Regshot: Like shooting keys in a barrel.

Regshot is a registry utility to compare "before" and "after" snapshots of your registry. In case you want to know what registry changes before doing a system update installing a program, take a "shot" of your registry. Then, after making your change, take a second shot, then compare.

Regshot is actually a very simple program, but nonetheless ingenious and incredibly useful. It is the best way to tell if a program is truly portable or not, and that is just one of it's many applications. But beyond comparing, it can also save the log to TXT files, for later use or later comparing. It defaults to the Temp directory, but you can also change the output folder to defaultly save in whatever folder you want.

But Regshot is not limited to just registry. You can also choose folders for Regshot to watch, and if any file is changed between shots (added/deleted/modified), it will appear in the report.

Speaking of which, the report is practically the main feature. You can either choose a simple TXT or an HTML file, which will list in a table all of the changes including their old and new values, additions, and deletions.

Perhaps the best part about Regshot is the lightness and swiftness about it. Even though some might think that it would take time to scan the entire registry and take a snapshot, but Regshot does it in a matter of seconds, and is packed in at only a required size of 75kb. It does, however, use quite the amount of RAM to snapshot; while idling, it sits aroun 300kb, but while shooting, it can peak at 60mb. It's also portable, however, meaning that you can take it anywhere, and open source to boot.

Regshot is an excellent hands-on tool for administrating your registry. It may not clean like other apps, but it lets you see crucial details that other registry cleaners mostly miss.

Visit Regshot website for Download

EasyCleaner: The name describes it all.

EasyCleaner is a very handy freeware that helps with disk cleanup, disk space management, registry cleaning, startup manager, and more, all contained in a tiny 3.5mb program. Ok, maybe not so tiny, but for doing so much, I'd say it's worth it.

So some features:

-Registry Cleaner: Simply put, a very comprehensive registry cleaner. Find, then delete either one by one or all, and you can print or save the results. It's actually more comprehensive than CCleaner. You'll notice that EasyCleaner always picks up more entries, but I have never had one problem, so I'd say it just does a better job.

-Uninstaller: Not listed above, but it does have an uninstaller. It's not as thorough as Revo Uninstaller, but a little more complicated than CCleaner's. You actually are able to edit and delete entries. But for uninstalling, it's just the Windows uninstaller. Oh, you can also save or print this as well.

-Duplicate finder: Like a DoubleKiller built in, but less advanced. There are both include and ignore filters, but you can only select one folder on each drive. And again, you can save or print these results.

-Unnecessary files finder: Like CCleaner, but less advanced. Mostly does cookies, temp directories, and temp files (TMP files). It does have a filter, which CCleaner doesn't have. And you can save or print the results.

-Dead shortcut finder: Second most useful part, in my opinion, behind the registry cleaner. This searches the entire computer for shortcuts whose target is incorrect, or gone. This MAJORLY helps with the start menu and desktop. It also shows if the folder is empty after you delete the folder, so you can delete it as well.

-Space Usage: Like i.Disk, but really less complex and smooth. It does have a pie chart, but it's so small it's not very handy. You can zoom in to a folder and it shows the contents and their sizes and such, but to me, it's just much more clumbsy than i.Disk or other programs like it. (Did I mention that you can print or save the results?)

-Startup manager: Probably one of the most handy startup managers I've seen, but it is a little different. Instead of switching things on and off, it shows you if there are invalid or questionable items int he startup. It lets you delete entries as well. And you can save or print the results.

-IE options: To be honest, when you open EasyCleaner, it looks overwhelming, but three of the seventeen options have to do with IE (which I don't use), and they're just one click. You can clear IE temporary files, cookies, and history with the touch of a button.

-Clear MRU: Just like the above, except not IE. Click it to remove the Most Recently Used program list in the start menu.

-Undo: An option that I don't use as much, but is good. EasyCleaner automatically saves everything that you do to the registry. If you do something wrong, just go into EasyCleaner, go to Undo, find your registry entry, and click "Undo". This is a nice feature that CCleaner doesn't have. CCleaner has the option of backing up your registry changes to a hive file (REG filetype), but you can't easily view what's inside them, whereas EasyCleaner backs it up to a REG, but then also keeps track of them for you.

-Updates: Though it might look like an old program, EasyCleaner is actively supported by ToniArts, with the latest update in 2009 (today being January 18.)

Lastly, EasyCleaner has a bunch of Options that you can tweak for every feature listed above.


So that's the features, but here's some other things that make it good.

-Portable: Very handy to take from PC to PC. Since EasyCleaner is kind of like a cleaup suite, it might be the only app you need when cleaning a friends PC. You can also trim it down to probably about 2mb if you ditch the Undo feature and get rid of the languages and help files.

-Fast: Most of the features are very fast, which makes it very handy.


So when it comes to EasyCleaner, I like to say this: for most of the features, there are programs that do a bettere job, like CCleaner for disk cleanup, Revo Uninstaller for uninstaller, DoubleKiller for double finding, i.Disk for a small disk analyzer, and etc. However, I would have to say, if you want one program that does a good job on all of those things, get EasyCleaner. I recommend EasyCleaner anyway in addition to those, partly because, to me, the registry cleaner and shortcut finder makes it worth it and all the other stuff is just extra. But if you want to install as few programs as possible (like I am on my EEE PC 901), use EasyCleaner.

*I did not make the icon at the top. It was made on this site, and I do not clame credit for it.

Visit EasyCleaner (ToniArts) website for download

CCleaner: Crap cleaner extraordinaire.

CCleaner has four main functions, and has some other advantages:

1. It cleans the hard drive.
This includes

• IE, Firefox, and Opera cookies, history, autofill, cache, and more
• Windows explorer things such as MRUs (Most Recently Used programs)
  
• Empyting the recycle bin (very useful)
• Start menu and desktop shortcuts
• Other apps like Foxit Reader, ImgBurn, MS Office 2003, and tons, tons more, as is installed on your system.
• And it you can specially select folder for it to clean every time (example: C:\MY FOLDER\TEMP)
  

Very useful for cleaning your system regularly, or cleaning a system that has never been cleaned before.
2. Clean system registry.
Even more useful, in my opinion. Scans for unused entries, empty start menu entries, installer errors, and more. When first running it on a system, it can clean up hundreds of uneeded entries. It also adds the option to backup the registry, which is VERY helpful. But do keep in mind, I have NEVER run into a problem with CCleaner deleting a vital registry item over the YEARS that I have used it.
3. Uninstaller.
I love it. On top of cleaning my disk and my registry, CCleaner helps me uninstall. I used this function for a long time, and it's great if you don't want another software for uninstalling. It lets you rename and delete entries, run the uninstaller from an INSTANTLY LOADED list, and save all options (installations) to a text file. The only problem is that I don't think CCleaner always grabs every installation. But I mean, if not, no biggey, pull up the Windows uninstaller, and procede. But I love CCleaner's uninstaller a ton more otherwise.
4. Startup editor.
Yeah, yeah, I know, you can do this from MSConfig. But can you delete entries?!?! I don't think so. CCleaner, however, can. For some strange, stupid reason, sometimes when you uninstall a program, its option gets stuck in the startup menu. Sure you can just switch it off, but still, your list starts to build up of software you don't use and don't even have on your computer. So CCleaner lets you delete them for good.

That's the 4 basic functions. Here's some other advantages:

-Command line interface: That way you can run it from a batch file, or a different program, like Cobian Backup before a backup of Firefox profiles. Here are additional options:

• /AUTO - most useful command line option. Runs CCleaner (just with the icon in the tray), then closes it.
• /DEBUG - runs CCleaner in debug mode.
• /SHUTDOWN - will shutdown the computer after CCleaner is finished.

The following are for the CCleaner installer.

• /S - installs WITHOUT setup screen.
• /D - changes install directory. Like setup.exe /S /D=C:\CCleaner
• /L - installs language that you choose. Like setup.exe /S /D=C:\CCleaner /L=1033

-Minimize to tray: ok, not the most unique feature, but it is nice.

-Regular updates: when I say regular, I mean regular. The good people at Piriform put out an update at least once a month. These people are committed to good freeware (their motto on the website is "The best software is free!"), and thus I am committed to them.

-Portability: that's right, clean crap on the go. It's not on PortableApps, but you can find it on CCleaner's website under other builds. Just download the zip, unzip it to your flash drive, and let 'er fly! I can tell you, this is one handy tip for helping someone else's computer.


CCleaner is a great little app. It does an awesome job, uses barely any RAM and CPU, and can go anywhere.

Visit CCleaner Website for Download