Advice re: Cleaners and Reg tools

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by Longboard, Oct 3, 2004.

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  1. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    Hello. First post. I hope I'm doing this right. "You've got to know your limitations"
    I am a pretty basic user just trying to stay afloat. I had a recent bout with a browser hijacker and have had a very steep learning curve over the last few months!
    I (now) run XPSP2 with NAV/NIS, AVG free,SS&D 1.31, AdAwareSE 1.05, Spywareguard, Spywareblaster and Spysweeper call me paranoid if you wish! I pay attention to the various advices for IE6 settings.
    I am well and truly out of my depth following some of the threads here (ie Reg Monitors) The last "programme" I wrote was in Fortran. That ages me I guess! I can follow instructions with the best of them when required.
    As part of my work (Doctor) I often have very sensitive personal information on my system.

    I started using EE (despite the absurd and noxious advertising)to keep things clean but after doing a full reformat for SP2 install I found info about what it leaves behind and what it does to the registry. I have not reinstalled. (Still waiting for refund)

    I am hoping someone might advise me about a good internet/disc cleaner and delete utility.
    I am also looking for advice about a good Registry cleaner/defragger.

    I have been trolling the net for these over the last few days and realise there are many on offer. Although I appreciate rules based software can be a bit tricky I am not confident of my ability to operate in my registry on my own.

    I know you guys support CryptoSuite which seems good. I have checked out a few others like Evidence Washer, WindowsWasher, Tracks Eraser etc.

    I know you also support MRU blaster and have a great deal of appreciation for Lavasoft!

    SS&D has some regclean functions as I understand.

    Eraser I doubt if I could configure.

    RegRun V CCleaner V Ace Utilities? (Sys Internals ?too complex)

    I am intriuged by the Radsoft suite XPT & EEE but doubt if I could or would use half of it and have failed to get a reply to an e-mail. Does any body know about these tools and their claims?

    I don't mind paying for good tools and am more than happy donating where requested.

    Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
    Sorry about the length if you made it this far! Thanks.
     
  2. bch

    bch Guest

    TuneUpUtlities 2004 might fit the bill. I have used it for six months without any problems on XP and now with SP2 installed. Good registry cleaner which backs up any changes, (I've never once had to restore a back up), registry defragmenter, temp file cleaner, and file shredder for secure deletion. There is a Start Up Manager and a whole host of additional functions. Also a "one click" maintenance option which is extremely useful.

    I also use RegSupremePro registry cleaner in conjunction with the above. Again I have never had to restore any back ups. Includes a normal scan and a deep scan. The deep scan will find myriads of errors but, in my experience, is very safe to use.

    http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/details/ for TuneUpUtilities 2004 and http://www.jv16.org/ for RegSupremePro.

    There is also a good Temp File Cleaner from G-Lock which is free http://www.glocksoft.com/temp_cleaner/index.htm
     
  3. nod32_9

    nod32_9 Guest

    Crap Cleaner would be my first choice...excellent disc AND registry cleaner. The default configuration works well for most people. I also use the free version of JV16, RegScrubXP, and RegClean when tweaking the registry.

    Keep the number of installed programs as low as possible to avoid conflicts. I have 16 applications. 7 out of 16 applications run in zipped format (no need to install in windows).

    I always create an image file of my system prior to installing ANY new application. Use the PC for a week and check for problem. If there is a conflict with the newly added application, then you can use the image file to remove the application. This also applies to ANY windows update. It's that easy to COMPLETELY remove ANY bad application.
     
  4. Tassie_Devils

    Tassie_Devils Global Moderator

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    Agree with this also. :)

    Cheers TAS
     
  5. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Crap Cleaner is good, but it has a serious flaw (imo) in that it does not erase (securely delete) the contents of the cache, etc. It merely removes them. If you want a cleaner to use for security purposes - try something other than Crap Cleaner. Personally, I use Tracks Eraser Pro, though there are many good programs to securely delete files. By the way, as you found out, Evidence Eliminator is junk - good for you seeking a refund.
     
  6. Devinco

    Devinco Registered Member

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    Hi luv2bsecure,

    Do you have the link for the Tracks Eraser Pro website?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  7. Infinity

    Infinity Registered Member

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    there was a good one named heidi eraser, still is btw

    http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

    Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS. It works with any drive including IDE, SCSI and RAID. Also CD-RW's.
    Uses the Guttmann (Default), Pseudorandom Data and US DoD 5220-22.M methods.
    Erases Files and Folders.
    Erases Files/Folders that were only previously 'deleted'.
    Erases all hard drives using 'Darik's Boot and Nuke' method.
    Erases Index.dat on Reboot
    Erases Encrypted Files and Drives.
    Erases FreeSpace on 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS.
    Erases contents of the Recycle Bin.
    Erases Compressed Files and Drives.
    Erases Network Files, Floppy Disks, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW.
    Erases Windows Temporary Files.
    Erases Internet Cookies.
    Erases Paging (swap) file.
    Erases Internet Cache.
    Appears as an 'Erase' option on the Context Menu of Windows Explorer and Recycle Bin.
    Comes with an Eraser Scheduler that allows you to create user-defined tasks.
    Defeats File Recovery software applications Hardware tools.
    Supports FAT32 and NTFS Files Systems.
    Eraser is easy to use and comes with a dedicated support network.
     
  8. snowbound

    snowbound Retired Moderator

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    This would be it , i assume,

    http://www.acesoft.net/download.htm



    snowbound
     
  9. Devinco

    Devinco Registered Member

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    Thanks Snowbound! :)
     
  10. bch

    bch Registered Member

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    Don't want to cause any contention here. I use CCleaner and think it is a very good app. In my experience, however, it doesn't come close to RegSupremePro in terms of cleaning the registry.

    CCleaner is free, of course, but you get a free trial of RegSupremePro so there is nothing to stop you downloading both and checking them out.

    There is also a free trial of TuneUpUtilities 2004.
     
  11. Meltdown

    Meltdown Registered Member

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    If you need secure file deletion, Spybot has a built-in shredder, accessible in the advanced mode, under tools.
     
  12. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    eraser is very good for deleting/over-writting unused disk space, which would include anything deleted from the recycle bin. but if you are unsure that you could set it up correctly, you should still install it just so you can use the file deletion process.

    to delete a file with eraser all you have to do is right-click the file you want to delete and pick erase.

    i think the default amount of times it over-writes the file is 35 times, which is very secure. you can even change the settings so it over-writes the file as many times as you want.

    see the screenshot to see how easy it is to erase the folder called *old files* :)
     

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  13. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    if you are using Internet Explorer you could take a look at IE Privacy Keeper 2.3. i dont use it, but it has good ratings from places like snapfiles. it does secure deletion (but doesnt say how many times it over-writes) and you can choose to clean custom folder locations as well as registry keys and even use secure deltion method to permanently wipe from your disk.
    http://www.unhsolutions.net/IEPK/index.shtml
    EDIT you can use the above program for every day use, then when you feel more confident with eraser, which is easy to use and worth using, you can use eraser to delete unused disk space, over-night, as it takes awhile to do, once or twice a week
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2004
  14. luv2bsecure

    luv2bsecure Infrequent Poster

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    Devinco - I am guessing you found the info page for TEP. It is very good and has a "plug-in maker" that makes adding your own deletions very easy.

    Infinity mentioned ERASER. Great program! It was originally written by Sami Tolvanen and is a very good app for wiping free space. It's the best for free-space cleaning as far as I am concerned. As for wiping all the nooks and crannies of Windows, it must be configured. Sami T. signed it all over to Garrett Trant to update a couple of years back and he's done a good job with ERASER.

    As for Crap Cleaner, I have never used the registry cleaner. I use RegSupreme Pro for that along with an excellent registry cleaner found in (already mentioned by someone) Tune-Up Utilities. As mentioned before, I don't like how CCleaner doesn't securely delete the files.

    For secure cleaning of Windows - ERASER and Tracks Eraser Pro make a great combination. BTW, someone mentioned Spybot having a shredder and that is true - but it doesn't clean out near the number of "tracks" as TEP.

    Something I wish someone would write is a complete "auditing" program for Windows. It could be run on and actually show you - not the file - but the CONTENTS of each and every file. Kind of like an Index.dat viewer for ALL of Windows "hidden files". It would be an eye-opener and make believers out of people who don't quite understand how much of everyday computing is left behind.
     
  15. Devinco

    Devinco Registered Member

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    Thanks luv2bsecure.
     
  16. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    if you use CCleaner, make sure you take the option, which it asks you if you want to or not, to make backups; so if things go wrong you can merge the .reg backups back into the registry.
    you can make a folder called something like ccleaner bak, and always store the backups there.

    if i understood this quote correctly, the following will be helpful, regarding the defragging

    when you have used a reg cleaner a good program to use afterwards is NTREGOPT. you can read about it here and download it from here

    another good program to use is PageDefrag, you can read and download from here

    another thing when defragmenting is, its best to turn off your screensaver and AV and exit/quit as many programs as possible so they will be defragmented (thanks for letting me know Tassie).
    i defragment in safe mode because of this
    i read in wilders once that someone used a second defragmentor to defragment the first defragmenter. im not an expert but that seems alittle over the top :eek:
     
  17. TheSnowGuy

    TheSnowGuy Guest

    Would agree that ERASER is about as good as it gets.....use whatever you like to "clean" but afters use ERASER to fully wipe......have used it for years...........really nothing difficult about it......
    Also using regcleaner.....MRUBLASTER...IESWEEPER...an a couple of others.........

    NOTE: If you are keeping patient info....you may consider using a secure program for that particular purpose only.......one that has secure encryption.......password lock.......others can suggest such a program perhaps......wont advise strongly to heed the advice of Lov2B
     
  18. THESNOWGUY

    THESNOWGUY Guest

    TYPO::::::::


    should read:

    WOULD advise strongly to heed the advice of Lov2B
     
  19. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    Wow. Thankyou all for the response and advice

    Sorry typo in first Post "...And I have a great deal of respect for Lavasoft."

    I also use IE-Spyad as well as the other anti malwaretools.

    I will follow up on the links and references.

    ??No mention of CryptoSuite for deleting.

    This may be flogging a dead horse but;

    I think I remember finding previous threads from Luv2Bsecure about internet cleaners: a series of posts between him and Straight Shooter where he mentioned The Radsoft EEE and XPT: http://www.radsoft.net/products/ The product sounds good.The web site is quite aggressive and makes very dramatic/melodramatic claims, and the cost!. For that it better do the dishes as well. Are they still a going concern and do they have support from any of you. There is very little I can find on the web or the usual download sites. Some mentions of them on other forums are from 2001.

    I have looked at Eraser and find it not as threatening as I may have thought
    and really easy for us naifs to configure.

    Thankyou again.
     
  20. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    Hello again. Thanks for all the good suggestions after my last post. I appreciate your time. :)

    I am just prodding a bit to see if I can get some feedback on the Radsoft tools and cleaners utility. I see that Radsoft has been mentioned before and after searching the archives I see FanJ and Love2Bsecure have swapped some info previously. Also some what disturbingly I saw that there was some sort of row Between SS&D, Lavasoft and Radsoft some years ago. o_O

    Do they meet their promises? Is there support, updates?

    $99!

    It was very illuminating and uplifting to see the level of community apparent in the posts i was searching. Nice to think of the wider world sometimes.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 6, 2004
  21. optigrab

    optigrab Registered Member

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    Just perusing the Radsoft site. I am not well-aquainted with their products, but it seems that they are "jacks-of-all-trades" products. Do you need every capability included? As a consumer, I would be leary of the supposition that one product could so many things very well, or at least, as well as other single-use products. And many single-use products will likely perform as well or better, but at a lower cost.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 6, 2004
  22. Bubba

    Bubba Updates Team

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    Hey Longboard,

    I have merged your other thread concerning Radsoft XPT & EEE into this thread. Please continue the discussion of Radsoft in this thread.

    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2004
  23. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    Bubba, Thanks. Sorry about being a bit pushy.

    It is a remarkably good feeling to be aware of your interest.

    Optigrab, thanks also. I appreciate your observation that one suit might not fit all.

    I would have thought that if they were keen to enter this market there might have been a trial period, or some sort of refund offer. The site and the suite have obviously been around for a while. Yet there is little advertising or recent google findings for reviews or comments. It would seem Radsoft don't really care if we do or dont.

    You are correct in supposing I would not have a use for or the ability to use most of the tools. Some of the XPT suite seem like toys anyway. Fun rather than useful utilities. WHy three text editors? THe games? etc.

    I really like the look of the EEE tools: cleaner, IE protection etc, from the description anyway. It even looks as though EEE may have been written as a direct challenge to EE some time ago ( cf " the EEE documents), just to show they could rather than a genuine attempt to sell software. I see the latest edition of the XPT and EEE seems to have a 2004 date stamp. AS I noted before I had e-mailed the address supplied but no response for 3 weeks. Not exactly confidence building. The tone of the web page and the links seems pitched at a level well above my experience.

    I was hoping to find if the claims for the tools are well founded, that is why I am interested in seeking advice from the Forum.

    Equally if there is some risk of screwing my system with these tools or some sort of horrendous lock up/conflict with the more well known effective and supported utilities, that would be good to know!

    Put it this way; my request for interested parties has hardly generated the heat of the Giant anti-spyware tools!

    :doubt: Cant figure if I'm talking myself into taking a (very expensive) plunge or talking myself out of it?

    Thanks for your patience.
     
  24. AJohn

    AJohn Registered Member

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    I very rarely purchase software. Radsoft XPT is one of the few I have purchased along with L'N'S, HTML Guardian and PGP. XPT is a very usefull set of programs that I find very usefull, but you should consider what you need before paying 99$. They have very good support and have updates when needed (usually minor updates like compatability issues and security flaws). XPT is everything it claims to be, but you might not need everything that comes with it. I suggest browsing through Radsoft and looking at everything it comes with and comparing it to what you need and a few other programs that are availiable. GL finding what u need.

    Edit: BTW XPT comes with a program that removes everything Evidence Eliminator has left on your computer. As far as I could tell it works as it says.
     
  25. manOFpeace

    manOFpeace Registered Member

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    I like RegSeeker for when I uninstall a program, it picks up on every word.
    For general reg. cleaning I use free jv16PowerTools, so far nothing to restore.
    I also have RegistrarLite, I like it also. :)
     
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