CCleaner or Glary Utilities or Nothing?

[Ssherjj]

Hi LzD Forum,

I have read a few posts in other Forums that claim Windows Users should not use System Optimizers, Registry Cleaners, etc. I have used CCleaner for many years without any issues..."knock on wood." I have recently changed to Glary Utilities 5 ever since I saw a reference to this program from another Forum member about 6 months ago. One can undo changes and set System Restore points before such clean ups.

My question is what does everyone think about these programs being utilized in Windows? If not what should one use if anything other then manually doing it yourself?

Thanks!

[Digerati]

I have been a long time user and fan of CCleaner. I see no reason it cannot be used regularly to "clean" out the disk clutter. Its Drive Wiper feature is nice too.


While I have used its Registry cleaner 100s (if not 1000s) times without incident over many many years (not once has it ever bricked a computer I used it on), I NEVER use it to fix a broken computer, nor do I use it thinking it will "optimize" my computer or make it run better. Plus, when I use it, I use it starting when the computer is new. That is, I won't use it on a computer that has been in use for several years and never had the Registry cleaned.


And for the record, CCleaner's Registry cleaner is the only Registry cleaner I would ever consider using and that is for 3 reasons. (1) It always prompts to backup the Registry before cleaning, (2) the restore from backup works, and most importantly (3), it is very conservative. It will not find 1000s and 1000s of "problems" nor will it find problems then strongly urge me to pay for something to fix them.


I note there is no evidence Registry cleaners, even CCleaner's, improve performance or increase stability.


However, using CCleaner's disk cleaner to clean out old cookies, old temporary Internet files and other junk and clutter can keep Windows working optimally. It can also improve hard disk defragging times and efficiency, and improve malware scan times. And it can increase free space which can actually extend the life span of SSDs (which may be important on older and smaller SSDs).


But so can Windows' own Disk Cleanup. That said, I prefer to clean out the clutter with CCleaner because I can tell CCleaner which cookies to keep. So, for example, I can tell it to keep Landzdown cookies so after cleaning, I don't have to look up and enter my log-in credentials again.


I tried Glary years ago but stuck with CCleaner. I found it's too aggressive for my taste and did not see any advantage with its other features. I also did not feel comfortable with its marketing hype about improving performance. That said, it has been around for many years and has earned a reputation for NOT breaking computers.


Sadly, many will automatically label both products as evil because they contain Registry cleaners and those folks feel Registry cleaners are evil. All Registry cleaners! While it is true that some, especially in the past, Registry cleaners, disk cleaners and computer optimization programs are truly even, I personally don't think it fair to automatically lump them all together. CCleaner is not evil. I suspect Glary Utilities is not either.

[Ssherjj]

Thank you Digerati! I really appreciated your posting a thorough response. This helps me a lot in my decisions to continue using one of these programs. I have used CCleaner for many many years. I am happy to hear you are a fan! Because you know your stuff! ;D

I have both CCleaner and Glarys which I haven't figured out which one to keep. Obviously using both would not be a great idea. Glary is aggressive as you have stated and I have felt uneasy about what it finds. I just reinstalled CCleaner back on my system the other day.  :D

I now feel much better and more confident having a program to do most of the work for me.  ::)

[Digerati]

Thanks. Of course, your mileage may vary. I can only tell you about my experience. And while I have confidence CCleaner will not break my computers, I still keep regular backups - just in case.

[Ssherjj]

Exactly and I am way over due for backing up..ashamed to say that because I do have Macrium Reflect paid version and have yet to get my system backed up. But that would be another thread in knowing how? The program to me is not so user friendly or is it?

[Digerati]

I have that program too but really don't use it that much. For me, my main concern is my all my document files. And I just make sure I have current backups for them.

[Ssherjj]

 :) Yes, that I do have.. copies of all my pictures/documents saved on my D Drive and on an external drive. The rest I can do a clean install of Windows and that would be enough if a crash happened. But I can't tell you how many times I have had to email for a paid program to be activated again. LOL  ::)