CCleaner and Avast software

[Jackie Matthews]

I read a post on Damien's fb page where someone was after help with a slow pc (Specifically a mac) and in that thread I read that you no longer recommend Avast or Ccleaner, both of which I use.  I also have Glary installed.  I am using a laptop running windows 10 professional. 

What software do you recommend instead of the above now please?

[Brian]

Alright, so you have a Windows Computer. First things first, we will need to uninstall Avast! Here is the Avast! Uninstall Utility and the instructions on how to use it. You will need to boot Windows in Safe Mode in order to run the software. So I'd save the AvastClear.exe to the root of the C:\ Drive to make things easier for you. Here is a YouTube Video demonstrating the easy way to get into Safe Mode. I would choose the option of Safe Mode with Networking. This way you can access the internet, or more importantly the software uninstall might need the Internet to work correctly.

While in Safe Mode, we should be able to un-install CCleaner as well. Here are the instructions on how to accomplish this. Fortunately, it looks pretty straightforward to uninstall and does not require a utility to get everything removed. After you get both programs un-installed, restart your computer.

4 hours ago, Jackie Matthews said:

What software do you recommend instead of the above now please?

Believe it or not, the Windows Defender Software that you can obtain via Windows Updates works really well. The only downside is you should check for Windows Updates weekly to see if any updates are pushed out for it. If you don't want to pursue that route, and would prefer paid external Anti Virus Software, I highly recommend a program called Webroot. Here is their website: Webroot.com. It seems that the software is on sale and I'd pick the Middle One for $44.99. The downside to Webroot is that like most AntiVirus Software, there is an annual license fee. The other downside, which is a good thing actually, is that Webroot is really hyper. It's like a guard dog for your computer and considers "EVERYTHING IS A VIRUS!" a normal operating mode. So I've seen various installer programs not work (or get "blown out of the sky" when opening them) so if you do purchase Webroot, just "Snooze" it when you are installing software and then turn it back on when you are finished.

In reality, computers don't get Viruses anymore. That's a 1980's & 1990's thing. Now there is more money to be made by exploiting your computer, or installing Keyloggers or other Trojans / Worms than by using a Virus to kill someone's computer. It's all about money now. It's all about personal data and data-mining. It's about Bank Account Information / Debit Cards or getting your Credit Card info. We are more interconnected than ever and don't realize on just how much personal info we willingly give out on a daily basis. Got a fancy Smart Phone? Whether it's Android or and iPhone, our phones are constantly spewing out personal data that is picked up by a Server somewhere. The worst ones are the Ransomware ones. These Crypto-Lockers, which completely lock out all of your files unless you pay a fee, usually in BitCoin, to some Hacker for a large sum of money, and it doesn't always work if you do pay them. In fact, once they discover a source of income, chances are they will infect you again via a series of back-doors into your computer during the first installation of the Ransomeware. That's why Windows has a Safe Mode with no Internet. Sometimes you need your computer to not be hooked up to anything.

Before installing anything else, I would run Glary Uninstaller and see if it finds anything else that looks obvious. Chances are, we are going to have to go over each program one-by-one to see if there is anything that isn't obvious. In addition, there might be other AntiVirus Software that is pre-installed, like McAfee or Symantec...these programs usually come with store-bought computers and lie in the background running because people don't think to uninstall them.

[Brian]

One more thing! I just noticed that MacPaw makes a version of CleanMyMac X for Windows, called "CleanMyPC." It has a uninstaller built in and is just as easy to use a CCleaner. So you might want to check it out. Here is the link to the software. Chances are, just like CleanMyMac, it will do a scan for you and report back to what it finds. If you want to delete those files, you will need to "Pony up the $$" to get it to work fully. But I'd at least try it.