|
CCleaner is a good program, but it's main problem, indeed, with many of its ilk, is that it *may* remove stuff that is essential. Treat what it asks you to delete with caution.
Other goodies are Super AntiSpyware, Spybot (as mentioned), AVG Free (although some prefer the free AVAST version these days). Zonealarm is free, and isn't too bad, even though it does from time to time make a mess of things.
Be cautious with many of the so called registry cleaners out there on the market - many are simply scams and install more damage than they purportedly clean.
I'd recommend doing a AV scan over at Trendmicro's housecall once a month too. Hell, it doesn't hurt to do online scans via Nortons and Kaspersky Labs as well (all free).
I tend to be very cautious around the Windows registry, and I'm an experienced techie. It's *very* easy to stuff something up and voila, no bootable Windows system. If in doubt, Google it.
Dave
|