Is Using CCleaner A Bad Idea?
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- Опубликовано: 14 авг 2024
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CCleaner is an incredibly popular tool for clearing space on your PC - but is it actually doing anything that your system can't already do on its own, and could it actually be dangerous?
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I dunno why, but I've always called this thing CC Cleaner.
@@FoxyDrew nice one
same
Same
Same bro
you are not alone.
CCleaner is now owned by Norton (Avast bought Piriform. AVG merged with Avast. Norton bought AVG). That’s all you need to know when deciding whether or not to install it.
Norton should be broken up and should be abolished too
Wow, I didn't know this, but I did stop recommending ccleaner and avast a few years ago. Avast became the malware.
That explains why CCleaner was unable to fully remove Norton AV from my PC.
@@caffeinesippingman Avast used to be so good, and then it really wasn't.
Good lord, never knew shit rolled uphill till now.
I've been using Glary instead of CCleaner all this time and it seems I dodged a bullet in 2018.
They used to matter more back when you had HDDs since many of these types of software could defrag the disk.
Having things like file shredders, accidental deletion restorers, registry&system file backup/restore systems, and simple temp file cleaning is also still quite useful, even if some use cases are niche.
Same. Switched to Glary around the time CCleaner got bad press and never looked back.
Just tried out Glary thanks to this comment. Really like it, thanks!
We still use HDDs.
I stumbled across Glary when looking for other software besides CCleaner. All I can say is that I love it. All of the features That Glary offers for free is astounding and the UI is perfect.
Glary offer more
Used CCleaner for many years on many Win10 and Win11 installations without even one issue. Still use it.
same here. ccleaner android app is good also
Id like to see a "general cleanup and maintenance" video where Anthony goes over various hardware and software cleaning tips.
yes, this would be very helpful. In the end, when I use the Microsoft-cleaner (not the win11-newstyle-version, which looks like invented by a malevolent AI), it takes quite some time.
We definitely need that!
it's honestly very simple. Don't install random crap you don't need. That's 90% there is to keeping a machine healthy.
Anthony is not the most entertaining host on the rota but every time I see him I know I'm going to learn somthing realy useful and I love him for it
@@emanuelmayer I agree! I recently learned about this one. The Microsoft Disk Cleanup tool takes a long time because at the end of the delete, it then takes some time to compress the system files that it keeps backups of (for adding a feature or restoring something that broke) as much as it can. That's why it looks like it's almost done yet sometimes hangs for a long time at the end.
It was essential on XP which lacked most of modern OS's convenient tools for cleanups. And it helped remove pesky leftovers from miscoded uninstallers--something still plaguing software in 2022. But, the few times I needed to use System Restore to fix what CCleaner did finally convinced me to stop using it and never look back. Sometimes a fresh OS install is way more effective than a "cleaning", especially on a system running on only upgraded hardware and software for many, many years.
In Windows 98 and XP times, these were useful tools if you knew what you were doing. Tuneup was another of these tools and it is much older. Later it was not so useful and there are smaller tools that are better, for example cleanmgr+.
Ah XP, the OS that tested everyone's patience
@@tytusromek9267 the average Joe won't know about that
i run once in month ccleaner to get some wierd bugs out from my browser i tho have run win 7 like 10 years now.
@@KingLarbear So much better than what came before it. I started with 3.11 and XP is bliss compared to 3.1 , 3.11 , 95 , 98 and ME.
IT Engineer 18 years, never had a single issue with it because I install and use it correctly
I just use it to clean; won't use it to update apps or programs, because it screws it up, every time. Same with drivers. Won't go there. Trying to get it down to free version, but they keep auto- renewing me, too.
I always use ccleaner portable. Especially being in the IT field.
So many people still using HDDs and it makes a massive improvement for them
Why not just tell the client to get an SSD. They are cheaper than USB drives now.
@@renegade_patriot we usually do recommend upgrades for certain people. Others we clean them up and plan to replace the whole computer within the next 6 months anyways. A lot of the time the computer is so old (3rd gen Intel) that it isn't worth the SSD and time to try and speed is up a little so just full replace
@@z0mb13k1ll2012 holy. Yeah time to upgrade from the Tandy on windows 3.1 and get into the 21st century 😆
The Mac version of CCleaner acts like malware. If you force quit it, it opens itself again and you can't uninstall it from applications in Finder, having to find the option within the application. The kicker is that if the app bugs out and you get an error during uninstall, you have to reinstall it before the uninstall will work. Used to use it a lot on Windows until recently.
no one believed me then, and i doubt anyone will believe me now, but ccleaned fucking installed itself alongside the homeworld remaster
@@quantum5661 I can vouch for that shit
@@quantum5661 vouch
Good to know. I've used it before as a quick way to resolve issues with the hidden iTunes cache folder that I've seen get bloated and wont clear leading to storage being maxed out.
Sounds like a Apple problem.
This was actually quite a useful tool back in the XP days when performance started chugging. Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole now but it did make a notable difference to performance back in the day
Yep CCleaner and TweakXP were the bomb.
Good point. CCleaner and some sort of Defrag software like Auslogics Disk Defrag was super helpful for platter drives.
Even today on crap computer really... especially the registry part of it. That's what made me most difference on my end. But when I heard all the shady stuff, I uninstalled it and I am currently using the "somewhat" similar functions of Razer Cortex. (Got a razer mouse...) I'm not sure if thats even a good idea.
completely agree, it was the only utility I could find to rescue my old windows millennium when problems struck
Very true, back when I had all mechanical hard drives and needed to shave a second or two off the boot time, CCleaner was the best. Buuuut I barely used it with Windows 7 and I've never used it Windows 10.
Liked your video, but from my experience and in real use, CCleaner does really help and improve performance by cleaning cache or registry, especially on older PCs with old HDDs. Every PC I serviced CCleaner did what it should. Sometimes on PCs from regular users it would clean 5 or 10 Gigs or garbage, and that definitely improved boot time and overall perfomance. Never had even One issue with it, and Im talking about 10+ years of usage, and tons of serviced PCs and laptops.
I've created a few windows installers and it's notoriously difficult. Most installers don't uninstall cleanly for this reason and leave a lot of junk in the registry. Cleaning the registry once a week definitely seems to improve the performance for me even in Windows 11 with a Dell Inspiron 15 5518 but always backup the registry before you do it. Also if you're drive is nearly full like mine you can reclaim 3-4GB of space.
Most of the time that I've used CCleaner was mainly to clear the registry of logs from free trial software. Normally when you uninstall them they leave stuff behind so that if you try to reinstall to get another free trial it will know you've already used your free time but CCleaner removes that stuff for unlimited free trials.
This is exactly what I use it for. Definitely not for larger scale cleaning.
I use advance uninstaller for the same purpose (it's free)it also has a feature called installation montior which will record what a software is doing while installing to completely clean during uninstallation
Bullcrap uninstall is free and open source 100% recommended
@@pablojp3498 While open source is always a nice bonus CCleaner is also free since all the stuff from the paid version is just unnecessary junk only added to trick people into buying it. The free version does everything CCleaner was actually created to do.
What is free trial software that you usually use this feature?
Back in the windows xp and vista days it had a noticeable positive impact, as well as putting a lot of tools in one place. I definitely contributed to the amount of times it has been downloaded
It was an extremely useful tool in those days. I have not cared for it so much since Avast bought them out. Not only is it less useful than in previous versions of windows it has annoying nag screens and is basically adware all by itself.
arguable also during early win 7 days. But once win7 got a few years old, people stopped using it and by the time win 10 came around it was completely unnecessary.
I've used this software for many years as an IT professional for cleaning out broken installs\uninstalls from the registry. It works well in some use cases. Overall though, I agree it's not necessary anymore and given the potential compromises I don't keep it on the systems. I install it, run the tools I need, then uninstall it.
Well, if it got compromised, it'd probably lie about uninstalling itself
@@Fiufsciak , I was thinking the same thing, if it's compromised and you just "install, do a little, then uninstall", the fact is the damage is already done because you installed it in the first place. I mean that's exactly what hackers/exploiters want is for you to take that first step and "click to install".
@@zenithperigee7442 ironically thats what they do, a lot of programs that are maliciously already on computers often check USB inputs and corrupt the files on them, lots of them love CCleaner, offloading the same unsecure application on many computers is an unsafe practice..
Still use CCleaner (Free) and recommend it to all clients. Only caveat is, "I" install it and set it up to match my settings.
I tell clients that if CCleaner doesn't fix it, it's likely a hardware problem and that bit of advice has proven correct for many years.
On the other hand, Avast in charge of CCleaner makes me nervous. They've already "infected" it.
Wish it had the ability to run a registry backup.
same, never had an issue with it
It's wild to me how many people have forgotten (or weren't using computers / alive) back when these sorts of tools were actually needed because both windows and programs you installed on it treated the registry like a latrine
(To be clear, you no longer need it)
The registry is still treated like a latrine, but it's just not really an issue in newer versions of Windows like it was in the past.
@@TalesOfWar Maybe Microsoft improved their sewer system
@@mohammedmuzzammil7834 LMAO
I used to use it back in the day, but I'm not quite sure it was "actually needed". I feel like I just joined the train of "everybody who knows anything about computers uses it and it shows numbers of things it cleaned, so it must be good"
(that's at the XP/7 days, I skipped the 2k stuff and at 95/98 times I had no idea what I was doing anyway)
It was only needed if you were frequently installing and removing things, but back in the 9x and somewhat in the XP days it was not very difficult to get yourself into a bluescreen situation simply by getting the registry set up in ways where it tried to load things that weren't available anymore. I remember ATI drivers in particular being really bad about leaving behind harmful registry clutter when you uninstalled them.
Some issues I had with cleaner softwares were how they decide to delete files that they recognize as "unknown junk". These files are usually in weird formate, but could be vital to programs and especially video games.
It was a disaster back then when all my custom rhythm game maps are deleted, only left with their mp3 files lol.
Just delete things manually
And not essential files cause you still need to know what you are doing
I had all my osumania maps deleted in a similar fashion. Still upset about it 2 years later
@@incongruous4 well thats what backup drive is for
3 of them atleast
Thing is, Windows 10 is way more complex than Windows 7, let alone XP, and while 3rd party software companies _think_ they know the OS inside out, they don't. So, many of them are flying blind.
BleachBit good alternative for CCleaner. Also it's open source.
I still use it yo clean the register and temp files, etc. So I always had a good experience with this.
Family IT guy/Super small IT Business owner - I've used CCleaner since the dawn of it's existence. Took a break from using it when they had that security issue. But I generally use it for family/clients, The main reason is so I know what programs are out of date and need to be updated on their PC's and whatnot like that. It's an overall okay tool for the small stuff like that. I keep the portable version on a flash drive.
I personally find 90% of these “optimization apps” to be dog water. The only ones worth while cost money and all they do is put all of the optimization you can do yourself into one place. I find it much easier to just use CMD for sfc/dism, defrag, and file explorer to clean up drives. There’s probably more higher level stuff to optimize the computer but I don’t know of it.
"Dog Water" a man with the vocabulary of an intellectual. Good on ya sir.
@@TruFire710 Defragging an SSD is absolute dog water anyway.
I find some pretty useful. For example tune up utilities lets me close and open background tasks for apps such as those that control peripherals. Granted you could always just set up your peripheral settings then uninstall the program which is what I personally do right now since I don’t want to pay for a licensed program. I could still see it being useful to some folks.
Modern browsers are memory hoarders, so cleaning the browser cache and data usually helps
@@snake698 for like 6 mins until you get 3 tabs back open and it doesn't matter anymore 😢
CCleaner was really good back in the day on Windows 7 and 8
True
Sweet memories 💪😎
Yeah it was, just like malwarebytes used to be too. Now they both want to sell you a useless premium version
@@casedistorted the free version of Malwarebytes is good for removing malware on windows machines. Won’t ever pay for it again after the 3.0 update started causing hard-freezes on my machines.
These days I just install it on an infected machine, get it to delete any malware, and then uninstall it.
It was good on WinXP. Win7 was already a point when CCleaner was unnecessary and on 8 it was completely pointless.
At my work we used to deploy it with our stock windows image, but stopped I think because of potentially some chinese ownership of the company or some other security concern like that, but I've used it for years to fix all kinds of issues. The big ones are before we took away their install rights, users always used to junk up their computers with bunches of freeware crap, and a lot of it didn't cleanly uninstall, so i would run the uninstalls for all of it, then delete the stubborn ones and run registry cleaner afterwards, which if there's no installed program attached to those registry entries, cleans them out, effectively gutting the program that won't uninstall itself, and then you just delete the files associated and it's a pretty quick and clean way to do a manual cleanup. Also sometimes we would need to upgrade something like adobe flash, shockwave, java, but the existing install had fouled up somehow, and it would neither uninstall itself nor let you run the installer, and to save myself the trouble of backing up the user's files and re-imaging, I could usually use the above manual removal methods to assure the installer for the new version that it's clear to go ahead and run(instead of popping up and telling me that there's already a version installed and to uninstall it first, especially if i'd already run an un-installer and the program was no longer showing as installed but still the installer thinks it's there.)
I used it literally hundreds of times in the last decade, and at times multiple times daily, and I cannot think of one time where it broke anything or did not have the desired effect, which includes noticeable restoration of system performance when clearing out freeware bloat and cleaning out system files that build up massively over time.
Wasn't there a different cleaner that started before this one? I remember it's icon on the start bar looked a bit like a rubik's cube, and I think the name was like Reg Cleaner or something like that.
I remember that!
CCleaner was like the most useful tool when I did tech work at Office Depot. We were supposed to run hella scammy diagnostics and I just ran CCleaner and it improved grandma's performance and got rid of some pop ups she was experiencing. This and Adwcleaner were the kings.
Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.
malwarebytes has really started sucking recently. the only reason I keep it is so I can use it's scanner and it isn't as intrusive as another AV. I use defender.
ADWcleaner is malwarebytes so yea.
haha I was offered a job at an office depot once and they told me in the interview they wanted me to run their own software to diagnosis and fix computers. I told them no, being honest and broke was better than running a scammy tool and being slightly less broke.
@@JessicaFEREM So if Malwarebytes sucks, then how about Kaspersky? Also is any 3rd party security software even needed, given that Windows already has Windows Defender on it?
@@ArawnOfAnnwn Kaspersky is the best AV from the tests I've seen.
Defender is my favorite tho because it's good enough.
I was a student worker for a college IT department from 2000-2004. We supported Windows NT machines running WordPefect and Netscape Navigator on a token ring network.... it sucked even by the standards of those days. We ran junk like ccleaner and regclean all the time just to try and keep the computers from crashing every 5 minutes without a format and reinstall.
Token ring? I read about that while studying in '99, never came across one though. That doesn't sound like fun
@@JohnnyThousand605 If you accidentally unplugged the connector without first powering down the computer it would crash the entire building. The IT guys would gripe you out the whole time they were manually resetting the network
@@scittw22 crah the entire building - would network just stop working or computers would also crash?
@@scittw22 Been there, done that, lol. Office manager was mad the next day. And you're probably old enough to remember some PC XT type boxes had a "Turbo" button to push OFF because some software needed extra time to run and running a PC in turbo mode would crash this software! The "good old days", they were terrible...
@@volodumurkalunyak4651 The network. You knew you were in trouble when you could hear a click from the network interface cards
CCleaner: we remove bloatware and block viruses.
*CCleaner setup starts*
CCleaner: CCleaner Chrome Extension, Avast Antivirus, Bing desktop Search bar, Bonzibuddy, Wannacry, and CCleaner successfully installed.
I have the Pro version when you wait for the "sale" it is pretty cheap and covers a few systems, but would not surprise me if I really could go without it.
This lines up with what I’ve been telling my clients for years, and very diplomatic in your coverage of it
I used to use CCleaner religiously from the late 2000s up to about 2020. Then once the ownership changes started happening, so came the UI overhauls and the pay walling of features, and then when I heard about the grumblings of more harm then good, I was out. I will say though, that despite what you say about the registry cleanup being unneccesary, I swear anytime I had a significant amount to clear out, it INSTANTLY became noticeably more responsive atleast within the Windows desktop environment. And I never once encountered an issue with something becoming broken after doing so.
Paul Denney
"Than" not "then".
@@redblade8160 thanks professor
youve been using snakeoil for 20 years kid
Honestly the responsiveness on the desktop can be pure placebo because you focus more on the mouse movement than before you cleaned it. And because you know that you just cleaned it. Would be a fun thing to test out with another person who randomly cleans it for you.
@@OutOfRangeDE
Stop playing the psychologist, it doesn't suit you you!
I tried one some years ago ( Not sure if it was this one) after using it. It took me days to get everything working how I wanted again. Not used one since.
It tends to erase .SOL files which are used as save files for several flash-based and some unity games.
Whenever I used Ccleaner, it would be great for a while. But then after a few months, I would notice something is broken in Windows's core system. Couldn't run windows update, couldn't update from windows 7 to 10 without re-formatting, even some weird issues with AMD chipset drivers saying I don't have an AMD CPU, even though I do (but that could just be an AMD thing). Plus, now that it went full malware/steal your data route, it ain't worth it anymore.
Yeah back in the day registry cleaning with it causes me so many issues on windows xp 7 and 8.1 that I just stopped using it. Plus I've used solid state drives and let windows optimize it so didn't really need it to optimize like back on mechanical drives
Y'know, I'm having trouble with an AMD Pro driver installation sticking (or at least the panel, the driver itself is fine). I'm ready to blame AMD and WUpdate, but I wonder if CCleaner via TronScript is causing this issue.
thats sounds like a bigger problem than ccleaner could cause unless you having it clean some special places...
Never have had any issue with it, and still do not. I am using an Intel CPU, though.
The name does stand for “crap cleaner”, after all. Is it any surprise that every now and then it “accidentally” removes some important part of Windows itself?
I use this tool only for the registry cleanup because yes, invalid registry pointers can sometimes prevent programs from reinstalling, as well as helping with removing driver leftovers.
How do I uninstall a malware? Such estimate speedup?
Back when I worked for a PC repairs shop years ago I probably ran CCleaner's registry cleaner on hundreds of PCs and never once did it cause an issue. While its utility over the years has dwindled due to improved hardware and software, at the same time I don't buy the argument that it could cause more harm than good. If anything deleting broken registry entries has often fixed certain quirks and issues rather than caused any, but nowadays, sure, it's mostly unnecessary. I still keep a copy of CCleaner handy though in case I ever feel like doing some spring cleaning, but it's more of a "if I feel like it" sort of thing now rather than a necessity.
My main problem with ccleaner is that while yes, it can clean up what you want it to, it can also "clean" up some stuff you really shouldn't mess with unless you really know what your doing. I see too many regular users who are far from computer experts download and use it and the havoc it's capable of. It's just really easy to set it up to be over eager in it's cleaning, and potentially ruin your install.
M365 paper pushers shouldn't be deleting every false positive they find. They might end up breaking windows.
There's warnings that state possible adverse effects as you open up the choices they have disabled by default. If users don't read it or learn about each advanced cleaning, it's on them. I never had an issue using it.
👍
it's rubbish, just use revo uninstaller.
@@wickedfuctup You're not the people who end up calling me for tech support either, you're not who I'm worried about. The people I'm worried about don't read warnings, but somehow figure out that this tool exists, and the proceed to nuke everything on their system with abandon. I then get called to clean up the mess.
Whenever I'm looking for tech advices, I see Anthony and I immediately know there's an answer to my doubts :)
We used to use CCleaner at the computer repair store I used to work at. We'd run cache, registry, and then clear startup too which would boost the speed of older laptops brought in. Then again, that was years ago. Now, it's not really all that necessary. If a modern computer is slow, it's usually due to having installed too much bloatware or a couple viruses. Those free antivirus programs are famous for doing nothing and bogging down your PC performance.
CCleaner is great for removing Microsoft specific bloat that Windows itself wont allow you to remove. Registry cleaning is unnecessary. You should never update drivers from any "driver updater" application. Windows updated have verified drivers and newer versions usually are for models/version/OEM computers that might get specific problems
+1 This is the only reason I use CCleaner when setting up a new Windows install: getting rid of Microsoft included garbage bloatware that you can't uninstall from Settings or Control Panel.
Same thing with Adobe installation.
You're better off installing Revo Uninstaller
If my hardware is working, I NEVER update drivers. I have had more problems in the past with updated drivers. If it ain't broke, Don't "fix" it.
For sure the number one reason I have used CCleaner right there. And that sometimes will help the computer run better because you're removing bloatware.
CCleaner is part of my shotgun approach when I get handed a System that does "irregular, weird thingies". Together with a select few other tools, it helps me get rid of anything that MIGHT be causing an issue. I use it ONCE when I notice something odd happening, and wouldn't advice anyone to use it regularely.
Back in the day people also always said never update your BIOS unless you have to, and nowadays I keep my bios on the most up-to-date version available at all times, things change, and CCleaner was definitely more useful in the days of HDDs.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You will still occasionally get tripped up by a 'new' bios that may not work right with 'old' programs. Better to just reinstall the version of windows that it came with, after backing up the data.
@@d.e.b.b5788 if you don't have a problem leave the bios alone!
The bios thing is still true.
Unless you mobo has a double bios I would still suggest not upgrading it unless necessary.
Even with modern HDDs, modern OSes can be set to automatically do a junk clear and defragging, making CCleaner useless for almost everyone
I bricked my motherboard 3 years ago while resetting bios settings, not to mention updating it. It's not that resetting was at fault, it was the write operation itself which is risky. I was resetting it before with no issues.
I’m an IT in the field for five years now and at my new current job they have use using WinDirStat but I’m also working in an enterprise environment for the first time
how did you learn so much about pcs ,you are by far the smartest person i have seen on youtbe. thanks for all your knowledge
Haven't used it in a few years now, but back in the day it was one of my most valued tools. Stopped using it when it was bought up and found other ways to do what I needed to get done. Informative and useful video. :)
I remember I used CCleaner back when I had HDDs and trash registry entries would actually slow down your PC noticeably, especially for startup. I think that's the primary reason CCleaner became popular. With modern Windows registry optimizations and blasing fast SSDs, I don't think there's really any point to installing any kind of registry cleaner as the risk of it getting something wrong greatly outweighs any reward.
they are still fantastic to clean out old registry entries or duplicates that cause very odd conflicts sometimes. every single little bit helps. pc maintenance should be a more common thing
I would Like to See a Video about sataexpress, a Thing i found on an Asus Maximus VII extreme assembly
how has the new owner "gen digital" worked their stable of products which include the various norton products; CCleaner and Avast?
I really enjoy the length and structure of these videos. Short, sweet and to the point makes it easily digestible. Good work guys 🤘
Having Andy talk about CCleaner was an instant click. I used it for a very long time but haven't really found it necessary for some of the reasons pointed out in the video. PC Manager was a new one to me though, so I'm thankful for that find as well!
SSD's are good, but there is still a case to be made for HDD's. Especially for bulk storage, and backups. Once you add HDDs to your setup, even temporarily (portable drives for backup) then ANY time you erase a file you "fragment" your storage. And that's what an incremental backup does: replaces a single file with a newer version.
You could backup to tape, I suppose - or get an app that puts files back in order when you notice a drop in performance. Considering the cost of tape archive setups, the software solution is a no-brainer.
Didn't know kay's cooking was a tech channel
I've heard other people say that the registry clean-up does nothing helpful but it's usually the step that gives performance back to old machines I've helped people tidy up. Having a lot of unused registers entries can in fact slow your system down since it points to nowhere yet has to be gone through every time the computer tries to do much of anything. It's probably a bit situational, but it's not black or white.
The registry is a database. The number of items in the database doesn't really affect its performance.
@@0mongo0 Real world observation says otherwise. When I started at my current job almost 11 years ago, the average computer in the company had 2gb of ram and an 80gb hard drive, massively out of date, and we upgraded all several thousand of them to 4gb before upgrading to windows 7, but most still had their original boot drive, 80gb or 160gb 5400rpm wd blue or seagate white label drives, and it didn't take much to slow them down, or much to speed them back up.
@@hzuiel This!
Here is the thing. Do the invalid entries slow things down? Why did we used to see a difference, but no longer see those differences? With CPUs and SSDs and GPUs, our computers are so much faster today that the differences are insignificant. Once upon a time, it was critical to write programs in assembler to make them fast, but in the end, hardware is cheaper to improve than software, and speed of development for software is more important that the number of machine cycles.
The best fixer upper? Backup your data, format C: and reinstall a fresh install of winblows. Magic, I swear! your computer will be just as fast as it was when you first got it! Of course, most people have no idea how to do this, and Microsoft doesn't want you to know, because then you won't buy another version of winblows! I currently have 'ancient' computers running as quick as lightning, with WinXP, Win7, and even Win98, all because they have recent formating and reinstallation of the operating systems.
I always saw the C in CCleaner as a local disk (C:) Cleaner!!
A one particular computer from hundreds actually slowed down after I used ccleaner on it. It was kind of slow already a family PC and no cleaner of any sort had before been used on that machine. The loading times increased. I suspect it had crippled or extra slow hard drive. As the cleaner clears every bit here and there it leaves empty gaps. Maybe that was the reason.
Same with CleanMyMac for macs … beside the obvious peoblems you pointed out, I always considered these programs like putting the dust under the carpet solutions … you either don’t care about “cleanup” or you manually do it yourself …
There's one really important use for CCleaner in Windows 10 (and I suspect 11 too). Removing programs that Windows doesn't want you to delete. The Bloatware. Like the Cortana, or xBox whatever.
Except CCleaner is a bloatware itself and it tries to make you install junk in addition to bothering you with popups (it was acquired by Avast so it's not too surprising).
Best option is stay away from Windows as much as you can.
@@TheLordoftheDarkness oh I am TOTALLY waiting for times when staying away from windows will be an option for consumers.
Microsoft is making it harder to remove stuff like XBox and Edge. It's basically impossible.
absolutely agree but yeah windblows forces their crap on everyone today
Combination of c cleaner and file assassin has saved a few installs for me in the past.
When malware can't or won't uninstall and nothing seems to stop it re installing you can sometimes kill the start up routine with c cleaner then use file assassin to nuke the actual folder or files.
Particularly useful for browser hijacks.
I'm a IT expert, been working in the field for over 20 years.
I have used CCleaner in the past, simply because at the place I was working at the time, it was one of the things we had to do before giving the computer back to the client.
Most of the time it did it's job ok, I would even say that it does it job almost always ok when used by an expert who knows what he is deleting. I've been self employed for over 10 years now and I no longer use it and even remove it from clients computers, after asking them of course.
The reason is that I've also had to repair computer that ccleaner had wrecked by messing with the registry, either because the client had used it or because it ran by itself. It can do a lot more harm then good, meaning that it wont speed up your pc that much, but if it messes up, it will make Windows unbootable.
I stopped using it many years ago, but I returned to using it just for custom cleaning of browser cache, compacting databases, temp folders, etc (stuff that's safe to delete) a couple years ago, as it still saves me time when ai do it about once a month.
Ya on my Android tablet I find it handy
I stopped using it a while ago and in 2017 after I heard the website hack and malware download thing I stayed clear of it for a while. But I find myself resorting back to it for a consolidated and lightweight center for cleaning my browsers, drives and startup. It's true that you can do all that more easily now just the "normal" way but ccleaner still makes it faster and easier, which means you're more likely to do it regularly than skip it. By Anthony's logic, you could say any GUI windows app that can be replaced by a series of command lines is therefore useless. If some software speeds up your chore, it has value, end of story.
The criticism that "some people pirate the pro version and get malware instead" is a hilariously bad take. You can say that about ANY paid software, it's totally unfair and in bad faith. I'm honestly surprised that Anthony could say that with a straight face. It seems that a lot of the recent content on LTT channels have been heavily editorialized in bad ways. I really hope there isn't some kind of sinister financial reason for it.
@@zxbc1 drivers-wise (and BIOS-wise) I will never trust any automated "driver center". It can be a last resort if I'm having serious issues manually.
Still pretty neat for some function like deleting empty folders, amongst a few other simple features. You can achieve all that without using ccleaner but it's handy as a all-in-one tool.
You can use Cleaner v2023, designed to clean only what is essential while maximizing the use of Windows' native tools.
The philosophy of this software is not to delete the maximum amount of data (marketing hype) but to clean your computer with the least possible risk.
This Windows cleaning software is 100% free, with no spyware, no data resale, no telemetry... It was originally designed to clean our own development and testing PCs!
Used the free version of CCleaner not the professional or hacked version and this improves the performance of my computer but I'm always careful to tick the items I want cleaned and untick the items I don't want cleaned.
If you do alot of sound mixing nd rerecording conversions to .m4a CCleaner is the only tool that finds the broken wav files instantly if you have multiple temp directories over a server. It takes other tools awhile to recognize the partial .wav files.
There are many useful reasons to use the registry cleaner if you are targeting a specific removal of entries for a program you're specifically looking for, or a clean uninstall or reinstall. It's been helpful with broken programs leaving traces when their install didn't go correctly or the uninstall was not able to be used by, say, Revo.
A long time ago these things were indeed problematic, these days those traces can't do anything to make the pc slower or any other crap, that's one of the reasons we have newer versions of OS from time to time.
These programs are useless now.
Exactly. The registry cleanup is what I use it for.
That's exactly what I use it for. Not all programs are listed in windows programs same way not everything is listed in windows startup but some programs boot up when you turn your pc on. Ccleaner has everything listed so it's a more reliable way to control what's on your pc and what has to be booted on startup.
I’ve had issues recently where it’s removed ref files that have stopped programs working. It’s especially bad with Firefox but had it effect Adobe programs too
What about the mobile version? I use CCleaner on all of my mobile devices and the app does help out a lot. Plus it has a file manager option, so I can manually choose to delete pictures and videos that are taking up a lot of storage space. The app has been very useful for me. I don't even use computers anymore, because I can do pretty much anything on my smart phone.
The registry cleaning is mostly useful and noticeable on weak/old systems. I used to run it on a few old pcs at my old job. Very old systems that were used for the POS systems. But after a week the registry would get bogged down and the old systems would become damn near unusable. Restarts, etc would not help the issue. Crap cleaner did its job, back then. This was in the mid 2000s. I personally use an old version, pre Avira on my PC, which is an older phenom based PC. (I don't playmodern games) that last version works fine and I run it once a month.
CCleaner, or as I call it CC Leaner, in my opinion and experience has a time and place. While yes… you can do almost everything with out of box or first party software, it is often a quick and simple solution rather than using multiple different tools (aka end user friendly).
I have also found it’s uninstall utility to be especially useful when I need to uninstall something but the official .msi file simply refuses to do so. While it does try to use the msi file, if it fails it’s delete does almost always manage to delete all the files relevant (something you’ll very likely miss if you attempt manually, places like %appdata%)
And as a backend web engineer, CCleaner is really nice at clearing browser history and data because I use multiple browsers… yes I could go one by one and clear them all manually but CCleaner is significantly faster, especially when IE is still needed to be tested on for legacy functionality.
I also would like to point out that while you definitely shouldn’t clear your registry without any care… registry-based malware does exist and is a common route to replication. While an antimalware should remove these… “should” is the problem. You also should make a backup before deleting them off system just in case.
All in all, CCleaner doesn’t make much sense for an average enthusiast or power user but for web engineers it’s simply a time save… or your grandparents, it’s better than the alternative (aka nothing).
P. S. If you think the average end user is going to use 10 different tools, and not mess something up in the process or get too confused and do nothing… when was the last time you tried explaining something as simple as a meme to a boomer. It’s like that.
Use BleachBit instead of CCleaner.
@@GoldSrc_ I am Hilary Clinton and I approve this message.
CCleaner...does anyone remember "First Aid" back in Windows 95? That helped me out a few times, but CCleaner only gave me headache and frustration.
Ccleaner is a must for me. It genuinely keeps my pc feeling fast and regularly gets rid of junk and trackers. I also use the professional version to easily keep all my drivers up to date. 11/10 would recommend.
1:20 registry shrink did help a lot on HDD's. if you had broken software like MS office 13, it made a lot of entries each upgrade, which made registry weight like 400MB (usually its like 60MB) one time removal and shrink was also getting it defragmented, which could make a lot of difference in general sluginess of windows. I used similar soft called glary utilities, which also had random other tools that could give you ~20 sec off your boot on hdd's and was IMHO more powerful.
those things like to run on boot and periodically, which is pointless, IMHO all you need is portable version and just run it once per 2-3 years if your windows survives that long.
No windows should last 2-3 years, anything above 6 months line is already too much time and crap push on a OS, everybody should learn to do a quick format BEFORE the windows start to lose performance.
@@youknowwho257 This is complete nonsense
@@CPUGaming I agree tho. I noticed over the years that I would regularly encounter problems with windows after a few months from a fresh reformat.
@@MyFlamingoe But that has very little to do with windows itself, but due to the software you install
@@CPUGaming But it has everything to do with windows. A windows user shouldn’t need to reformat every 6months. My sister and gf uses a Mac and they don’t know anything about simple troubleshooting and maintenance but I don’t see their devices slowing down.
You could mention a very useful feature of CCleaner such as Duplicate finder. They implement this in a very good way. It's not the fastest on the market but gives you a lot of control over what duplicates and where exactly you want to delete. These days I use CCleaner mostly because of that feature.
And drive wiper is good to clean a harddrive before selling it
Or, you know... you could just KNOW what you have on your pc instead ?
If there's more than one of a file, you created that copy, so maybe the problem is coming from you.
Drive wiper wat ? Dude just format the thing, is faster and cleaner (lol)
@@youknowwho257 So you don't know how format works..
@@youknowwho257 dunning-kruger
@@youknowwho257 L take lol
That software is for win XP and win 7 machines where that feature don't exist in windows o ly 10 and 11 versions have that automatically cleanup and exist only in pro and enterprise versions
Those registry entries which point to nothing can absolutely cause performance issues. I once had an issue where right clicking a file in explorer took up to 60 seconds to open the context menu and locked explorer while it did it. Extremely frustrating. CCleaner regsitry cleaner solved it.
I’ve loved ccleaner back in the day of windows XP it was really useful software and did make a computer of the time so much faster after its use (due to limiting hardware) I stopped using it a few years ago for unknown reason. I just stopped, but it has a core memory of seeing how much space I saved and getting excited at how much better my system ran
I have used CCleaner for about 3 or 4 years now and never had any issues with it. I don't use it that much but I do find it more convenient cleaning multiple locations at once and it is quicker to clean Chrome using multiple profiles.
You just don't understand how good CCleaner used to be and how bad it is now in comparison.
I use CCleaner but I learned along time ago you have to know what to select and deselect for it to clean. Erasing a file you need can causue a great deal of headache.
WHat are your opnions on dedicated Uninstaller programs like Your Uninstaller, and Geek? They will remove registry entries made by the program you are installing. They worth using or is the deep cleaning the removal of said uninstalled app useless too?
I've forever heard of the "it could delete registry entries that matter" and in my decade+ of using it I've never once experienced this. It's a good first port of call for older PC's to try and get them running like new. But like defrag, it's a relic of the past in terms of improving modern PC performance.
Occasionally I had the issue, that a windows update wouldn't properly install (bootloop), which I suspect to be the result of ccleaner. Its easily resolved by sfc/scannow but still
I've seen it specifically happen on systems a decent number of times over the years, sometimes being a mild annoyance to fix for them and a few times being a good couple of hours of screwing around.
I haven't seen it recently, but I don't really fix many peoples computers anymore since I moved away from where I grew up 4 years ago.
Back in the day, best way of making your windows system faster was to make fresh install. It was not hassle if your important data was in its own partition. AND of course backup before doing it :)
The software used to be good up until they bundled or with avast and pushed it out if you had it installed previously
@@Skank_and_Gutterboy He only says not to use any cleaners except what’s built in to windows. So that’s a strange takeaway… that also has nothing to do with the comment you replied to… Wondering if we have ourselves an Avast troll account here.
Literally was just thinking this, talking about perfect timing. Great vid as usual tho 🥳🥳
I used to use Wise disk and registry cleaners instead, but some time after I discovered Windows inbuilt tools for cleaning temp data I stopped using Wise. Even though it seemed to be more thorough about cleaning junk data, I heard remarks about third party cleaners removing stuff that they shouldn't touch.
Best way to clean, backup data, wipe storage (or install new blank storage), install OS, apps and data.
I’ve used it for a long time. The new avast upselling and bloatware is annoying but if you are careful while installing and doing the first setup, disabling all the crap and setting your desired stuff to be deleted, it’s a handy tool to just open, click clean, search registry, delete all and you are done. Then check startup items just in case something is fishy. Every other “feature” of it isn’t worth the time
But what do you actually gain by using it?
@@user-or4ut2qi3q It helps with older PC's which are running old operating systems or if not running an SSD. If you clean out the temp files and a few other things on those machines it has a massive uptick in performance. However if you're running Windows 10 or 11 with an SSD you won't even notice the difference after the clean.
I’d love to see a video like this about modern antivirus
I've been using CCleaner for about 10 years now and I've never had any issues with it. It's fast, efficient, and simple to use. And all the stories of "using the registry cleaner could cause more harm than good" has never been a reality with me. I can only speak of my own personal experience, but CCleaner has never once caused any harm to any of my computers over the years. Also, the performance gains it can offer older computers is definitely real. I've taken old desktops and laptops from friends and relatives who weren't computer savvy at all. For years, they never cleaned, defragged, or optimized their computers. And as a result, these PCs were extremely slow to do anything. Even starting up and booting into Windows took forever. I downloaded and installed CCleaner onto these computers and let it do it's thing. Then I defragged the computers. And boom. These barely-functioning computers were working perfectly fine. No slow start-up. No slow, laggy performance. Afterward, these people praised me as some kind of computer genius that fixed their computer. And I explained to them: "All I did was some basic, routine computer maintenance that you're actually supposed to do every few months. It wasn't anything special at all. Like vehicles, you're supposed to do regular, routine maintenance and upkeep on computers. If you don't, it's going to stop functioning properly, just like any other machine."
Exactly. I've never had a single negative thing happen to any of the computers after easily a decade. I've also raised computers from the dead using CCleaner. I put in another comment that it's not magic, it just has a lot of great features that makes it so much easier to clean/update with a couple of clicks. With Windows updates, drive checks, temporary internet files, temporary system files, startup apps, bloatware, viruses, out of date drivers, you name it, any program that let's me kill 7 birds with 1 stone, and do it well, I'll take it.
Using a program for 10 years, and never bothered to learn how to not need to use ? Because CCleaner was never really necessary on Win10, only on older OS.
Like knowing where was the files the program cleaned everytime you had to open the program, click for hin to make a "scan", waiting and then clicking on delete, you could've just opened the file manager and deleted the entire folder for yourself and saved tons of time. Or just opening the browser and clicking to clear history/cookies. Nothing hard really.
And the traces on the registry you can literaly ignore, they don't do anything bad just by being there on the OS we have and this is nothing new, it is like this for some time now, and BTW, no windows instalation should live more than 6 months, so these pc's that "were extremely slow" of your friends and relatives just need formating instead of life suport, don't let it live for so much time, it will bring more trouble than it should lol.
@@youknowwho257
You do realize theres WAY too many people who don't know a damn ting to even know HOW to install windows, let alone do it so frequently right?
@@LeonSteelpaw That doesn't take anything away from his point that he is making though...He's practically saying people should learn and your just saying " you do know they don't know this stuff though right ? "
@@drugbustin
It's a simple fact that a lot of people are tech illiterate or are outright lazy.
Saying they should do something so drastic on a timeframe like that is asking a LOT from such people.
Furthermore, I have not once heard anyone say to reinstall every 6 months before. Maybe that works for this person, but in most cases, that install is going to be there for YEARS until either the OS implodes on itself, or the owner decides to get a new machine
You are absolutely right for your viewers, however if you have a noob asking/expecting you to do the maintenance CCleaner is something even they can run. Which saves me multiple hours of doing the maintenance and the drive there and back. Now I only have to go over it when I am there anyway
It used to help but now when I used it on a different laptop, cleaning the files has an issue where the next start up has a blue screen sometimes saying it's got an issue finding certain files that allow Windows 10 to launch, so my other laptop sometimes had to repair the problem
I was like, apart from being hacked, did they not realize that certain boot files are being deleted now?
CCleaner registry cleaner often fixes a critical error that prevents driver updates or installs on Nvidia gpu's( as in it saying the driver isn't compatible/can't be installed because of a unkown error)
No idea if that bug still happens but back it in the day I've had to use it to fix that particular issue on several pc's
this is exactly what i still use it for or would have gotten rid of it as soon as i saw the avast promo
CCleaner was a great program for many years when I was running HDD's, but due to all the problems associated with CCleaner over recent years, I started using Glary Utilities to mostly remove temp files and folders. I don't use the registry cleaner as I moved to SSD's a couple of years ago.
Ccleaner started to have cmd line popups even when the program was off, switched to Gary's utilities
I found CCleaner to be crap and filled with spyware. So I also had to get rid of it and install Glary Utilities.
not sure how the registry cleaning and using an SSD correlate with each other?
@@andreivaughn1468 I believe SSD's made the need for registry maintenance obselete.
@@Grievous- I thought problematic and defunct registry entries made issues with uninstalling/reinstalling programs a problem? Huh, whatever.
On the same point AVG tune up doesn’t now tune up any NAS drives, they removed that option.
I see you miss a section of CCleaner that makes you save a backup of the registry CCleaner will remove. And you can also restore those keys just in case the wrong registry was deleted.
I personally use ccleaner for clearing regedit purposes only, most of my old-time friends with old computers having issues with booting OS after like a blackout tends to have the system file kinda messed up. So i just go safe mode, get ccleaner, clear regedit, and somehow the system files are fixed, since they don't know about recovery points. Also if u install and uninstall alot of games, all those past directories is just so satisfying to see being cleared in the regedit cleaner.
So most thing that ccleaner can do, u can do it manually or automatically but not for those who are not tech savvy. Its convenient to have, u can even install it only when u need it if it disturbs your privacy so much.
I use this all the time.
It is still a great program, cleans my system and helps me check registry values. One of my go to installs since i first heard of it back in around 2010.
I have used C-Cleaner for years on advanced cleaning list & never had any problems. I will say you need to know what boxes to check to let it clean & what boxes to never check so u block them from getting cleaned. Yet after u set that right list of what to clean & u are the sort that keeps a backup regardless. I don't see why u would have a problem
My friend's laptop took 8 minutes to start and usually performed any click after a minute. I thought it was bugged with malware, and was about to check for that. Before that I wanted to use CCleaner on it, program scrapped 14 GBs and fixed 8k registry errors; and the laptop just turned in to life again. I didn't have to do anything else.
I guess, the registry cleanup thing is... helpful?
When I first installed Linux several years ago, I found out that CCleaner wasn't available for it. I then looked around on the internet for Linux cleaners and came across bleachbit. Ever since then, I've been using Bleachbit and it works MUCH better than even the paid version of CCleaner.
Although Linux barely ever needs a cleanup because of its inherently different file structure 😁
@@ArniesTech 45 gb cache folder pacman yay
I figure if it's good enough for government officials to use and get away with stuff it's good enough for me.
Once I discovered BleachBit, I stopped using CCleaner altogether. Much better and lighter program.
Totally agree. BleachBit, alongside BCUninstaller are my preferred cleaning programs
Great video, would have loved to have suggestions for replacements or other similar software though.
The PC Manager thing from MS looks good.
There's also a free CCleaner-alternative that is open source called Bleachbit
Nice, thanks
Ok the PC Manager is just in beta, but perhaps it will be legit some day.
You forgot to mention the "driver updater" sometimes installs bad updates. And maybe should've mentioned BleachBit which does the same tasks without being a spyware adware infested program. And doesn't touch your registry.
I been using CCLeaner Five year. I,ve had no touble with this softwere and it does a Excellent Job
I used ccleaner for many years. The only reason I stopped using it, was me switching to Linux. But I don't think it is an inherently bad tool. I think every point against the current version of ccleaner in this video is true, but in the end it comes down to convenience. It is way easier to tell my parents to use this program, than to tell them a bunch of different crap they need to do, so I stick to my recommendation.
Linux has a lot better similar program called Stacer. Not only delete caches and orphan files but increase little the performance too .
On Linux, you can use BleachBit instead... it's similar
they removed the option for it to not start with windows
Ccleaner will wipe your browser history, Windows explorer history, all of browser caches by default. Do you really need to wipe all of that every time using ccleaner???
@@kittysplode Mine doesn't start when I launch Windows...and it is the latest version. Of course, I have it set to not start in my startup programs. You are part right- There is no button to toggle to say don't start up, but in ccleaner, under "Tools"-"Startup", you can literally tell it not to start. Weird that it does that to you. I have not had that issue, once I removed it from the startup list.