We began looking last week at the nifty program called Ccleaner, where I covered the program’s “Cleaner” function. This week, let’s look at the Registry and Drive Wiper functions.
First, an understanding of the Windows registry is in order. The Windows registry is a gigantic, very complex database that contains every single, itty-bitty setting and option, not only for the Windows operating system, but for every program and piece of hardware in your entire computer. If the Windows registry gets messed up, then your computer is messed up.
It is the nature of the Windows Registry to get messed up. As hardware items and programs are added, deleted, changed and used, the Windows registry changes, and often, problems creep in.
This is due to the fact that, despite all of the glitzy marketing hype that Microsoft power-pushes onto TV and the Internet, the Windows operating system is an amazingly flawed product. Yes, modern versions of Windows are a huge improvement over Windows 98, but they are still very buggy products. Hence, the success of Windows-repair programs like Ccleaner.
Using the Registry function of Ccleaner couldn’t be easier. Click the Registry button on the left and the “Scan for issues” button at the bottom. When the green progress bar at the top reaches 100% and the “Fix selected issues” button lights up at the bottom, you will see the list of registry problems that Ccleaner has found. Ccleaner will almost always find something, so don’t be surprised if, the first time around, hundreds or even thousands of problems show up.
When the Registry function is through scanning, click the “fix selected issues” button at the bottom. A box will appear, asking if you want to backup changes to the registry. While I’ve never needed to use a registry backup in my years of using Ccleaner, backing up registry changes is always a good idea, so I always answer “Yes” here. Click Save in the next box that pops up and “Fix all selected issues” after that. As the issues are fixed, the list will clear out. Click Close when the list is clear and you’re all done.
The last Ccleaner function which most people will use is the Drive Wiper. If you’ve read my columns for any length of time or taken my free class at our city’s local library, you know what it takes to actually erase a file from a Windows computer. Selecting a file, hitting the delete key and then emptying the recycle bin does not get the job done. If you don’t know what I am talking about, read my column titled, “Delete your files for good,” dated 11-19-06, found on my website.
To the rescue comes Ccleaner, which provides an effective and easy way to make unwanted files completely disappear. Click Tools on the left and select Drive Wiper from the list of functions. Make sure that the dropdown box next to “Wipe” says “Free Space Only,” rather than “Entire Drive.” Otherwise, you will erase the entire hard drive and your computer will no longer work. Oops!
Next, select how thoroughly you want the files to be erased. Without going into an entire treatise on computer forensics theory, suffice it to say the default security setting, “Simple Overwrite,” will work for most situations. Finally, pick which drive to wipe and click “Wipe.”
When it comes to computer file erasure, what we are most concerned with is the probability that your computer will someday be sold, given away or thrown away. When that happens, you want to make sure that your personal files have been deleted, so they don’t fall into the wrong hands. For this purpose, Ccleaner’s “Simple Overwrite” will get the job done.
If you are worried about genius computer super-experts recovering your files, then choose the higher, three-pass to 35-pass security functions. Be warned, though, they take a long time. Just to see what would happen, I once chose the 35-pass setting on one of my test computers; it took a full week to finish.
Finally, I like to click the Options tab and uncheck all Monitoring functions. I don’t care to have Ccleaner running all the time in the background, which is what the Monitoring functions do.