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Microsoft Community member recommending not using CC Cleaner. Any comment?


spetho2001

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I have been using CC Cleaner for years with great results but while asking a question in the Microsoft Community I came across this recommendation. Do any of you have any comments to share on this? It would be appreciated. I Xed out my name

Thank you,

     TomS

 

 

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Your question on Microsoft Community has received a reply from Rob Koch.



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Sorry Thomas, but CCleaner is a worthless toy at best and dangerous to your system stability at worst.

 

Microsoft has recommended against the use of any registry cleaner for several years now, though some in the user helper community had been recommending against these for several years before that.

 

Microsoft support policy for the use of registry cleaning utilities

 

I had tried CCleaner myself in the past for the registry and found several items it was offering to remove that would affect the operation of the "Install on First Use" feature that was common to all Microsoft applications such as Office and many others from 3rd-parties as well.  This isn't something that most consumers would recognize even if they saw it and removing these would break the operation of these additional application features if someone tried to use them.

 

Those are the types of flaws that registry cleaners are typically full of and one of the several reasons that Microsoft doesn't support their use as listed in the document above.

 

As for file cleaning, Windows provides the built-in Disk Cleanup utility that allows the PC user to remove the most common and helpful temporary, log or system files. Though some of these files will be automatically removed from a system after a period of time by default anyway, this utility allows them to removed immediately if desired.

 

Disk cleanup in Windows 10

 

So though CCleaner is probably the most reputable of the programs claiming to do these things, if you'll read registry document fully and try the Disk Cleanup utility, you'll find that CCleanup is basically unnecessary and as with all registry cleaners, potentially dangerous.  In fact, CCleaner specifically has a bad history of removing files that affect both Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender in ways that make it appear to be malfunctioning, so I personally have little patience for those choosing to use it.

 

I don't say that there aren't a handful of useful programs out there, but if most people would start by learning what's already built into Windows first and only then decide if they truly need something additional, they'd find they could avoid a lot of technical issues and potential grief from supposedly "free" software that of course really isn't today.  Free today basically means at best that you'll be nagged to death by ads or pointless notifications trying to sell you something and at worst that other unwanted software (PUPs) or malware will tag along with it.

 

Rob

 

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You can always use your own judgement on what or whatnot to use on YOUR PC.

 

Please understand before this even becomes a flame war of words between users on this forum and what someone on another forum or website is stating or recommending I will close this topic.

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@spetho

 

it's nothing personal but @Andavari is right, it'll just became a war of attrition between CC fan boys and MS haters, with a touch of conspiracy theorists thrown in the mix.

 

and from a MS forum site, did you really except an answer that didn't tote the MS line. :)

 

have a search on this forum and you'll see that the majority of CC users with issues have used the reg cleaner - it is widely recognised (from that MS forum reply as well) that there is very little to be gained in using any reg cleaning process and a hell of a lot risk of things turning pear shaped.

 

to answer your concerns, I haven't used a reg cleaner for maybe 5 years after CC's did some 'unusual' things to Windows, didn't break it, just 'retweaked' things it shouldn't have.

but I fully confess, I was ticking options and deleting things that cut a little too deep - onus is always on the user!!!

 

the crap removal side of CC however is the exact opposite - very useful and safe.

but in fairness, Windows cleanmgr with the /sageset switch can be told to clean a hell of a lot as well.

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