14 DAY TRIAL // Cleaning your computer should become a regular task, just like cleaning your desk, making your bed in the morning or cleaning the house. Keep it clean and it'll give you its fastest performance. When I say clean, I am not talking about dusting it. Look inside and see how many obsolete files there are on your hard disk. Or take a look at the temporaries you do not need. Not to talk about the leftovers from incomplete uninstalls.
But no more of that, as there is a myriad of applications out there ready to help you in cleaning your computer. Another advantage of ridding your machine of all those files that accumulate during your Internet browsing sessions or simply because of rolling certain softwares is that these files actually contain traces of where you've been on the web or what you have run on your computer. If you want to be the only one that knows what you've been doing, then I suggest using an application that will eliminate the traces left behind.
One such application is System Privacy Shield. Its 15 days trial period is more than necessary to test it and see the results for yourselves. The price is $24.95 so it will not make too big of a hole in your pockets. And if you come to think of the features it has, you may come to think that it is the right price for you.
The interface is nicely drawn, although it could use some improvement here and there, especially in the Settings menu. The options are vertically aligned to the right and the names combined with the icons (in some of the cases) will give you the hint you need to know what the function is all about.
Before getting into cleaning section and performing the job, I suggest taking a look at the settings and see if all the areas are configured properly. Erase Items is the section you should take a look at. It provides the user with areas from Windows (temporaries, Run History, Find History, Memory Dump Files, Recycle Bin, swap file, scandisk file fragments, etc.) and the Internet section.
The latter is divided in three, for each major web browser there is (however, it is pretty limited): Internet Explorer/MSN/AOL items (cache, browser history, cookies, typed URLs, download files history, auto complete data and password), Opera and Mozilla Firefox.
The application is flexible enough to let the user add some more locations to clean. This can be done in the Plug-Ins section. It is also equipped with a plugin builder so you can create your own plugins. Be careful when removing an item from the list as the application will not delete the items with the checked boxes, but the selected ones.
The application can be scheduled to perform the scan and clean task at what hour the user desires and at a user defined time interval (in days). For the cleaning task to take effect, you should check Load Eraser at Windows Startup in Settings. This way, the wiping function will be loaded every time Windows starts and the scheduled clean will roll without any problem.
My favorite feature of the application is Security Drive. This little tool provides a wipe clean of the free space on the volumes you have on your computer using one of the four wiping methods available: single pass, DoD with three passes, NSA with seven passes and Gutman with 35 passes. It will not erase all the data, but only the free clusters. By doing this, you will free up space and the hard disk will become as if it were new.
Care should be taken when using this function as the tool frees up all the clusters of the selected volume and overwrite the deleted files and folders. By choosing one of the erasing options available, you will get rid of the deleted files without the possibility of retrieving them (unless your HDD is processed by a digital data recovery company).
Windows may display the "full disk" message, but that is OK, just ignore it and continue the process. At the end of the operation, the volume will be as good as new.
The Uninstaller provided by System Privacy Shield will enable uninstalling applications as well as removing the items in Add or Remove Programs that no longer work.
File Shredder gives you the possibility of getting rid of the sensitive data from your computer, without the possibility of recovering it. Using it is simple and adding the files you want to lose and pressing Shredder button will do the job.
I am sure that when deleting a folder, all of you have experienced a "phenomenon" that you could not explain: some of the files just would not go away. That happens mostly because they are still in use, but Force Deletion option will let you impose your will and get rid of them even if they are in use, but at the next reboot. This way, the user will no longer have to reboot the system and reiterate the deleting process. Add the files in there and upon restarting the computer, they will be automatically deleted.
The Good
Easy to use and useful for eliminating the useless data on your PC. The secure deletion feature comes in very handy. Security Drive allows you to clean the volumes of your hard drive without altering the useful content.
The Bad
The Plug-Ins tool is a bit deficient when it comes to deleting the items in the list and I am sure that users will appreciate a bit more help. The Help file merely presents the options available and the information about actually using them is scarce.
The interface could use a little color and spelling should be revised.
The Truth
All in all, the application did a great job and the fact that in trial version there is no other limitation besides the time of use only adds to its value.
Try it for the allowed 15 days and if you find it really useful, buy it.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
