Registry Cleaner

> To all the Computer Gurus,
>
> My laptop is starting to run slow. I am going through it tonight. I am using the following tools:
>
> 1. disk cleanup
> 2. disk defragmenter
> 3. will run antispyware
> 4. I am going to run a scan through avast. I did notice thatthe real time shields were turned off. I have had a hard time keeping them turned on for some reason.
>
> I have read that a registry cleaner may help. Is there a good free registry cleaner out ther that you can reccomend.
>
> I noticed that it started running slow about the time I downloaded itunes. I have to have itunes on the laptop in order to use my iphone to access the internet on the laptop (tethering).
>
> Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Jimmy

Go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ and download and run malwarebytes. If your shields are not staying up, there is usually a reason.

Press Ctrl-Alt-Del and load the task manager. Look for any processes that may be using a ton of memory - it's a tell tale sign of a virus.

For any OS XP or before:

Click start, then run, then type msconfig.exe.

For vista and 7, type that same program into the search bar under start.

A window will pop up; go to the startup tab. You will see many programs that are ordered by the system to initiate upon startup. Deselect some that you don't think you need - that one step can help the speed of a comp a lot.

I have never trusted registry cleaners. They can help with the removal of a single program, but using one as a magic tool to speed up the machine? Color me skeptical. It's an area that is too easy to corrupt; I've been running my win7 laptop from 2009 with no problems in performance under the original install. The only time I have even touched the registry was to alter the listening port for Remote Desktop.

Registry cleaners usually don't help with speed, usually help with crashing, improper installs, etc. The above advice is good, but I would add MSE at least temporarily. For Micro$oft, it's actually a decent program.

Also, upon the recommendation of CNet, I have been using CCleaner for years and love it.

http://harntech.com/news/ccleaner-housekeeping-for-your-pc/

I third the motion for CCleaner. I run it regularly and am amazed that it usually finds 200 - 400 meg of cr@p to remove. Make sure you run the registry cleaner in CCleaner, too.

Has anybody else tried Glary Utilities? I use the free edition of Glary Utilities and am curious about comparisons between Glary and CCleaner from the folks here.

I have never had any luck with free registry cleaners. The issue is that after a lot of work, it turns out that they aren't free. They will tell me I have many errors, but I have to pay for the fix. From the get go, I will not trust or buy software from a vender who tells me it is free then an hour later tells me I have many, many bad errors and ask me for money for a fix.

Possibly with a recommendation here, I will pay the money and go for it. I am timid about this. As Newton said, you can do a lot of damage with registry cleaners.

What are the specs on it?

I usually don't waste time with an XP machine trying to clean anything. I find I can format and install everything again in the same amount of time. If it a processor equal to or greater than a centrino dual core, I'd install Windows 7.

i still run ad aware and spybot every now and again, actually I am due now... plus CCleaner and scan from windows defender. if things are still funny, i run AVG and i am always open to use another program.

i found a one-time free registry cleaner that seemed to work well
but i unistalled as i don't want to pay for it (i think it was linked to AVG)

i trust you run backups, so if you break something you won't lose anything

i tinker with XP boxes. i just broke one with an upgrade to XP SP3 (the video drivers don't support) and you cannot roll back the update. so it looks like i'll be reinstalling XP, which i should have done instead of spending a few hours trying to roll back the update.

I'll fourth it - good program, and it is free.

Wendell,
I was honestly going to post something along those lines, but I wasn't sure exactly what services were offered.
A few questions, does Harness Technologies service a variety of platforms?
For a fee is it possible to link to a computer and diagnose and repair remotely?
Recommend malware, spyware, and software programs, and, or patches for end users?

Have you already posted about any services and I just missed that?

Anywho, Found this article a few days back and thought it deserved mentioning:

“The worst part is they sell this extremely creepy intrusion as a great boon to your life because they can tailor services to your needs,” said Paul Ohm, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder who specializes in information privacy and computer crime. “But do most people want to give that much away? No.”


New York Times
By KATE MURPHY
Published: May 2, 2012

You'll find some other possibly useful articles in my blog at: http://harntech.com/blog/

That will show you some of the software that I recommend, although there are others that I simply have not had time to blog about.

That said, I do sometimes offer remote services. However, sometimes it is really hard to diagnose remotely, but I am happy to see what I can do and offer possible ideas.

Ccleaner is completely free. I have never been prompted to pay for, join, or give out my email.

..Registry Cleaner

CC Cleaner is pretty good Jimmy..

>..I did notice thatthe real time shields were turned off. I have had a hard time keeping them turned on for some reason.

That sounds like you have been hijacked. You probably have a rootkit in your system, real bastages to get rid of. There is one program that I have found that works well..TDSS Killer is what I would use if I was in your shoes. You may also want to spring for the minor yearly fee and install Kapersky..Here's the link to TDSS Killer Jimmy

http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363

..Registry Cleaner

Commas again, and case in point:

"..Here's the link to TDSS Killer Jimmy"

..Here's the link to TDSS Killer, Jimmy

..Registry Cleaner

> Ccleaner is completely free. I have never been prompted to pay for, join, or give out my email.

I don't remember which ones I tried, but one was recommended by Kim Commando. I will give Ccleaner a shot. Thanks.

..Registry Cleaner

..Registry Cleaner

Thanks for all the relies and suggestions.

I used CCleaner, and it helped. I am still having trouble getting my realtime shields turned on in Avast. I have run Malwarebytes, and it found nothing. I ran TDDSkiller, and it found nothing. I ran Superantispyware, and it found nothing.

Looks like I need to probably install some more RAM to help.

Thanks again,
Jimmy