Although I’ve only received a couple of e-mails on the topic since my previous article, I have received a few similar in the past, so I thought it worth addressing out in the open. In reference to my review of Uniblue PowerSuite, Hacker’s Nightmare member Les wrote:

Although I’ve enjoyed your newsletters over the years I am skeptical about this. LockerGnome has many articles warning against it and a Google search brings up a plethora of articles.

Here is one link: http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews146947.html

Am interested in your opinion.

Always happy to give an opinion Les <g>.

First, congratulations on doing some independent research yourself. I always encourage people to do exactly that, although there is some danger of being misled by wrong assessments and dishonest people with their own agendas. And thank you for coming back to engage me with your findings.

Now, let’s look at some facts, fallacies and conspiracy theories…

You Can Never Please Everyone

I think we are all aware that you’ll always be able to find a few knockers of any product, and this particularly applies to systems utilities. So who do you believe? Well, to be perfectly honest, for most people it will ultimately come down to finding someone you can trust, putting your faith in their assessments, and making them answerable for conflicting advice/opinions. Just as Les has done with his e-mail, though I would much prefer to receive all such communications via comments to the relevant blog post – the reason being, so we can share information with everyone.

I’ll get to some of the comments at the URL that Les posted in a moment, but first I did a search on LockerGnome for the keyword “Uniblue”.

All I could find were POSITIVE reviews by people I think it is reasonable to assume are probably fairly PC literate at the very least. I also found that LockerGnome actually promotes the full range of Uniblue products in numerous places throughout their website.

As far as I could see, the disparaging remarks that concerned Les were all posted as comments (mostly anonymous) to those reviews. They certainly weren’t a conclusion that was drawn by any of the reviewers in their articles.

Now, at risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, here’s something I discovered quite some time back…

Is There a Conspiracy Afoot?

Around 2006-2008 there seems to have been a very deliberate campaign underway to bad-mouth Uniblue and all their products. What brought me to this conclusion was that I kept encountering very positive reviews by experienced and in some cases well known IT people. Invariably these reviews would attract an uncharacteristic number of anti-Uniblue comment posts, most of which could easily have been written by the same person. I’m not saying they were — in fact it’s more likely there were a number of different authors — but there were glaring similarities shared by a preponderance of these posts, such as:

• A primary school level of expression
• Juvenile screen names
• An unjustified level of venom and rudeness
• Blatant untruths about the products
• Ridiculous claims of damage caused

Most curious of all was the fact that, when Uniblue representatives responded publicly offering to assist, they were invariably ignored. One Uniblue representative repeatedly publicly posted her direct e-mail address, which to my eyes is a pretty good demonstration of good faith.

It certainly seemed to be an orchestrated attack. By whom? I have no idea, but it’s as if a competitor appointed teenage offspring to get all his/her pals to search and attack this particular company. Believe me, plenty of businesses have found themselves the victims of misinformation campaigns. The Internet makes such reputation assassination just too easy, and there is no shortage of underhanded vendors willing to embark on such a campaign.

The SpyEraser Virus

On a different tack, a lot of animosity towards Uniblue was based on the erroneous assumption that they were responsible for the SpyEraser virus, which was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Uniblue’s SpyEraser anti-spyware product. And, as I said in the previous article, Uniblue SpyEraser has been discontinued as a product anyway. But for the record…

As far as I can determine, those people hit by the SpyEraser virus had downloaded a “trial application” from the domain SpyEraserTrial.com — which no longer exists at the time of this writing. However, when it was still active, the whois.com record for that domain had it registered under the name Absolutee Corp Ltd of Hong Kong. But actual ownership was somewhat obfuscated by the fact that the site’s IP address indicated it was hosted in Prague, Czech Republic, and associated with the business name Prague Software Service. In either case, nowhere near Uniblue’s home on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

Unreasonable Expectations

I also have seen people knocking SpyEraser (presumably the real one), claiming it wasn’t an effective anti-virus utility.

Now this is the level of intelligence that software publishers and their support desks have to deal with on a daily basis! Even when it (the real SpyEraser, that is) was available, it was advertised by the developers as an anti-spyware tool, not anti-virus. So quite apart from those who were blaming the wrong product, you’ve got ignorant people condemning a product because it doesn’t do what it was never designed or advertised to do.

Unmitigated Crap!

Exploring a few of the anti-Uniblue links that were sent to me I soon saw that many of the claims were at best blatant misrepresentations of the facts, and at worst, outright lies.

For example, there were several posts along the lines of “Who is Uniblue? They don’t have any contact information on their website.”

Well, I didn’t have any trouble finding that information. Just look down the bottom of the Uniblue home page, or any other page on their site for that matter, and you’ll have all the links you need.

One guy said that the TRIAL of CleanupMyPC reported 9000 issues with his computer. However he DID NOT invest in the fully functional program (30-day money-back guarantee, remember) to see what it could do for him. Never-the-less he still felt qualified to give it a rating of 1/5 stars. Huh! Based on what? Not trying it?

Another knocker says it removed his cache without permission. Ahmm, sorry, no it didn’t — not “without permission”. All of the following can be enabled/disabled in CleanupMyPC at will:

• Clear the Internet Explorer cache
• Delete files on the recent items list
• Clean the Firefox download history
• Clean the windows temporary folder
• Clean the user temporary folder

Still, he also awarded the product a score of 1/5 stars, apparently based on the fact that he couldn’t be bothered understanding the program he was using.

This one made me laugh…

Plaintiff said he does all his “typing” using Dragon NaturallySpeaking (DNS), and claimed that CleanUpMyPC “obliterated a bunch of temporary files that DNS crucially needs for its next session”.

Well, I have troublesome RSI (a bad wrist) and have been using voice input via Dragon NaturallySpeaking for just over two years, day in and day out — it is almost my sole means of “typing” and data input. Every post I make to this blog and every e-mail I send out is dictated in its entirety via Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I also follow a couple of very active DNS forums. I have never experienced any such thing, nor have I ever seen anyone else make such a claim. A doctor of my acquaintance uses the Pro version of DNS with the medical dictionary, plus Uniblue products, and has never had a problem either.

Here’s a tip when troubleshooting ANYTHING:

• If an intelligent web search doesn’t turn up anyone else with the same symptoms as you, then the problem is almost certainly something unique to your system.

And of course:

• When you download software, be it a trial or the full thing, make sure it‘s coming from the actual publisher, not from some scam look-alike site.

One More for the Road…

OK, I could go on almost endlessly, but just one more. Quote:

“This laptop was a replacement for the one that was screwed up with their Driver Scanner and resulted in damaging the hard drive in my other laptop.”

So we’re supposed to believe that DriverScanner, which at the most will only install new versions of software, actually PHYSICALLY DAMAGED a hard drive!!! And he had to buy a new laptop as a result? Seriously, if you believe that, please note that I have the Sydney Opera House on the market if anyone’s interested. Going cheap.

Look, if you’re serious about fixing a problem and you genuinely want help to do so…

There’s Plenty of Help Available

And plenty of reliable information if you want to look for it.

What annoys me the most is not that there are so many hopelessly inexperienced people out there. I feel for them, and inexperienced users are one of the main reasons this website even exists.

The annoying part is the way so many inexperienced people will jump to unjustified conclusions and condemn good products from honest companies, doing immense commercial harm in the process. Others, just as inexperienced as them, are going to listen to their nonsense and themselves be disadvantaged because they’ll believe it.

I repeat what I said in my previous article:

I regularly use Uniblue PowerSuite to run RegistryBooster, CleanupMyPC and DriverScanner, and I unreservedly recommend PowerSuite and/or any of its components.

I’ll Even Help You Get Help

If you should encounter a problem your first port of call should be a support ticket to Uniblue at http://www.uniblue.com/support/. First look to see if your problem is one of several addressed on that page. If it isn’t then scroll to the bottom of that page where you will find this sentence:

“If you cannot find an answer to your question, please submit a ticket with your query and we will contact you as soon as possible.”

And when contacting any support line, please don’t forget that you are a member of a global community. I am in Australia; Uniblue is in Europe; most of my readers are in the UK, Canada and the USA, but there are some from almost every country.

My point being, give the support people reasonable time to respond, including allowing for weekends, and the fact that Monday where you are might still be Sunday where they are. Very few companies these days can justify the cost of having someone available for 24×7 support, except those providing very expensive and mission-critical solutions.

Finally, if you have a problem with the support you are getting (or not getting) from Uniblue, feel free to contact me through this blog’s Contact Form and I’ll chase them up for you. I don’t expect that will ever be necessary, but since I’m making the recommendation it’s the least I can do.

So don’t guess or be swayed by the ignorant!

You won’t know what these tools can do for you until you try them for yourself. They work just fine for me, and for many of my clients and acquaintances, and for countless reviewers who’ve rated them highly, and the many reputable companies that have partnered with Uniblue to promote their products.

And as I said, if you’re not happy with the results, there is always the protection of the publicly advertised 30-day money-back guarantee.

So instead of listening to the rantings of the ignorant…

Try Uniblue PowerSuite for Yourself

I’m keen to hear of your experience.

</rant>

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Regular readers will be familiar with my general dislike of software suites, particularly in regard to security applications. Too often we see a developer make a name for themselves initially with software that addresses one particular area of security, such as anti-virus, or anti-spyware, or personal firewall. Then they start trying to be all things to all people, branching out into other sectors; then inevitably bundling their different applications together into a “suite”.

But, in my experience, it is extremely rare to find one software publisher responsible for the development of the best of each type of application. I hold the security of my data in very high regard, so I want to be protected by the best-of-breed of each type of application – the best anti-virus, the best anti-spyware, the best personal firewall, and so on.

Attaining that goal usually means using different specialist applications from different suppliers.

Admittedly, non-security applications are usually a different story. It is generally important for the various components of an applications-type software suite to work harmoniously together, and that’s something that can only be realistically achieved by the one developer, such as the integration between the various components of Microsoft Office or Sun/Oracle’s Open Office. Even so, there may be components of a particular suite that you don’t want to use. Sometimes you can disable a component part of a suite (or just ignore it), and sometimes you can’t.

Performance & Optimization Software

The application category that I’m addressing in this article is performance, stability and optimization software, but there’s a good reason I opened up with a brief discussion of suites and security software.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you will have encountered my repeated praise for a product called RegistryBooster from Uniblue, a certified Microsoft Gold Partner company founded in 2003 on the Mediterranean island of Malta.

For some time now RegistryBooster has been available both as a standalone product and as part of a software bundle called PowerSuite. While I have long been a fan of RegistryBooster, to be honest I’ve never been that keen on PowerSuite. In an earlier incarnation the suite was a mixture of optimization and security applications, and I didn’t find the suite interface really to my liking either.

But things changed significantly for the better with the release of PowerSuite 2010.

The security component of earlier PowerSuite versions was called SpyEraser, and that is no longer included in the package or even available as a standalone application. Although SpyEraser did a pretty fair job, its removal from PowerSuite was a positive step. Why? Because it indicates that Uniblue is once again concentrating 100% of their development efforts on what they do best, and on what they made their good name in the first place: software that optimizes your system and enhances performance and stability.

The three components of PowerSuite 2010 are…

RegistryBooster

I’ve written about Registry cleaners and RegistryBooster extensively in previous articles, so I won’t allocate much space to it here. Everything I’ve written previously still applies. Please don’t ignore the two articles below as being out of date; they are as relevant today as ever, and will provide a lot of useful information for anyone new to Registry cleaners or who has led been led to believe that Registry cleaners are to be avoided for some reason.

• Choosing a Registry Cleaner
• Registry Cleaners Revisited: The Final Chapter

I’ve been using successive versions of RegistryBooster (the standalone version) since mid-2008, and it is one of the applications I rely on to keep my systems in pristine condition.

SpeedUpMyPC

One of the challenges with keeping a PC performing even close to optimally is the enormous number of settings, files and processes involved, and the fact that many of them are changing all the time. Over time you will become very aware that your system is slowing down, but how do you identify just what factor or component or setting is responsible? It can be very difficult and requires a fair degree of technical expertise.

And it’s not enough to just identify the cause — you then need the technical expertise to make the adjustments necessary to rid yourself of the “blockages” and recover speed and performance.

To the rescue rides SpeedUpMyPC.

SpeedUpMyPC first scans your computer to identify the processes, files and settings that are slowing you down, then it employs a range of powerful software tools to optimize your system for improved performance. With just a click or two on your part,  things like network settings, memory and CPU functions are all scanned and adjusted and junk files deleted from the hard drive. The end result can range from a marginal improvement to quite astonishing, depending on the original state of your system.

SpeedUpMyPC has saved me a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent on manually tuning my systems and keeping them in order.

DriverScanner

This is the one component of PowerSuite 2010 that I approached with some trepidation. To understand why, you need to know exactly what a “driver” is.

A driver is simply a special type of software program. More specifically, it is software that is designed to control a hardware device, such as a printer or mouse. In fact every hardware device that attaches to your computer, including keyboard and hard drive, requires a driver program that translates commands from the computer into the commands that the hardware device can understand.

Some drivers are loaded as part and parcel of the operating system, the keyboard driver being one example. For other devices you may be required to install the appropriate driver program when attaching a new hardware device to your PC. Microsoft provides a lot of drivers with each version of Windows, but obviously there is no way they can know about every device that you may ever want to connect.

Now in one respect drivers are no different than any other program, in that the developers of the software will periodically update the program. The reason for the update may be, for example, to take advantage of new hardware features, or to close security holes that have come to light, or even to resolve conflicts that have become apparent with other drivers or software. Whatever the reason, it should be obvious that it is usually in your best interests to update drivers when new versions become available.

But there’s a problem…

Malfunctioning or incorrect drivers can be a real headache, often manifesting as obscure glitches and failures, and the root cause can be damn difficult to track down. For that reason alone most people, including many IT professionals, adopt the attitude “if it’s working leave it alone”. But for reasons that should be obvious, that may not be the safest approach at all.

Unfortunately manufacturers who provide drivers for their hardware don’t always make updating a simple task. For any given printer you may find multiple driver versions on the manufacturer’s website, with no clear indication of which one you should choose. I guess the attitude might often be that the provision of free drivers is a necessary evil and doesn’t make them any money, so they write the software, upload it to their website, and consider the job done.

So can you understand my hesitation to use an automated tool for this purpose?

Still, nothing ventured nothing gained, and over the past couple of years I have developed a healthy respect for the high quality of Uniblue software, so I pushed ahead and gave it a go. And guess what…

DriverScanner worked flawlessly!

In their own words Uniblue claims that: “DriverScanner will then safely install each update on your PC”, and I have to say that has been my experience without exception.

I have run the full PowerSuite, including DriverScanner, on numerous occasions on several different systems. It has detected a number of out-of-date drivers with updates available, and performed the replacements without a single hiccup. Needless to say I am delighted with this result, because this component of PowerSuite alone is going to save me a lot of time, not to mention enhance my security (because I’ll always be running patched & up-to-date software) and give me the best performance from my hardware.

The PowerSuite Interface

The user interface is elegantly simple. Each of the three components is featured on the Overview tab and can be run separately (see image above). Using the interface is extremely simple and obvious. Whether you see a  “Launch Application” button or a “Start scan” link depends on whether or not an up-to-date scan is awaiting your attention. After running a scan, clicking a  “Launch Application” button will present you with details of the scan for that particular component. For example, here is the information window that is displayed when the  “Launch Application” button for the RegistryBooster component is clicked in the image above…

If you need to know more about what’s been detected and what will be fixed just click the “Detailed View” button. I rarely bother with this anymore as I have come to trust the software. And if it ever does make a mistake there is always the pre-fix backup that is performed automatically.

That’s definitely an improvement in safety! In earlier versions of RegistryBooster you had to confirm that, yes, you wanted to make a backup prior to running the fix. Now you don’t even have to do that — a backup is always performed and stored automatically.

Standard Software Installation Guidelines

When you try out PowerSuite for yourself (risk-free, see below), please be sure to follow these software installation safe practice guidelines:

• Reboot your computer before installing any software
• Close any applications that may have started with Windows
• Install Uniblue PowerSuite
• Reboot your computer again

It is always advisable to reboot before installing any new software. It may not always be absolutely necessary to reboot after installation. However sometimes it is highly advisable to reboot after an installation, even if the software doesn’t warn you to do so. By always rebooting before and after any software installation (or removal for that matter) you are covering all your bases and you’ll have a happier system in the the long run.

Product Support

I have a standard policy when it comes to reviewing anything — be it software or hardware. No matter how good product itself may be, if the support isn’t up to scratch I either won’t recommend it at all, or I’ll at least warn readers that support is poor or non-existent. As part of the review process I almost always submit a support request as a test to gauge response time and the usefulness of the reply.

No such reservations with Uniblue. I have always found them responsive and both willing and able to provide useful assistance. In every customer-to-Uniblue interaction of which I am aware they have always performed admirably.

Something I always like to see on Support Ticket forms is the ability for the customer to upload a file. After all, a screen-shot can save a lot of explanation. Uniblue support has made that provision.

Conclusion

The best recommendation I can give for PowerSuite is to say that…

• I have it installed on all my systems
• I use it regularly (automatic schedules are set within the program)
• I recommend its use to all my clients

Have never had a problem myself and have never received a complaint from anyone I’ve recommended it to.

Other reviewers have obviously come to the same conclusion. Here are some excerpts from an article that appeared on the OverClockers Club website:

• “…the SpeedUpMyPC 2010 utility proved itself by taking a highly junked up system and making it a bit faster.”
• “With the use of the Uniblue SpeedUpMyPC utility, I was able to shave 24 seconds off of the Windows start up time… The shut down time was also reduced to under 20 seconds.”
• “When used together with the other Uniblue products in their Power Suite, you have the tools to keep your computer running smooth and almost as fast as when you first got it.”
• “…a utility that just works.”

Seriously, if you’re at all concerned about keeping your PC optimized and in good order, Uniblue PowerSuite is a first-class way to achieve that goal.

Need More Incentive?

Want more? Right now Uniblue are making an offer you’ll find hard to resist…

• Special pricing offer: Uniblue PowerSuite 2010 is available right now at a significant discount. Click the link below for details.
  
• There’s also an extra software bonus thrown in. You’ll find it in the shopping cart at a price of $0.00.
  
• Immediate download day or night. No waiting for a CD to arrive by post.
• The nothing-to-lose clause: if for any reason you’re not 100% happy there’s a 30-day money back guarantee.

Try it out yourself – you won’t be sorry.

Click here to visit Uniblue PowerSuite on the web

Got an opinion or question? Please use the comment box below this article and I’ll respond where appropriate.

Your questions/objections may be answered  in
this follow-up article

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Yes folks, it’s Patch Tuesday again! On the second Tuesday of each month Microsoft releases software patches & updates for their various products, so this is a very important day for all Windows users who care about their privacy and security [full summary here].

Why? Well..

Often a Microsoft patch or update will close a vulnerability that, if left unaddressed, could allow an attacker to take complete control of your computer.

And that’s something you REALLY don’t want!

Keeping your installation patched up-to-date is so important that, whether or not you have Automatic Updates enabled, at this time of each month it’s still wise to manually double-check that everything that matters has been installed. Don’t be put off by the word “manually” — it’s a quick and easy process.

HERE’S HOW:

• Point your web browser to: http://www.update.microsoft.com
• Click the Custom button.
• Install any high-priority updates that are reported.

But Don’t Stop There!

In the column on the left-hand side you will see links for:

• Software, Optional (n)
• Hardware, Optional (n)

The number in brackets indicates how many updates of that type are applicable to your computer. If the number is anything other than (0) then click that link and investigate, installing the update if necessary (or if in doubt). Similarly, you may find relevant updates in one of the links under “Select by Product”, so do the same with any of those.

WEBCAST:
Each month, in association with PatchTuesday, Microsoft presents an online Webcast to address customer questions on the bulletins for that month. Webcasts are usually initially presented on the Wednesday, the day after Patch Tuesday, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). They are also recorded and available for later viewing. To register for a Webcast or to view Webcasts that have passed, click this link.

By the way… SymmTime is a great on-screen world time utility for anyone who needs to check or convert times around the world. It’s free and highly configurable.

Did you know…

Many of the malware threats that you are frequently warned about in the various news and information media, on and off-line, should never be the slightest threat to you.

How come? Well, because…

If you made a habit of applying the patches & updates that are issued by Microsoft every month, you would be IMMUNE from infection by many of the tens of thousands of threats currently circulating on the Internet, with more being churned out by the cyber-grubs on an almost daily basis.

The vast majority of these threats get into your computer by exploiting some known vulnerability in Windows. When one of these vulnerabilities is patched by Microsoft, the threat becomes benign — but only if you have applied the free patch to your version of Windows.

So remember…

You Ignore Patches & Updates at Your Peril!

PS #1: When you read some of the related articles below you will encounter numerous instances of “Microsoft recommends updating Internet Explorer to version 8″ and “Microsoft recommends avoiding blah blah blah” and etc. Listen up! You’ll be orders of magnitude safer if you take my advice instead — download the free Firefox browser and give Internet Explorer the flick. IE has been a real security problem for a long time and it’s going to continue to be so well into the future. Firefox is a far better browser in every respect.

PS #2: Users of Microsoft PowerPoint need to be alert to the situation revealed in this article.

Related articles:

• Patch Tuesday sees new fixes and warnings
• Microsoft warns of new IE bug; attacks under way
• Microsoft skips patch for PowerPoint add-on
• Office updates patch Excel security flaw
• Microsoft warns of zero-day IE hole on Patch Tuesday

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

This is Microsoft’s biggest batch of patches & updates in a long time, and you really MUST pay due attention.

Yes folks, it’s Patch Tuesday again! On the second Tuesday of each month Microsoft releases software patches & updates for their various products. This month there are something like 13 updates addressing a total of 26 potentially harmful vulnerabilities, so this is a very important day for all Windows users who are concerned with their privacy and security.

Why? Well…

Often a Microsoft patch or update will close a vulnerability that, if left unaddressed, could allow an attacker to take complete control of your computer.

And that’s something you REALLY don’t want!

Keeping your installation patched up-to-date is so important that, whether or not you have Automatic Updates enabled, at this time of each month it’s still wise to manually double-check that everything that matters has been installed. Don’t be put off by the word “manually” — it’s a quick and easy process.

HERE’S HOW:

• Point your web browser to: http://www.update.microsoft.com
• Click the Custom button.
• Install any high-priority updates that are reported.

But Don’t Stop There!

In the column on the left-hand side you will see links for:

• Software, Optional (n)
• Hardware, Optional (n)

The number in brackets indicates how many updates of that type are applicable to your computer. If the number is anything other than (0) then click that link and investigate, installing the update if necessary (or if in doubt). Similarly, you may find relevant updates in one of the links under “Select by Product”, so do the same with any of those.

WEBCAST:
Each month, in association with PatchTuesday, Microsoft presents an online Webcast to address customer questions on the bulletins for that month. Webcasts are usually initially presented on the Wednesday, the day after Patch Tuesday, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). They are also recorded and available for later viewing. To register for a Webcast or to view Webcasts that have passed, click this link.

By the way… SymmTime is a great on-screen world time utility for anyone who needs to check or convert times around the world. It’s free and highly configurable.

Did you know…

Many of the malware threats that you are frequently warned about in the various news and information media, on and off-line, should never be the slightest threat to you.

How come? Well, because…

If you made a habit of applying the patches & updates that are issued by Microsoft every month, you would be IMMUNE from infection by many of the tens of thousands of threats currently circulating on the Internet, with more being churned out by the cyber-grubs on an almost daily basis.

The vast majority of these threats get into your computer by exploiting some known vulnerability in Windows. When one of these vulnerabilities is patched by Microsoft, the threat becomes benign — but only if you have applied the free patch to your version of Windows.

So remember…

You Ignore Patches & Updates at Your Peril!

Related articles:

• Microsoft planning major security update
• Microsoft Finally To Patch 17-Year-Old Bug

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s Patch Tuesday again, that day each month when Microsoft releases software patches and updates for their various products.

Patch Tuesday is a very important day for all Windows users who are concerned with their privacy and security.

Not infrequently a Microsoft patch or update will close a vulnerability that, if left unaddressed, could allow an attacker to take complete control of an affected system.

And that’s something you REALLY don’t want!

Keeping your installation patched up-to-date is so important that, whether or not you have Automatic Updates enabled, at this time of each month it’s still wise to manually double-check that everything that matters has been installed. Don’t be put off by the word “manually” — it’s a quick and easy process.

HERE’S HOW:

• Point your web browser to: http://www.update.microsoft.com
• Click the Custom button.
• Install any high-priority updates that are reported.

But Don’t Stop There!

In the column on the left-hand side you will see links for:

• Software, Optional (n)
• Hardware, Optional (n)

The number in brackets indicates how many updates of that type are applicable to your computer. If the number is anything other than (0) then click that link and investigate, installing the update if necessary (or if in doubt). Similarly, you may find relevant updates in one of the links under “Select by Product”, so do the same with any of those.

WEBCAST:
Each month, in association with PatchTuesday, Microsoft presents an online Webcast to address customer questions on the bulletins for that month. Webcasts are usually initially presented on the Wednesday, the day after Patch Tuesday, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). They are also recorded and available for later viewing.  To register for a Webcast or to view Webcasts that have passed, click this link.

By the way… SymmTime is a great on-screen world time utility for anyone who needs to check or convert times around the world. It’s free and highly configurable.

Did you know…

Many of the malware threats that you are frequently warned about in the various news and information media, on and off-line, should never be the slightest threat to you.

How come? Well, because…

If you made a habit of applying the patches & updates that are issued by Microsoft every month, you would be IMMUNE from infection by many of the tens of thousands of threats currently circulating on the Internet, with more being churned out by the cyber-grubs on an almost daily basis.

The vast majority of these threats get into your computer by exploiting some known vulnerability in Windows. When one of these vulnerabilities is patched by Microsoft, the threat becomes benign — but only if you have applied the free patch to your version of Windows.

So remember…

You Ignore Patches & Updates at Your Peril!

Related articles:

• Adobe patches PDF zero-day, other critical bugs
• Microsoft urges Windows XP users to ditch old Flash version

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Why is it that the topic of Registry Cleaners evokes near fanatical fervor both for and against? In this article I present a case for calm and rationality by offering some simple facts, as opposed to the usual biased and often baseless fanaticism.

Some time back I published an article entitled Choosing a Registry Cleaner. Although that article is old news by now (but still factually relevant), in the world of blogging it’s not unusual to receive comments weeks, months or even years after original publication.

When one publishes a lot of articles — especially on such wide-ranging topics as computer use, security and productivity — there is always the chance that someone will get the wrong impression from one article, because they haven’t read all your articles. The simple fact is no blogger can put everything that is remotely relevant — every caveat, warning, admonition etc — into every article.

I think that’s probably the scenario that prompted the following comment just received. I’ll quote the writer in full before commenting further.

NOTE: Although the writer of this comment provided his name, I’m not publishing it because I don’t want there to be any perception that I’m targeting someone personally. If the writer wants to reveal himself in a comment to this article I’m fine with that. But I am inclined towards the opinion that this would be a good time to close the book on the for/against registry cleaners argument. It seems to be a topic that attracts protagonists almost religious in their fervor, and I’m definitely not going to let this blog become a battleground, particularly when neither side has any chance of converting the other. By all means comment, but keep it sane and civil if you want to see it published.

Bill,

You really shouldn’t encourage people to use registry cleaners like you have done on the review page. Iv also been in IT for over 25 years working for IBM, working at multiple plants that they have contracts with in Nebraska and Kansas. i also oversee a large group of techs as well in my position, and own and operate a computer store chain with certified techs, and i don’t know one tech who thinks its a good idea to use a registry cleaner product of any kind.

In fact, we see numerous complaints and issues from people who used specifically uniblue and others like it. Frankly im shocked that anyone who has been “in IT for over 20 years”  would use a product like this, much less use it weekly. Im not trying to come across as insulting, but i showed the comments on the review page, including yours to some other veteran techs, and we were simply dumbfounded by your defense and admission that you use products like this. Again, no offense, but it wouldn’t change anything if you were the Pope with a MS certification, from what we`ve seen since the surface of registry cleaners on the market years ago, its clear that running any registry cleaner is very risky, for not a lot if any benefit.

Now im not looking for a reply, this is a subject that simply can not be debated with truly educated people who have seen a massive amount, and a wide range of systems and configurations negatively effected by software such as this, again with no real benefit to justify the risk. And it is a risk to the novice, whom by the way are usually who use a product such as this, who do not understand the concept of registry backup before hand like you and I.

Sincerely,
[name supplied]

The efficacy of registry cleaners has been debated ad nauseam for years, and even experts inside and outside of Microsoft can’t agree.

The writer of the above comment says he’s not looking for a reply, but in my opinion there is some content there that is misleading. So the problem I faced was to either not approve his blog comment for publication, or to approve it and respond. I feel the writer is genuinely expressing his personal beliefs and concerns, so they are as deserving of airing as anyone else’s. But in that case I need to reply because I think there’s been a lot left unsaid — by both of us. But the moment I started to frame a response I realized it was going to have to be article size, not blog-comment-response size, hence this new article.

What is an expert?

Firstly, let me make it perfectly clear to any reader who may not know better that there is no such thing as a “computer expert”. Computing and information technology is such a vast topic that no human being can possibly have comprehensive command of even a significant part of it.

The closest we can get to expert status is to have competence in one or a small number of sub-fields.

Now that may seem self-evident, but the point I want to make is that, while acknowledging that there is some overlap, it’s important to be aware that hardware technicians (the people who fix physical problems with computer hardware) generally possess very different knowledge and skills to the IT consultant who specializes in software applications and networks. Both have their place, and as I said, there is a little overlap.

My point is that the above comment makes several references to “techs”, but without further elaboration we have no idea what he means by that title. Reading between the lines I rather suspect that most of the people he is referring to are hardware technicians. Similarly, reference to an “MS certification” doesn’t have much relevance unless you know what the certification is. Microsoft has a whole swath of certifications across every area of their very wide-ranging interests.

Approach with caution & obey the rules

In the past I have described the registry cleaner as an “intrusive” utility and have always advocated caution in the form of rebooting before and after installation, and rebooting before and after running a registry scan. People who ignore these safeguards are, sooner or later, doomed to pay for their haste. A typical scenario that has a high chance of ending in trouble is to install new software without rebooting before and after, keep the same session running for hours or even days, then run a registry clean.

Possibly the reason that I never hear complaints or problem reports from clients and others to whom I have recommended a product like RegistryBooster, is that they follow my instructions to the letter and heed my suggestions and warnings. If you’re going to pick the eyes out of a tutorial, if you’re going to follow some of it and ignore the rest, then on your head be it. That sort of casual attitude will get you into trouble with a lot more things than registry cleaners.

The arguments for and against the use of a registry cleaner are myriad and have been batted back and forth between protagonists for many years. Many, such as the writer of the above comment, are adamant that registry cleaners are evil. Others, myself included, believe that a registry cleaner of proven quality is a valuable addition to the computer user’s toolbox.

My toolbox

RegistryBooster is one of a number of software tools that I use on a regular basis to keep my in-house systems running smoothly. And believe me, I’m not one of those IT people who disposes of hardware the moment it loses its new equipment shine. I have systems still in use that were purchased when Windows NT was a pup, and I’m using a wide range of operating systems from NT on up to the present.

Here’s some information I don’t usually make public:

I actually run two registry cleaners on my own systems, one after the other with a reboot in between. Number one is Uniblue’s RegistryBooster. The second is not well known but one that I have found to be just as reliable and trouble-free as RegistryBooster. However, I never recommend it or even mention its name, because support is not only poor, it is literally non-existent. And I won’t recommend any company that won’t adequately support its products, no matter how good they may be.

The practice of using multiple registry cleaners is not new or uncommon. By their very nature different registry cleaners will invariably come up with different results. To understand why that’s so we need to ask the question…

What is a registry error?

I often see people comparing different registry cleaners by the number of “errors” that each detects. Admittedly some cleaners are more aggressive than others, but most often the difference lies in just what the developer considers to be an “error” worth counting?

Registry errors can range from critical/crash-causing to minor and of little or no consequence. Often minor errors in the Registry will be cleaned up by Windows’ own internal housekeeping, without any assistance from an external third-party application.

Some registry cleaners will intentionally ignore (not count) the likes of those very minor anomalies that would be taken care of by Windows’ internal housekeeping. That’s an honest and conservative approach.

Other developers go out of their way to detect and report every minor anomaly so as to make their application look “more thorough” than the opposition, while in reality a lot of what they report is irrelevant.

Where does the fault really lie?

There is also the infrequently-acknowledged situation of registry cleaners being blamed for problems they didn’t create. In this article I gave one such example, where running a registry cleaner resulted in problems with WebRoot SpySweeper. I reported the problem to WebRoot, they investigated, and acknowledge the problem lay with SpySweeper and not RegistryBooster. Yet I’ll wager that the response of practically everybody who encountered this situation would have been “#@%$%^ registry cleaner”, and the more militant would then scurry off to bad-mouth the registry cleaner anywhere they could get a comment published.

Locating trustworthy opinions

Run a Google search for “registry cleaner review” and you’ll be presented with something like a couple of million results. The number is overwhelming and there is the added problem of not knowing who the author is, his/her level of expertise or his/her motivation.

If you’re going to be guided by reviews (and why not?) you need to try to winnow out those that are more likely to be reliable. There are exceptions of course, but articles published by the major magazines (online and off) are usually written by competent people. In fact many IT journalists either are or were IT professionals themselves. Try a Google search for “RegistryBooster review” and you’ll be hard pressed to find a negative review, thus illustrating that there are at least as many “experts” in favour of registry cleaners as there are against.

Then there is the other category of professional who seems to have the attitude that “it’s OK for me but not for you”. It’s not an unusual attitude and, in the absence of specific guidance, not an unreasonable one.

But personally I’m more inclined to provide people with useful tools and the guidance in using them properly.

For example…

In the commenter’s final paragraph he says: “… who do not understand the concept of registry backup before hand like you and I”.

In response I’m forced to point out that I didn’t leave any doubt as to the importance and necessity of performing a backup prior to running a registry cleaner session. There is no “concept” to understand. All reputable registry cleaners offer to perform a pre-scan backup. Accept it! Nothing more to be said.

RegistryBooster, like all good tools of its type, defaults to prompting for a pre-scan backup, and you have to take a physical action to deny it!

If you don’t want to completely trust the registry cleaner software to do the backup for you, another of my articles (which is available to members) provides a step-by-step explanation of how to back up the registry manually. It’s a simple process, simply explained. (See what I mean about not being able to put everything relevant in every article?)

A genuine “Expert Opinion”

Well I think I’ve made my own position and beliefs quite clear, but let’s forget about me for the moment. I’ll defer to someone who’s widely acknowledged expertise makes him rather difficult to argue with.

For those readers who are not familiar with the name, Mark Russinovich has been one of the world’s most respected experts on the Windows architecture for well over a decade. In 2006 Microsoft bought his companies Sysinternals and Winternals, and then subsequently appointed him as a Technical Fellow in their Platform and Services Division.

In a blog article of his own Mark Russinovich publicly supported the use of Registry Cleaners with this statement:

“So it seems that Registry junk is a Windows fact of life and that Registry cleaners will continue to have a place in the anal-sysadmin’s tool chest, at least until we’re all running .NET applications that store their per-user settings in XML files – and then of course we’ll need XML cleaners”.

Is it unreasonable to assert that such a claim from someone of Russinovich’s undoubted knowledge, expertise and standing carries a lot of weight?

And then there’s…

The Microsoft position

Microsoft themselves first got into the registry cleaning business with an elementary product called Regclean. It was unofficial and unsupported and originally created specifically for Windows 9x. After several sporadic attempts to revive it the product disappeared, apparently because its basic design wasn’t up to the task of handling the changing registry architectures of subsequent operating systems.

However Microsoft’s association with registry cleaning didn’t end there.

Although Registry Defragging and Registry Cleaning are slightly different, there is enough of an association to warrant mention of the fact that Microsoft’s PageDefrag utility is still available for download from their site. PageDefrag was originally developed by a Russinovich company, and by making it available for download on their own website it’s reasonable to assume that Microsoft is implicitly giving their blessing to Registry Defragging. And also…

Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare includes a registry cleaner to (in their words) “help remove invalid or obsolete registry items on your computer”. More details here.

The Windows Registry is, after all, a Microsoft “invention”, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to therefore assume that the concept of registry cleaning is acceptable. That doesn’t mean to say you you should just charge full steam ahead. Concept is one thing, but actual practice can introduce complications. The wrong registry cleaner can certainly get you into trouble, but doesn’t that apply to anything? I’ve made no secret of what I think is the best registry cleaner on the market. You’ll find plenty of other opinions, so take it or leave it.

The Bottom Line

I’ll say again: A reputable registry cleaner is a very useful tool when properly used for the right reasons.

Too many people approach registry cleaners for the first time with the ridiculous belief that it’s a magical bit of  software that’s going to fix all problems and straighten out the mess they have allowed their computers to get into through months/years of neglect. The only thing that can do that is a good human IT consultant, and done properly it will likely be a rather long and somewhat expensive job.

I suspect that the hyped-up advertising concocted by publishers of registry cleaning software is at least partly to blame for these unreasonable expectations. As I have said in the past, a registry clean will hardly have your computer “running like new again” after months/years of misuse and neglect. If running a registry cleaner results in a performance boost, consider that a bonus — but its main aim is correction of certain registry-based problems and improvements in reliability. Developers of registry cleaners should make that clear, but too often they allow their copywriters to hype the speed improvement aspect, which may or may not eventuate.

Some people will find that running a registry cleaner will bring out into the open problems that were already in existence but not in evidence before the registry cleaner did its job. Many of those people will blame the registry cleaner for “creating a problem”. But whatever reaction you choose to go with, you have basically two options: you can either attack the real root cause of the problem, or you can cover it up again by restoring your pre-scan backup.

Finally, I don’t expect this article to convert anyone who already has a contrary opinion. All I can do is present the facts as I see them, offer supporting testimony, and hope that the less experienced readers will attempt to avoid forming overly dogmatic viewpoints of their own — on any topic. Keep an open mind, be receptive to sensible arguments and new ideas, follow instructions closely and use whatever works for you.

For me and many others RegistryBooster does a damn fine job of keeping our computers running clean and fast.

Postscript: You may also be interested in this more recent PowerSuite article in which I discuss a new application that combines RegistryBooster with DriverScanner and SpeedupMyPC. Since it’s release, PowerSuite 2010 is what I use now.

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s Patch Tuesday again, that day each month when Microsoft releases software patches and updates for their various products.

Patch Tuesday is a very important day for all Windows users who are concerned with their privacy and security.

This month Critical Security Bulletins/Patches have been issued affecting the following products:

• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2008
• MS Project 2000, 2002, 2003
• Internet Explorer – versions 5-8

Bulletins/patches classified as Important have also been issued for most of the above, and also for:

• Microsoft Office Word 2002
• Microsoft Office Word 2003
• Microsoft Works
• Microsoft Office Converter Pack

And there’s an update available for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

There may also be non-security updates relating to your operating system version. To have your system is scanned for relevant products & updates, and to receive update recommendations customized to your installation click here.

WEBCAST:
A webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins will be presented on:
Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 11:00 AM US Pacific Time
Click here to register

By the way… SymmTime is a great on-screen world time utility for anyone who needs to check times around the world. It’s free and highly configurable.

Did you know…

Many of the malware threats that you are frequently warned about in the various news and information media, on and off-line, should never be the slightest threat to you.

How come?

Well, because…If you made a habit of applying the patches & updates that are issued by Microsoft every month, you would be IMMUNE from infection by many of the tens of thousands of threats currently circulating on the Internet, with more being churned out by the cybergrubs on an almost daily basis.

The vast majority of these threats get into your computer by exploiting some known vulnerability in Windows. When one of these vulnerabilities is patched by Microsoft, the threat becomes benign — but only if you have applied the free patch to your version of Windows.

So remember…

You Ignore Patches & Updates at Your Peril!

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

A fairly common complaint around support forums is that one or more applications do not appear in Control Panel’s Add or Remove Programs list. The Add or Remove Programs feature is a much misunderstood application, hence these queries are rarely resolved satisfactorily in the ensuing forum discussions, and blame for the omission is often misplaced.

While superficially it might seem reasonable to blame the coding of an application which doesn’t have an Add or Remove Programs entry, there are in fact many possible reasons why the Add or Remove Programs list might not be complete, and the program itself is the least likely cause. Yes, the problem can lie with the individual application, but it can also lie with a mis-configuration of Windows itself, or even with an entirely different program which itself may appear to be unaffected.

I don’t propose this article to be an exhaustive treatment of this topic. My aim is simply to alert you to enough of the possibilities to give you the background to search out a solution appropriate to your particular circumstances. Hopefully this information will make that task much easier.

Let’s begin by looking at just how an application gets to appear in the Add or Remove Programs list to start with.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not up to the developer to directly program his application to appear in the Add or Remove Programs list. An application’s appearance in the list is determined by Windows, which is supposed to create an entry for any Windows-compatible program that has an uninstall component. Thus all the developer has to do to qualify his application for inclusion in the Add or Remove Programs list is to provide an UNINSTALL.EXE (by whatever name), or a Windows-accessible uninstall routine within his program.

Windows will then add details of the application to a special “uninstall list” in the Windows Registry. The list is located at this Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Each entry under that key represents an individual program that will appear in the Add or Remove Programs list, and each entry has several values associated with it, the most important of which to this discussion are:

DisplayName: The name that is shown in the Add or Remove Programs list.

UninstallString: The program or routine that is used to uninstall the application.

All that will be made quite clear by simply viewing some of the entries for that Registry Key in Regedit.

USUAL WARNING
Messing with the Windows Registry
can cause severe headaches!

Manual editing of the Registry key may be appropriate under certain circumstances, such as when an application has been uninstalled but still appears in the Add or Remove Programs list. Deleting the appropriate entry under the Registry key will cause that program to disappear from the Add or Remove Programs list.

There is one particularly important point about this Registry key that you must know in order to fully understand the population of the Add or Remove Programs dialog. Here it is:

The list of programs maintained at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall is ONLY automatically updated when a program is installed in Windows or when a program is uninstalled from Windows. Otherwise…

WINDOWS DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY MECHANISM
TO REFRESH OR UPDATE THIS LIST!

So obviously, if an entry in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall is inappropriately edited or deleted, the Add or Remove Programs dialog will continue to reflect that error until it is manually rectified.

To illustrate just how complex the reasons behind missing entries in Add or Remove Programs can be, let’s look  at just one way that Windows intentionally hides certain program name entries from the Add or Remove Programs list.

Use Windows Explorer (WinKey+E) to locate the folder %System Root%\Windows\inf\. On most computers that will be c:\Windows\inf\. Within that folder locate the file SYSOC.INF and open it in Windows Notepad (or any other PLAIN TEXT editor — NOT a word processor).

Here’s what a small section of SYSOC.INF might look like:

Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,HIDE,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,HIDE,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7

Those entries containing the word “HIDE” (case is not important) will be hidden from the Add or Remove Programs list. If editing any of these entries, remove only the word “HIDE” but leave the commas in place, as shown in the last line above. A system reboot is necessary before any changes will take effect.

It should be noted that I have also heard reports that changing the “HIDE” status of certain entries in SYSOC.INF will not always see that change reflected in the Add or Remove Programs dialog. I assume that’s because one of the many other reasons that entries may not appear in the list is also having an effect.

Another oddity sometimes encountered with the Add or Remove Programs dialog is that it can have a long gap of white space between one entry and the next. One program known to cause this is certain versions of AutoCAD. The operation of AutoCAD itself appears to be completely unaffected. I’ve also heard reports that the white space may appear after the AutoCAD entry in Add or Remove Programs, or it may appear after some other different and unrelated entry, even though AutoCAD is the cause. The reason for this odd behavior appears to be a negative icon number in a Registry entry related to AutoCAD. For example:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{BIG_HEX_NUMBER_HERE}

Value Name: DisplayIcon

Value Type: REG_SZalue Data: C:\Program Files\AutoCAD LT 2000i\aclt.exe,-1

The solution to the problem is to change the “-1″ at the end of the Value Data line to “1″.

I must emphasize that this small “bug” in some versions of AutoCAD in no way affects the operation of the program itself. This example serves to illustrate that even the most expensive, upmarket, highly regarded professional applications can suffer these little quirks without any adverse reflection on the quality of the application itself. Perfection would be nice, but lack of perfection doesn’t necessarily equate to disaster or a substandard product.

Another completely different example of cause and effect…

Entries in the Add or Remove Programs list can also be affected by the Windows installation itself.

The Add or Remove Programs applet relies on the presence and correct formatting of 18 separate Registry keys. All of those keys must have been correctly set by registering the control program APPWIZ.CPL. While such registration should occur during Windows installation, it has been known to go wrong, and Registry entries could also have been affected by other subsequent events. Such events could include Registry mangling by a rogue application or some form of malware attack. If this possibility is the cause of any problem with the Add or Remove Programs list, it may help to try registering APPWIZ.CPL manually. Here’s how:

1. Click Start, click Run.
2. Type this three-letter command into the “Open” text field: CMD
3. Click the OK button.
4. At the prompt, type: REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL
5. Press the Enter key.

All being well APPWIZ.CPL should be re-registered and all 18 relevant Registry keys correctly entered and formatted in the Windows Registry.

Following many such discussions in technical and support forums over a long period of time leads me to the observation that, more often than not, computer users tend to jump in and lay the blame for a missing entry in Add or Remove Programs on the particular application itself, which in fact is probably the least likely reason. I can’t think of any good reason why a responsible developer would risk drawing criticism by trying to intentionally prevent their application from appearing in the Add or Remove Programs list, especially if they provide an uninstall option anyway. It just doesn’t make sense.

There is a lesson here that I’ve alluded to many times in the past:

Be wary of laying blame in relation to complex Windows problems. Not only may you be unjustly denigrating a blameless application, but you also risk trumpeting your own lack of knowledge as well. It’s very easy to make a fool of yourself by going off half-cocked.

Well, hopefully that gives you a useful glimpse into the complexities of the Add or Remove Programs applet, and perhaps some ideas on how to rectify related problems you may encounter.

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

After posting the previous entry it occurred to me that some readers will be prompted to wonder about Registry Cleaners.

First question: what is “the Registry”? Wikipedia provides this description:

The Windows Registry is a directory which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32/64-bit versions and Windows Mobile. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, operating system software, most non-operating system software, users preferences of the PC, etc. Whenever a user makes changes to Control Panel settings, file associations, system policies, or most installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the Registry.

In other words, the Registry is a very large repository of critical system, program and user information.

As programs and settings are installed, uninstalled and modified over time, the Registry begins to accumulate redundant and unwanted items of information, such as data left behind by software that has not been completely uninstalled from the computer, or settings that are no longer of any use, or even rogue settings used by malware.

What does a Registry Cleaner do?

Registry Cleaner software is designed to scan the Registry and attempt to identify invalid entries, missing file references, broken links, etc and then, optionally, delete the unwanted values and/or repair errors.

While there is no doubt that a pristine Registry aids in the maintenance of a healthy PC, there are some claims made for Registry cleaners that warrant closer inspection. For example, every publisher of Registry Cleaner software invariably makes the claim that a major benefit of using their software will be to “speed up your PC”, and users are often disappointed when they find this hope is not realised.

Why is this so?

On computers running Windows 95/98 an excessively bloated Registry might adversely affect the computer’s startup time to varying degrees. However the improved architecture of later operating system versions makes Registry size much less of an issue. And anyway, a Registry Cleaner is unlikely to reduce Registry size by more than a few kilobytes at most — an insignificant and unnoticeable saving in terms of performance.

However there are certainly circumstances where the use of a Registry Cleaner can provide noticeable performance improvements.

For example, if there exists a Registry entry indicating that some program installed on another networked computer or server should be run at startup, and if the relevant network path no longer exists, startup can be delayed significantly, for as long as the network protocol takes to time-out. Cleaning up such a situation would probably produce a noticeable improvement in start-up time.

Thus it should be clearly understood that the likelihood of any performance improvement as a result of using a Registry Cleaner will depend on the nature of any Registry errors discovered. So while a Registry Cleaner is very useful for computer users who frequently add or remove programs from their computer, the result will probably be improved reliability rather than any noticeable improvement in performance.

Another consideration is that computer users often expect too much from Registry Cleaner software. Given the vast number of application software programs available from innumerable sources and developers, it is simply not possible for any Registry Cleaner to “know” all about the requirements and parameters of each and every program.

Some Registry cleaners are more capable in this regard than others, having a larger and more accurate database of program settings to work with. But expecting a Registry Cleaner to be able to put right every minor inconsistency in every possible program is obviously unreasonable.

Caveat emptor!

Unfortunately the Registry Cleaner software category as a whole has acquired something of a suspect reputation, thanks to the efforts of certain underhanded vendors and malware developers. Rogue Registry Cleaners are being marketed with scaremongering advertisements that falsely claim to have analyzed your PC and found serious problems. You are then confronted with bogus warnings that corrective action must be taken immediately to avoid impending catastrophe. Of course in order to take the recommended “corrective action” you’ll need to purchase their product. In some cases the product will be a real, though almost certainly substandard, Registry Cleaner. In the worst-case scenario the product will be a carrier for some form of malware controlled by its developer.

As daunting as these possibilities may appear they should not, in my opinion, be a reason to avoid using a Registry Cleaner. Clearly the same ploy could be (and is!) used with any type of software. The lesson to be learned is always know what you are downloading and where you are downloading it from. A little time spent on research using a search engine such as Google can provide a wealth of information and eliminate the possibility of making an expensive mistake.

However, since you have taken the trouble to read this far, I’ll give you the benefit of my well researched recommendation.

My personal preference

There are many Registry Cleaner tools to choose from. While most will to some extent do the job for which they are intended, it’s important to keep in mind that they do come in various flavors which can include “probably useless” to “possibly dangerous”. A substandard Registry Cleaner may not be able to determine whether a particular Registry key is still being used by Windows or what detrimental effects removing it may have. This has led to examples of Registry Cleaners causing loss of functionality and/or system instability.

This is unfortunately a caveat that applies to all utility programs, anti-virus and anti-spyware included. The trick is to determine the best performing from the most reputable — not always an easy task when faced with myriad conflicting, and often uninformed, “opinions”.

After a satisfactory trial of close to five months I have settled on Registry Booster from Uniblue as my Registry Cleaner of choice.

I won’t claim that Registry Booster does a better job of Registry optimization than any other product. It may do, but from a purely scan-and-fix perspective I was quite happy with the scanner we had used for some time beforehand.

However Registry Booster does at least as good a job, faster, with a lot less fuss, less user interaction required, easier configuration, and with an excellent user interface.

Ultimately my conclusion was that Registry Booster is a safe and reliable product that is well supported by a publisher with a responsive and customer-centric attitude. We now use Registry Booster exclusively in-house, as do many of our clients and subscribers. Between us we’ve had Registry Booster running for some months on Windows 2000, XP and Vista that I’m aware of, and we have never had a problem report to date.

Test drive a free scan

There is a free trial version of Registry Booster available which, although it does perform a complete scan of the entire Registry, restricts any fixes to just 15 of the errors discovered. On a well used computer the number of Registry errors reported may well number into the many hundreds. This is not unusual the first time a Registry scan is run.

Quite reasonably, to run a complete fix for all errors you will need to register the software. However, even then, if you aren’t happy with the product or the results, you can request a full no-questions-asked refund at any time up to 30 days after your purchase, plenty of time to give the program a real workout.

Click here to get a free trial of Registry Booster. This isn’t an online, across-the-Internet scan — the Instant Scan button will prompt you to download the trial application, which you need to install.

Please be sure to follow these software installation safe practice guidelines:

• Reboot your computer before installing any software
• Close any applications that may have started with Windows
• Install the Registry Booster trial
• Reboot your computer again

In the unlikely event that you do encounter problems during or after optimizing the registry, the remedy is simple. When you ran Registry Booster it offered to save a backup of your existing Registry — an offer which of course you would have accepted. Restoring the Registry backup will return your system to its pre-scanned status.

Regular use

Depending on the workload of each PC, I run Uniblue Registry Booster approximately weekly as part of my regimen to keep my systems healthy and working optimally.

Click here to download your free trial of Uniblue Registry Booster

Postscript

You may also be interested in this more recent PowerSuite article in which I discuss a new application that combines RegistryBooster with DriverScanner and SpeedupMyPC. Since it’s release, PowerSuite 2010 is what I use now. It means I’m still using RegistryBooster, but supplemented by two other powerful utilities.

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Properly installed, configured and maintained, Webroot SpySweeper is a superior anti-spyware utility and my personal favorite. In my security book The Hacker’s Nightmare I explain in detail, backed up by independent research data, exactly why I settled on SpySweeper in preference to one of its many competitors.

Of course if you install any anti-malware program on a computer system that is already compromised in some way, the likelihood of your achieving the protection you seek is slim indeed. In that case my step-by-step guide Seven Steps to a Clean PC is the place to start. Oh, and by the way, Seven Steps to a Clean PC is now available completely free to all [click here].

Webroot SpySweeper is a very simple install, but there always seems to be a percentage of people who get into trouble installing any new programs. One of the reasons so many people encounter problems with software installations is that they don’t adequately prepare their computer in advance for the installation. Preparing for a trouble-free software installation is a topic I detail in Appendix 3 of The Hacker’s Nightmare “Installing & Removing Software”.

Now…

No matter how good the application you are installing, nor how well you are prepared for the install, circumstances beyond your control can conspire to produce an unsatisfactory end result.

For example, running a Registry Cleaner on a computer which has Webroot SpySweeper version 6.0.2.22 installed may cause a fully registered Webroot SpySweeper installation to revert to its trial/unregistered state, and possibly to exhibit other “oddities”.

It would be very easy, perhaps even reasonable, to jump to the conclusion that your Registry Cleaner was screwing up your Webroot SpySweeper installation.

But you’d be wrong — so there’s a lesson here about being too quick to jump to conclusions and lay blame…

After providing Webroot support with the information I had on this situation, they investigated and confirmed that there is a minor bug in SpySweeper v6.0.2.22. This bug in no way impacts on the effectiveness of SpySweeper as an anti-malware tool, and most computer users will never encounter it.

While I don’t have the full technical details, there is something about the way that Webroot SpySweeper’s entries are written into the Windows Registry that allows at least some of those Registry entries to be removed by Registry cleaner software.

Of course this shouldn’t happen, but the problem lies with Webroot SpySweeper, not with the Registry Cleaner.

Webroot are working on a fix for this problem, which they assure me will be implemented in an upcoming release.  Until then you have the option of continuing to use Webroot SpySweeper v6.0.2.22 and not using a Registry Cleaner, or reverting to the previous version of SpySweeper, which does not suffer from this problem.

If you take nothing else away from this example, let the lesson be that jumping to conclusions and knee-jerk apportionment of blame is not an intelligent reaction to a problem.

When faced with a similar predicament, and if you don’t have the experience to conduct a logical analysis of the circumstances yourself, try to enlist the aid of some competent person.

The last thing you want to do is start uninstalling software willy-nilly and publicly ranting about how such-and-such a program “screwed my computer”. Egg on face is not a very dignified look!

Kudos to the Webroot developers for so quickly investigating my report and coming up with an answer. There are far too many software developers who wouldn’t be so candid in taking responsibility.

• For more about WebRoot SpySweeper click here.

• For my Registry Cleaner recommendations click here.

©2012 Bill Hely's "Computer & Online Security" Blog. All Rights Reserved.