Type "PC cleaner software" into Google and you get 2,590,000 sites. How in the world is anyone supposed to know which one is any good? Do you just start at the top and go down? How do you even know if they are legitimate PC cleaners or not? In this article, we will discuss how to separate the good from the bad.
Check the Awards
The best way to tell how good software works is by checking the awards. For registry cleaners, this means checking out the Tucows award. Tucows is an independent rating site that rates all kinds of computer software. If a company has a good rating with them, then you know you are looking at good software. Five cows from Tucows is the highest ranking you can get. When it comes to registry cleaners, make sure the cleaner you purchase has all five cows.
Check Ease of Use
Face facts. It does not matter how great a registry cleaner is if it is difficult to use, because you won't use it. If you do not use the registry cleaner on a regular basis, then it was a waste of time and money. No matter how many awards the cleaner wins, you must use it regularly to see results.
A good cleaner will have a simple, easy-to-use interface. It will be extremely user friendly and automated. You should only have to make a couple of clicks to rid your computer of any errors.
Check out the Name in Google
As odd as this sounds, this is the best way to check the legitimacy of a program. If you happen to run across a fake PC cleaner, its bad reputation will be all over Google. The first couple of links may take you to the faulty site, but the rest will be warning and removal instructions.
When removal instructions pop up on a search for software, it is a telltale sign something is wrong. Legitimate software will be easy to remove and will not require removal instructions. When you see these results in your search, let it be a red flag the software is not what it claims.
Microsoft Certified Partner
Working with a Microsoft Certified Partner has many advantages that include specialized expertise. According to Microsoft a Microsoft Certified Partner "can provide you with the highest levels of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and hands-on skills."
Why work with a Microsoft Certified Partner?
o Each partner must employ a minimum number of Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs)
and they must pass a test developed by Microsoft.
o They have a broad range of expertise which could include infrastructure, networking
office automation, e-commerce, and more. The services include consulting, training,
implementation, maintenance and support.
o They have access to additional Microsoft support 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
365 days a year.
The more requirements the software meets, the better the product. If you find software that meets all four requirements, then you can rest assured that the product is good and safe to use.
Boost-Your-PC-Speed is a PC cleaner software [http://pchealth.boostyourpcspeed.com/clean-up-your-pc/] that provides advanced registry cleaning technology. It will scan, diagnose, and speed up your computer, leaving you with nothing but a highly-optimized PC.
Webmaster's message: Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) stated on the Microsoft Windows Forum on July 23, 2010: "Registry cleaning programs are all snake oil. Cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone and don't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, and what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of, having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you. The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit it may have."
In his article David Gaines mentions the Microsoft Certified Partner program. This is a program for training or tech support, and has nothing to do with software development, and especially not Registry cleaners.
Microsoft does have The Windows Software Logo Program to help customers make better purchase decisions by identifying products that have passed Microsoft designed tests for compatibility and reliability on Windows. The logo provides the ultimate seal of approval to help you deliver compatible products to customers and businesses with a higher quality bar that is broadly recognized. There is no Registry cleaner that carries the Windows Software Logo.
In his article David Gaines mentions the Tucows award I advise you to read The Software Awards Scam by a software product developer. Here's an excerpt: "I put out a new product a couple of weeks ago. This new product has so far won 16 different awards and recommendations from software download sites. Some of them even emailed me messages of encouragement such as Great job, we re really impressed! . I should be delighted at this recognition of the quality of my software, except that the 'software' doesn t even run. This is hardly surprising when you consider that it is just a text file with the words 'this program does nothing at all' repeated a few times and then renamed as an .exe. The PAD file that described the software contains the description 'This program does nothing at all'.
"The obvious explanation is that some download sites give an award to every piece of software submitted to them. In return they hope that the author will display the award with a link back to them. The back link then potentially increases traffic to their site directly (through clicks on the award link) and indirectly (through improved page rank from the incoming links). The author gets some awards to impress their potential clients and the download site gets additional traffic.
"This practice is blatantly misleading and dishonest. It makes no distinction between high quality software and any old rubbish that someone was prepared to submit to a download site..."
In my opinion almost all registry cleaners, especially free ones, are scams. You're lucky if you pay for one and it does absolutely nothing. Many of the free ones will "analyze" your registry, advise you that it contains many errors, and present a popup screen nagging you to pay to get the "errors" fixed. Most registry cleaners earn their revenue by installing spyware and viruses on your system. If a registry cleaner actually made a change to your system's registry, there's a good chance your computer would stop working. As Ken Blake says "The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit it may have."
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