Top 5 Free Programs to Clean Up Your Computer
Posted on 06. Aug, 2008 by Kyle Judkins in Software
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Most of us don’t keep our computer as clean as it should be. I’m not talking about the exterior (although I’m sure that could be cleaned as well). I’m talking about cleaning up your hard drive and getting rid of all the unneeded junk that everyone accumulates over the years. You might have anything from partial installs to some nice malware or spyware. Either way, it slows you and your computer down. The following programs will help you keep your computer clean and running fast.
Defraggler
10.5 gigs of fragmented files, I’m glad I wrote this article. Defraggler is an application that will replace the default Windows defragging options. Defraggler is great, because it is extremely light weight and works much faster than defragging in Windows. It also allows you to pick and choose the files you want to defrag. This can make defragging painless and much quicker.
nCleaner
nCleaner is the Swiss Army Knife of this list. It allows you to clean your system, find unneeded junk, tweak your settings and manage your startup. In the past, I had a few programs that did all of the things that are included in this program, but I only need nCleaner now. It’s extremely easy to use, because it is very clear about what settings are recommended and what settings are not. Cleaning programs can often be intimidating or unclear about what they are changing, but nCleaner makes sure to be clear about the changes it is making on your computer.
AVG Free
AVG Free is often regarded as the best free anti-virus software available. It offers basic anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for your computer. The protection is basic, but if you know your way around the Internet and know what to avoid, it should provide sufficient protection.
Spybot-Search & Destroy
Spyware is a problem for most computer users, and the thought of something trying to collect as much personal information as possible from my computer is more than enough to scare me. Spybot S&D is one of the best tools to remove all of that spyware and make your computer more private and run faster.
Ad-Aware 2008
Ad-Aware does for malware what Spybot does for spyware. It will clean up and remove any malicious software that the other programs may miss. Ad-Aware rounds out my list of programs you need to get all of that stuff on your hard drive trying to slow you down.
Using all of these programs together will help keep your computer running fast for years to come. Are there any other programs you use to clean up your computer?
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43 Responses to “Top 5 Free Programs to Clean Up Your Computer”
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Keith Dsouza
06. Aug, 2008
I use Defragglr, CCleanr and AVG for spyware I use Webroot Spysweeper, though the alternatives here look pretty good too.
Paul
06. Aug, 2008
I’m pretty fond of CCleaner, but nCleaner might be something I’ll try out. The others are all pretty good. Nice list!
Tyler Lanphear
06. Aug, 2008
Even though my computer needs to be cleaned up from time to time, I have to say that the #1 Security Trick is:
LINUX!!!! (You knew this was coming :D).
I dualboot, however, and I think that Ad-Aware and Defragglr are pretty good tools. However, another good trick is to prevent the viruses and malware to be prevented in the first place with Firefox.
Not to make any IE fanboys scream on their blogs, but not only is Firefox more safe, customization (although IE has its own plugin system that isn’t as hyped). Also, Firefox makes CSS simpler to write; When writing CSS for a form to change colors when active to inactive, I required only bare CSS for it to work in Firefox, and Javascipt and CSS integration for IE.
I hear Opera’s good too though.
Tux-man
06. Aug, 2008
Or you could just use an OS that doesn’t required constant babysitting with resource draining nanny applications.
Ubuntu is Free; free of cost, free to modify, and free of virus.
David
06. Aug, 2008
I also use DeFraggler and CCleaner. For the all purpose computer tweak and clean I use glaries Utilities, BUT I will say, I will have give nCleaner a try. It looks Like a great program. Thanks for the info.
Human Bagel
06. Aug, 2008
I personally use JKdefrag and CCleaner.
I love CCleaner because it allows me to shread personal data ^_^
asnom
06. Aug, 2008
Used nCleaner, must say it is a GREAT too offering stuff that others only offer for money. It is not for beginners.
Brandon
06. Aug, 2008
Universal Extractor(http://legroom.net/software/uniextract) is a pretty good tool to extract files from basic application installers. Pretty handy to have around if you don’t want to have to install anything, but just run it from a folder(thumb drive runs).
kyle.judkins
06. Aug, 2008
@Everyone Thanks for the feedback! I am a going to check out some of the suggestions. Keep ‘em comin!
NotALinuxFanBoy
06. Aug, 2008
Hey, Linux zealouts: I realize you need to preach your evangelism everywhere you go, but this blog entry is obviously for Windows people. There’s no need to spew your “Switch to Linux” stuff here. Go do it somewhere else.
Jeff
01. Jul, 2009
I agree, I used Umbutu and thought it sucked!!
Ashwin CS
07. Aug, 2008
Use most of these, haven’t tried ncleaner though will give it a try.
I Use Avira antivir, I feel it’s better than AVG.
Jeff
01. Jul, 2009
I also use Avira it is lighter on your system and does better than the others. I see them in this order.
#1 Avira
#2 Avast
#3 AVG
The only disadvantage I have found with Avira is it does not scan e-mail but it grabs anything in the e-mail as soon as you open it.
spitfire111
08. Aug, 2008
Have you all ever try Threatfire? If not, you should try one. it’s free!
ThreatFire continually protects your PC against attacks by detecting malicious behavior, such as capturing your keystrokes or stealing your data, instead of only looking for known threats like normal antivirus software. By implementing sophisticated real-time behavioral analysis ThreatFire is able to stop never- before-seen “zero-day” threats solely by detecting their malicious activity.
Zero-day threats are usually designed to take advantage of new vulnerabilities or exploits that are currently unprotected by traditional security products. They are usually distributed in huge quantities very quickly by mass email (SPAM), website hijacks, instant messaging or over peer-to-peer networks. Because they are undetectable they are able to wreak havoc and compromise your PC even when you have up-to-date antivirus software installed.
ThreatFire’s patent-pending ActiveDefense technology offers protection against all types of internet threats - both known and unknown - spyware, adware, keyloggers, viruses, worms, Trojans, rootkits, buffer overflows, and other malware. ThreatFire uses its unparalleled protection to hunt down and paralyze those threats that are either too new or too clever to be recognized by traditional “signature-based” antivirus software.
spitfire111
08. Aug, 2008
the link/url to threatfire website
http://www.threatfire.com/
Jeff
01. Jul, 2009
I also use this program and like it alot. (Threatfire)
Morridin
08. Aug, 2008
Relax there NotALinuxFanBoy,Tux-Man and Tyler where just making a valid suggestion. No one is spewing anything.
Also this article isnt written for just Windows users, NCleaner and Spybot can work on some Linux Distros, but there isnt much of a point when little to no spyware or viruses exist for Linux.
Francisco Cortes
16. Aug, 2008
I’ve been using for malware cleaning: a-squared… beautiful program.. I use it with the classic adaware (2007 and 2008 adaware are both buggy based on my experience), and the always trustworthy s&D, avg 7.5 is still my antivirus (found some issues with s&d and avg 8 that is keeping hesitante to move on to avg 8). I’ll give ncleaner a try and see!
dave
20. Aug, 2008
relax there Morridin, since there isnt much of a point when little to no spyware or viruses exist for Linux, this post is pretty much written just for windows users.
evasive
25. Aug, 2008
I’d axe AVG and nCleaner for better freeware.
Antivir: for viruses
cCleaner: crap cleaner
Spybot: spyware
AdAware: spyware
Dial-a-Fix: will fix most random glitches and errors in XP
Defraggler or Jkdefrag(takes longer)
HiJackthis: startups, hijacks
I’ve been doing this for years and these tools are absolutely essential.
Natovr
31. Aug, 2008
Last time I used SpyBot, it came up as spyware or adware or something (can’t remember, it was a while ago). It was detected by Norton.
OsaBarima
31. Aug, 2008
I use the following on my laptop;
avast — antivirus
Defraggler — De frag
Comodo FP — Firewall
SpyBot S&D — Spyware
Eraser (http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/) — Shredder
Revo Uninstaller (http://www.revouninstaller.com) — Swiss Army Knife
cCleaner — crap cleaner
Downloading ThreatFire right now (http://www.threatfire.com/). Tell me, do SpyBot and AdAware do the same job? Must say I like the sound of nCleaner, think I’ll try it out.
Mike
09. Sep, 2008
they are all a good list but i came across a new cleanup program called AtomicCleaner and i found this program really fast and amazing a lot faster than ccleaner…
http://www.freewarefiles.com/AtomicCleaner_program_43254.html
i think it might end up becoming big maybe even bigger than ccleaner but i dunno
Shane
13. Sep, 2008
I used to use CCleaner, but I like Glary Utilities a lot better then any of the others mentioned here.
jayden
21. Sep, 2008
My computer is really low on disk space and can’t get rid of anything and has viruses that i cant remove which is making my computer really slow when it is suppossed to be fast if I’ve got a 12 gig internet
steve jobs
27. Oct, 2008
i bought a mac. lulz.
Chris
10. Nov, 2008
I’ll suggest another .. Advanced System Optimizer is another good one. Contains a lot of tools to clean, defrag, clean registry etc…. voted number one by toptenreviews.com excellent piece of software, although its not free.
Burger
16. Nov, 2008
I tried threatfire and it did crazy things to my computer so I took it off. Sorry I dont know technical terms.
Hey my computer is constantly low on virtual memory and is always going to get some more from somewhere. Its doing it 2 or 3 times a day. Is it Normal for a computer to do this or do I have a problem?
I am thinking of trying regcure as it says it solves virtual memory problems. I run all the programs in this list at the moment, so if I used regcure would I need to delete something?
When I put Ad-Aware onto my computer Spybot got mad and said it would conflict with its mojo. Is Spybot just moody or should I take Ad-aware off? Do they do the same thing? After installing Ad-Aware it has sent me nothing to say it does anything, is it doing anything? Do I need it?
Sorry Im not so technical with my computer language.
Thanks for all your help.
sealy
16. Jan, 2009
Thanks very much for the links, I don’t know why but I always limit myself to using Window’s built in defragger and I never see any real improvement in performance, you would think that a program built for the OS by the people who created the OS would be a little more effective
Computer Security | General Blogger Here
30. Jan, 2009
[...] Top 5 Free Programs to Clean Up Your Computer | LostInTechnology. [...]
andy
17. Feb, 2009
These are weak…(
Amber
28. Feb, 2009
nCleaner crashed on Vista everytime I started to clean. Can’t find any solutions online. It’s frustrating because it looks like a great program.
Kyle Judkins
28. Feb, 2009
It is a good program, but if it is crashing you might want to look into CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller.
Amber
01. Mar, 2009
Thanks, Kyle… I used to use CCleaner on XP, so will give it another shot.
ralph
25. Mar, 2009
Are there ant free Registry cleaners out there?
ralph
Kyle Judkins
27. Mar, 2009
nCleaner includes a registry cleaner, but CCleaner is also a good alternative if you prefer.
VDub
04. Apr, 2009
These work well for me:
revouninstaller portable version,
avast antivirus
advanced system care
smart defrag
other software that I still have but rarely use include;
CClearner, X-Cleaner, Tune-Up Utilities 2007 (not freeware)
Ariel
07. Apr, 2009
Interesting. I’ve always used EasyCleaner, but nCleaner looks like an interesting alternative. Maybe I’ll check it out and see if it’s as quick and through as EasyCleaner.
nick
03. May, 2009
add malwarebytes antispyware. its lightweight and powerful
Catalin Nichita
17. Jun, 2009
CC cleaner is a very good software. You shoud try Dust Buster. Is more powerful !
Brian
27. Jun, 2009
Glary Utilities should be on this list.
Jeff
01. Jul, 2009
A really great program is Advanced System Care. If you like Ccleaner, Glary’s etc you will like this program. There is the free program and the pro version, and both are great. Check it out, just click the downloads button and pick free or pro. Good luck.
http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html
Jon
02. Jul, 2009
1. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
2. CCleaner
3. ComboFix
4. Xoftspy
5. ATF Cleaner
My personal top 5
Ad Aware and and AVG are getting more bogged down with every new version. Ive seen hundreds of computer with Spybot that are infected beyond belief. Defraggler is a great tool that is definitely in my top 10. Cant say much about nCleaner because ive never heard of it lol.