Welcome back to CCleaner Professional ???

[lmacri]

15 hours ago, lmacri said:

...I tried your workaround (i.e., deleting the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Piriform registry keys; there were no Piriform / CCleaner files to delete in C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86) or the hidden C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData since I've never installed a "regular" version of CCleaner Free or Pro on the hard drive of my Win 10 Pro machine) ...The good new is that I'm no longer seeing the "Welcome to CCleaner" startup screen (at least not for now).  The bad news is that all ~ 50 registry values were re-created in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner, which is what Crni reported in their 13-Jul-2023 post <here> ....

Hi Wisewiz:

What really concerns me is that a Portable build of CCleaner should not need to create all these registry entries in the first place.

I'm beginning to wonder if this has something to do a with bug in CCleaner Portable v5.92 (rel. 11-Apr-2022) that incorrectly added a task called "CCleaner Update" in Task Scheduler that tried to run the emergency updater CCUpdate.exe (a file that normally isn't bundled with the Portable build) and added all sorts of unwanted garbage to the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner- see my 20-Jun-2022 post in Ollie_S's CCleaner 6.00/6.01 Portable Not Available and my 04-Jun-2022 post in mogli's 5.92 portable broken [download 5.91 from website]. Avast / Piriform had to pull the Portable ccsetup592.zip file and supposedly fixed the problem in CCleaner Portable v6.03 (rel. 22-Aug-2023), but there's nothing in the v6.03 release notes <here> except a cryptic "We fixed an issue that would cause a loss of settings in CCleaner Portable."

After this buggy Portable v5.92 was released and users began reporting creation of dozens of registry entries in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner Avast / Piriform employee Dave CCleaner agreed on 04-Jun-2022 in mogli's 5.92 portable broken [download 5.91 from website] that "Having the Portable edition write preferences to the registry seems like a recipe for unintended consequences...".

This is just speculation on my part, but perhaps there still some remnant of that buggy Portable v5.92 build on my system that's causing these registry entries to keep re-appearing in my registry.  Either that, or Avast / Piriform has deliberately made a change in a recent release of CCleaner Portable v6.1x that creates all this garbage in the registry so that they can force changes like the new "Welcome Back" screen onto users of the Portable build.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584

[nukecad]

Well here is an interesting one for you all:

The Welcome screen on my CCleaner Pro has gone all on it's own.

It was there this morning, it isn't there now.

I didn't do anything, no messing about with tweaks, it's just not there anymore.
It came unexpectedly, it's gone unexpectedly.

My opinion - Either they have removed it ,unlikely, or much more likely that it was only ever intended as a widespread test and has now removed itself automatically just like it came automatically.
{Note that I haven't said just what it is that I think they may have been testing, and maybe still are).

PS. Seems that I'm not the only one:
https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/65059-ccleaner-startup-nag/#comment-343399

 

[Wisewiz]

@lmacri All I have in Task Scheduler (for CC) is CCleanerCrashReporting, which runs once a day at about 5 PM. 

@nukecad That's the best news about CCleaner I've seen in ages. Thank you. Since I don't have the abomination at all, I wouldn't have known if not for your post.

[Wisewiz]

@nukecad OK if I quote your post on Eleven Forum?

[nukecad]

6 minutes ago, Wisewiz said:

@nukecad OK if I quote your post on Eleven Forum?

Not a problen, it's in open view here.

Note that I have just edited it.

[Wisewiz]

[lmacri]

1 hour ago, nukecad said:

... The Welcome screen on my CCleaner Pro has gone all on it's own....

Hi nukecad:

Has the value of (Cfg)WelcomeScreen changed back to 0 in your registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner as shown in my 20-Jul-2023 image <here> on page 4 of this thread?
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584

[nukecad]

I'm not at home to check, but couldn't tell you if it had changed and now changed back anyway because I haven't been messing about in my registry.

I suggest that as it changed at different times of day for different people (and I am pretty sure I know why that is, the time you installed/updated to a particular CC version) then you give it 24 hrs to see if yours changes.

Remember that if this is a test as I suspect then it's  been going on since at least February when the first post in this thread was made.

[Wisewiz]

Wow! I didn't realize I'd (we've) been going on and on about this for that long. 

[nukecad]

Yep, it was just a few back then, and it scaled up last week.

Which is typical of certain types of testing - do low numbers first, analyze the results from that and then test more widely.

[AnaRon]

6 hours ago, lmacri said:

Hi Wisewiz:

What really concerns me is that a Portable build of CCleaner should not need to create all these registry entries in the first place.

Never thought about that so I hit the registry and found bunches of entries for my portable CCleaner/Piriform . I conducted a manual cleaning of all files found. Many of the files went back to the build 585 in 2021. The deletions do not seem to affect the operation of CCleaner at all. Guess I will have to start watching what updated portable versions are doing to the registry but I do agree that portable versions should not write registry entries. If the registry entries were necessary, then the "portable" versions would only work on the operating system they were download to.

[lmacri]

18 hours ago, AnaRon said:

Never thought about that so I hit the registry and found bunches of entries for my portable CCleaner/Piriform ...

Hi AnaRon:

I agree.  It completely defeats the purpose of using a portable app if it creates registry entries to store configuration settings when launched.  The last thing I want to do is plug my removable USB stick into someone else's computer, run CCleaner Portable, and leave behind dozens of orphaned CCleaner registry entries on their system. 

I don't have any other portable app that stores configurations settings in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ (I just tested the current BleachBit Portable disk cleaner app and it doesn't) so I don't know if Avast / Piriform is just too lazy to modify the CCleaner.exe and CCleaner64.exe executables for the Portable build to prevent this from happening, or if they deliberately create these registry settings so they can push out experimental features like the "Welcome Back to CCleaner" startup screen to Portable builds (which, again, is not something you want if you are running a portable app on multiple systems from a removable USB stick).

I sent a support request to support@ccleaner.com and asked if creation of all these registry entries at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner is now the expected behaviour for CCleaner Portable v6.x or a bug,. I'll post back once I have an answer from customer support.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584 * BleachBit Portable v4.4.2

[nukecad]

IIRC there was an issue back in 2021 with the portable creating registry entries (something to do with updates?).

That would tie in with the dates that @AnaRon says he has.

PS. Are you aware that if the zip is on your machine rather than a stick you can run the exe directly from the zip without extracting it first? (I do it if I want to run Free rather than my installed Pro, runing it from the zip doesn't pick up my key).

[lmacri]

1 hour ago, nukecad said:

IIRC there was an issue back in 2021 with the portable creating registry entries (something to do with updates?).

That would tie in with the dates that @AnaRon says he has...

Hi nukecad:

Are you sure you aren't thinking about the bug in CCleaner Portable v5.92 (rel. 11-Apr-2022) that I described  <above> in my 21-Jul-2023 post?

The only problem I can recall with CCleaner Portable v5.85 (rel. 14-Sep-2021) was that the download link on the official download page at https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds was broken for a few days (see my 15-Sep-2021 thread Can't Download CCleaner v5.85 Portable / Slim Builds) but once the ccsetup585.zip file was finally posted on CCleaner's download servers it didn't cause any problems on my system that I was aware of.

AnaRon would have to tell you if they were using a "regular" installed version of CCleaner prior to Oct 2021 that might have left orphaned files on their hard drive after it was uninstalled or if they got their CCleaner Portable v5.85 from another source like PortableApps.com.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584

[Wisewiz]

1 hour ago, nukecad said:

PS. Are you aware that if the zip is on your machine rather than a stick you can run the exe directly from the zip without extracting it first? (I do it if I want to run Free rather than my installed Pro, runing it from the zip doesn't pick up my key).

I have no idea how you an run an executable from within an un-extracted .zip. How do you do it? Just double-clicking the executable doesn't work.

[hazelnut]

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/59917-ccleaner-portable-leaves-some-keys-under-registry/

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/58787-ccleaner-portable-registry/

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/60955-ccleaner-portable-writes-a-lot-to-registry/

 

[Wisewiz]

@hazelnut Thank you for reminding us of that two-year-old stuff. I actually think my wording way back then was absolutely appropriate:

"I don't actually think it will surprise you to know that millions of non-business users of the Portable version of CCleaner get their downloads from https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds, or to know that many if not most of those users choose the Portable version to avoid having to install the program, not to put it on a flash drive. There is a large and rapidly growing community of computer users who avoid software installs whenever possible, and a part of the reason for avoiding installs is the desire to avoid unnecessary additions to the registry."

Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Wisewiz]

36 minutes ago, Wisewiz said:

I have no idea how you an run an executable from within an un-extracted .zip. How do you do it? Just double-clicking the executable doesn't work.

Forget it. It worked if I ignored the pop-up from Windows. I see in search results, though, that it might not be a good idea to run executables from .zip files. Something about throwing ,dll files. Anyway, as you said, it does work. Interesting.

[lmacri]

4 hours ago, hazelnut said:

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/59917-ccleaner-portable-leaves-some-keys-under-registry/

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/58787-ccleaner-portable-registry/

https://community.ccleaner.com/topic/60955-ccleaner-portable-writes-a-lot-to-registry/

Hi hazelnut:

Thanks for those links.  Perhaps my CCleaner Free Portable has been creating registry entries in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner for a long time now and I just didn't notice it until the experimental "Welcome to CCleaner" startup window appeared in my GUI a few weeks ago.

Andavari posted on 06-Jun-2023 post in mogli's 5.92 Portable Broken [Download 5.91 from Website] that launching CCleaner.exe or CCleaner64.exe should not create registry entries as long as the portable.dat file (which contains the single entry #PORTABLE#) is located in the same folder as the executable(s).  I haven't bothered checking my registry since I installed CCleaner Free Portable v6.03 (which supposedly contained the bug fix for the mess created by v5.92) because my portable build seemed to be working as expected until this unwanted "Welcome to CCleaner" startup window appeared out of the blue.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584

[AnaRon]

7 hours ago, lmacri said:

Hi nukecad:

AnaRon would have to tell you if they were using a "regular" installed version of CCleaner prior to Oct 2021 that might have left orphaned files on their hard drive after it was uninstalled or if they got their CCleaner Portable v5.85 from another source like PortableApps.com.

Yes, I was using a regular installed version of CCleaner prior to the 585. Given that, there were registry entries for all 20 portable downloads since then. All my downloads are direct from CCleaner. I now have a clean registry and will keep close watch on the new portable versions as they come available.

Edited July 22, 2023 by AnaRon

[Crni]

On 21/07/2023 at 15:03, lmacri said:

Hi Wisewiz:

What really concerns me is that a Portable build of CCleaner should not need to create all these registry entries in the first place.

I echo your concern as true portable app should NOT be creating anything inside registry or any files outside its portable folder.
Just because something doesn't mandate use of an installer doesn't automatically make it portable.

As I posted earlier, using CCleaner Portable for the first time on a new device will by default setup 50+ registry entries and will setup default configuration ignoring whatever is inside CCleaner.ini file that goes with portable instance.

However, simply deleting everything from the registry and blocking access to "shepherd.ff.avast.com" is sufficient to prevent CCleaner Free Portable to add any of the problematic entries back into registry. If you have an advanced router you can do it there, or can add an entry to the firewall, or simply add this to your hosts file:
0.0.0.0 shepherd.ff.avast.com

0.0.0.0 shepherd.ff.avast.com

Note: I have no CCleaner entries in Task Scheduler, and have nothing enabled under Privacy. It even works with enabled checks for new version, but keep in mind that if you enable automatic updates once updated it will replace Portable version with the Full version. I gave up on full or paid versions long time ago, so I'm not sure if above is also sufficient for those versions or if you have some Scheduled jobs enabled. I only tested it with the one for skipping UAC and it still works like a charm.

Also, in my case even with portable version it will create DATA (with 6 more subfolders) and LOG subfolders which are empty, so it requires write permission in its folder which is another contradiction with what I consider true portable app that one can place on their thumb drive.
 

I hope this will help some of you

[AnaRon]

23 hours ago, lmacri said:

The last thing I want to do is plug my removable USB stick into someone else's computer, run CCleaner Portable, and leave behind dozens of orphaned CCleaner registry entries on their system.

Late last night I completely cleaned all CCleaner/Piriform registry entries from my computer. I inserted my CCleaner thumb drive into the computer and ran CCleaner. I then searched RegEdit and there were many new entries pertaining to CCleaner so yes you will leave orphaned registry entries on any computer you us the CCleaner thumb drive on.

[Wisewiz]

38 minutes ago, Crni said:

I echo your concern as true portable app should NOT be creating anything inside registry or any files outside its portable folder.
Just because something doesn't mandate use of an installer doesn't automatically make it portable.

That's just one of the reasons why homemade (user-made) portables don't come close to the quality of properly made portables. You can find a whole bunch of sets of instructions for creating your own "portable" versions from Installer versions on the Web, but it ain't the same thing at all. The homemade ones behave exactly like the installed ones. (If they work at all, that is.)

[Wisewiz]

30 minutes ago, AnaRon said:

Late last night I completely cleaned all CCleaner/Piriform registry entries from my computer. I inserted my CCleaner thumb drive into the computer and ran CCleaner. I then searched RegEdit and there were many new entries pertaining to CCleaner so yes you will leave orphaned registry entries on any computer you us the CCleaner thumb drive on.

I certainly hope the developers are paying attention to this discussion, or, at least, that the support people in the Philippines are listening to the complaints they are surely getting about this unacceptable behavior of the registry-fouling not-really-portable "portable" version.

The unwelcome Welcome screen is apparently gone. Let's hope they turn their attention now to making the portable truly portable.

[lmacri]

On 20/07/2023 at 16:43, lmacri said:

Hi Wisewiz:

... I'm not sure if I missed a step in your instructions, but I don't know why you only have the four registry values in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Piriform\CCleaner that are shown in your 13-Jul-2023 post <here> when I still have ~ 50 ...

On 20/07/2023 at 17:02, Wisewiz said:

Me, neither! I tried to be precise in my description of what I did, but it's possible that either you or I missed a step ....

On 23/07/2023 at 08:13, Crni said:

...  simply deleting everything from the registry and blocking access to "shepherd.ff.avast.com" is sufficient to prevent CCleaner Free Portable to add any of the problematic entries back into registry. If you have an advanced router you can do it there, or can add an entry to the firewall, or simply add this to your hosts file:

0.0.0.0 shepherd.ff.avast.com ...

Hi Wisewiz:

According to your 14-Jul-2023 post <here> on page 3 of this thread you added 0.0.0.0 shepherd.ff.avast.com to your hosts file.  Could that be the missing step in your 19-Jul-2023 instructions <here> that will prevent the registry entries from being re-created?
___________________________________________________

Could someone provide instructions for blocking shepherd.ff.avast.com in my Windows Firewall?  For example, do I need to block both incoming and outgoing connections?

I created a custom rule in my Windows Firewall a few years ago to block all outbound traffic from CCleaner64.exe executable of my CCleaner Portable [Control Panel | System and Security | Windows Defender Firewall | Advanced Settings | Outbound Rules | New Rule | Rule Type = Program; This Program Path: E:\Portable\CCleaner\CCleaner64.exe; Action: Block the Connection; Profile: All (Domain/Private/Public)] as instructed in the How-To Geek article How to Block An Application from Accessing the Internet with Windows Firewall  to try and prevent CCleaner Portable from sending telemetry back to Avast / Piriform.  However, it sounds like I need to plug yet another backdoor that allows Avast to create an inbound connection from shepherd.ff.avast.com and make unwanted changes to my registry.  It's like playing whack-a-mole - you make one change to make CCleaner Portable more secure and behave more like a "true" portable app and Avast finds another way to circumvent it.

I ditched Norton Security as my antivirus after their parent company Gen Digital began adding all sorts of unnecessary bloat (e.g., Software Updater, Driver Updater, Norton Crypto, etc.) that they ported over from Avast Antivirus Free and other software programs that Gen Digital has acquired in recent years.  Perhaps the time has finally come for me to ditch CCleaner Portable as well and move on to BleachBit Portable.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.33.272-1.0.2069 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.14.10584