14 DAY TRIAL // Taking care of the operating system and hard disk should become a recurring task for users who want to obtain the best performance out of their machines as far as software goes. Plus, they inadvertently learn more information about how their PCs work and what they can do to improve those results.
Created to monitor, configure, optimize and maintain computers, Argente Utilities comprises a rich set of features and settings for Windows. It can be used for cleaning the registry, removing unwanted or junk files, splitting and merging files, encrypting text, calculating MD5 checksums, and many other kinds of operations. It implements a one-click maintenance mode for swiftly handling some common issues on a frequent basis. The program is free to use.
Installation and interface
The installation procedure is a fast and easy job that requires minimal assistance. Unlike many free application suits made for OS tweaking, this one's setup does not include third-party offers, so users shouldn't worry about accidentally installing additional tools they don't want or need.
In order to launch Argente Utilities, administrative privileges must be elevated. A brief configuration is needed at startup, in order for the app to enable or disable the automatic maintenance module that silently runs in the background until encountering important events.
Argente can also be set to check for software updates on its own, or only when prompted by users. A system restore service can be activated too, and a mandatory backup job is performed before proceeding any further, which may take a while to finish.
Once launched, the program creates an icon in the system tray area for quickly accessing its features. It automatically scans the computer for any issues at its first run, in order to assess the current situation.
The main application window has a well-structured layout with all utilities split into multiple categories: maintenance, optimization, security, tools, and functions.
Registry cleaner
The registry holds the Windows configuration settings and should be regularly analyzed for broken, corrupt, missing or invalid entries which usually appear after installing or uninstalling software applications. Argente can run a checkup for ActiveX and COM objects, system apps, help files, sound notifications, the Windows firewall, common data, file extensions, fonts, automatic startup entries, Start menu items, program paths, system services, software, and file types. Users can customize this scan scope by including or excluding any areas.
Results reveal the description and full path for each problematic registry entry. It is possible to filter objects by category, select any of them from the list for immediate deletion, exclude items from the current and future scan jobs by adding them to a whitelist, or to open their location in Registry Editor for closer examination.
Disk cleaner
Optimized system settings are the result of regular disk cleaning, among other operations. This means that machines require users to look for and eliminate unnecessary or junk files, in order to free up space, restore some of the OS stability, and make room for new data.
By default, Argente searches for a specific range of file types, like error log files saved by Scandisk, temporary and memory dump files, Windows temporary help files, along with outdated items. Once again, users have the opportunity to customize this file type selection by including additional formats in the search scope. Moreover, the program can be set to skip invalid shortcuts, find read-only files, and explore system folders. Apart from deleting files, it is possible to add them to an exclusion list, just like in the registry cleaner's case.
Privacy cleaner
Privacy-related files from various Windows programs and web browsers not only clutter up the hard disk, but also contain details about the user's activity online and offline. In order words, they are likely to compromise that person's sensitive information by displaying it to other, unauthorized entities with access to the computer. Thus, it is almost an obligatory job to frequently delete privacy-related data.
In this regard, Argente is capable of verifying Windows (e.g. Clipboard and Recycle Bin content, memory dump files, read emails, recent documents, Run history), web browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox cookies, Internet cache and navigation history), third-party programs (e.g. Regedit, WinRAR, Windows Media Player) and advanced Windows features (e.g. old prefetch data, system restore points, tray notifications cache, Windows Update backups). Any selected files from the search results can be added to an exclusion list.
Uninstall and startup managers
Argente automatically identifies all installed software on the computer and loads the programs in a list, showing their name, version, date of installation and full path, and giving users the possibility to remove any of them from the PC. Unlike the Windows default feature, this utility comes packed with a search function that shows results in real time and checks the computer for app remnants after completing the uninstallation phase to delete any leftover files missed by Windows.
Meanwhile, the startup manager contains applications that automatically run at every Windows boot. Although this has some obvious advantages, the major downside is that it decreases the operating system's boot time, especially if the autostart list is long. For this purpose, Argente can be used to disable the auto-launch of any program, remove its entry from the list or edit its properties, as well as to add new tools to the autostart sequence.
Process manager and system optimizer
The process manager found in this package has a role similar to the Windows Task Manager. It lets users view the currently running programs along with their full paths on the disk, and terminate their process if they're no longer responding to commands. Unfortunately, this utility is not backed by rich options, aside from a search function that shows real-time results (like in the uninstall manager).
The system optimization module consists of multiple user-defined settings related to services and the Windows configuration. For example, the tool can clean the virtual memory files at shutdown, disable automatic restart when an error occurs, skip sending reports to Microsoft if the OS was infected with malware, stop the Messenger and CTF Loader services, as well as enable PC access to remote users.
Spyware cleaner and immunizer
Spyware agents are malicious pieces of software that infiltrate machines to analyze the user's activity and send collected information to another entity without approval, for marketing purposes. Argente is able to verify files and folders, the Windows registry, cookies and removable storage units for spyware to eliminate it. Furthermore, it can disable the system restore service if necessary, force the deletion of temporary files, use heuristics to detect new spyware agents on removable devices, as well as check all results when completing the analysis.
Meanwhile, the immunizer has the purpose of preventing the future installation of spyware. It covers automatic Windows startup on all fixed hard disks and removable storage units, objects included by the user, along with Internet Explorer cookies, IP ranges, plugins and web pages.
Common system repair jobs
Argente Utilities' functionality does not end here. The program can resolve some common Windows issues that bother users, like EXE files that cannot run directly, the Fonts folder that doesn't work, icons that are not shown (e.g. My Documents, Recycle Bin, Show Desktop), the Windows Installer service that cannot be accessed, along with the Windows Update that doesn't work and requires a system restart. The principle is extremely simple here: select the problems to fix and let the tool handle them with one click.
One-click maintenance and other tools
A notable feature of the app is represented by the one-click maintenance module. As it suggests, it is designed to fix a multitude of issues with just one user click. These include the registry, disk and privacy cleaners, along with the spyware cleaner and immunizer. Any of these areas can be excluded, though.
As far as other tools are concerned, it is possible to set the computer to shut down, reboot, suspend or hibernate at a specific time daily or on a preferred day of the week, as well as to block the system or just close the session. Multiple tasks can be established for automatic execution without user intervention.
To continue the list with Argente utilities, users can calculate the CRC or MD5 checksum of files to verify their integrity, password-protect files to prevent unauthorized users from accessing them, rename multiple files simultaneously in bulk, as well as shred data to prevent specialized software from recovering it (from 1 pass to 35 passes).
It is also possible to download or upload files via FTP, extract icons from applications or library files to save them in other formats, convert photos between various file types, randomly generate complex passwords (uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols) for multiple purposes, split large files into smaller pieces and rebuild them later, encrypt text using a key (via Blowfish or Rot13), as well as safely remove external storage devices.
Argente Utilities provides direct access to some Windows features such as Command Prompt, Character Map, Calculator, and On-Screen Keyboard. It comes bundled with a contacts organizer too, together with managers for backups and excluded items.
The Good
It is multilingual, intuitive, and free to use.
As seen in this review, the application suite comprises numerous modules dedicated to PC maintenance, optimization and security: registry, disk and privacy cleaners, uninstall, startup and process managers, system optimizer and repair tool, along with spyware cleaner and immunizer.
Additional tools include a task scheduler, CRC and MD5 verifier, file encryptor, renamer, shredder, splitter and joiner, FTP manager, icon extractor, image converter, password generator, text encryptor, personal organizer, and USB safe remover. Users can also access some Windows tools.
Those who want to skip the installer and directly run the app from a pen drive may resort to its portable counterpart with identical features, called Portable Argente Utilities.
The Bad
Scan results with items to delete are not neatly organized in groups with clear-cut names and descriptions in such a manner that it allows users to quickly analyze the situation and make a quick decision.
CPU and RAM consumption is significant while the app is conducting scanning and repairing tasks.
