[efreak1]

I was wondering what is the best free registry cleaner. There are a lot of registry cleaners out there and I was wondering if someone could narrow down a list for me.

I have a Vista.

Thanks

[ARock84]

I like to use CCleaner..., It works great for me! :)

[ARock84]

Here is the link if you want http://www.filehippo...nload_ccleaner/

[number6]

My favorite is the free CCleaner. It allows you to backup the registry before each cleaning. I've run it on dozens of computers and never has it damaged the registry. You should, however, look over the scan results and make sure that it won't clean anything that you don't want it to.

You can also look at a poll asking which is the favorite registry cleaner. I don't know which ones are free, but you may find it interesting. It's called Registry Cleaner.

[Flashorn]

Hey efreak !!



Welcome to PCWorld Community !



Unlike the other posters , I do not recommend using ANY registry cleaners.

You want to defrag , compact , and even then I still don't recommend it.

Don't throw away your OS. Vista has so many new features and new keys. The

registry will grow accordingly. Experts in the matter are all in accordance that

the registry does not need to be tidy. There is no need to clean the registry as the

small amount of performance that Might be gained , will not be noticeable by you.

Here is a quote by Mark Russinovich of Windows Sysinternal :

"No, Registry cleaning is uninteresting to me because it involves a
thorough investigation of applications and their use of Registry data.
If you're too aggressive in the cleaning you end up with broken apps.
That, and the fact that Registry cruft sitting around won't be a
significant contributor to Registry size or performance issues, is why
I don't trust my system to Registry cleaners."



So, if you are still intent on using a registry cleaner then , at least create a System Restore

point.

Marks Blog .



FLASHORN. !http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

[SpiritWind]

:D Hi :



The Consensus among experienced, certified, "Malware Removal Specialists" is to AVOID

all "Registry Cleaner(s)", including CCleaner's, IF your Operating System is Win XP or later .

Read through what some Expert "Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals" say at

aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099 . Their Consensus is that "Registry Cleaners"

have a potential of doing a great deal of harm as contrasted with the minimum of

performance "enhancement" .

[kcs3295]

IMHO, some consider registry cleaning as the potential of cleaning traces of users activity which is forever stored on their pc or speeding up the pc. So this response could be off-topic to some.

The use and deletion of software remain identified on their pc's is one example, and there are many more identifiable ways logged into the registry - such as keys being a string of alpha-numeric code that only extremely knowledgeable people will understand and can identify. Data is also hidden in various files in the operating system (OS) namely Windows. Internet activity and those traces remain as well.

With that said, I do believe in registry cleaner apps that are developed to be system cleaners as well. This goes hand-in-hand to securely delete all info that a person can safely clean without damage to their OS - which is what I want and believe this is why the post (question) began.

I respect the knowledge of Mark R and the applications he has developed, and the free info he provides on the web to help people understand and troubleshoot the Microsoft OS.

However, if anyone believes that Microsoft provided the Windows OS to do any user a favor is being extremely naive. Their OS is intended for the developers and NOT their users who had to pay to get the pc operational. The software developers are the ones that MS patronizes along with the investigative authorities which is not a bad idea.

Just to begin the invasive identification process - just learn about "dat" files just when anyone thinks their pc has been cleaned of traces of activity - cookies, history, etc. Delete all data such as from IE6 and then install IE7 or another browser like Firefox and see the history re-appear. And it's there for an inexperienced user to see it. I have done this on customers pc's I repaired and ONLY because I update their pc as well. I use Firefox (which is not fully secure) and do not like active X & other plugins used by IE.

Secure deletion of data is virtually impossible with Windows without a clean install after a DOD grade wipe of the hard drive and cleaning or removing the RAM from the mobo. I would buy a new hard drive to begin building a truly clean pc. Keep an old pc for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Best choice would be a clean installation of the OS with only the necessary programs you intend to keep before ever going on the internet and/or installing trial programs. Then backup to an external hard drive so you can restore the pc to a new clean start point - buy Acronis full version. You would also want updated drivers which could be saved to a cd, flash drive, etc to install prior to backup.

Back to the question; I like Advanced Windows Care for system cleaning and controlling cookies - saving the ones you want and easily deleting others. But only after running "Index.dat Analyzer" for hidden data deletion. Both are free. Then run a third party defrag application and then over-write the free space (remaining data) on the hard drive.

As previously stated, backup the pc first and best by external hard drive. And fully understand what options you are choosing and what that cleaning process does. Registry cleaners do little to speedup the pc - it is the cookies, history, etc and other crap placed in your pc that slows it down like apps accessing the web, or trying to, without your knowledge. FYI - Disk Cleanup removes restore points so you cannot return to a previous state.

The uninstallers do not remove registry entries or other traces. Just try McAfee's or Symantecs' un-installers and then search by "regedit" and the history is still there - and yes the big guns lie to you as well.

In closing, my pc is mine and no person has a right to invade my privacy unless I break the law.

Ken

[efreak1]

Thanks alot. I will download CCleaner.

[efreak1]

Wow, I didn't see your post until after I downloaded CCleaner. I might have to think this over.

[ARock84]

Its up to you to want to use it or not. I have run it on my personal machines, and that's three of them and have had no problems whats so ever. When you delete programs and what nor these reg. files are still there and if you don't know what you are looking for its hard to find them and delete them . I just got a new 17in hp with vista home premium on it. Deleted everything I didnt want and ran the program to clean it up. I trust the program!

[number6]

Another thing is that if you backup registry changes in CCleaner before you make them, you can usually revert to them. While it may be the case that "if it ain't broke don't fix it," there was a thread just recently in which the registry cleaner fixed the problem so it's good to have one on hand.

[chuckiesback]

Here are the three programs I use, 1. Advanced SystemCare 3 Free, 2. Free Registry Defrag and, 3. RegScrubVistaXP. They all work very well without any problems. I have used them since they were in Beta. The best thing is that they are all free. Chuckiesback

[number6]

I read [a post|m-174501] from [~9738], one of our most experienced security people on these forms that recommends that you remove Advanced SystemCare because it is very questionable. I suggest that you [read the post|m-174501].

[zepper]

I use CCleaner as well and find it relatively safe. It will clean off ALL YOUR COOKIES if you let it. Many cookies make your surfing experience easier, so I always disallow CC from cleaning my cookies by Unchecking those options for all my browsers. I also use spyware scanner/remover programs and I allow those to handle my cookies as they clean only those known to be a problem instead of removing them all. A lot of folks who use CC are totally and blissfully unaware of its added features like the registry cleaner function. And you should handle the cleaning of your restore points history yourself, so you will be sure to have the latest, clean one to fall back on.
As others have noted, messing with your registry can be dangerous. Be sure to have a fresh backup of it in case anything goes wrong. The Registry is one of the great achilles heels of Windows - systems with distributed points of control are always more stable and recoverable than centralized ones. Also consider that in terms of what the current gov't is trying to do...

I keep several specialized cleaners around that also work with the Registry. One is called AV Uninstaller. It gets rid of all traces of some installed commercial AV programs. Norton is notorious for leaving a bunch of crap behind after their normal uninstall (they even provide a separate tool for those who prefer a REALLY CLEAN uninstall - I keep that in my toolkit as well). I guess some of the others do so as well so this cleans many of them.


Happy cleaning!


.bh.
Message was edited by: zepper to add more info.
Message was edited by: zepper for clarification.

[pabloburgos]

The two that I use the most; Eusing Free Registry Cleaner, Wise Registry Cleaner. I use them before I log off if I have either installed or deleted something. CCleaner only for junk. When using registry cleaners the rule is to use them before the computer is turned off. That way the changes are saved. Using Revo uninstaller when removing software helps also. All of this appies only to W XPwhich is what I use. Contrary to what you may have read, it is a great idea to use RC's. Sometimes the befores and afters are just unreal for the better.

[iwampfler]

I use the "Clean up" option in Microsoft's Safety Scanner. It works great for me and when finished, it shows what it found.

Just go to this address: onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah

I also subscribe to Windows Live OneCare, which I can use on up to three computers.

[salt7]

[~65014] you are pretty cool. I learned a lot from that. I will do my own research, but at least I know where to go from here.

[alexartox]

I found this page with list of free registry cleaners:

http://www.registryc...challenges.html

I prefer EUsing over CCleaner, easier to use...