@Floyd
@Nergal
Thank you very much for your feedback.
I very much prefer portable applications which can be held on non-system partitions,
and which therefore do not revert to an earlier configuration if I restore an earlier image of C:\,
as is required if the O.S. blows up.
This is mostly theoretical - it is rare for me to allow O.S. destruction,
but that is a risk we all run with Windows Security patches ! !
I recently was persuaded onto the slippery slope of Firefox 4.0 Beta and have now slipped into Beta 6.
It sort-of works O.K.
I have been content with
Portable CCleaner 2.20.0.920 dated 27 May 2009 14:40:07 plus a cut-down version of
winapp2.ini dated 18 September 2009, 17:59:02 file size 3.94 KB (4,037 bytes)
I decided to take time out and try
Portable CCleaner 2.35.0.1223 dated 26 August 2010 20:23:43 plus the latest Winapp2.ini.
I duplicated this folder and cut down Winapp2.ini to to exclude what it failed to detect.
Both versions of Winapp2.ini for CC 2.35 resulted in exactly the same check-boxes for cleaning.
My 8 year old laptop launched and prepared for CC 2.35 Analysis etc in :-
10 Seconds using the original downloaded Winapp2.ini.
4 Seconds using the cut-down Winapp2.ini.
After most of a week without using CC, I did a side by side comparison of
Portable CCleaner 2.20 found 118 MB to zap
Portable CCleaner 2.35 found 119 MB to zap
I added MY special bits from the old cut-down winapp2.ini to the new and cut down version of winapp2.ini.
This added a further 2 MB of special %USERPROFILE% etc. deletions that could not be stipulated in CC's INCLUDE.
Much as I expected, minimal benefit (3 MB) for my effort - Still not worth getting out of bed.
N.B
4,037 bytes size OLD cut-down winapp2.ini for CC 2.20
6,477 bytes size NEW cut-down winapp2.ini for CC 2.35
BUT THEN I looked at cookies.
The old 2.20 found only 2 cookies to delete, and had a list of 90 to keep.
The new 2.35 without the special bits had no cookies to keep and 590 cookies to zap.
BUT with special additions and 90 cookies to keep, it still had 530 cookies to zap.
i.e. after perhaps a month of using Firefox Beta there were 588 cookies that CC 2.20 knew nothing about,
and only 2 unwanted cookies had arrived this last week that came where 2.20 was looking.
SUDDENLY I SEE THE BENEFIT OF UPDATING CC - especially after a change of browser.
CC 2.20 could still find Firefox 4 beta cache, but not the new hiding place for cookies.
Regretfully I will use the Installed version Pale Moon so that CC will keep it clean.
I am not too concerned about loss of privacy via cookies,
BUT I have now got my house insurance renewal notice, and next month car insurance is due.
I go to comparison web-sites for the best offers, and make final choices at cash-back sites which I click through.
I can expect a ?60 cash back reward from the cash-back site out of the commission it receives for my click through,
but only if my click through tracking cookie is determined to be the cause of my purchase.
If the company that takes my credit card details could see 530 other tracking cookies due to my earlier Internet searches,
I would stand only a 1 in 531 chance of getting the money.
It is worth getting out of bed for ?60.
I am pleased that Pale Moon uses different folders from Firefox.
I just hope it does not impose Firefox stupidity upon my system.
For several years Firefox has had some stupid meaningless profile name that never seemed to change.
I found that the first time I downloaded something via Firefox 4 Beta,
the download manager showed its arrival and allowed my return to the download site in future as usual,
BUT this last couple of years I have download a few hundred files,
BUT ALL DOWNLOAD HISTORY IS NOW GONE - I can no longer return to those download sites
I put this disaster down to a change in the stupid meaningless profile name,
and Firefox Beta removing the old profile with all its history.
I can browse an earlier partition image, but do not wish to suffer the pain of trying to merge ancient history.
Regards and thanks for advice
Alan