CCleaner Anti-Malware Usage

[Mikes6]

I've found that CCleaner gets rid of anti-malware about as well as some anti-malware programs I have. Would someone please explain this? I've had 82 malwares found by an anti-malware program and CCleaner plus a notebook restart got rid of 80 of them. Thank you! Mikes6

[ishan_rulz]

Umm, don't know how that works, but glad you like the (non-existent) feature.

[ident]

I've found that CCleaner gets rid of anti-malware about as well as some anti-malware programs I have. Would someone please explain this? I've had 82 malwares found by an anti-malware program and CCleaner plus a notebook restart got rid of 80 of them. Thank you! Mikes6

 

 

CCleaner has no anti malware capabilities what so ever.So i can not explain any thing since as said above does not exist.

[DennisD]

I think maybe CCleaner picked up a lot of tracking cookies, which A/V's can log as spyware or even malware.

 

As long as the original poster, and folk in general, realise CCleaner isn't an Antivirus, AntiSpyware or Anti anything.

 

You need specialist applications to deal with that stuff. Anyone needing further enlightenment, please read here ...

 

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=20214

 

EDIT: Welcome to the forum by the way Mike.

[Aethec]

I once saw a "Useful Software" list in a tech-oriented newspaper listing CCleaner as a powerful anti-malware software..

[Nergal]

The Only other thing I could think of that this thread maybe talking about (besides the guess of track cookies above) is that (for some AM programs) CCleaner removes scan logs and quarantined items.

 

 

That said, Mike, I can't tell if you are pleased, angry or confused by the feature of which you speak.

 

Can you please post again, and be very clear about what you are trying to say (as you can see many have read this thread, and nobody seems to know what it is asking/saying)

 

Though upon my third and fourth read, I'm pretty sure DennisD's interpretation is most likely the correct one.

 

[Mikes6]

I've found that CCleaner gets rid of anti-malware about as well as some anti-malware programs I have. Would someone please explain this? I've had 82 malwares found by an anti-malware program and CCleaner plus a notebook restart got rid of 80 of them. Thank you! Mikes6

 

 

My initial post was in no way a complaint; I very much like that this is happening. I did the following to verify that this is indeed happening: I downloaded an update to the anti-malware I am using for this, scanned with the anti-malware (it found 95 adware tracking cookies which I did not delete), ran CCcleaner and scanned again with the anti-malware which this time only found 1 item. CCleaner got rid of 94 adware tracking cookies. I will continue to use CCleaner and I will definitely recommend it. Thank you for your responses. Mikes6

[DennisD]

You're welcome Mike.

 

We realised you weren't complaining, but needed to make sure you hadn't looked at CCleaner as some sort of malware remover. That does happen sometimes.

 

Thanks for posting back.

[ident]

Can you please explain how a text file can cause any damage?

[Mikes6]

Can you please explain how a text file can cause any damage?

 

 

I do not know the answer to this but include this from the Wikipedia Spyware information entry:

 

 

"Browser cookies"

 

"Anti-spyware programs often report Web advertisers' HTTP cookies, the small text files that track browsing activity, as spyware. While they are not always inherently malicious, many users object to third parties using space on their personal computers for their business purposes, and many anti-spyware programs offer to remove them.[30]"

 

 

Many of the so called malware programs I use remove cookies. Mikes6

[ident]

I do not know the answer to this but include this from the Wikipedia Spyware information entry:

 

 

"Browser cookies"

 

"Anti-spyware programs often report Web advertisers' HTTP cookies, the small text files that track browsing activity, as spyware. While they are not always inherently malicious, many users object to third parties using space on their personal computers for their business purposes, and many anti-spyware programs offer to remove them.[30]"

 

 

Many of the so called malware programs I use remove cookies. Mikes6

 

its TEXT file

[Alan_B]

Can you please explain how a text file can cause any damage?

With all due respect, he never said it would cause DAMAGE.

 

He knows what he reads and is concerned about spyware.

 

If you wish you can make the point that a text file is unlikely to damage the hardware,

but it CAN DESTROY THE OPERATING SYSTEM.

I seem to remember all you needed with DOS was the text file *.BAT to hold the text

FORMAT C:\

plus perhaps a few option switches to define bytes per sector etc.

 

Is a zombie cookie a simple text file ?

They seem to have the germ of new life within.

 

Finally, simple cookies will do DAMAGE to my finances.

 

Before I renew my car insurance or house/contents insurance I select from the Internet the top matches to my requirements.

Then I look at "CashBack" sites to see what cash back is available for these top matches.

I make a decision upon which cash back site to click through to purchase my insurance.

I get the cash back when the supplier has given his chunk of advertising budget to the site which referred my click,

and this is based on a cookie which tells the supplier what sites I have been looking at.

The Cash back sites I use all advise that all cookies should be removed before I click through for the purchase,

and that way the cookie they add will tell the supplier who referred my click and merits commission.

If the supplier sees many cookies from many referral sites he will not know (nor care) which referrer should get the commission, and if he rewards any referrer other than the one I used, I will not get my cut from the commission.

 

Cash Back can be a big deal.

I even read of a car driver that was paid more cash back then the cost of the premium.

Actually paid to accept the insurance cover !

 

Regards

Alan

[DennisD]

Hi Mike.

 

If you have any other queries or observations in the future, please don't hesitate to come on here and post them, whatever they are.

 

Not everyone has sufficient knowledge to know whether a particular file is something to worry about or not, so we welcome all questions, whatever they may be about, and endeavour to help or advise the poster as best we can.

 

Hope to see you on the forum again at some time.