Many Windows users use CCLeaner immediately after installing a new operating system.where they used to clear all the temporarily stored files from your PC. The app is free to download, which makes it one of the most popular PC cleaners.
These are all unnecessary data stored in various locations, and CCleaner allows users to remove all of them at once, such as browsing history, caches, temporarily stored files, or even a system restore point, blank registry entries, startup control, and the secure wipe feature.
It was first released in 2004 as “Crap Cleaner,” and was later renamed “CCleaner.” In 2017, popular antivirus software developer Avast acquired Piriform, the developer of CCLeaner. After that, CCleaner is in trouble and starts making headlines.
They start collecting system information, which is ostensibly for diagnostic purposes. This is nothing specific to any software company, but what makes it worse? Even after disabling it, it keeps turning back on after some time, which is a potential concern about privacy.
If you’ve been using it and want to disable it, here is the quick guide mentioned down below.
- Start CCleaner and select Option from the left-sidebar.
- Navigate to Monitoring, and from there, check the checkboxes for Enable System Monitoring and Enable Active Monitoring to disable them.
- Click “Yes” to confirm your action. That’s it!
Nevertheless, there are reports and people advising against using CCleaner. Since CCleaner got hacked in 2017, which affected more than 2.27 million PCs around the globe, it’s not pleasant news. Backed by the Antivirus company is a backdoor to spyware, which is supposed to clean computers instead of inviting hackers to get into your PCs.
Not to mention, the company fixed it with the patch release, but there were more things going wrong. They start bundling additional software during installation, which you can avoid by digging through the options.
CCleaner learned from its past, and there is no such issue at this moment. However, what CCleaner used to offer for common PC cleaning, such as cleaning temporarily stored files and switching startup programs, is no longer available. Microsoft PC Manager comes with all those, however, and includes more like Windows Update, Windows Security, and Process Management, which CCleaner doesn’t have.
CCLeaner Pro features include automatic learning of browsing data and driver updates. Chrome, for example, can handle automatic collection of browsing data, and driver updates are done automatically with the utilities that come with your upgraded hardware.
Modern PCs use SSD, which complicates the use of CCleaner to improve system responsiveness. Unless you have a specific need for CCleaner, don’t use it since Microsoft confirmed that deleting the registry could break your computer. Keep your PC clean, or you can use Microsoft PC Manager; that’s enough.
