CCleaner 2.12.660

CCleaner 2.12.660

CCleaner deletes cookies, clears Internet browsing history, removes temporary files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many applications, removes unused or obsolete entries from the Registry. Starting from ver. 1.27 CCleaner offers secure file deletion feature (DoD 5220.22-M (3 passes), NSA (7 passes)).
CCleaner cleans the following:
Internet Explorer:
- Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.
Firefox:
- Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.
Windows:
- Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.
Registry cleaner:
- Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.
Third-party applications:
- Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Opera, Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more...

Softoogle's Review of CCleaner 1.33.382
upd. October 1, 2006

When it comes to freeware programs, some folks often tend to sort of drool over the program's freewareness, while at the same time ignoring the fact that the freeware program actually lacks lots of features found in similar software applications that are not free.

CCleaner is an extremely popular freeware program. And it still badly lacks quite a number of important features. Starting from version 1.27 CCleaner offers secure file deletion (DoD 5220.22-M, NSA) but the list of things CCleaner is capable of deleting is, in fact, very limited. For instance, try making CCleaner delete a folder. Using Options > Custom you can select your own custom files and folders to clean, but CCleaner will only delete the contents of the folder (i.e. it will empty it) but it won't delete the folder itself. If the name of the folder is sensitive and you want it securely deleted using the above secure deletion methods, CCleaner is not going to help you.

Also, CCleaner cannot wipe the free space on the entire hard drive. If you have remnants of previously deleted files scattered all over your hard drive, CCleaner won't find them and won't delete them. You'll have to use some other software to do that.

CCleaner is neither capable of cleaning the Windows swap file (a huge file that can contain gigabytes of sensitive data), nor is it capable of erasing records in the MFT (Master File Table) which stores records about all files and directories in an NTFS volume, including file size, time and date stamps, permissions, and data content.

All in all, for a freeware, CCleaner is a good choice if you want to quickly clean up your browser's cache and delete the lists of recently opened documents in various applications so that snoopy friends and colleagues won't see your secrets. But if your goal is to completely eliminate any evidence of your activity, consider using more powerful software.

See also: R-Wipe & Clean.