TreeSize is a much better disk analyzer and Patch My PC is better at updating software. Many of these are free and often do a better job than CCleaner.įor example, Windows's Disk Cleanup handles a lot of what CCleaner's cleaning tools do. However, you can access a lot of CCleaner's features in other utilities and software. And the Drive Wiper and Software Updater (if you pay for Pro) are useful. For instance, if you use multiple browsers, it's convenient to remove temporary files from all of them at once. To be fair, there is some use to CCleaner. The only all-new feature, Health Check, is just a more convenient way to clean up data you can select manually in Custom Clean. Software Updater is another panel for accessing the function mentioned above.Īside from the privacy and security issues, most of what we said about CCleaner in 2018 (in the article mentioned earlier) still stands. The Uninstall tab duplicates the methods for uninstalling provided in Windows, though it does make it easy to save all your installed programs to a text file. Here you'll find several additional utilities of varying usefulness. Rounding out CCleaner's feature set is the Tools tab. Microsoft's official statement on Registry cleaners recommends staying away from them don't even bother with this feature of CCleaner. While most people regard CCleaner's Registry cleaner as better than other random ones online, you still don't need to use it. In fact, if a Registry cleaner is too zealous, it can actually cause more problems than it solves. While orphaned entries and other minor problems do occur in the Registry over time, there is no good evidence that cleaning the Registry will speed up your computer. This section is simple: you don't need to use Registry cleaners. On Applications, you can clear temporary data for other browsers as well as apps like Steam, VLC, and TeamViewer.Ĭheck everything you're interested in cleaning and hit Analyze to see how much space your action will save. The Windows section has Edge and internet Explorer browser data, as well as Windows files like log data, thumbnail caches, and emptying the Recycle Bin. But now, are these problems cleaned up? And further, is CCleaner even worth using? Have a look at our guide to replacing CCleaner for more history and information.Īll of these factors made it feel more like an unwanted program than something that benefits your computer. On top of this, CCleaner's free version regularly nags you to upgrade to the paid version. That update also made CCleaner difficult to close through standard methods.įinally, in 2018 the app also started ignoring users' preference to disable automatic updates. This is fairly standard, but the problem was that when you turned the setting off, it re-enabled itself upon a reboot. Later, the company introduced an 'Active Monitoring' feature that collected anonymized data about your usage. The 32-bit app version on CCleaner's website was hacked, adding a Trojan to the download, which the company thankfully caught before it became widespread. In case you're not familiar, CCleaner's issues started in 2017 shortly after developer Piriform was bought by Avast. But that was years ago-how has the app changed, and is it worth using now? Let's take a fresh look. This led to many, including us, to recommend that you stop using CCleaner. However, starting in 2017, the software ran into several problems that tarnished its reputation. CCleaner has been around longer than most Windows utility cleaners, and was a go-to recommendation for some time.

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