Best Free Windows Cleanup Tool

With everyday use of your computer, over time more and more unnecessary junk gets stored on your hard drive. Many times this can result in a slower/less stable computer that is also could be more prone security attacks. As you can see on the screenshot to the right here, the checked boxes list examples of junk files that are typically accumulated on your computer over time. CCleaner is a really cool program that you will definitely want to install on your computer to clean up the junk.

The program has four sections (as you can see on the screenshot) which are Cleaner, Registry, Tools and Options. The screenshot to the right illustrates the Cleaner section with the defaults checked.

At the bottom of the Cleaner section, you can see there is an Analyze button. The Analyze button will scan your computer and show a detailed list of the findings in the blank section to the right. When I ran the Analysis on my computer, it found 1.7G of junk files that I didn't need (and it only took about 197 seconds). Then I was able to click the Run Cleaner button (which is to the right of the Analyze button) and in only 53 seconds all the junk files were removed.

Besides CCleaner being a great junk file cleaner, you can also use it to clean out issues with your Windows Registry. You can also remove unnecessary installed programs although I have not used CCleaner for those 2 purposes. I just love the file cleaner. I have heard good reviews on the registry cleaning functions but I get nervous using registry cleaning products and stay away from those for fear of breaking some part of my operating system.

CCleaner also has customization options but I don't really mess with those. Here's a cool feature that I really like though... If you go to the Tools button (with the wrench shown), there is a button called Save To Text and if you click it, a simple txt file will be generated which lists all of your installed programs in Windows. That is way cooler than writing them down by pencil if you need that information.

Anyways, I think CCleaner is a must-have tool that does a lot, but in my opinion it is CCleaner's ability to quickly clean up your computer and keep it that way that makes the program a real jewel. If you get a chance to try out the Registry Cleaning option, let me know how that works. Maybe I will give it a try...

CCleaner is available at CCleaner Download. You should give it a try!