CCleaner latest

Since moving from a W 10 to a W 11 PC I seem to have "lost" the earlier version of CCleaner. I deliberately did not update, and restricted its ops to cleaning only, not registry etc. I am now faced with re-installing the (latest) version. I believe that more recent versions have come in for criticism. Personally I found it to work well - on the surface. Is it something that I should steer clear of, and if so is there a (simple) alternative?

Well Would stay clear of Driver Updater in it and other supposed Bells and Whistles.

 

There is the Portable version : https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds which would be best.

 

Ccleaner is owned by GEN which owns AVAST, NORTON. and others...

yes I steered clear of the bells & whistles.

I had assumed that the portable version was intended for mobiles, not W 11 PC's? If not then I'll try it.

It is not unusual to come across one provider plugging another one's products (like make default AV) which for the most part I resist.

As you should.

 

No, Portable Apps are for anything.

 

What my suggestion is is to make a Folder on your Desktop (mine is called TOOLS) and stick the app in there, as well AdwCleaner, If run O&O ShutUp10 that in the folder as well and any stand alone Programs you have

or Text files that you have garnered with commands to run such as : %SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535 Starts MS DiskCleanup (on the Start Menu since 1995) and gets more instead of running it 2 x's.

 

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and SFC /Scannow , dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /resetbase

 

Macfee Stinger, now called Trellix Stinger (get away from McAfee the idiot)   and other tools you may collect that is a TOOL or Utility.   Is how i run my portables and has worked for me IMHO.

https://portableapps.com/apps

You can build a USB Drive full of Portable Apps and take with you on your key chain.  You can have your bookmarks in your browser ect.

You have vastly more apps than I have.  I store the few that I have book marked on my desktop.

 

What is the difference between

 https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds

https://portableapps.com/apps

both of which are on your recommended list?

Nothing.  from the makers web site is always best version though from Portable Apps it maybe a earlier version.

Well Would stay clear of Driver Updater in it and other supposed Bells and Whistles.

 

There is the Portable version : https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds which would be best.

 

Ccleaner is owned by GEN which owns AVAST, NORTON. and others...

The new CCleaner7 runs as a Windows Service not as an app - which means that there is not a portable version of it.
(The Portable download on the CCleaner Builds page still downloads v6.39).

 

That also means that "Portableapps" cannot make CCleaner7 into a portable app either; simply because it is no longer an app.

 

With CCleaner7 you should currently steer clear of or be very careful using either/both the new Registry Cleaner and the new Duplicate Finder.

 

Both of those tools are breaking computers for non-techie users who are using them indiscriminately; sometimes to the point of them having to reinstall Windows and applications from scratch.

The default settings in both of those tools are too aggressive and will break your computer if used blithely without checking what they are going to remove.

(The new 'Batch Select' in the Duplicate finder means that an unwary or unknowing user can much too easily remove needed System File duplicates).

 

Thousands of CCleaner users have reverted to using v6.39. Many others have switched to alternative cleaners.

If you also want to roll back to the 'Old Style' CCleaner then follow ALL of the instructions here to roll-back and prevent it updating to CCleaner7 again:
How to Roll Back from CCleaner7 to CCleaner v6.39

 

Edited by Nukecad, 14 December 2025 - 08:30 AM.

Thanks for the warning.
In my case there is nothing to roll back since CCleaner does not appear to be installed on my new W 11 PC.
What then is the simplest route to getting v. 6.39 which does not need to be portable? Avoiding ver 7 altogether.
And/or is there a better alternative app that is as easy to run, once installed, as CCleaner?

I see that it is possible to download CCleaner v 6.39.1148 from ccleaner.com knowledge centre.  Apart from avoiding the peripheral options (registry, driver updater etc), is the task any more complicated than that???

Or is there a danger that it will update to ver 7 without me requesting or authorising this?

 

Or Microsoft PC Manager as an alternative, if anyone has experience of this?

Edited by Magic Sam, 14 December 2025 - 12:17 PM.

IC

 

Windows loves Duplicates.  Do not delete Duplicates.

I see that it is possible to download CCleaner v 6.39.1148 from ccleaner.com knowledge centre.  Apart from avoiding the peripheral options (registry, driver updater etc), is the task any more complicated than that???

Or is there a danger that it will update to ver 7 without me requesting or authorising this?

 

Or Microsoft PC Manager as an alternative, if anyone has experience of this?

Just follow that link that I posted above, it tells you how to download/install CCleaner v6.39 from the official sources, AND what steps you need to take to prevent it from Automatically Updating itself to CCleaner7.

 

Note that CCleaner v6.39 will not be getting any further uodates, so it will eventually fall behind, Browsers and apps evolve all the time so new things need cleaning, ond older things get moved about so the cleaning for then needs to be changed.

 

MS PC Manager is fine, but look at your browsers own automatic cleaning too. It's usually in the Settings > Privacy and Security.
eg. This is from Firefox:
 c1.jpg   58.64KB   0 downloads

 

Being honest here the built in 'Disk Cleanup' or the newer built in 'Storage Sense' is all you really need for clearing Windows junk and most browsers can be set to clean themselves on closing.

Any 3rd party cleaner is just bringing them together in one app.
And then adding a few things that don't really need cleaning but gives then a chance to say "We cleaned XYZ MB of junk (more than others do)".

More recently they have started adding 'Snake Oil' tools such as Software and Driver updaters, 'Performance Optimizers', etc. which aren't needed and can often cause problems.

 

Ask yourself why are you using such a cleaner?
Modern Windows will clear it's own junkfiles, modern browsers can clean their own junkfiles.
There again modern drives have a massive capacity compared to 20 years ago, you don't need to remove a few temporary files and logfiles to save a bit of disk space anymore.
Clearing your tracks in a browser is of more use these days, the browser itself can be set to do that.

 

Note that many of the  temporary and log files that cleaners remove simply get recreated again by Windows, or your Browser, or an App; either straight away or the next time that you run them.
All that removing and recreating of files is shortening your drives' life, admittedly only slightly shortening it (unless you go mad with the cleaning) but still.

 

The developers of the 3rd party cleaning tools know all that, - which is why they all started adding the 'Snake Oil' tools to try and look more appealing to inexpert computer users.
(You might have noticed that Antivirus sellers are doing the same with adding those 'Snake Oil' tools - Because with Windows Defender now being as good as it is you don't really need to buy a 3rd party antivirus app).

Edited by Nukecad, 15 December 2025 - 05:25 AM.

Interesting tks,  Seems to me that the best route is to follow your closing link in # 9 but ignoring anything that relates to removing v. 7 since I never (knowingly at least) upgraded to v. 7.

 

Could you perhaps expand a bit on how to get Windows and Chrome (and Duck Duck Go) to clear their own junk files - unless they do this automatically by default.

Just a thought.....why are you messing with CCleaner, trying to tip-toe so as to not damage your system?  Why not just use Bleachbit (free) and be done with it? Not only safer, but you will rid yourself of gigs of junk that CCleaner won't touch. 

Just familiarize yourself with it, and some of the options you don't need such as "vacuuming" the drive space, etc. (unless you have a very specific reason). Just be sure not to enable the shredding option, you can lose everything on your drive. Other than that, I have been using it monthly for years on all my computers before making backups and never had one bad experience. It, literally, removes Gigabytes of junk. 

Again...never use any utility to "clean" the register, including Bleachbit. 

 

[EDIT]:  afterthought

Edited by ranchhand_, 15 December 2025 - 11:28 AM.