's it. Your PC will run much faster, as well as be much more secure.



I'm going to show my ignorance here, but -- with modern versions of Windows, are these programs really necessary at all?

Nope, not in the least. Only minor exception was WinSXS bloat. Which the included "Disk Cleanup" utility now handles.
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lee n. field

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #15 on: March 10, 2015, 10:14:50 AM »
I'm going to show my ignorance here, but -- with modern versions of Windows, are these programs really necessary at all?

Nope.  Clean up after yourself.  Don't install junk.  Have an adequate amount of RAM to start with.  Don't surf the porn sites.
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Sawdust

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2015, 10:28:51 AM »
Nope.  Clean up after yourself.  Don't install junk.  Have an adequate amount of RAM to start with.  Don't surf the porn sites.

Now that is just crazy talk!  :lol:

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KD5NRH

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #17 on: March 10, 2015, 02:53:09 PM »
Clorox wipes work fairly well, IMO.

Firethorn

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #18 on: March 10, 2015, 05:40:33 PM »
Nope.  Clean up after yourself.  Don't install junk.  Have an adequate amount of RAM to start with.  Don't surf the porn sites.

Church sites today are actually more likely to feed you malware.

230RN

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #19 on: March 12, 2015, 01:51:35 PM »
OK, I think I'm going to try the CCleaner freebie.  But when it talks about "unused" files, I sure hope it doesn't mean my own files which I haven't used in years, does it?

Actually, my biggest problem seems to be a buttload of cookies which I'm reluctant to tinker with since from their names, I can't tell whether they're good cookies or just crap cookies I picked while cruising around.  Every time I clear the cookies, I have to go around replacing passwords and whatnot for my favorite sites.

Terry "Where's the Dunce Hat Smiley," 230RN
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vaskidmark

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2015, 07:32:09 PM »
Inside CCleaner, in "Windows" and again in "Applications", do NOT click "saved passwords" or "network passwords".

Go exploring on the left-hand side to figure out how to use Registry, Tools, and Options.

stay safe.
If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege.

Hey you kids!! Get off my lawn!!!

They keep making this eternal vigilance thing harder and harder.  Protecting the 2nd amendment is like playing PACMAN - there's no pause button so you can go to the bathroom.

Perd Hapley

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Re: How good are those flash drive PC cleaners?
« Reply #21 on: March 13, 2015, 12:41:29 AM »
OK, I think I'm going to try the CCleaner freebie.  But when it talks about "unused" files, I sure hope it doesn't mean my own files which I haven't used in years, does it?

No, it won't do that.

Quote
Every time I clear the cookies, I have to go around replacing passwords and whatnot for my favorite sites.

What skid-mark said.

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