How can I keep my computer clean and tidy?
When friends and family ask us how they can keep their computer clean, the only tool we always recommend is CCleaner. CCleaner differs from antivirus tools in that it is designed to keep your computer tidy – think Jacques from Finding Nemo!
CCleaner will search your computer and delete all files that have been created when you browse the Internet or install software. Most of these files are benign and pose no threat to you, but they do take up space on your computer, so let CCleaner delete them for you. CCleaner will not remove documents and photos from your desktop from common document folders.
CCleaner will work on Windows; IOS (Apple) and Android mobile.
Tell me more about CCleaner and what it can do for me!
When you open CCleaner, you will immediately see a ‘Analyze’ button which, when pressed, CCleaner will calculate how much space can be reclaimed by deleting temporary files from the system. Once you’re satisfied, hit the ‘Run Cleaner’ button and everything will be removed from your system. NOTE: If you have an Internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Chrome open while running the CCleaner tool, you will be prompted to close the browser to allow the files to be removed.
Under the ‘Tools’ button (the wrench icon), you will find some very useful tools that you can, depending on your technical knowledge or confidence,
Uninstall – Click Uninstall and CCleaner will show you all the different programs that have been installed on your machine and when it was installed. Some of the more common names that you might want to find and remove include:
Delta search
MyWebSearch Toolbar
If you find a program name that you would like to remove, click on the program name and select the ‘Uninstall’ button at the top right of the CCleaner screen.
Home – This is a great feature, but you’ll need to understand what you’re doing before you hit any button here. Startup, as the name suggests, will list all the software that will start when your computer starts; web browser (s) and scheduled tasks. It is very likely that when you click on the Windows tab, you will see a substantial list of names of software that starts every time your Windows computer starts. You can deactivate the software by selecting it and pressing the ‘Deactivate’ button. We won’t tell you which one you should or shouldn’t disable, as every computer is very different.
When you click on ‘Scheduled Tasks’ within Start, this is where you will get a good idea of whether or not your computer is running malicious software. People or organizations that produce malicious software often use their computer to schedule the infection to run at certain times, and CCleaner will help you see this. Again, we cannot advise which one to disable as each computer will have different tasks running depending on the software it is running. However, the one to watch out for will appear as “At1”, although the numeric digit may differ by one; If you have this then make a backup of all your valuable documents and photos and then run the antivirus.
We strongly recommend that you do not use the ‘Registry Repair’ tool with CCleaner software unless you are a very proficient system user and have a full backup of your data.
Like most software tools, CCleaner also offers a ‘Pro’ version of the software that comes at a charge. The Pro version will offer you support through Piriform (the people behind CCleaner) and the software will update automatically. The free version will notify you when an update is released, but you will need to visit their website and download the latest version.
IMPORTANT NOTE: CCleaner is proven must-have software, but I would like to say that we cannot be held responsible for any system issues or data loss as a result of running this or any other software we recommend.