CCleaner

About CCleaner

CCleaner has been the default answer to a slow, cluttered machine for long enough that most people reach for it without thinking. The core function is straightforward: it walks through the temporary file locations, browser caches, log directories, thumbnail databases, crash dumps and installer leftovers that accumulate over months, and it reclaims the space they occupy.

The custom clean panel is where it becomes genuinely useful rather than blunt. Every category is a checkbox, so browser history and saved sessions can be left alone while caches are cleared, and an exclusion list protects specific folders, cookies or file types permanently. Nothing gets removed that was not explicitly ticked, and an analyse pass reports exactly what would go before anything is deleted.

The tools section handles the rest of the maintenance list. Startup control disables the programs that quietly add themselves to boot, the uninstaller removes software including entries a normal uninstall list has lost track of, the duplicate finder identifies repeated files across drives, the drive wiper overwrites free space, and the system restore panel clears old restore points that are consuming space.

This package carries the Professional, Technician and Business editions together. The differences are in the working features rather than the cleaning engine: scheduled automatic cleaning, real time monitoring that acts when junk crosses a threshold, browser session cleaning on close, and the portable technician build that runs from a stick without installing on the machine being serviced.

What is included in this build

• Cleans temporary files, caches, logs, thumbnails, crash dumps and installer leftovers
• Per category checkboxes with a permanent exclusion list for folders and cookies
• Analyse pass reporting exactly what would be removed before deleting anything
• Registry cleaner with a mandatory backup step before applying changes
• Startup control covering boot entries, scheduled tasks and browser add-ins
• Software uninstaller including entries the normal list has lost track of
• Duplicate file finder and free space wiper
• Scheduled cleaning and real time monitoring in the higher editions

Changed in version 6.41.11567

• Additional cleaning definitions for current browser releases
• Improved detection of installer leftovers after failed setups
• Startup panel now reports scheduled tasks more clearly
• Faster duplicate scanning across large drives
• Reduced background resource use when monitoring is enabled

Installation walkthrough

These steps assume a clean machine. If a previous release of the same application is present, deal with that first, since an overlapping install is the most common cause of a setup that stops halfway.

1. Close all browsers before running the first clean so sessions are handled properly.
2. Extract the archive and run setup as administrator.
3. Choose the edition during setup, or extract the portable technician build instead.
4. Run an analyse pass and review the list before performing the first clean.
5. Set up the exclusion list before enabling any scheduled or automatic cleaning.

System requirements and file details

Frequently asked about this title