There is a multi-billion
dollar business built around selling PC and Mac cleaning software. They come in
all shapes, sizes and prices and tout the necessity to clean, tune, and fix
your computer so that it runs smoothly and efficiently.
But
do you really need all that software? Are there any real gains or is it just a
bunch of fluff? Well the answer is, it depends. Sometimes a third-party program
can provide a valuable service if you know how to use it. However, Macbook Repair Hong Kong have found that most of the utilities recommended on the Internet are full of
options and settings that can end up harming your computer more than helping.
Not only that, but many big name sites like PC World have lots of articles on
tools to “clean” your computer which are absolutely horrible.
When
you talk about cleaning up a computer, whether it is a Mac or a PC, it could
refer to any number of things. Let’s break down what each of those categories are
and see if it makes sense to use them or not.
Registry Cleaners
What does a registry
cleaner actually do? Well, it basically (and theoretically) is supposed to
remove unused or old entries, thereby “speeding” up your computer.
Even if you remove only those entries that
are not needed, the performance impact is minimal. If you try to do a search
for actual performance tests done before and after using a registry cleaner,
you’ll find that there are very few actual tests and in the actual tests, there
is basically zero difference in performance.
So that’s point one. The second issue is
that a lot of registry cleaners will clean out the wrong entries. The only one
that is recommended by Laptop Repair Hong Kong is CCleaner. It’s one that will not break
your system. There is really not another one we can vouch for completely.
At the end of the
day, registry cleaners can break your computer, offer no real increase in
performance and waste your time.
Also, uninstall
useless programs on your system. That does a lot more in terms of performance
than cleaning your registry.
File Cleaners
File cleaners are tools that will do their
best to remove junk or unused files on your computer. This includes temporary
files, cookies, Windows hot-fixes, cache files, history files, log files,
clipboard data, etc, etc. In my view, there are only two decent programs for
this that you would ever need: CCleaner and PC Decrapifier.
CCleaner does a great job of cleaning out files that you may no
longer need. Again, You will never really saved a significant amount of space
from using the tool, but if you really want to be super neat and tidy, that’s
all you need. On average, you will save about 1 GB in space when I run it every
few months. Not going to give you back half your hard drive and with hard
drives being so large today, it’s not really a big deal if you never do it.
PC Decrapifier is a
program that helps you uninstall crap software that comes with new PCs you buy
from Dell, HP, etc. Computer Repair Hong Kong recommend just doing a clean install first and then using your
computer.
Uninstallers
If you install a lot of software on your
PC, you can easily uninstall it yourself. However, there is a whole category of
software to help you uninstall programs. Is this necessary? Kind of yes try not
to install anything on my your PC that you won’t be using every day. Most
software will have uninstallers to properly remove all the files, but a lot of
times they leave stuff behind. On top of that, some programs simply do not come
with uninstallers, which is really annoying. In those cases, we only suggest
Revo Uninstaller. It’s been around for a long time and does the best job. It’s
not freeware.
Startup Cleaners
Startup cleaners are the really useless
programs. Windows has built-in tools to see all the startup programs on your
system and there is really no need to see the startup drivers, DLLs, etc that
some of these programs tout. Beyond simple programs, it really makes no
difference unless you’re a tech geek.
A lot of the programs
claim they will give you descriptions and details on each of the programs and
while this may be true, you really don’t need a program for that info.
We definitely do not recommend installing
a startup cleaner as it’s something that can be done by the user with a little
bit of time and research. Now can disabling startup programs make a difference?
Yes! Start up programs can really slow down your PC, so it is a good idea to
disable any you think you won’t need. Again, it’s like the registry because if
you disable the wrong item, your computer may not work properly. Just do a
little Googling before you disable something and you’ll be fine.
Browser/History Cleaners
Unless you can’t type and search in
Google, you really do no need browser and history cleaners which mean it’s a
fairly easy thing to do. Don’t get tricked into thinking that the program can
securely wipe or completely delete or any other useless hype they give you. You
can delete your history just fine and make sure it can’t be recovered.
Most people end up buying this software
because they have some shady browsing they need to hide and they get scared
that someone will find it unless they use one of these tools that claim only
their program can really delete your browsing history.
Basically, you want to delete your
browsing history using the browser and clear the cache. That’s it. You don’t
need any fancy tool to do that.
Internet Speed Boosters
Internet speed
boosters are another useless category of software you should never install.
These programs are more likely to break your Internet connection or slow it
down more than speed anything up. You want a faster Internet connection? Apple Mac Parts Hong Kong Recommends to Get a faster wireless router.
There are some occasions where changing
some TCP or network settings can speed up file write/read performance over the
network, but that is usually for LAN traffic and not your Internet connection.
Call your ISP and increase your download speed, but don’t install a speed
booster!
Conclusion
As you can see from above, iPhone 5 Repair Hong Kong don’t recommend
installing too many so-called optimizer and tune-up utilities for your PC.
There are a few good programs out there, but the majority sucks. Try to do as
much as you can by yourself and then only use trusted programs like the ones
mentioned above.
