I would like to suggest that developers move the new Windows SubSystems Temp Files cleaning option introduced in CCleaner v5_90 from the "System" section to the "Advanced" section (i.e., to the same section as Windows Event Logs cleaning) and remove the word "Temp" from the descriptor "Windows SubSystems Temp Files".
Please see my 20-Feb-2022 thread Question RE: New Windows SubSystems Temp Files Cleaning in Cleaner v5.90 about how this new option wants to clean files in my C:\Window\System32\SRU folder, as well as comments about the relationship of the SRUJet to the Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS). As of today no one from Piriform / Avast has replied in my thread and explained exactly what folders will be cleaned when this Windows SubSystems Temp Files option is enabled, or why the contents of these folders might need to be purged.
From what little information I've been able to find about the SRUJet, the SRU.log and SRUDB.dat files will be be re-created by Windows if they are deleted from C:\Window\System32\SRU folder. I'm not sure it's appropriate to categorize all the files in this folder as "temporary" files, since "temporary" implies these files are no longer required by the system and that cleaning them can be done on a regular basis to free up disk space.
As an analogy, I know that certain problems with Windows Update can be fixed by clearing or renaming the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder and allowing Windows to re-create the necessary folders and files. However, I wouldn't suggest that anyone do this on a regular basis just to free up disk space, and I wouldn't recommend that they purge this folder before stopping their Windows Update Service (wuauserv) and Background Intelligent Transfer Service (bits) as instructed in Windows Central article How to Clear the 'SoftwareDistribution' Folder on Windows 10 and Make Updates Happen Again.
The Winapp2.ini file has contained this for a very long time. However, CCleaner's new entry does not delete the database itself, but only the temporary files of the database.
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... However, CCleaner's new entry does not delete the database itself, but only the temporary files of the database.
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I must correct myself, it also deletes the database "SRUDB.dat". (The temporary files of the database would be only "*.jrs" and "*tmp.log".)
If the database is deleted, it is better to delete the entire contents of the folder and rename the entry to "Data Usage".
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...The directory "C:\Windows\System32\sru" contains the database for recording the network data usage...
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Hi APMichael:
Thank you for letting me know that files in the C:\Window\System32\SRU folder are used to track data usage on your internet connection.
Knowing this, here are additional questions for Avast / Piriform:
Instead of enabling this new "Windows SubSystems Temp Files" option, can users achieve the same thing by going to Settings | Network & Internet | Network Status | Data Usage and then scrolling down to the end of the list and clicking the Reset Usage Stats button (see image below)?
Is it necessary (and safe) for the "Windows SubSystems Temp Files" option to delete all files in the C:\Window\System32\SRU folder, including the SRUDB.dat?
Assuming that the new "Windows SubSystems Temp Files" cleaning option only deletes the files in this one particular C:\Window\System32\SRU folder (which appears to be the case on my Win Pro 10 machine as shown in my image in my original post), could Piriform / Avast rename this option something like "Reset Internet Data Usage Stats" so users understand its purpose, or does Piriform / Avast plan to expand the scope of this "Windows SubSystems Temp Files" cleaning in the future so that it deletes the content of other C:\Windows subfolders?
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I must correct myself, it also deletes the database "SRUDB.dat". (The temporary files of the database would be only "*.jrs" and "*tmp.log".)
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If the database is deleted, it is better to delete the entire contents of the folder and rename the entry to "Data Usage".
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The release notes <here> for CCleaner v5.92 (rel. 11-Apr-2022) state in part that "We’ve renamed the ‘Windows SubSystems Temp Files’ rule to “Network Data Usage” to make it clearer that this rule removes historical, statistical data about your network usage" so kudos to Avast / Piriform for the name change.
I tested the latest CCleaner Free Portable v5.92 and confirmed that enabling this option still deletes the SRUDB.dat database in addition to .jrs and .log files in the C:\Windows\System 32\SRU folder. I commented in my 25-Feb-2022 post <above> that "from what little information I've been able to find about the SRUJet, the SRU.log and SRUDB.dat files will be be re-created by Windows if they are deleted from C:\Window\System32\SRU folder" so I don't believe this is a major concern, but users should just be aware that all their historical network usage data will be deleted if they enable this option.