PC Cleaning Apps are a Scam: Here’s Why (and How to Speed Up Your PC)

[Kent]

Source--------------http://www.howtogeek.com/162683/pc-cleaning-apps-are-a-scam-heres-why-and-how-to-speed-up-your-pc/

PC cleaning apps are digital snake oil. The web is full of ads for applications that want to “clean your PC” and “make it feel like new.” Don’t pull out your credit card — these apps are terrible and you don’t need them.

If you do want to “clean your PC,” you can do it for free. Windows includes built-in PC cleaning tools that can do almost all of what the average PC cleaning app will do for you.

 

[jamescv7]

Not just ads on the website, majority of identical scam cleaner software have like this:

1) Hotline number or Chat online which usually displays on main website and software itself that makes a sign of something wrong may happen.
2) Excessive fake badge of awards or certification, usually the Microsoft logo partner thing.
3) Few testimonials that display in the scam software page that tries to convince any visitors to try the product.

 

[NSG001]

I use built in defrag only, find these so called tools pointless on modern machines.

 

[jackuars]

There's plenty of inexperienced PC users, who won't be able to find all these options on a Windows PC. CCleaner solves the headache for them.

 

[Prorootect]

Well, I prefer MyDefrag v4.3.1 : http://www.mydefrag.com/
.. and WISE Disk Cleaner : http://www.wisecleaner.com/wisediskcleanerfree.html .. and Wise Registry Cleaner ..
- look on my topics about, here on MT.
There are my personal preferences, better - much better than Windows native tools, sorry!

 

[jackuars]

There are my personal preferences, better - much better than Windows native tools, sorry!

Or we could just stick around using Internet Explorer for web browsing, Windows Media Player for watching movies, Windows Defender for malware protection.

 

[dragonmew]

yet there own site has privacy guides on cleaners like this

 

[JamesToolwiz]

Yes, I agree with you. They just care about your money and most of them are useless.

Some of them show a lot of errors and then ask you to buy and fix them.

I am the author of Toolwiz Care. We make the true freeware. no need to pay anything

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/toolwiz_care.html

We are a freeware project team and all of our tools are free.

James.

 

[Razor555]

These apps usually create more issues than what they can actually fix.
Especially registry cleaners...

 

[Tony Cole]

I agree, I often wonder whether using CCleaner is a wise idea. I never use the registry cleaning tool, only the cleaner part - is it safe to use CCleaner?

 

[jackuars]

These apps may create more issues than what they can actually fix.
Especially registry cleaners...

Using 'may' would make your sentence better, I've corrected it above . These utilities are heavily tested and proven to work before deployed to the end user. Although it's wise to backup before you clean your registry.

 

[BoraMurdar]

Or we could just stick around using Internet Explorer for web browsing, Windows Media Player for watching movies, Windows Defender for malware protection.

If you are a "simple" user, IE will do just fine for browsing, WMP for playing movies and Windows Defender (which is actually quite OK for experienced user who relies on brain rather on an Antivirus) for defending you from malware.
If you are advanced user you'll use more advanced tools

 

[Razor555]

Using 'may' would make your sentence better, I've corrected it above . These utilities are heavily tested and proven to work before deployed to the end user. Although it's wise to backup before you clean your registry.

No need to correct me.. You can keep using these tools... I prefer using my brain instead.

 

[jamescv7]

is it safe to use CCleaner?

My answer is yes, all functions are determine to be safe to use especially the register cleaner cause does not provide aggressive result.

 

[jackuars]

If you are a "simple" user, IE will do just fine for browsing, WMP for playing movies and Windows Defender (which is actually quite OK for experienced user who relies on brain rather on an Antivirus) for defending you from malware.
If you are advanced user you'll use more advanced tools

Yeah get ready to see this pop-up while you play an MKV file in WMP And recommending Windows Defender to a newbie user isn't a good idea.

Yes if we're an advanced user, we'll use advanced tools

 

[BoraMurdar]

Yeah get ready to see this pop-up while you play an MKV file in WMP And recommending Windows Defender to a newbie user isn't a good idea.

Yes if we're an advanced user, we'll use advanced tools

CCleaner (for example) cannot find residual Windows Update files on the HDD and some of them actually can be found by Windows Disk Cleaner. Some of the third party firewalls are not better than Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. Now what?
You cannot point that Windows build in tools are bad. They are ok, but there are better ones.
My point was that Windows build in tools can do the stuff, but sloppy and superficially. If you want to get rid more junk than Windows Disk Cleaner, if you want to defrag files better than Windows Defrag and if you want more advanced tools, better detection rate you'll use some third party Antivirus rather than Windows Defender. If you want to play everything just install a K-Lite Codec Pack and WMP will play almoust everything.
My opinion is that I would never recommend to buy these tools that can optimize your Windows, there is already a plenty of free tools that are actually a lot better than some paid ones.

Auslogics Defrag + Wise Disk Cleaner + Privazer is the best combination I encountered, and it's free

 

[Exterminator]

I think or at least thought this thread was talking about the all-in-one cleaning programs full of things that really do nothing to optimize your PC with the magical 1 click optimization button that should say "Danger Use Extreme Caution".
CCleaner is a perfectly safe free cleaning/privacy tool that has stood the test of time.It has to have one of the safest registry cleaners and allows an easy backup & restore.Windows has some very good tools also

 

[jackuars]

You cannot point that Windows build in tools are bad. They are ok, but there are better ones.

This is true, and I agree to what you've to say

If you want to play everything just install a K-Lite Codec Pack and WMP will play almoust everything.

This shouldn't be encouraged, because Microsoft themselves has warned users about this. They are capable of producing software incompatibilies, system crashes and sometimes doesn't let your new media player to play your files properly.

Microsoft Caution

Using a lite codec pack is fine [hopefully], like CCCP or Windows Essentials, but if you're going through the trouble to get codec packs, it's better to use a media player that works right out of the box, and contains built-in codecs that doesn't mess the system codecs.

My opinion is that I would never recommend to buy these tools that can optimize your Windows, there is already a plenty of free tools that are actually a lot better than some paid ones.

++++++++1

 

[BoraMurdar]

This is true, and I agree to what you've to say


This shouldn't be encouraged, because Microsoft themselves has warned users about this. They are capable of producing software incompatibilies, system crashes and sometimes doesn't let your new media player to play your files properly.

Microsoft Caution

Using a lite codec pack is fine [hopefully], like CCCP or Windows Essentials, but if you're going through the trouble to get codec packs, it's better to use a media player that works right out of the box, and contains built-in codecs that doesn't mess the system codecs.


++++++++1

I was investigating about codec packs. If you are going to use Media Player Classic the best codecs you need to install is K Lite. Incompatibilities occurs when you already have K Lite on the system and you install a video converter (for example) that asks additional codecs to be installed
along the system ones and those installed with K Lite. Then the bad things happens
Registry will be messed up, along with the media file association. Lot of media players detect that problem and from 2010 they started to install and register/correlate codecs in the same folder as the original program is installed and let those codecs a privilege for using. So the program will only use codecs that it initially installed in the first place.

 

[jackuars]

If you are going to use Media Player Classic the best codecs you need to install is K Lite.

Or use PotPlayer and never worry about Codecs. MPC-HC is a good choice too.

My final read about Codec Packs from various articles were from 2013, while I was preparing an article on Media Players, how they are evil and could do more damage than good.