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Clean Up Your Computer With CCleaner

Written by Kevin

CCleaner is a utility that cleans all areas of your computer, from your browser data (cache, cookies, temporary files) to basic system tasks (empty trash, clear log files, memory dump files) with one single click.

It has recently come to my attention that Piriform, the creator of the popular CCleaner for Windows has released a Mac version of the app. With them reaching out to the Apple platform I have decided to review CCleaner once again for those who may have missed it or are interested in trying out the Mac version.

CCleaner is a utility that cleans all areas of your computer and by doing so protects your privacy and increases your computer’s performance.

For Windows

The Windows version of CCleaner supports IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari, pretty much every big name browser currently available. With this app you are able to instantly clean the temporary files, history, cookies, autocomplete form history, and other log files. This is extremely handy if you use more then one browser often and don’t want to have to go into each one to and manually delete these files.

Not only does CCleaner manage your browser data but it also taps into Windows and allows you to empty the recycle bin, removes unused log files, clear clipboard data, manage your registry and more; all with the click of a button.

CCleaner’s other features include the ability to uninstall programs, determine what processes you want enabled when your computer boots up, manage system restore points, and secure wipe drives.

CCleaner for Windows is free and can be downloaded from here. CCleaner works on a broad range of Win machines, Windows 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista / Windows7 / XP64 / Vista64 / Windows7 64.

For Mac

Unlike the Windows version, CCleaner currently only supports two browsers, Safari and Firefox (it’s in beta) but still has system-wide cleaning abilities like removing Trash items, Recent documents, MRU lists, Temporary folders, and more.  It may not be as feature rich as the Windows version but it still provides you with a fast way to remove useless data from your system.

If you happen to own both a Windows and Mac machine you won’t have a hard time navigating the app from one machine to another as Piriform has kept the UI almost identical. CCleaner is definitely going to make your life easier allowing all of these common tasks to be performed under a single click!

The Applications tab (shown in the screenshot below) allows you to clean Safari and Firefox’s browsing data.

While the Mac OS X tab gives you the option to clear the trash and recent folders.

As I previously stated, CCleaner for Mac is currently in beta and according to the developers we will see some new additions in the near future.

Give the beta release a test run here. It is currently free and runs on Mac OS X 10.6.2 or higher (will work on Lion as well).

About the author

Kevin

Kevin is the Founder and Senior Editor of Tech Heavy. When he isn't writing about the latest tech tools he spends his days working in an IT department in Dubuque, IA. @kevincray

7 Comments

  • CCleaner seems like a great piece of software. I really like the fact that it can clean up all of your browsers from one place. I use firefox, chrome, opera, and IE, so that would seriously cut down on time. Great article.

  • Finally! I used to use this program on my pc before I switched to the Mac. But with more baddies attacking macs these days, it’s always good to have a great program like this.

  • Since I started an online presence 3 ago, I am already a big user of CCleaner. It is one of the most reliable piece of software ever and so user friendly that even a non-techie person like me will never have any problem using. Plus we can use it for free for as long as we want…no pressure to upgrade ever.

    I am glad that CCleaner is now available for Mac users. I am sure this will receive a war reception from all guys belonging to world of Mac.

  • I now consider this software to be part of the elite group of programs very useful for all computer users. With CCleaner, you can be sure that it will its job fast. It can delete files permanently, clean the registry and even use it to uninstall unneeded programs. All for free…anytime…all I can say is a praise!

  • CCleaner is always on my list of very important program all computer users must have on their PC. Nothing beats its simplicity and effectiveness in cleaning files and data not needed. And because it can be downloaded for free anytime, CCleaner really rocks!

  • Anybody who cares for his PC and.or laptop must use CCleaner for overall cleaning…plus it also had other good functions. Since it can clean the registry well and can even be use to uninstall dead programs, I always appreciate the developer of this freeshare software. CCleaner is simply amazing!