# CCleaner, is it safe?



## gamblingman (May 3, 2009)

I heard about CCleaner a while ago. I have wondered from time to time if:

#1 Its safe to download?

#2 and if it really lives up to what it says it does?

#3 Does it come with a lot of "extra crap"?

It seems like a worthwhile program. I wonder if any of you have used it, and if you have what do you think of it. 

I have wondered if it just does stuff that I normally do like chkdsk, disk clean-up, defrag. 

Also, what have you found it most useful for?

_Thanks for the input everyone!_

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*Saltwater into Fuel!*
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## ScOuT (May 3, 2009)

1. It is absolutely safe, many people run it all the time. I have been running it for years with no issues. I run it about once a month or so.

2. About the best free system cleaner there is. 

3. It comes with no crap. It's a small program with no strings attached.

I would recommend running it every month or so. Every time I run it get rid of piles of stuff I think it is an absolute necessity for any computer.

Also check out Defraggler...it's made by the same company. You think your hard drive gets organized with a Windows Defrg...wait till you run this. 

http://www.defraggler.com/


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## gamblingman (May 3, 2009)

*I am wary*

Its good to hear a positive review. And I will look into the Defreggler, but I am VERY VERY wary of any new software. Especially software that does things like restructuring my HDD. No offense meant. 

I used the preloaded "Dell PC Tuneup", until it expired (its like a Dell version of CCleaner), but it really wasn't worth it. You cant customize the Dell stuff much. That may be ok for a noob (Like my gf, but at least she knows to defrag! ha ha), but I like things to be customizable. 

I also really need to get a remote HDD to backup some stuff to. There is a lot I want. I wish it was closer to my birthday! ha ha ha

Thank you for the comment.


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## TFT (May 3, 2009)

As Scout said, CCleaner is absolutely safe. It's primary use is to erase cookies and delete the "index.dat" file that cannot be touched by normal Windows use (the empty "index.dat" file is re-created on next boot). All sites visited is held in "index.dat" and can grow into an enormous size. Cookies you want to keep can be added in the exceptions list.

The registry cleaner in CCleaner is pretty basic but that's why it is completely safe to use, also you have the option to back up the registry before cleaning.

I'm paranoid and run it every night on shut down. 

It has a program uninstall also but is only a prettier interface and still uses the Windows "Add/Remove" program


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## gamblingman (May 3, 2009)

*CCleaner*

What are you doing that requires you to run a program like CCleaner every time you shut down? 

Is there a program that would be better for checking the registry?


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## TFT (May 3, 2009)

gamblingman said:


> What are you doing that requires you to run a program like CCleaner every time you shut down?
> Is there a program that would be better for checking the registry?



I just hate cookies being left on my machine, they have the ability to report back to the site visited with information. Most are harmless, some are needed such as for auto login and some are there to gather information such as your browsing habits.

As said CCleaner is a mild registry cleaner and as such it is safe. There are more aggressive ones such as Eusing (one of the better one's) but the heart of a computer is the registry and if things go wrong your computer could be unusable.


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## gamblingman (May 3, 2009)

*CCleaner*

I understand the cookies thing. I recently updated to IE 8 and set it to delete all saved "helpful" data in the advanced options tab.

I hate using IE for anything. But its the only browser that works for windows updates. Other than that I use firefox for browsing and Chrome for youtube.


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## TFT (May 3, 2009)

That's it basically, I just clean up at the end of the day and find CCleaner the best tool for that. I think to much emphasis is put on registry cleaning and some of those cleaners can go to far, even deleting good registry entries and then you find a program complaining of a missing file because the registry pointer has gone missing.

I use IE8 and love it


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## Elidicious (May 3, 2009)

CCleaner is crappy.
it has deleted everything in my computer, almost every file i've saved and all my cookies.
now it doesnt even remember me on WLM or GMAIL notifier.
and i have to re-write username and pass everytime i log in to Msn, *though i've checked "remember me and my password" boxes.*

tune up utilities is way better!!!


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## gamblingman (May 4, 2009)

*CCleaner*

Saving my user name and passwords is something I NEVER do. I think its just bad habit to let it remember me. I don't want all my passwords saved, especially in some file i cant find to delete if I needed to. 

I am always so cautious before I download ANYTHING, I waited and checked around for months before I got "Hijack-This" from Trend Micro, and Trend Micro is my AV provider! I have seen other people trust what is supposed to be "great software", and download it, only to see it slowly (OR QUICKLY!) destroy their computer and all their hard work.

I probably wont get it until I talk to some more of my friends. I don't mind Firefox add-ons, but something that "cleans" my computer.......yeah I'm wary!

_Thanks for the comments!_


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## tremmor (May 4, 2009)

Elidicious, you can control it. it won't delete it if ya teach it and tell it. you have lots of radio buttons available to uncheck. 
its a good proggy. 

if its deleting something then post. they will tell ya which ones to uncheck. 
my learning curve also.

cheers.....


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## gamblingman (May 4, 2009)

*CCleaner*

So what about "Tune Up Utilities"

Why did you choose that Elidicious? How long have you been using it? 
Does it come with any bloat? 

If anyone knows anything about Tune Up Utilities in comparison to CCleaner then by all means say what you think. 

_Thanks for all the comments!_


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## Elidicious (May 4, 2009)

@tremmor using CCleaner is a waste of time... i have to check or uncheck all those boxes, i have to exclude the links i want to keep and this takes me about 15 minutes, i have to tell CCleaner "do this and do that, don't do this and that" ... when i don't even know if what i'm doing is the right thing or not for my computer.

@gamblingmantune up utilities(T.U.U) is great!! it takes the control of the computer, and deletes errors because it recognizes them without having me telling what to delete and what not.  while in CCleaner it takes me 15 minutes to exclude from deleting everything i want, tuneup utilities has done everything for me in just 5 minutes.
i've used it many times because the guy who made my computer, installed the program for me but when i reformated windows he forgot to re-instal the program so i've used trial versions for 30 days and it was great.
you can try it too. t.u.u has divided sessions for every part of your computer, (for local discs, registry, cleaning other parts) and you know what it's deleting and what not. you just have to give the command.
 in CCleaner, i check or uncheck some boxes and i don't know if it's right or not. that's stupid. and it only has 2 sessions - registry and cleaning in genral, unlike T.U.U which has several sessions, it shows what is scanning, what found, what is there etc.
 and there's something else. in T.U.U, before you give any command, it explains you what it does and what the cleaning of a certain part is used for.


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## gamblingman (May 4, 2009)

*Ccleaner*

So...I would have to BUY Tune Up Utilities?

What do you mean you cant tell what the check boxes in CCleaner do? Doesn't the program tell you, or couldn't the fields just be looked up? Or are the fields too obscure to know what they are referring to.

I don't mean any offense to you. But I hadn't ever heard of that program (Tune-Up-Utilities) before you told me about it. And I haven't ever heard anyone else talk about it. I doubt I would use something I have only heard of once. Thats just how I operate.

_Thanks for all the comments!_


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## dannaswolcott (May 4, 2009)

CCleaner is the BEST! I just love it. Cleans a lot up on the pc. I recommend it to anyone. Do it one time a day or every other day and you will be set.


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## bomberboysk (May 4, 2009)

gamblingman said:


> So...I would have to BUY Tune Up Utilities?
> 
> What do you mean you cant tell what the check boxes in CCleaner do? Doesn't the program tell you, or couldn't the fields just be looked up? Or are the fields too obscure to know what they are referring to.
> 
> ...



Tuneup 2009 is an excellent program, better registry cleaner than ccleaner, even though it costs some money its a valuable piece of software.


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## Elidicious (May 4, 2009)

gamblingman said:


> So...I would have to BUY Tune Up Utilities?
> 
> What do you mean you cant tell what the check boxes in CCleaner do? Doesn't the program tell you, or couldn't the fields just be looked up? Or are the fields too obscure to know what they are referring to.
> 
> ...


as the previous poster said : it's way better. the fact that you've heard it once doesn't imply it's not good. u've heard about CCleaner because everyone uses it for being FREE.
yes, you have to buy Tune up utilities, it's worthy.
at CCleaner program, there are all boxes checked (which means automatically deletes everything) and the options are not specified and don't tell you what they're used for.
for example here's a screen shot. 

you see T.u.u has more specified options, it has cleaner, organizer, windows 
styler and stuff like that.
while cleaner is crappier and more generalized.





*look at all the options it has!!*





t.u.u explains you what an option is used for, while cleaner does nothing.
when i click something on cleaner i don't know if it's the right thing or not.


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## bomberboysk (May 4, 2009)

Yeah, tuneup is great, i love every part about it except the defrag part, where i prefer to use piriform defraggler(made by same people who make ccleaner). The newest tu 2009 alerts you to turn off adimistrative shares, etc. Download the trial and see if you like it


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## kalboy (May 5, 2009)

if any one is wary about useing DEFRAGGLER.then forget it .this is a very good program its is 100% better than the window defraggler .i know because i use it, and my computor runs a hell of a lot better


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## gamblingman (May 5, 2009)

*Ccleaner*

Woah, 173 views. I didn't think my post would get like this. I thought I was just asking a general question that would be answered in a single reply, or at the most three.

I gotta be more careful what I post next time!

_Thanks for all the comments!_


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## TFT (May 5, 2009)

Tune up Utilities is good but to compare with CCleaner is totally unfair. Whilst TUU will do a lot more than CCleaner. CCleaner is a free privacy program that does what it says on the tin with a little initial input from you to get the program running as you like it. It's a privacy protection program after all.

If you want a program that  





> it takes the control of the computer


 then go ahead. I much prefer me to be in control of my computer.


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## Elidicious (May 5, 2009)

gamblingman said:


> Woah, 173 views. I didn't think my post would get like this. I thought I was just asking a general question that would be answered in a single reply, or at the most three.
> 
> I gotta be more careful what I post next time!
> 
> _Thanks for all the comments!_



what's the problem for being viewed by 173 viewers? don't forget that a viewer has seen it many times. so don't think there are a lot viewers lol.
though i don't know where the problem is.


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## gamblingman (May 5, 2009)

*CCleaner*

Um, it was a joke. I was being facetious about getting too many comments. 

I think I agree with TFT on this one in the end. I much prefer to be the one in control. Don't take this the wrong way, but it looks like both of those programs perform actions that I already do.

For instance:
Clearing browser information? I do that.
Clearing index.dat files? Me again
Emptying the recycle bin??? Please
Deleting win log files and checkdisc fragments? Meeee too!

I don't know, they just seem like programs that are designed to do things that I can do. It just takes me a little longer to do all of those things.

I'm not knocking them though. I am sure that there are people that really need a program like these (For instance, those of you who responded). Maybe because of multiple systems running or  power users. The time it would take to perform all those actions would seem to justify these programs. However, I only have a laptop  and I really don't do very much with it right now. I usually do a little web site creation, and work with Word, Excel, Firefox and GTA SA.

_(Want a funny thing to try? Calculate the factorial of 1,000,000 in the calculator. See how long it takes and watch task manager at the same time.)_


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