software question

[Andy Pogue]

Has anyone got any advice on software to "clean" a computer? I saw some at local office supply that will fix registry, remove spyware etc. Does it work? Is it worth the cost? any free shareware?
Thanks in advance.

[Sean Troy]

Try the free version of Advanced System Care. I use the pro version all the time and love how well it works.

[Myk Rian]

Most registry cleaning software I've tried will only remove a few problems, unless you buy the full version. I use Registry Mechanic.
http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/

For cleeaning out hijacks, spyware, etc. I use spyware blaster and spybot Search & Destroy.
Free. One of them has Tea Timer as an option. Install it.
http://majorgeeks.com/download2859.html
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

[Chuck Wintle]

Has anyone got any advice on software to "clean" a computer? I saw some at local office supply that will fix registry, remove spyware etc. Does it work? Is it worth the cost? any free shareware?
Thanks in advance.

What specific problems are you having?

[Bill Davis]

Take a look at some of these
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189227/the_10_alltime_greatest_free_downloads_and_service s.html

[Larry Frank]

Caution !!

I am always very careful when starting to play with the registry or use a software package cleaner. I will back up my hard drives with an image file on an external hard drive. That way, if I kill my computer instead of curing it, I can easily go back to where I was before.

I think that it is good practice to protect your computer and data by backing it up. This has saved me a couple of times. One was due to some type of software problem and the other time a power surge that my surge protector did not stop and killed two of the drives.

If it is important, back it up.

One last comment, I had a very bad virus which none of the anti-virus programs could get rid of and I tried a bunch. Out of desperation, I used the Geek Squad who worked remotely on my computer for 3+ hours and fixed the virus and cleaned all of the junk out of the registry and other places. The cost was relatively high but the results were very good.

[Dave Johnson29]

I saw some at local office supply that will fix registry, remove spyware etc.

I have been programming computers since 1976. Be VERY careful using Registry cleaners as they make assumptions on "lost" or "abandoned" files. If you have expensive software installed often part of the copy-protection system will look like abandoned DLLs etc. Remove them and you may be lining up to pay for new software.

Unless you are having problems with the computer leave it alone is my advice. If you are having problems then define them and we can try and help fix them. But, if it ain't broke...

For malware scanning and removal try MalwareBytes free version.

Before you run anything though, do a System Restore Point first.