14 DAY TRIAL // Regular computer use results in accumulation to all sort of crap, fragmentation of the files, memory gets blocked in processes that are not in use, or the registry clogs with orphaned entries. All these aspects concert in bringing your system to failure.
Super Utilities Standard is especially designed to avert these situations and keep your computer up and running. All the untrammeled data on your computer will be removed and the obsolete entries deleted from the registry.
The software is equipped with five modules each of them containing options designed to help keep up the performance of your computer. Additionally to the tweaking options available in Super Utilities Standard, the software sports a security module aiming at eliminating the spyware from your machine and a privacy compartment equipped with folder hiding options and web trace eliminating function.
The price of the application goes as high as $56.95 and the only limitation imposed by the developer is the 14 days of trial. During the evaluation period, the program is almost fully functional and there will be some surprise during the testing (removing the orphaned registry entries is reserved for full version users).
The interface is definitely not among the strong points of Super Utilities Standard as there are visible glitches in all the modules available. Also, when trying to go to Hide Folder option, the program announced me that in order to use the feature I have to reboot my system and if the problem persists to reinstall the software.
System Cleaner is strapped with five options that cover disk cleaning (identification of old obsolete files and deleting them) which includes cleaning the temporary/history Internet files, registry cleaning (scans the location for duplicate, obsolete and false registry entries), software uninstall utility (similar to Add/Remove Programs option in Windows but better), memory optimization (Windows mismanages the available memory and some processes may benefit from more then they need) and a shortcut repairer which will eliminate all the shortcuts that are not linked to any program.
In the case of Registry Cleaner, the user has the possibility of backing up the registry first, in case something goes wrong, you can restore it. I ran into a little problem when freeing the memory, the computer started acting strange and once it even froze for about a minute. Using other softwares in the meantime definitely contributed to the mischief.
The security module features a spyware removal utility that will treat your computer of the major bugs on the market. The module consists of elements like startup organizer, security task manager (displays all the currently running processes) a service manager and a BHO (Browser Helper Object) cleaner. All these options lead to a better management of what is running on your computer and sometimes you can even identify dangerous elements and delete them in due time.
Regarding the privacy, Super Utilities allows the users to hide folders and restrict the access to unauthorized persons. This feature will make the folders invisible, read-only and locked. The invisibility cloak applied to the directories is thick enough to keep the data ensconced from applications like Office or MS-DOS programs. Tracks Washer will clean web browser history, cookies, temporaries, and other tracking information on your computer like Start Menu Run history, network/address bar/registry history and recently opened files in most of the MS Office suite. The downside is that the user cannot add new programs to be cleaned of recent files.
A nifty option can be found in System Maintenance module in Window Manager. This option lets you play with the currently active windows and hide them or make them stay on top of all the others. The only problem with this is that you cannot assign a shortcut key to quickly turn invisible a certain window and the only fast way to do this is hide/show all of them at once.
IE Protector in System Maintenance is designed for Internet Explorer and will not affect other browsing engines out there. Its purpose is to prevent malicious code installed on your computer via Internet Explorer from changing the browser settings without your permission. The tabs available include Add-ons, Advanced Settings (setting up the IE) and Menu and Option (tweaking some of the IE Menu options as some Internet Options).
Due to the File Type Manager you will always know to what software is a certain file type associated with. But Windows Tools is where you are going to do the speeding up of your computer. This feature grants you easy access to the system tools included in Windows (Scan Disk, Disk Defragmenter, System Restore, DirectX Tool, System Edit Tool and Dr. Watson). To be frank for $56.95 I expected Super Utilities to come with its own maintenance utilities. If you have any doubt on how one of these instruments is to be used, check the brief description offered by the developer.
Special Tools module is the poorest of them all. There are only three options available in here: Auto Shutdown for terminating the Windows session at a user defined moment, folder analyzer for informing you about the space available and occupied on the hard disk(s) and Super Shell (access some simple and advanced features of Windows from the context menu).
The Good
Newbies will be glad to test this application as it is created especially for them. The suite of features and options are helpful enough for a beginner and the ease of use is remarkable. The help menu discusses and explains all the aspects regarding the use of a feature.
The Bad
The interface needs a bit more work. Also, the hide folder glitch and the restriction when it comes to cleaning the registry do not make the application appealing.
The price is a bit high in my opinion and the shortcuts to Windows applications fuel this impression as well as the limited number of skins and settings of the program.
The Truth
Neophytes will definitely feel at large when using Super Utilities. However, the price is still an aspect to take into consideration and there are lots of other applications that cost less and offer more.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
