Windows only: One of our favorite PC cleansers CCleaner (which stands for "Crap Cleaner") saw an upgrade this week. Since the last time we mentioned CCleaner several new versions have come out; this week's added support for the Firefox 3 beta plus performance improvements and bug fixes. CCleaner scans your PC for unnecessary temporary and log files, cookies, memory dumps, and more and wipes them out at the press of the "Run Cleaner" button. You might be surprised at how much disk space it can recover—in fact, it managed to clear out 1.6GB of crap from my PC. See screenshot evidence after the jump.
CCleaner also includes a registry scanner, startup manager, and Add/Remove Programs area to uninstall applications you don't use anymore. CCleaner 2.0 is a free download for Windows only.
Windows only: Freeware application Revo Uninstaller makes removing programs from your computer—not just uninstalling, but removing all traces—a quick and painless process. So why would you use Revo Uninstaller rather than the default Add/Remove Programs dialog?
Well, for one, the default Add/Remove is notoriously slow at loading all of your installed apps; it also only runs the installer, which doesn't necessarily eradicate the program to your liking. Beyond that though, Revo Uninstaller is feature-packed in ways you didn't even know you wanted.
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a fast and effective disk defragmenter intended to replace the Windows default. It's quick and easy to use, and Auslogics DD provides a nicely formatted report of the latest defrag, including a motivating "Defragmentation has increased this computer performance by X%" message.
JkDefrag is an open-source disk defragmenting tool. Unlike Auslogics DD, JkDefrag boasts command line support to allow you to set up your disk defrags on a schedule. Perhaps even better, JkDefrag has an installable screensaver that will automatically start defragging your hard drive whenever the screensaver is launched—it even displays the defrag process. Out of the box JkDefrag isn't the most attractive application you'll ever use, but when teamed with the previously mentioned JkDefrag GUI, it's just as attractive and easy to use as any defragger you'll find.
Even if you're using one of the best antivirus applications available, you may still end up with some form of malware on your computer. Spybot-S&D will ensure that it isn't there for long. Apart from removing spyware, adware, dialers, keyloggers, and trojans, Spyware-S&D can also cover your usage tracks—like browsing or file history—to give you enhanced privacy on your computer.
Now that you've seen the most popular five Windows maintenance tools as chosen by your fellow readers, it's time to vote for the best.
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