When it comes to PC utility software, most laptops and vendor made PCs, come with some proprietary software to help maintain your PC, but do you need it or even want it?
They might seem handy, but those programs are very basic, and what I like to call a filler program, just more junk loaded into the system when you buy it by the vendor to “add value” to your purchase. I think the reasoning is, it makes the initial software offering look better when you’re at the store.
Unfortunately, these are often a performance hindrance and add to the poor efficiency of the software.
Whenever I get my hands on a brand new PC or laptop, I go through the process of removing all of these junk maintenance programs and start replacing them with the following program which does a far better job. I’ll be just going over the essential programs, what they do and why you should have it!
CCleaner
This program has two major functions in the free edition available for download. The first and most important function is the hard disk junk file cleaner.
As you use your computer, surf the web and use your programs, these programs create files and data on your hard drive to use while the program is open.
The problem is when you close the program these temporary/junk files don’t always get deleted and end up slowly clogging your Windows installation. This, of course, will slow down the computer over a long period if you don’t take care of the problem. Windows has a default cleaner for these files, but it doesn’t do an in-depth job.
Cleaner
The cleaner section of the program scans your hard drive and windows installation for temporary junk files or useless data and deletes it for you, recovering hard disk space and cleaning up the hard drive a little. You don’t need to run the cleaner every day, once or twice a month will keep you running smoothly.
There is a tick box option here to delete your temporary internet files if you do you will restore a lot of space especially if you are a heavy net user. It will also clear your cookies, therefore, any website you login to automatically will need to be logged into again. It won’t delete your saved login/passwords.
Registry
The simplest way to describe the Windows registry is like a file in your Windows installation which stores small bits of data about all of your installed software past and present. Consider it a master list of all your software and their settings.
You can expect over time this file to grow and become messy because the registry keeps data about programs you no longer have installed. Cleaning it every four months or so will delete registry entries from old software that doesn’t exist and slightly improve performance boot up times and overall Windows performance.
This part of the program has a tool to backup and compress a copy of the registry in case something goes wrong. You should use this tool whenever making changes to the Windows registry, although, in my years of using this program, I can’t say I have had a problem!
You can get CCleaner here. Give it a go and see what you think, the program will analyse your computer first and tell you how much data can be saved and then you can choose to clean it up or not!
Do you have issues with your PC running slow? I’d love your thoughts on this, please leave a comment in the comment section below.
