cleanup

Browsing and installing all of the free software we offer at Download.com can potentially bog down your computer over time. It can be hard to resist installing something just because it is new, looks useful, or simply, is free. It is a good idea to do a house cleanup and getting rid of junk that you don't need once in a while to improve the performance of your computer. But how do you know what to remove?

It can be easy to forget which program does what and why you have it installed, making PC cleanup a nightmare. … Read more

ARO 2012 is the latest version of a longstanding Registry cleaner and optimizer. The look is familiar, but ARO 2012 offers several upgrades over previous versions, such as improved browser cleaning and user-friendlier settings as well as new tweaks that can yield better NTFS performance, faster startups, and improved CPU utilization. ARO 2012 also backs up and optimizes the Registry. You can schedule automatic cleanings, too.

ARO 2012's installer informed us that it would scan our PC as soon as it closed. The first scan is always important with software like ARO since it establishes a baseline, and ours … Read more

This is an update of a deal I posted several months back.

How's your system running these days? A little pokier than usual? Occasional crashes or lockups? Think there might be some malware lurking beneath the surface?

Whatever's ailing your PC, a repair/optimization utility might help. Today only, you can score IObit's Advanced SystemCare Pro 5 absolutely free. It normally sells for $19.95 (for a one-year license).

The only bummer here is that this Giveaway of the Day giveaway includes only a six-month license. Of course, that should be more than enough time to get … Read more

It's always exciting when you bring home a new computer. It feels so powerful and fast; you can't imagine ever needing to buy another one again. Unfortunately, neither your excitement nor your PC's performance lasts.

Whether your hard drive is running out of space or your system takes forever to run simple tasks, it might be worth your time to try and revive it before replacing it. Here are some spring cleaning tips to revive your Windows PC:

Free up disk space The enormous size of modern multimedia files can eat up your hard-drive storage quickly. What … Read more

Nothing says "I love you" like free software.

In honor of Valentine's Day, IObit is offering Advanced SystemCare 5 Pro (Win) free of charge. It normally sells for $19.95.

Update: IObit is currently returning a "server overloaded" message when you enter your e-mail address. Hopefully they'll work out the kinks and deliver the promised license to everyone who requests it.

Take note, however: this offer is good today and today only. After the clock strikes midnight, you'll either have to pony up $20 or settle for Advanced SystemCare 5 Free (which is … Read more

Free Windows Cleanup Tool is actually a bundle of free Windows utilities that can clean your system, defragment your registry, and perform other maintenance. It's a no-nonsense package that is simple to set up and use. It offers plenty of options, especially the cleaning tool.

Free Windows Cleanup Tool's interface is rectangular dialog with vertically arranged program icons, tree-view settings panel, and main window. The first tool, the Cleaner, requires users to select exactly what they want to clean, which keeps inexperienced users from accidentally deleting the wrong files. The cleaner settings included all major browsers, system temporary … Read more

More details about Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 have apparently leaked onto the Web, revealing new surprises and some makeovers to existing features.

A greater peek into the next version of Windows is coming from Windows 8 Milestone 1, also known as Build 7850, which started popping up at various FTP and file-sharing sites last week. This build was released to Microsoft partners late last year. Milestone 2 has since been released, while Milestone 3 has reportedly been compiled. But combined with details from more recent builds, Windows users can get a glimpse into what the future may hold.

One … Read more

Just like your car, it's important to keep your computer tuned up to ensure that it runs at its best. Regularly removing old and unnecessary files is crucial, and RidNacs aims to help you with this task by analyzing your PC's disk space usage. Unfortunately, its lack of viable help and vague results left a lot to be desired.

We appreciate the program's clean user interface. It consists of a small window with commands at the top for choosing directories to analyze and a blank panel for displaying results. But upon closer inspection, we found its menu … Read more

Can you come up with the ideal solution for cleaning up the BP oil spill? If so, millions of dollars in prize money could be yours.

The X Prize Foundation on Tuesday said that its new Oil Cleanup X Challenge will dare people to devise the most innovative ways to clean up oil spills, dangling a prize purse of millions of dollars as an incentive. The challenge is designed to inspire entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists around the world to create quick, creative, and efficient ways of capturing crude oil from the surface of the ocean, according to the foundation.

Full … Read more