software for system care?

[D1craig]

i am looking for something to do all the "defrag, temp files, disk check" all in one. i have used iObit Advanced Systemcare. but ive re-formatted my computer now and i want a fresh start lol so...

what does PCSpecialist recommend?

ATM i am using Microsoft Security Essentials, and ive read that you dont need any other AV, MW stuff when using it.

 

[Wozza63]

There isn't much need to do any of that but I personally like CCleaner and Auslogics Disk Defrag, don't use them much anymore though.

 

[D1craig]

every time my computer runs slow or something i will be thinking "i need one of them programs" lol.

ill probably just get the iobit one

 

[Oliver]

Hey D1craig, Just wanted to give you my two cents on this matter. I have used cleaning programs in the past. uninstallers. registry editors etc. They all seem to "do the job" but sometimes the best type of removal is manually. (i have found cleaning programs have a knack for flagging up critical registry items as junk.) As a MS Answers MVP said: "cleaning software is like snakeoil." I have used cleaning programs to remove temp files, reset databases (i do this process manually now ), CCleaner is great for removing temp files but when it comes to the registry I have had problems. Best bet is to look into what files ccleaner is attempting to delete before hand.


Hope this helps!

 

[vanthus]

Don't know what PCS recommends but these are my recommendations for what it's worth.
A few good programs I've used for a while to keep my computers running smoothly and work very well are CCleaner from Piriform as wozza mentioned,but don't run the registry cleaner unless as a last resort before doing a clean install of the operating system.
Piriform has other excellent software like Defraggler,but not necesary for SSD'S and only every few months with HDD's these days.
Speccy is also a very useful information utility which gives pretty accurate temperature readings of hardware installed on your computer.
http://www.piriform.com/products
I also use Microsoft Security Essentials and would highly recommend using Malwarebytes long with it.
Malwarebytes will detect Adware and other pests a normal anti-virus program will miss.
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebyt...4572.html?part=dl-10804572&subj=dl&tag=button
be sure to un-tick the option for the free pro trial during installation,and also any other unwanted software.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Worth mentioning, defragging will actually reduce the life of an SSD and is not necessary because of the way they store files.

 

[vanthus]

Worth mentioning, defragging will actually reduce the life of an SSD and is not necessary because of the way they store files.

I already said that

 

[Wozza63]

Most defraggers I think block it from being done on an SSD (Auslogics does at least anyway). And not only does it reduce the life of SSD but can slow it down depending on the controller on the SSD.

 

[vanthus]

And not only does it reduce the life of SSD but can slow it down depending on the controller on the SSD.

That's debatable,Its commonly accepted the limitations on writes are less on an SSD compared to an HDD,
it could still take years to reach that limitation.
There is no limit on reads far as I know.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I already said that

Apologies, didn't read thoroughly :yes:

 

[mantadog]

Windows ( for the most part) does all the for you these days. I wouldn't bother using any of them, apart from maybe some of the speccy products linked above.

Any of those things that run in the background constantly flashing things at you just slow your computer down and don't fix anything.

 

[Wozza63]

That's debatable,Its commonly accepted the limitations on writes are less on an SSD compared to an HDD,
it could still take years to reach that limitation.
There is no limit on reads far as I know.

I'm talking more about the physical side of it, if the controller is capable of it, a single piece of data would be better across multiple storage chips, meaning it can call all of them at once rather than having to call the same one multiple times to retrieve all of the data.

 

[vanthus]

I'm talking more about the physical side of it, if the controller is capable of it, a single piece of data would be better across multiple storage chips, meaning it can call all of them at once rather than having to call the same one multiple times to retrieve all of the data.

I'm talking about the physical side of it as well,but I've got to admit despite all my experience I don't understand what you just said.

 

[Wozza63]

I'm talking about the physical side of it as well,but I've got to admit despite all my experience I don't understand what you just said.

For a large file, the controller will have to 'call' for multiple segments, a SSD also contains multiple chips with 16gb or something like that on them, so it can send the request to each at the same time and it can be retrieving the data from each chip at the same time reducing some of the bottleneck, although this bottleneck is probably so small its not worth considering seeing as SSDs are <1ms response

 

[vanthus]

Windows ( for the most part) does all the for you these days. I wouldn't bother using any of them, apart from maybe some of the speccy products linked above.

Any of those things that run in the background constantly flashing things at you just slow your computer down and don't fix anything.

You mean Piriform products? yes very useful.
Malwarebytes is also a very useful program,as I said it will detect a lot of malware like adware, worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues and spyware that an anti-virus program won't flag and Windows certainly won't do that on it's own.

 

[D1craig]

I am just lazy. I can't really be arsed going on the C drive and doing the temp files cleanup, defrag and disk check and then also doing the MSE check so I wanted it on a do everything I have ticked program.

I might grab that malware bytes aswell.

Really annoyed with this ****. I reformatted my pc because I had a java update page popup all over the place and I couldn't for the life of me think how I have got it. Non if these malware things would even flag it up.

 

[Wozza63]

That's because the java update was probably the legit one, it doesn't leave you alone xD

 

[D1craig]

Hahaha nah it was a bad one. I checked it out. Updated my java and it still popped up seems to be when I was on a web page and click. It would popup saying I needed to update.

 

[mantadog]

You mean Piriform products? yes very useful.
Malwarebytes is also a very useful program,as I said it will detect a lot of malware like adware, worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues and spyware that an anti-virus program won't flag and Windows certainly won't do that on it's own.

Yeah piriform that's what im talking about.

I wasn't really commenting specifically on the AV solution side of things, but yeah malwarebytes and the like will be fine. I was referring to anything like "PC Tune Up 2014 delux platinum edition" type products that look nice but are a pain in the ass and perform no service.

 

[mog3]

I am just lazy. I can't really be arsed going on the C drive and doing the temp files cleanup, defrag and disk check and then also doing the MSE check so I wanted it on a do everything I have ticked program.

I might grab that malware bytes aswell.

Really annoyed with this ****. I reformatted my pc because I had a java update page popup all over the place and I couldn't for the life of me think how I have got it. Non if these malware things would even flag it up.

Malware bytes should remove it, or try ADW cleaner, this cleans registry crap out also (but do go through each tab and check your happy with what is ticked) the ADW cleaner removed some stuff that the others i use couldnt find (nothing dodgy lol, see my previous post about being a noob and getting something from cnet cos i hadnt unticked a box)