SlimCleaner

The SlimCleaner application takes a crow-sourced approach to cleaning and optimizing PCs. This means that it uses aggregated-cloud feedback to recommend the best settings for startup items, services, and applications. That’s the main idea on which SlimWare Utilities, the company behind the SlimCleaner application, was founded: crowd-sources application can revolutionize PC performance. So get the SlimCleaner to clean junk files from your computer, remove startup items, uninstall applications, securely delete data, scan for malicious hijack items, and more.

To get started with SlimCleaner, you will first have to get a less than 1MB executable off the web and onto your computer. Run the executable and a setup wizard will ask you to pick between an Express Installation and a Custom Installation – the custom one lets you opt out of installing the AVG Security Toolbar and setting ACG Secure Search as your homepage and search provider. You can install SlimCleaner on top of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

The interface displays buttons for SlimCleaner’s main functions to the left. Click through those buttons and what you see in the application’s main pane will change. You will get to click through its cleaning capabilities, optimization capabilities, disk tools, file shredding capabilities, and more. For accessing some of SlimCleaner’s functionality you don’t even need the interface – that’s because SlimCleaner integrates with the right click context menu. Right click a file and you will be able to start a scan with Cloud AV and shred the file.

As mentioned above, you can use SlimCleaner to improve the computer’s performance. The application uses two elements to make sure it does a proper job: it uses a fast PC cleaning engine and it uses feedback provided by the community. The community-sourced feedback points to the data you could do without; the fast PC cleaning engine removes the unneeded data. To start the cleaning process, you need only click on the Cleaner button and click the Analyze button. You can manually start a cleaning job, or you can use the schedule function and it will be run automatically.

There are several other things the SlimCleaner tool can do. Click Optimize and you will see a list of applications that run at startup and a list of running services; you can remove items from the startup list and from the list of running services. From Software you can view a list of installed applications and uninstall the ones you don’t need. From Browsers you can view and remove Firefox extensions and plug-ins (support for IE, Chrome, Opera and Safari is provided as well). Click the Hijack Log button and SlimCleaner will scan startup entries, toolbars, BHOs, ActiveX controls, and browsers with the aim of finding malicious items that can hijack a system.

From Disk Tools you can view how much disk space is used and how it is distributed. You can also wipe a disk clean and you can shred files. From Windows Tools you have access to the Windows Disk Defragments, System Restore, Control Panel, Device Management, and other management tools built into the operating system.

You shouldn’t have any problems getting accustomed to and understanding the functionality SlimCleaner has to offer. In case you do run into problems, check out the manual, online help, and video tutorials. You will find links in the Help menu.

How much do you have to pay to enjoy the functionality SlimCleaner has to offer? The answer is: nothing. This tool that will clean and optimize your PC is free.

By combining two key elements, SlimCleaner does a properly good job of cleaning and optimizing your PC: a very fast cleaning engine and community-sourced feedback.