CCleaner 4 Review

CCleaner (CrapCleaner) has become one of the users' most popular cleaning and optimization utilities along the years, thanks to its powerful features dedicated to eliminating junk files and fixing the Registry, in addition to regular updates.

Version 4 bundles improved graphics and icons, in addition to stability tweaks and optimized algorithms (e.g. startup items identification, drive wiper, Registry cleaner, history cleaning in Chrome). The free edition now has a duplicate file finder, while Pro users may resort to a System and Browser Monitoring module. New apps supported by the cleaning utility include avast! Antivirus 8, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Acrobat XI, DVD Converter Ultimate, and Skype Metro App.

While most users prefer the installer version of CCleaner, some opt for the portable edition (although they comprise identical features), since it allows them to carry the tool on a removable device, run it on any workstation effortlessly and not worry about adding new entries to the Registry, Start menu and other locations.

As far as appearance goes, CCleaner continues to display the same straightforward and well-organized working environment that users are already accustomed to, as it can be noticed from reading our previous review.

Cleaning junk data

The Cleaner section offers tools for eliminating junk files from the system, such as Recycle Bin, temporary files, memory dumps, Windows log files, DNS and font cache, user assist history, IIS log files, custom files and folders. It is also capable of clearing areas from Windows Explorer (e.g. recent documents, Run, thumbnail cache) as well as popular web browsers, like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Opera.

Showing the CCleaner Windows cleaner panel

CCleaner automatically detects web-based utilities and other applications installed on the computer, and offers to clear the cache, logs, search history, chat logs, backups, definition updates, and other areas.

All these tools are neatly organized into categories. Those looking for additional cleaning definitions may check out CCEnhancer - an add-on that extends CCleaner's functionality, providing support to hundreds of other programs.

Before running the cleaner, it is possible to perform a simulation by analyzing all selected areas. Alternatively, statistics can be obtained on a single section through the context menu, without having to deselect everything else (the same principle applies to the actual clean job). This data reveals the analysis time, approximate total size to remove, alongside the total size and files for each section.

More of CCleaner's nifty functions are available through the context menu. Sections can be extended to view details on individual items and sizes to be cleared (where a search function is available), while selected items may be excluded.

Cleaning the Windows Registry

The Windows Registry is sensitive to deal with. As numerous applications are installed and uninstalled over time, it becomes cluttered with new entries that are not necessarily required by the system to work properly, thus slowing down overall performance and forcing the user to roll back changes to an earlier system restore point, and even to frequently reinstall the OS.

A more forgiving solution is given by a quality Registry cleaner, and CCleaner provides just the right tools for the job. It thoroughly scans and deletes invalid entries from various Registry sections (e.g. missing shared DLLs, unused file extensions, obsolete software, app paths, help files and startup entries), without causing any issues to Windows in the process. Compared to the previous release, this one adds support for entries related to sound events and Windows services.

Showing the CCleaner registry cleaner panel

As a safety measure, the program offers to create backups before any attempts to delete keys are made, therefore enabling the Windows Registry state to be restored to default if any such problems occur, at user's choice. We never had to resort to this solution throughout our evaluation.

Once again, the right-click menu holds additional perks of the cleaning tool: select or deselect all Registry items of a type, create a white list to exclude them from further scans, or open an entry in Registry Editor. Unlike the Cleaner tool, the Registry cleaner lacks a search function.

Tools

CCleaner's functionality is not limited to just eliminating unneeded files and repairing the Registry. It boasts other very useful maintenance tools as well, which deal with uninstalling apps, managing startup entries, finding files, managing system restore points, and wiping drives.

The Uninstall component doesn't particularly stand out, but it offers an optimized solution to removing programs from the PC, compared to the Windows default utility. It is possible to use a search function, rename long entries or delete them from the list to exclude them from further runs. Unlike specialized tools in this field (like Revo Uninstaller or IOBit Uninstaller), CCleaner doesn't deal with leftover files or apps removal in batch mode.

The Startup module's functionality has been greatly improved to hasten the Windows startup process, as the circle of supported apps has been expanded. These entries are organized into multiple categories, such as Internet Explorer, Scheduled Tasks and Context Menu; they may be disabled or removed from the list, or opened in Registry Editor.

The File Finder tool looks for duplicate files and assists users with an advanced search function. Aside from creating an inclusion/exclusion list of drives or folders, it is possible to match files by name, size or date of modification, as well as to ignore them by attributes (zero-byte, read-only, system or hidden files) or by their size limit. The results list shows groups of two or more identical files delimited by a horizontal bar, while the context menu contains similar functions as the one of the Registry cleaner.

Showing the CCleaner system restore panel

The System Restore module only makes room for managing System Restore points, and it disables the latest one as a safety net. Contrary to what the name may suggest, it cannot restore the Windows state to an earlier point.

Last but not least, the Drive Wiper securely erases free space or data on entire drives. It is particularly useful when trying to prevent specialized software from getting ahold of erased data (like Piriform’s own Recuva). The security mode offers four shredding algorithms, depending on the preferred complexity and time willing to spent – from 1 pass (simple overwrite) to Gutmann's 35 passes (very complex).

Settings

Multilingual support, context menu integration and automatic updates are just the standard options provided by CCleaner. The file deletion mode can be selected between normal (faster) and secure (slower), while alternate data streams, cluster tips and MFT free space may be wiped.

Among many other options, it is possible to pick browser cookies to keep, manage inclusion and exclusion lists, make the program delete only temporary files which are older than 24 hours or empty the Recycle Bin in the same time frame, as well as to restore settings to default.

Moreover, the prompt dialog for Registry backups can be hidden, and the User Account Control (UAC) warning can be disabled. While CCleaner does not supply users with the possibility of creating multiple cleaning profiles (e.g. for home and work computers), it has an option that saves all settings to an Initialization file (INI format).

The Good

CCleaner offers both an installer and a portable version, a highly intuitive interface with quick access to all functions, customizable options for file cleaning, and advanced security deletion methods to meet everyone's preferences.

Its OS compatibility starts with Windows XP and ends with Windows 8 and 8.1 (32 bit and 64 bit). Help documentation is available.

Something not mentioned before is that text reports can be generated for the primary tools – Cleaner and Registry, but also for the Uninstall, Startup and File Finder modules, thus allowing users to evaluate statistics before taking action.

In addition, CCleaner features a special component that runs at startup (Intelligent Cookie Scan), which automatically leaves out cookies you might not feel comfortable with to clean in web browsers, such as saved passwords or the autocomplete form history in Internet Explorer.

As far as system resources usage is concerned, we have evaluated the cleaning application on an Intel Core i5-3470, CPU 3.20GB and 12GB RAM on Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit, and it performed smoothly. Tasks are carried out fast and error-free, whether we are talking about scanning or cleaning operations.

The Bad

On a minor scale, CCleaner doesn't provide a search function for the Cleaner (excluding the one in detailed results mode). As the list of supported apps to clean continuously expands (especially when combining CCleaner with CCEnhancer), users spend more time scrolling through it.

On a larger scale, the program still needs improvement with some old issues concerning the Registry. Sometimes it leaves behind orphaned entries whose links with the parent items are destroyed after deleting them. Thus, two or more cleaning sessions are required to get a spotless results list. The Uninstall and System Restore tools serve no special purpose.

The Truth

Although it struggles with some old problems that have been pointed out by users, the utility continuously updates its features and improves functionality. Taking into account the powerful cleaning abilities and extra maintenance tools, CCleaner remains a top-grade secure cleaning tool for all users who want to upkeep their systems and improve overall performance, whether they are experienced or not. It is free to use.