Why you should use CCleaner or similar to clean browser caches

[bytebuster]

I decided I was gonna delete my browsing history and cache in Firefox. When I tried to do this via the Firefox control panel, the browser crashed. When I tried to reopen it, I got an error that the process was already running. So I tried to end the process. Blue screen. Even worse, I damaged Firefox by doing that, so I had to reinstall Firefox. Lesson learned-next time I'll use CCleaner to delete a big cache.

 

[OldSchoolPC]

Can't say that I have ever had that problem with Firefox. Internet Explorer, yeah, but not firefox. A word of caution though, I am acquainted with other techs who have seriously damaged their windows installations using ccleaner. Although it works for me very well to be fair.

 

[sys-eng]

I am not a big fan of FireFox. In most security vulnerability tests I have seen, it performs worse than Internet Explorer 8 and above. Chrome is even worse and Opera is the absolute worse. I still run Firefox occasionally because it tolerates poorly designed websites not up to standards but that is what makes Firefox more vulnerable too.

Ccleaner is great for as a cleaner but the registry tool is very aggressive and causes more harm than good.

 

[SmithFamilyDesigns]

I am not a big fan of FireFox. In most security vulnerability tests I have seen, it performs worse than Internet Explorer 8 and above. Chrome is even worse and Opera is the absolute worse. I still run Firefox occasionally because it tolerates poorly designed websites not up to standards but that is what makes Firefox more vulnerable too.

Ccleaner is great for as a cleaner but the registry tool is very aggressive and causes more harm than good.

I constantly have to repair computers that have "cleaned the registry". I have a customer that comes in at least once a month because he runs every freeware cleaner/optimizer/secure-er POS that he can download. I always tell him its because of these programs, yet he insists that had he not had them, "it would have been so much worse"...

On the convo of FF, despite it's horrible memory leak, I use it almost exclusively (unless I have to download something) because of adblock plus.

 

[nesrinamb]

Ive had the exact same problem before.

When it comes to clearing the catch I use Ccleaner because of the ability to take clean out a lot of different browsers.

I have never used the program for registry items as I prefers to do those by hand.

 

[Will]

I use CCleaner, but I do Not use its Registry tool.

I also use CCleaner Enhancer

As far as Browsers, IE9 and Chrome are what I recommend;
not Firefox anymore...

I never knew about CCleaner Enhanced, it's quite useful! Thanks.

 

[tpcg]

Have not had that particular problem with Firefox, although an occasional a sound or flash issue. I sometimes use cleanafterme, does nice job of deleting cookies, history, cache, etc...
but most times I manually remove all temp files/folders.

 

[sys-eng]

I constantly have to repair computers that have "cleaned the registry". I have a customer that comes in at least once a month because he runs every freeware cleaner/optimizer/secure-ER POS that he can download. I always tell him its because of these programs, yet he insists that had he not had them, "it would have been so much worse"...

The ignorant are funny but we can't laugh at them, at least not to their face. They do pay the bills.

I have one customer (older nice guy) who has some extra program on his PC every few weeks. He goes to download a picture or video and the website takes him to a "download page" where he sees a big red target dot saying "download now" which he does. The problem is that is not the right download. The website was deceptive and the correct download is somewhere else on the screen but MUCH smaller. He says that makes no sense at all to him. He is absolutely correct. Even sites such as download.com and majorgeeks.com do this. This guy is not really gullible (started a business in 1960's and grew it to over $50 Million) but expects people to be good. It is sad that the Internet may cause the loss of that kind of people. The kind of people that everybody likes.

It is the way of the Internet - honesty and integrity is rare.

 

[Shark]

Chrome is even worse and Opera is the absolute worse..

I would disagree with your assessment of Opera. And I believe others would agree, Opera is one of the best browsers ever.
Possibly the best besides all the plug-ins for FireFox.
You must have had a bad experience with Opera.
Just voicing my opinion because I think differently.
Peace!

 

[phaZed]

I am not a big fan of FireFox. In most security vulnerability tests I have seen, it performs worse than Internet Explorer 8 and above. Chrome is even worse and Opera is the absolute worse. I still run Firefox occasionally because it tolerates poorly designed websites not up to standards but that is what makes Firefox more vulnerable too.

So what browser do you prefer?

I'm going to have to disagree with you in part on this point. The only reason Firefox has more "reported" vulnerabilities is that it currently holds the largest browser market share, hence, it is targeted more heavily. That being said, Mozilla is 1st place when it comes to closing those vulnerabilities ASAP.

Keeping an updated browser is important, even though Mozilla had 100 vulnerabilities in 2010, they were all fixed/closed within days (or hours). Mozilla's Update strategy is also better by offering the browser updates when opening, unlike IE's updates via Windows Update (Which people tend not to do for whatever reason).

I think the big issue to keep your eye on is plugins and extensions. Active X (Microsoft's POS) is the leading attack vector by leaps and bounds, way above Java and Flash exploits combined. Any way you slice it, the browser isn't where the bulk of the exploits are coming from, it's the plugins.

I have to agree with shark, you must have had a bad experience with Opera. I don't particularly care for the UI of Opera, but it did have the LEAST amount of vulnerabilities reported in 2010.
http://www.symantec.com/business/th...nerability_trends&aid=browser_vulnerabilities

On top of all of those things, Firefox can be made even more secure by using Adblock and/or script blocking plugins, but it is up to the user (or the computer tech) to follow through. The best way to secure yourself on the web is of course to have a good AV program running.. and no, McAfee, Norton, MSE, and AVG do not qualify as good.

Believe me when I tell you that IE is the most insecure browser in it's default form. I urge you to give Metasploit.com a try. You can deploy the exploits we are talking about over your own network to test security. You can also do a search for "current" exploits on the site, I think you will find only a few for Firefox (alone, not plugins), but many for IE.
Firefox:
Firefox 3.5 escape() Return Value Memory Corruption (javaScript Interpreter)

Firefox 1.5.0 (OLD) location.QueryInterface() Code Execution (Requires that over 1GB of data be transferred for exploit to work, NOT LIKELY)

IE:
http://www.metasploit.com/modules/f...&osvdb=&bid=&text=Internet+Explorer&cve=&msb=
Too much to list.

I like cCleaner, and have never had a problem with it BTW

 

[RyansPCRepairs]

If firefox is crashing for using a built in feature then you should probably think of changing browsers or contacting support before thinking of using another 'alternative' to fix it.

Although I love CCleaner and think it is one of the best free repair tools.

God bless,

-Ryan

 

[Zratch]

srware Iron

Hey there, am I the only one using Srware Iron ? Chromium base but not made by google, as far as I know.

I would forward the link but my account is still new . sorry for the trouble. But it is worth it. Also it is compatible with almost all Google chrome's add-ons

And on the CC, I use it on clients computer but almost never on mine, since I have too much password for many sites and don't want to write them all down, so I keep losing passwords. Never had any trouble at no clients places.

 

[sys-eng]

So what browser do you prefer?

I'm going to have to disagree with you in part on this point. The only reason Firefox has more "reported" vulnerabilities is that it currently holds the largest browser market share, hence, it is targeted more heavily. That being said, Mozilla is 1st place when it comes to closing those vulnerabilities ASAP.

I have to agree with shark, you must have had a bad experience with Opera. IIE:
http://www.metasploit.com/modules/f...&osvdb=&bid=&text=Internet+Explorer&cve=&msb=
Too much to list.

I do not know the market share for FireFox. I have never used Opera on one of my computers. I based my statement on several security tests that I have seen on Internet browsers. I cannot imagine having the time to test all of the browsers so I do rely upon others.

The big weakness in all these browsers is the user going to bad sites. Turn on Parental Controls on IE9 and eliminate probably 90+% of the problems. Turn on IP Blocking on Malwarebyte's Pro and eliminate another 9.9% of the infections from the Internet. That is just from my experience.

The list you referenced at Metasploit is an archive of stuff all the way back to Windows 2000. The list is much shorter for IE8 or IE9. FireFox 5 did close a lot of holes. I have heard (from a Google employee) that Google is monitoring a lot of stats from Chrome.

PS
One thing I do not like about CCleaner is that it does not clear temp files from ALL user accounts - - just the one it is ran from.

 

[dipper]

Ccleaner is great for as a cleaner but the registry tool is very aggressive and causes more harm than good.

I'm surprised to hear this? I have used Ccleaner for years and the only issue I had was years ago (5+) when it caused an issue with the firewall for CA Internet Security.

What sort of issues have you had with the registry cleaner?

 

[DanB]

CCleaner

I have used CCleaner for many years. Many clients feel brave enough to use it every day. In all that time I have only had one problem with the registry cleaner. That was a bunch of links to map files in Arc GIS were cleared. Double clicking on the saved registry file fixed it. (knocking on wood)

On the other side of things since vista and win7 I have been using GlaryUtils much more. Especially the startup manager is more helpful. Many more tools in the program.

As to Browsers... I still feel firefox is powerful, light on resources, and fairly secure. Has do not track settings. So firefox is my first choice for XP computers. With Chrome a good second choice. Opera is also a nice browser and I have it loaded in a virtual xp machine (i do most of my remote support in Virtual Machines)
I feel that IE 9 is finally the IE that we have been waiting for. But they still do not follow standards that other browsers use. So for web work it always looks a bit different.

Cheers

 

[sys-eng]

I'm surprised to hear this? I have used Ccleaner for years and the only issue I had was years ago (5+) when it caused an issue with the firewall for CA Internet Security.

What sort of issues have you had with the registry cleaner?

It falsely identifies "problems" to be "fixed". An open argument does not need to be "fixed". They are not a problem. Deleting them will not improve the performance of the system. It is much like changing the air in my car's tires or turning the drive belts around. No beneift.

 

[dipper]

On the other side of things since vista and win7 I have been using GlaryUtils much more. Especially the startup manager is more helpful. Many more tools in the program.

Hmm, I'm checking out GlarysUtils now. Looks good. What are others opinions on it?

thanks for the tip DanB!

 

[smlie4]

I used to use ccleaner, but now I don't clean up people temporary files anymore unless they have a really ancient computer and need the space.

The main reason I stopped is because temporary files are there to speed computer, deleting means they are going to have to be recreated again which means the CPU is going to have to do extra work and the computer is going to have to download internet pages all over again.

Defrag, Diskchk and more RAM are the only things I do now. Particularly more RAM as I make money (which keeps me in business) and the customer gets a 'real' gain in speed.

 

[smlie4]

Ccleaner can be used to delete files.

Locked files?

I use Malwarebytes for locked files. Especially hosts file when it gets taken over and locked by the infecting program.