What's your idea of a better alternative?
CCleaner's registry cleaner is the main issue (aside from the fact it makes computers literally slower by clearing every single cache it can find). Some of the issues it has caused:
- Registry damage: Windows 8 store was damaged/corrupted by a previous version (you had to run DISM to repair it), Windows uninstaller corruption (this impacted Mcafee anti-virus around 2009, the uninstaller would become unusable), deletes preferences for unconnected devices (USB sticks, external drives, network drives, etc) so if you have any software installed externally the drive letter may shift and the software will break, deletes unmounted but valid COM objects, and so on...
- Damage: http://features.en.softonic.com/the-dangers-of-using-ccleane....
- Article: https://bitsum.com/regcleanerfacts.php
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registry_cleaner
- Microsoft support article ("serious issues can occur when you modify the registry incorrectly using these types of utilities"): https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/2563254
- Microsoft Article: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/are-registry-clea...
Everyone is saying the same thing. Registry Cleaning is unnecessary, won't improve performance, and really only offers you a chance of doing damage. Registry cleaning hasn't been important since XP, and XP shipped over ten years ago.
Everyone else CCleaner does is either stupid (clearing caches) or duplicated of internal functionality (IE cache clearing, Recycling Bin emptying, etc). Plus Disk Cleanup isn't a new addition to Windows.
Well, shit. I've been using the registry cleaner for years now on Windows 7. I've always liked that it seems to clear certain cruft from my system (unused file extensions, crap left behind by uninstalled programs, etc.), as I have a certain need for digital tidiness. I'm now considering abandoning the feature after these posts.
Thanks for the explanations!
Back when I worked help desk, the most common reason for a completely FUBAR and need a re-install was that the user ran CCleaner on it.
That doesn't mean CCleaner's behavior is correct, but it's probably a situation the developers haven't been able to test against. For what it's worth, I've run CCleaner's registry cleaner on dozens of machines and never had a problem of any type, and I still use CCleaner sometimes because it's a simple way to clean the temp/junk files left by many common applications with one button click.
I always feel a little nervous when I run the registry cleaner, and while I haven't noticed any problems, I also haven't noticed a meaningful improvement after running it either. I should probably stop doing it just for that reason.
So reading between the lines, you're saying that CCleaner is a bad idea simply because they cannot possibly understand the registry well enough to make the changes that they're making.
We agree completely.
Honestly if people want to use CCleaner to do jump lists, file history, and caches (although that last one is misguided) then I'm all for it. There's very little chance anything will break with those (it is hard to screw up!).
I just warn against the registry cleaner primarily, and just feel like with Disk Cleaner and Windows' automatic cleaning that has been integrated for a while you could live without using CCleaner (unless you still have a Windows 9x box).
It sounds more like, "the software vendor is doing incorrect or incomplete things with the registry and CCleaner cannot possibly know that."
As a long-time Windows software developer, I've been stunned at how sloppy desktop programs and installers are, even today. People ignore Microsoft guidelines, somehow get the software to the "works for me" stage, and deploy it.