Question CCleaner now crapifying itself

[tcsenter]

On Edit: Well heck it appears if you DO block or disable those services, CCleaner will NOT work. i.e. breaks it.

Anyone remember what the original name was for CCleaner? It appears Piriform has gone the way of the Borg, imposes the background process startup behavior whether you want it or not, as of the new version 7.x you can no longer disable the SmartClean and Monitoring startup or background processes from within the application, even if you have a PAID license, even if that license is the premium version e.g. PROFESSIONAL.

You can use Autoruns from Systinternals, which is affiliated with Microsoft. This is a comprehensive utility that will show you everything that loads as startup process.

Unzip/extract the contents of the autoruns.zip file. For Windows 64-bit OS, locate and run Autoruns64.exe with administrator privileges. e.g. right click on Autoruns64.exe and select Run as Administrator. The other program files are for 32-bit or Command Line versions.

After Autoruns scans the PC and lists "Everything", locate the CCleaner entries and either deselect/uncheck the checked ones to DISABLE, or delete them altogether. Then restart the PC.

SHAME on Piriform. I think we now can look elsewhere and start recommending one of its competitors.

 

[mikeymikec]

What do you feel you get out of CCleaner?

 

[tcsenter]

All the things that people have been getting out of CCleaner for like +15 years?

 

[mikeymikec]

All the things that people have been getting out of CCleaner for like +15 years?

Ok, if you can't think of anything, that's fine. I was just curious.

 

[tcsenter]

I think I've been very clear.

All the things that people have been getting out of CCleaner for like +15 years?

So I can presume you've never used it? There is a better way to ask "What even is CCleaner and what does it do?"

 

[mikeymikec]

I think I've been very clear.



So I can presume you've never used it? There is a better way to ask "What even is CCleaner and what does it do?"

Of course I've tried it. I just don't understand your reaction to this development given that Piriform's MO for as long as I've known them is to make go-faster stripes for Windows PCs. I hoped to find out what you get out of this software, but I guess that's not going to happen.

 

[tcsenter]

Well heck it appears if you DO block or disable those services, CCleaner will NOT work. i.e. breaks it

 

[WelshBloke]

What do you feel you get out of CCleaner?

Cleaner crap?

 

[balloonshark]

I always knew it as ccleaner or crap cleaner. Majorgeeks still offers the portable and slim versions. In the past I believe the slim version didn't come with the crap. Majorgeeks says this about the updating the slim and portable versions.

Limitations:
Offers third-party software during installation including Avast! Free Antivirus.

Editor's Note:
Initially, it worked to update in-app; now, if you do, you get CCleaner Standard.

I was thinking about downloading ccleaner to shred some sensitive files but I guess I'll find something else. I never did care for it running in the background and have no idea if the portable and slim versions are different.

Softpedia also offers a slim clean version. No idea if has background processes. https://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Secure-cleaning/CCleaner.shtml

IMPORTANT NOTE: The latest version of CCleaner is ad-supported, but we are also hosting a 100% clean, ad-free edition on our servers, which will auto-update to the latest version without offering to install third-party software. The ad-supported version offers third=party applications for download and install.

 

[ITivan80]

CCleaner has been slowly speed-running its own downfall for years now. What used to be a tiny utility is now a mini “optimization suite” with pop-ups, nags, and background services. After Avast bought Piriform, CCleaner started phoning home a lot — even when users opted out (this was a big scandal around 2017–2019). If you want, tell me what you were actually using CCleaner for (cleanup, speed, privacy, startup control), and I’ll give you a clean replacement stack with zero garbage.

 

[jamesdsimone]

CCleaner has been slowly speed-running its own downfall for years now. What used to be a tiny utility is now a mini “optimization suite” with pop-ups, nags, and background services. After Avast bought Piriform, CCleaner started phoning home a lot — even when users opted out (this was a big scandal around 2017–2019). If you want, tell me what you were actually using CCleaner for (cleanup, speed, privacy, startup control), and I’ll give you a clean replacement stack with zero garbage.

Startup control, uninstalling and cleanup.

 

[balloonshark]

You might want to look into Revo Uninstaller. They have both paid and free versions. You can compare both versions at the bottom of the page here. https://www.revouninstaller.com/products/revo-uninstaller-pro/

 

[lxskllr]

CCleaner was of dubious utility in the best of times. Gave lots of controls to twiddle, and the computer ran the same after twiddling. It's like the world's worst time waster game. It also gave n00bs enough rope to hang themselves when twiddling things that shouldn't be twiddled.