CCEnhancer & MBAE

[ritchie58]

Hi Pedro, CCEnhancer is an application that can add many additional cleaning scripts for the very popular junk file cleaning program CCleaner. After updating the scripts with CCEnhancer today I noticed a cleaning script for Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit has been added (see image). It doesn't give a detailed description of just what files are being cleaned. As a beta tester I'm a little concerned that this script will delete possible files that may be useful for troubleshooting or bug reporting. Because of this I have decided to keep this script turned off and would reccomend anyone that uses CCEnhancer & MBAE to also keep this script disabled for now until Pedro gives the ok. Am I wrong on that or is it ok to use this cleaning script instead? What's your opinion on this Pedro?



Cheers, Ritchie...

[pbust]

Thanks for the heads up ritchie.

 

Does CCEnhancer show the contents of the script anywhere, maybe on disk?

[satrow]

Ritchie, Pedro, I just enabled only the Malwarebytes components in CCleaner w/ the latest winapp2.ini installed, after running an analyze from CCleaner, I see nothing at all selected. No clues at all.

[satrow]

Can't Edit:

 

Contents of my current winapp2.ini pertaining to Malwarebytes:

 

[Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Beta*]
LangSecRef=3024
DetectFile=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit
Default=False
FileKey1=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log
FileKey2=%LocalAppData%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log

[MalwareBytes Anti Malware More*]
LangSecRef=3024
Detect1=HKCU\Software\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Detect2=HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\mbam.exe
Default=False
FileKey1=%AppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs|*.*
FileKey2=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes*Anti-Malware\Logs|*.*
FileKey3=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware|mbam-setup.exe
FileKey4=%LocalAppData%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes*Anti-Malware\Logs|*.*
FileKey5=%LocalAppData%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware|mbam-setup.exe
 

Post MBAM Scan: still nothing selected to remove by CCleaner.

[ritchie58]

Hi Pedro, this is what's in my winapp2.ini Configuration settings folder located at C:\Program Files\CCleaner\winapp2, same as satrow's.
[Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Beta*]
LangSecRef=3024
DetectFile=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit
Default=False
FileKey1=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log
FileKey2=%LocalAppData%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log

 

It appears the script is for deleting the log files of course.  Satrow, you tried the script and CCleaner reports nothing was cleaned? Is that correct?

[satrow]

Satrow, you tried the script and CCleaner reports nothing was cleaned? Is that correct?

I went through my usual Analyze routine with CCleaner after selecting only the 3 Malwarebytes entries and nothing was selected for deletion, Ritchie; same result after I ran a MBAM scan.

 

Seems like the winapp2's not working as intended, imo, a good thing, I dislike tools that remove logged data that might be useful in later troubleshooting.

[pbust]

Thanks for the details guys. It seems from the content of those scripts that it is deleting the MBAE logs. It's not a big deal (it won't break MBAE functionality), but it is completely unnecessary and might prevent troubleshooting an MBAE issue if the logs are gone.

 

I agree 100% with satrow's last comment. These tools that need to somehow show that they are doing something useful by deleting small but useful logs are in fact are just potentially harming troubleshooting abilities. There is absolutely no need to run this scripts unless your hard drive is so full and you are in desperate need of a few KB of extra disk space. So in essence it's completely useless.

[John L. Galt]

hence my avoidance of using tools like CCleaner.  If I need to clean things I do it myself.

[daledoc1]

...........But CCleaner and CCEnhancer are NOT the same thing, are they?

 

<just sayin'>

[John L. Galt]

Doesn't matter.  You're letting a computer program make decisions that you, as a human being, should be making.

 

EDIT:  Added the following

 

CCenhancer adds more lists than the default lists in CCleaner.  It's no different than a person sitting down and writing their own lists and adding them to CCleaner.

 

The reason I say a human being should be making those decisions is that I have logs for things like MBAM and such dating back several years.  Yes, I could delete them, but instead I carry them over every time I format and reinstall windows.  Same with most other software that I can do so with.  In fact, I copy the entire ProgramData tree and selectively copy back what I need to for programs so that those that make use of that tree will be setup exactly as before.  I do the same thing for registry entries for programs that don't have an export setting button as well.  Finally, I also copy most of the tree from \AppData\Local and \AppData\Remote for the same reason.

 

At the very least, if you're going to use CCleaner and other such 'leaning' apps, be sure to read each and every item carefully to figure out what it is removing, why it is removing it and whether you really need to remove it  or not.

[MCFatTongue]

Hi all,

 

I use Ccleaner and the additional winapp2.ini enhancement,  every element that could be cleaned by Ccleaner has a check box next to it that has to be clicked to include it in the cleaning routine (it's opt in not opt out).

 

It would be foolish to click an option for inclusion without knowing exactly what will be deleted.

 

Regards.

[ritchie58]

I don't completely agree with you John. I do agree that log files can be very helpful in bug reporting and troubleshooting and some should not be deleted. However CCleaner can remove a lot of unnecessary files that can clog up your drive and slow your system down without having to manually hunt them down, which could be time consuming for a busy person. I've used it for years without much conflict or trouble. You just have to know which scripts to disable. As far as CCEnhancer only advanced/expert users should use this executable as it does install cleaning scripts that may overwhelm a novice user with the wide range of choices now avaliable, depending on what you have installed on your computer.

 

Definetly leaving the script for Anti-Exploit disabled even if it seems it's not functioning properly just to be on the safe side!

Best regards, Ritchie...

[danburrito]

Ritchie, Pedro, I just enabled only the Malwarebytes components in CCleaner w/ the latest winapp2.ini installed, after running an analyze from CCleaner, I see nothing at all selected. No clues at all.

 

 More than likely it's because the default paths for log files have been changed in MBAE and MBAM. It's in %ProgramData%, not in %LocalAppData% or %CommonAppData%.

[John L. Galt]

I don't completely agree with you John. I do agree that log files can be very helpful in bug reporting and troubleshooting and some should not be deleted. However CCleaner can remove a lot of unnecessary files that can clog up your drive and slow your system down without having to manually hunt them down, which could be time consuming for a busy person. I've used it for years without much conflict or trouble. You just have to know which scripts to disable. As far as CCEnhancer only advanced/expert users should use this executable as it does install cleaning scripts that may overwhelm a novice user with the wide range of choices now avaliable, depending on what you have installed on your computer.

 

Definetly leaving the script for Anti-Exploit disabled even if it seems it's not functioning properly just to be on the safe side!

Best regards, Ritchie...

 

My point exactly.   Most people don't know what to use and what not to use.

[ritchie58]

Hi John, point well taken! If you don't know what script is doing what then you should either do some research or just leave it disabled by default.

[Winapp2]

Hiya, I maintain Winapp2.ini on the Piriform Forums (/winapp2.com), and I wrote this entry. The Piriform copy of the file is used as the CCEnhancer definitions.  I'm going to reply to several posts at once, though I'm currently at work so I may get distracted

 

Hi Pedro, this is what's in my winapp2.ini Configuration settings folder located at C:\Program Files\CCleaner\winapp2, same as satrow's.
[Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Beta*]
LangSecRef=3024
DetectFile=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit
Default=False
FileKey1=%CommonAppData%\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log
FileKey2=%LocalAppData%\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit|*.log

 

It appears the script is for deleting the log files of course.  Satrow, you tried the script and CCleaner reports nothing was cleaned? Is that correct?

 

The script does indeed target the log files generated by running MBAE, at least whichever version it was on when I wrote the entry. If the path has changed, it wont delete anything.

 

I went through my usual Analyze routine with CCleaner after selecting only the 3 Malwarebytes entries and nothing was selected for deletion, Ritchie; same result after I ran a MBAM scan.

 

Seems like the winapp2's not working as intended, imo, a good thing, I dislike tools that remove logged data that might be useful in later troubleshooting.

 

Winapp2.ini is essentially a database and all entries are opt-in (disabled by default), users are encouraged to exercise caution when cleaning (analyze first!). No entries are intended to disrupt the functionality of any programs, possibly with the exception of the Steam Installers* entry, which prevents games from launching if they haven't been initialzed before their installers are deleted.

 

 

Thanks for the details guys. It seems from the content of those scripts that it is deleting the MBAE logs. It's not a big deal (it won't break MBAE functionality), but it is completely unnecessary and might prevent troubleshooting an MBAE issue if the logs are gone.

 

I agree 100% with satrow's last comment. These tools that need to somehow show that they are doing something useful by deleting small but useful logs are in fact are just potentially harming troubleshooting abilities. There is absolutely no need to run this scripts unless your hard drive is so full and you are in desperate need of a few KB of extra disk space. So in essence it's completely useless.

 

WRT deleting many small files - it adds up, and some people like to purge all "useless" (to the end user) files before they do an image backup or whatever. As you said, it doesn't break the functionality of the program, it's really just an opt-in for folks who deem the files useless (we do vet what is and is not useless (most recently, here: http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=32310&p=250202 and down))

 

...........But CCleaner and CCEnhancer are NOT the same thing, are they?

 

<just sayin'>

 

Nope, and if you mention CCEnhancer on the Piriform Forums, no one will talk to you about it (per the developers request). Any inquiries about the script can be left in the winapp2.ini thread I linked above, any CCEnhancer questions can be posted on the Singular Labs forums http://singularlabs.com/forums/

 

Hi all,

 

I use Ccleaner and the additional winapp2.ini enhancement,  every element that could be cleaned by Ccleaner has a check box next to it that has to be clicked to include it in the cleaning routine (it's opt in not opt out).

 

It would be foolish to click an option for inclusion without knowing exactly what will be deleted.

 

Regards.

 

Aye, everything is defaulted to opt-in (default=false) so nothing is cleaned without the user explicitly opting in to it (though a few times a few default=trues have snuck in, I've tried to maintain opt-in since 2010)
 

If there are any other questions about anything, I'd be glad to answer them.

 

 

[Winapp2]

Sorry to double post but I forgot to reply to a post and I can't seem to edit mine.

 

 

 

 More than likely it's because the default paths for log files have been changed in MBAE and MBAM. It's in %ProgramData%, not in %LocalAppData% or %CommonAppData%.

%CommonAppData% is a CCleaner variable (supported kindly by Shane and Andrew for System Ninja and BleachBit respectively) and points to %ProgramData% on Windows Vista+ and either %AllUsersProfile% or %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data on Windows XP