Often, when you talk to any computer-savvy technician (orfamily member) about how to protect your computer from viruses or malware,they’ll tell you that you should install a collection of apps to keep your PCsafe.
These apps usually include antivirus software, anti-malwaredesktop and browser apps, and inevitably they’ll also suggest CCleaner.
CCleaner has been a mainstay for protecting Windowscomputers for many years. It was created at a time when Microsoft Windowslacked many built-in protections and features, so CCleaner filled those gaps.
The malware consisted of two Trojans, Trojan.Floxif and Trojan.Nyetya, inserted into the free versions of CCleaner version 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191. It's believed the hackers compromised CCleaner's build environment to insert the malware. What is the CCleaner application? CCleaner is used to clean and tune up the operating system of the PC. With CCleaner, we can carry out a thorough cleaning of the PC in a simple way, which will allow us to gain space on the hard disk and prevent the PC from slowing down. It is one of those free tools for PC that works exceptionally well when it comes to deleting temporary files.
Today, those gaps are gone, and many people who installCCleaner could be doing their computer more harm than good.
Erasing Browser History and Cookies
One of the primary features touted by CCleaner is the fact that it “protects your privacy” by erasing your browser search history and browser cookies.
The reality is that people usually use one primary browseron their computer, and these days privacy features are built right into thebrowsers themselves to automatically clean up cookies and search history.
For example, in Google Chrome, you can easily automate this:
- Click the menuand click Settings.
- Scroll down to the bottom and click Advanced.
- In Privacyand Security, click on Contentsettings.
- Click Cookies.
- Enable Keeplocal data only until you quit your browser.
- Click Addnext to Clear on exit.
- Type [*.]comand click Add.
These two settings changes will ensure that local data andcookies related to your browsing activities are immediately cleaned wheneveryou exist the browser.
You can also prevent malicious advertising from becoming aproblem in Chrome by going back to the Contentsettings screen and under Ads,make sure the first switch reads Blockedon sites that show intrusive or misleading ads (recommended) rather than Allowed.
These are common settings available in nearly all modernbrowsers today and obsolete the need for a third-party app like CCleaner toreach into your browser files and modify anything.
CCleaner Registry Cleaner
CCleaner also promises to remove all the following from yourregistry if they’re unused on your computer:
- File extensions
- ActiveX controls
- Class IDs and Prog IDs
- Uninstallers
- Shared DLLs
- Icons and application paths
Registry cleaners were very popular years ago when computerdisk memory was very limited, and every small ounce of space was very precious.
The reality is that any small number of left-over pieces inthe registry (from uninstalling an app, for instance) takes up an insignificantamount of space. It isn’t an image or video file stored in the registry. It’ssimply text.
Also, Microsoft has never recommended running registrycleaners, nor has it developed its own, mostly because it doesn’t want usersmessing around with the registry. Just one inadvertent mistake in deleting aregistry key could potentially corrupt your entire Windows operating system.
The reality is that there are stories out there of people experiencingdamage to their Windows OS by running CCleaner’s registry cleaner.
If it’s dangerous for you to manually go through theregistry and edit it yourself, why would you let a third-party application goin and try to “guess” what registry keys are unnecessary? There is also noevidence that registry cleaners speed up Windows.
Add on top of that the fact that Windows 10 is far moreeffective at managing the registry than all past versions of Windows, andthere’s really no need to use any registry editor application at all.
Disable Unneeded Startup Programs
Another feature touted by CCleaner is its ability to speed up how quickly your computer starts but reducing the number of startup applications that it loads on bootup.
The application shows you all programs configured to runwhen your computer starts and provides a tool you can use to disable or deletethose startup tasks.
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The reality is that CCleaner is simply providing you with aredundant app that Windows 10 already has.
You can easily view the programs that are scheduled tolaunch when your computer starts.
- Click on the Start menu and type startup tasks.
- Click on the Startup Apps under System Settings.
- In this tool, you can enable or disable which programs can start when your computer boots up.
As you can see, it’s easier to just go through and disablethe apps you don’t want to start, right from this tool that’s alreadyintegrated with Windows 10. There’s no need to install anything.
Ironically, as you can see above, when CCleaner is installed, it configures itself to load as one more application that launches when your computer starts up, slowing it down even further.
Cleaning Up “Junk Files”
Another thing CCleaner promises it can help you with isdeleting “junk files” from your computer system. The claim is that by regularlyemptying files you don’t need, it’ll speed up your computer.
There are two fallacies to this. The first is that deleting files will speed up your computer. It may reduce the amount of hard drive space you use, but it won’t necessarily make your computer run any faster. The second fallacy is that you even need CCleaner to do this.
Microsoft introduced a new feature into Windows 10 with Creators Update (version 1709). This introduced a new option in a Windows 10 feature called Storage Sense. This will automatically delete any files in the Downloads folder, temporary files, or the Recycle Bin, that haven’t been changed in 30 days.
To enable this:
- Click the Start menu and type Settings. Click on Settings.
- Click on System and then Storage in the left navigation pane.
- Turn on the Storage Sense feature.
This will always ensure that your Temporary Files andRecycle Bin remain free of clutter .
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You can fine tune how this feature behaves by clicking onthe Change how we free up spaceautomatically link.
There, you can fine tune how often Windows cleans up theseareas, and how long Windows allows unmodified files to remain in these areas.
This is just one more example of how features in Windows 10make CCleaner obsolete.
CCleaner Sends “Anonymous Usage Data”
By default, when you install CCleaner, it’s configured tosend “anonymous usage data” to CCleaner. The Data Factsheet claims that theonly usage that’s monitored is how you use the CCleaner application.
While there’s nothing that clearly states what specific datagets collected, it still means that CCleaner will regularly connect with theinternet and send data to CCleaner servers while you’re trying to use the webfor other purposes.
Considering that CCleaner is configured to run as a startupapplication by default, this means CCleaner could be communicating withCCleaner servers without you even realizing it.
For an application that claims to try and reduce the time ittakes for your computer to boot, and to try and speed up your PC, the fact thatthis is enabled by default seems counter-intuitive.
CCleaner Has Been Hacked Before
The most important aspect of software like CCleaner istrust. When users download an application to keep their computer clean and freeof garbage or junk applications, it should be an application with a reputationof being free of malware or viruses.
Unfortunately, in 2017 hackers successfully injected malwareinto the CCleaner app to distribute itself across millions of users who hadCCleaner installed.
It wasn’t until researchers at Cisco tracked the securitybreach to servers at Avast (the owners of CCleaner), that Avast quicklyresponded by patching the security flaw that allowed the hack in the firstplace.
Unfortunately, the damage was done.
What the attack proved is that installing applications likeCCleaner just introduces a new path for hackers to find their way into yoursystem. It also proved that the CCleaner software isn’t robust enough toprevent such attacks.
And since you can essentially accomplish every featureavailable in CCleaner by tweaking existing settings in Windows 10 anyway,there’s really no reason to install CCleaner at all.
Think about it — all of us spend hours on our Macs every day for years. And it’s likely that we don’t always use all the apps properly, store away files in an organized manner, and timely delete everything we don’t need.
Just like any machine, your Mac needs regular maintenance, even if it’s not as regular as one for a PC. The more you use your computer the more errors start to build up, overloaded drive slows down the processor, and resources get stretched too thin. So when you finally can’t stand how slow your Mac has become, you turn to Google for answers, and it might tell you that CCleaner for Mac is the way to go. But is it?
What Is CCleaner And Is CCleaner Good For Macs?
You might initially ask, “What does CCleaner do?” CCleaner is an app originally developed by the British company Piriform and later sold to another Czech company Avast that claims to clean up and optimize your slow computer. The initial version was developed for PCs in 2004, with CCleaner Mac to follow in 2012.
So far so good. Moreover, the CCleaner app has become very popular, supporting millions of accounts and has a limited free version that could be downloaded from its website. The CCleaner professional version is available on an annual subscription basis. Let’s see how exactly CCleaner for Mac can help you bring your machine back to life.
How to use the CCleaner app for Mac
CCleaner works by scanning your Mac for cache files, browsing history logs, cookies, and more, and then running a cleanup tool to remove them all. The software generally doesn’t touch any essential parts of your macOS or any files that are integral to the apps you currently have installed. The whole idea here is to try to clean up unneeded files to help your Mac run better.
Technically, you could even do exactly the same work as the CCleaner Mac app yourself, but it would take you a lot of time to find all those files manually and, unlike CCleaner, you could potentially delete something that should’ve stayed.
Here’s how you’d use the CCleaner app:
Get a CCleaner download from its official website (either the free version or the professional one)
Install and launch the app
In the Cleaner tab, check every option you’d like CCleaner to scan
Click Analyze
If you’re satisfied with results ➙ Run Cleaner
If you get the CCleaner professional version, you can enjoy some additional features, such as automatically cleaning your browser history every time you quit it and monitoring low-quality, suspicious files from getting into your system.
Note: Review all files to be deleted carefully, since most of the time CCleaner will also empty Trash and it wouldn’t be possible to retrieve lost files later on.
Is CCleaner safe and other CCleaner reviews
If you’ve just tried the process above — CCleaner for Mac would sound like a great and easy way to keep your Mac optimized. That’s why millions of people have flocked to it over the years.
However, in 2017, the CCleaner app suffered a malicious hacker attack on its 5.33 version for Windows. The hackers were able to create a backdoor and install trojan software that infected around two million users, among which were such prominent companies as Samsung and Intel. The security breach was patched in the next update, but sadly the incident has damaged CCleaner’s reputation forever. After all, it’s difficult to give a company complete access to all your personal files if it has been hacked before.
It should be said that the breach has only affected the Windows version of CCleaner and not the CCleaner Mac app. But again the question comes down to trust.
Overall, CCleaner reviews have generally been positive throughout its existence, averaging at about 4.5/5 star rating. And it would seem well deserved if not for that one misstep mentioned above.
A good question now is, “What about CCleaner alternatives?”
The best CCleaner alternative today
Naturally, the CCleaner app is not the only Mac optimization utility on the market, and there are other options for everyone second-guessing, “Is CCleaner safe?” One of the most popular ones is CleanMyMac X.
CleanMyMac X is a powerful Mac optimizer used by millions of people every day that has accumulated outstanding reviews, industry recognition, and, most importantly, has never suffered a single breach.
Generally, CleanMyMac X goes much deeper in its scanning of system junk, especially when it comes to locating unnecessary app cache files. Besides, it features a separate anti-malware scan, privacy controls, file shredder, app updater, and much more.
Interface-wise, CleanMyMac X is extremely friendly and intuitive. Here’s how to use it:
Launch the app and navigate to System Junk in the sidebar
Click Scan ➙ Review Details
Uncheck anything you’re not sure about and hit Clean
The difference between the CCleaner Mac app and CleanMyMac X is astounding. The same Mac tested in the screenshots above got around 500 MB of junk files in CCleaner against 13.4 GB in CleanMyMax X.
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That said, there’s also another simple alternative to CCleaner — MacPilot.
Not a specialized Mac optimization software per se, MacPilot is a great complement to one, since it lets you tweak and configure over 1,000 Mac features, from setting up Bluetooth correctly to deciphering error codes to removing useless login items.
Among everything MacPilot has to offer, there are a few really helpful automatic scripts that can perform basic Mac optimization tasks on a regular basis:
Launch MacPilot
Navigate to the Maintenance tab
Choose whether you want the scripts to run daily, weekly, or monthly
Select databases to update
Pick which miscellaneous tasks to complete
Click Run
The good news is you just have to set up MacPilot once and forget about it — while your Mac will be kept well-maintained forever. Besides, feel free to dive into the massive library of improvements MacPilot has to offer whenever you encounter a problem with your Mac.
In the end, now you know what is CCleaner and all the basics about it. If you still trust the company and want to use CCleaner for Mac — that might be a good choice. However, the combination of just two CCleaner alternatives, CleanMyMac X and MacPilot, provides true unparalleled security and the most comprehensive optimization in the industry at the same time.
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Best of all, both CleanMyMac X and MacPilot are available to you for free for seven days through the trial of Setapp, a platform with over 150 Mac apps that could help you with any aspect of your digital life, from a speedier Mac to finance management to photo retouching. Sign up for Setapp today, see how much faster and cleaner can your Mac become with the help of CleanMyMac X and MacPilot, and then just try as many other apps as you like. What a deal!