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Free Registry and Computer Cleaner – CCleaner Review

Updated on August 22, 2012
Make your computer happy by Cleaning the registry and old files
Make your computer happy by Cleaning the registry and old files

Summary – Review of CCleaner

CCleaner is one of the best free registry and computer cleaners available these days. This review will give you all the information about cleaning your computer and registry as well as using CCleaner to help speed up your computer and registry. Cleaning your computer with CCleaner is easy to do, and something every computer user should do.

But before we got too far, let’s start at the beginning and look at what a computer and registry cleaner is for those who might be unsure.

What is a Registry and Computer Cleaner?

A registry cleaner is a computer program that automatically cleans and removes unused or incorrect registry entries in the Windows registry. Registry cleaners don’t fix the Windows registry, but they do remove old and unused entries for things like file extensions, ActiveX controls, fonts, and many others.

A computer cleaner simply goes through and deletes temporary files, redundant files, and empties the recycle bin. It also cleans a number of temporary and cache files from internet browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and IE to help speed them up.

Basically, registry and computer cleaners help your computer be happier by removing unnecessary clutter.

CCleaner Logo
CCleaner Logo

What Is CCleaner and What Does It Do?

CCleaner offers two services in one (actually, it offers several services, but we will only go into two). It provides both registry cleaning and computer cleaning in one easy to use program.

What this means for you: It means, you can clean unwanted files off your computer AND clean the registry in just a few clicks!

CCleaner also helps optimize your system which allows it to run faster and better. And CCleaner frees up space on your hard drive – sometimes quite a bit! In my experience, CCleaner gave me 4 Gigabytes of extra disk space that had been filled with temporary files and other junk. (Interestingly, a lot of this was from Google Earth files)

Cleaning Internet Browsers

A few of the browsers CCleaner will clean
A few of the browsers CCleaner will clean

What CCleaner Will Clean on your Computer:

Here is a list of some of the programs and files CCleaner will clean on your computer.

Internet Browsers and Files:

  • Supported Browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera and most others
  • Files Cleaned: Temp files, History, Cookies, Super Cookies, Download History, Form History and other browser specific files.

Windows Files Cleaned:

  • Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files, Log files, Clipboard, DNS Cache, Error Reporting, Memory Dumps, and Jump Lists.

Third Party Programs and Applications:

  • CCleaner cleans and removes unnecessary files from many programs such as Microsoft Office and Google Earth.

Windows Registry:

  • CCleaner removes old and unused registry entities such as file extensions, invalid shortcuts, icons and fonts.

Source: Piriform

Is CCleaner Safe to Use?

This is an important question because there are some registry cleaners that pretend to offer free registry cleaning but actually harm your computer. These registry cleaning programs are difficult to uninstall and may even put viruses on your computer.

To avoid this, only download programs you are confidant in and have read reviews for, such as CCleaner!

(Note: if you want another reputable review, visit CNET’s review of CCleaner at the bottom of the page, but after you finish reading!)

CCleaner has been around for many years, and comes from a reputable company, Piriform. CCleaner also creates a backup for your computer each time it cleans your computer’s registry to ensure nothing is lost that would be important.

CCleaner is safe for your computer and even helps it to run better with more disk space available to you.

Using CCleaner – How to Speed Up Your Computer

One of the great aspects of CCleaner is that it is easy for anyone to use, even people with very little computer experience. The basic steps are to download it from the internet, analyze your PC, and then run it! Before you know it, your computer will be running better and faster.

Now, here is how to Download and run CCleaner:

Downloading CCleaner

The best place to get CCleaner is from their website at Piriform.com. Use the link to the right to take you to the download page and follow the steps to download the free version. You can buy versions of CCleaner, but there is no need to for those who just want to clean their computer.

Screenshots of CCleaner

Computer Cleaner on CCleaner
Computer Cleaner on CCleaner
Registry Cleaner on CCleaner
Registry Cleaner on CCleaner

Running CCleaner

Once you have downloaded CCleaner, simply click on the shortcut in your downloads folder and run it. It will install and be ready in minutes. Once it is installed, I chose to put a shortcut on my desktop for easy access. Now open CCleaner and you should see a very simple window open.

Hit the analyze button and it will take a few minutes to analyze your computer. Once it is done analyzing, hit Run Cleaner and you’re done! It will run for several minutes cleaning your computer. If there is anything you don’t want it to clean, such as your internet browsing history or cookies, you can check and uncheck those in the slide bar area.

Now that your computer is cleaned, select the Registry button, scan for issues, then fix and your registry will be cleaned!

My Experience with CCleaner

When I ran CCleaner for the first time, it cleaned out over 4 Gigabytes of unnecessary files. It also fixed almost 200 registry issues. (I know, my computer had not been cleaned in a while!) It took about 20 minutes total time to run and was very simple and easy to follow.

I would suggest CCleaner to anyone, but especially those with computers that are a few years old. It did speed my computer up a bit, but it might not be noticeable to everyone. I am just happy knowing my computer has 4 Gigs more space to fill with other stuff.

CCleaner works on Windows XP, Vista, and 7. It also works on Mac computers and is available in the App store.

Is CCleaner the Best Free Registry Cleaner?

I will leave this up to you, and the comment section below, but in my opinion, CCleaner is one of the best, if not the best free registry cleaner. It is incredibly simple and easy to use. It is also free to download and has many features beyond cleaning your computer and registry.

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