Windows One Care

[grainger]

Is Windows One Care any good?

I ran there Free Scan and they didn't find any Spyware or Virus but they did find 148 problems with my registry.

Is this a gimic to get me to buy the program or could I realy have 148 problems?

I run "Registry Mechanic" every day and according to "Registry Mechanic" my computer is fine.

[Guest victimized]

Is Windows One Care any good?

I ran there Free Scan and they didn't find any Spyware or Virus but they did find 148 problems with my registry.

Is this a gimic to get me to buy the program or could I realy have 148 problems?

I run "Registry Mechanic" every day and according to "Registry Mechanic" my computer is fine.

Hi. I have a registry cleaner installed too, it is called Registry Repair from glarysoft.com. Anyways, you shouldn't use registry cleaners because they often delete files they think are wrong, or repair them. Windows One Care only scans for the most known viruses, such as Sasser, Conficker, Blaster, e.t.c. I would say it is good if you don't have an anti-virus, so download windows defender if you don't have one and want one from windows.

[grainger]

Thank You for your response...

I have "Norton Antivirus" the paid version of "SUPERrantispyware" and the paid version of "Malwarebytes"

What I was realy wondering was how "Windows One Care" could find 148 registry problems that "Registry Mechanic" didn't.

I was wondering if it is a Gimic and they always find 148 problems just to get you to buy the program.

I may try "Windows One Care" when my "Norton" subscription expires but that isn't until December.

The only complaint I have with "Registry Mechanic" is to do with my "Windows Messenger" I very rarely use messenger so I removed it from the list of programs that that start automaticaly when I boot my computer.

However when I run "Registry Mechanic" it adds "messenger" back to the start up list again......

[grainger]

I just Googled "Glarysoft" and see they have a Free Registry Repair program.

Is it better than "Registry Mechanic" ?

I have noticed there doesn't seem to be any relationship between how much you pay for a program and how good it is.

Some freebies work better than their more expensive competitors.

[Guest victimized]

My version of it is a bit old, but I don't use it or any other registry cleaners, from what I've found out, windofix is the best registry cleaner but they don't have a free version.

[grainger]

Thank You

I just ran "Registry Repair from glarysoft.com" and it found and fixed 148 problems

The same number that "Windows One Care" found.

I guess I will scrap "Registry Mechanic" there was a waste of money.

[Guest victimized]

Thank You

I just ran "Registry Repair from glarysoft.com" and it found and fixed 148 problems

The same number that "Windows One Care" found.

I guess I will scrap "Registry Mechanic" there was a waste of money.

When it does find these problems, double click on what it was just to be sure.

[Night_Raven]

I guess I will scrap "Registry Mechanic" there was a waste of money.

Every commercial registry cleaner is a waste of money and both commercial and free registry cleaners are a waste of time and pose a risk of screwing up your system. As is every commercial optimization program as well.

Registry cleaners should only be used if there is some kind of an issue with the computer that needs resolving. Then the problem might be within the registry and a reg cleaner just might be able to fix it. Sure it might do some damage but if the system is damaged (more or less) it's actually worth the risk. However on a healthy system reg cleaners do more harm than good. One gains no performance by deleting several kilobytes of code. Even on a very actively used system with cluttered registry cleaning it would not yield any tangible increase in performance, especially on a modern multi-core/tons-o-ram PC.

Bottom line is: registry cleaners are NOT recommended for everyday use. No real benefits whatsoever but with real chance of making things worse (sometimes a lot worse).

[Guest victimized]

Every commercial registry cleaner is a waste of money and both commercial and free registry cleaners are a waste of time and pose a risk of screwing up your system. As is every commercial optimization program as well.

Registry cleaners should only be used if there is some kind of an issue with the computer that needs resolving. Then the problem might be within the registry and a reg cleaner just might be able to fix it. Sure it might do some damage but if the system is damaged (more or less) it's actually worth the risk. However on a healthy system reg cleaners do more harm than good. One gains no performance by deleting several kilobytes of code. Even on a very actively used system with cluttered registry cleaning it would not yield any tangible increase in performance, especially on a modern multi-core/tons-o-ram PC.

Bottom line is: registry cleaners are NOT recommended for everyday use. No real benefits whatsoever but with real chance of making things worse (sometimes a lot worse).

Downloaded the new version of glarysoft's registry repair and inspected everything it found, the location, and why. Didn't find any false positives in it, what i can suspect as of one is when it deletes empty keys.

[Night_Raven]

Just because it doesn't have any FPs now doesn't mean it will stay that way. Of course it doesn't mean that using a registry cleaner will always do damage. The point is that using such software has risks. Everytime you use such program you take risks. Usually most of the time everything is fine and the cases when thigs go bad are rather rare so people tend to ignore them. However the risks are real. I used to use Glarysoft's registry cleaner a while back. It used to regularly delete Crystal Player's values which contained the programs settings. I reported it and got fixed. However it's an example how a registry cleaner can do damage. In my case was more of an annoyance but it could've been something more dangerous.

And yes, some registry cleaners do delete empty or renewable keys/values.

Basically, even if we assume that using registry cleaners is safe (which it isn't) there is still the "waste of time" thing. Cleaning the registry would have no real and noticeable effect on performance. To put it another way: the time you spend waiting for the program to scan the registry and clean it aftewards is more than the time you lose by having an "uncleaned" registry. So registry cleaners don't save time, they do the opposite.

[exile360]

Well said Raven, in fact, I seem to recall Sysinternals Mark Russinovich commented on them saying they determined absolutely no performance gain whatsoever from defragging the registry, compressing the registry or removing obsolete keys from the registry. It's one of those "myths" about computers that has run rampant throughout the web. The only advantage (and the only reason I use the one in Ccleaner) is because it removes keys from uninstalled versions of software before I install the new version (as long as I wasn't saving settings). This has helped me fix install and update problems a few times, but otherwise, and especially for the sake of performance, I see absolutely no benefit.

[grainger]

I am leaving "Registry Repair from glarysoft.com" on my computer but I will only run it a couple of times a year.

I had "Renamed" some of my desktop short cuts and when I ran "Registry Repair" it disabled the short cuts that I had renamed.

[Guest victimized]

I am leaving "Registry Repair from glarysoft.com" on my computer but I will only run it a couple of times a year.

I had "Renamed" some of my desktop short cuts and when I ran "Registry Repair" it disabled the short cuts that I had renamed.

Registry cleaners will classify that as errors, i renamed a folder from a program of the world book or merriam-webster. Anyways, i renamed the shortcut (because it left a folder called "Reports") to AV Shortcuts

Firefox Plugins

But no problems for me.

Ok now to tell you a little more how to use it. When it finds problems, CLOSE the small window that it scans in. Then, the problems found will be in the white area where it lists it. Double click on these items, it will tell you why it want's to fix it and where it is located. You can always UNCHECK in the small box where it finds the items. OR, you can always press the "Restore previous repairs" button to restore everything it fixed.

[Guest remixed]

Perhaps someone could enlighten us as to the point of CCleaner. I can identify no function which is either unnecessary (according to the Godlike Russinovich) dangerous (ditto) or available as part of the O/S. Maybe they should have stuck with the original, more honest, name!

[AdvancedSetup]

I suppose it depends on your idea of dangerous. Typically what I find is that they blow out keys and association stuff they should not which then alters the look, feel, use of some programs. In rare cases it could even stop the program from running. I suppose the issue is WHY use it, what do you gain from it? Certainly not speed that can easily be measured. I think it is possible in VERY rare situations that it can be useful, BUT you need to know when and why and not just take it at face value and run it. Bottom line is that the HYPE is there to create a means of making money.

Here is a discussion on the subject over at the Aumha site: Should I Use a Registry Cleaner?

[exile360]

I think that it's usefulness as a reg cleaner is limited and that anyone using it (or any other reg cleaner) should VERIFY THAT THE KEYS IT POINTS TO ARE IN FACT OBSOLETE, OTHERWISE UNCHECK THEM. I don't believe reg cleaners are for anyone who doesn't really know what they're doing. As far as the usefulness of Ccleaner (aka Crap Cleaner), primarily I use it to clean up temp files and MRU entries. It also has a very handy program uninstall interface (that sometimes reveals the uninstallers of programs not listed in Add/Remove in the Control Panel) and the startup manager is handy as well, but I use Autoruns for that.

[Guest victimized]

I think that it's usefulness as a reg cleaner is limited and that anyone using it (or any other reg cleaner) should VERIFY THAT THE KEYS IT POINTS TO ARE IN FACT OBSOLETE, OTHERWISE UNCHECK THEM. I don't believe reg cleaners are for anyone who doesn't really know what they're doing. As far as the usefulness of Ccleaner (aka Crap Cleaner), primarily I use it to clean up temp files and MRU entries. It also has a very handy program uninstall interface (that sometimes reveals the uninstallers of programs not listed in Add/Remove in the Control Panel) and the startup manager is handy as well, but I use Autoruns for that.

You could cleanup all of your temporary items in internet explorer by going to tools>options.

[exile360]

I know, but there are other temp files not so easily cleaned, especially from third party software.

[Guest remixed]

In point of fact, I'm quite fond of CCleaner and used it (selectively) from it's first release. It's improved immeasurably through it's revisions (although too many of them) and i really like the custom addin mentioned in another thread. However, victimized is right about temp files and legitimate (non Windows) software should include an uninstaller in the program files folder if it's abscent from Add/Remove. Revo Uninstaller (used sensibly) is more effective in this respect and overcomes much of the 'broken links' and software conflicts that arise after removing bulky applications, particularly security related and negates the 'need' for registry cleaning/compacting. A point that seems to have been overlooked (or ignored) arises from the assumption that everyone is fortunate enough to be the proud owner of high spec, mega capacity Pc's....in the real world etc

[Night_Raven]

A point that seems to have been overlooked (or ignored) arises from the assumption that everyone is fortunate enough to be the proud owner of high spec, mega capacity Pc's....in the real world etc

Indeed not every person can afford a high end PC but what does this have to do with registry cleaning and such? I'm actually such a person (socket A platform - AMD Barton with 1GB of RAM), yet I see no real benefit of using a registry cleaner or a system optimizer. Several years back I was a fan of such programs. Slowly but surely I discovered, to my disappointment, the truth that the benefit of such pieces of software is an illusion.

The irony is that Windows has in fact everything it needs to be kept in good shape. All the necessary tools are there: disk defragmenter, registry editor, disk error checker, etc. Sure, these tools aren't as glamourous as other fancy paid products out there, and even though 3rd party tools are most often more effective (by a large or small margin) the integrated Windows tools still do a pretty decent job. Disk defragmenter isn't as good as PerfectDisk but it's free, it's always there and it's most certainly better than nothing, meaning it's actually good enough for most people. Especially the Vista defragger.

You want to remove something from the registry as it causes some issues with some other picky and capricious product? Regedit is there. It does require a bit more skill to use than "1-click-i-rock-the-world" apps but it can be actually more effective than they are since they might not clean what needs to be cleaned, since they rely on preset algorithms and detect keys/values if they meet certain criteria. Besides only more experienced users should meddle with the registry, regardless of what tool(s) is being used.

Of course another important thing is to not install crappy/badly written software but that's up to the user.

CCleaner is a decent program. It doesn't do a lot that can't be done manually or something that is very vital for the OS but it's well written, it has a nice interface and it's free. It's an OK app. Nothing more, nothing less.

[exile360]

Well said guys, excellent comments . I also wanted to mention, since this thread started as a discussion about OneCare, that MS plans to discontinue it in its current form and replace it around the release of Windows 7 (most likely later this year) with a FREE incarnation known as "Morro" (a MS code name) .

[Guest victimized]

I know, but there are other temp files not so easily cleaned, especially from third party software.

Well if you want to delete hidden files go to my computer>tools>folder options>show hidden files and folders. Now you will have nothing to worry about when viewing your hidden third party files from internet explorer's tools, because for some reason it is harder to find these temporary files without internet explorer doing it.

[exile360]

Again, I know how to do all this manually, that's not the point, the point is, I'm referring to much more than IE's temporary internet files. Emptying them doesn't remove the current user's temp folder, the Windows temp folder, the all users' temp folder(s) etc, plus the custom locations where other programs store their temporary files. Not only that, but deleting temp files manually can cause issues as well. Some of those temp files are needed and shouldn't be deleted, and tools like Ccleaner and ATF Cleaner are designed to avoid them while removing all the unnecessary junk.

edit: Here's what the tabs in CCleaner look like on my system (note that the entries with a * next to them are custom entries added by the Winapp2.ini file):

I just ran CCleaner and here's what it removed (it has a feature to save a log of the entries it found for temp files to be removed):

ANALYSIS COMPLETE - (1.076 secs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.2MB to be removed. (Approximate size)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Details of files to be deleted (Note: No files have been deleted yet)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IE Temporary Internet Files (250 files) 2.80MB
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\low\exile@forums.superantispyware[1].txt 93 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\low\exile@google[2].txt 325 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\low\exile@malwarebytes[2].txt 269 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\low\exile@superantispyware[1].txt 290 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Local\Temp\Exile.bmp 31.09KB
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Local\Temp\gLRgrVbs.exe.part 1.58MB
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Local\Temp\T5kFFaMF.exe.part 3.16MB
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\mbam-log-2009-05-22 (17-07-46).txt 815 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\mbam-log-2009-05-22 (17-25-00).txt 1,023 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Quarantine\BACKUP1.52768 87 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Quarantine\BACKUP1.71578 114 bytes
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Quarantine\QUAR1.52768 3.60MB
C:\Users\Exile\AppData\Roaming\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Quarantine\QUAR1.71578 20.00KB
C:\ProgramData\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs\Resident.log 229 bytes
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History\Results\Resource\{998A4E74-710A-43BD-A7A5-FD9D1E1080F7} 6.21KB
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History\Results\Resource\{A8A6E3DF-613C-40BD-A087-FEA67A3DE5EA} 5.88KB
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[AdvancedSetup]

I guess RD /Q /S just doesn't cut it anymore these days

[exile360]

Sure, you can do that, but knowing all the locations where the stuff is stored is the biggest issue. CCleaner and other tools can certainly be emulated by a .bat file, but I don't see much point in it when I can simply execute ccleaner.exe with the /auto switch .