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Registry cleaning software

topic posted Tue, May 17, 2005 - 6:31 PM by  Goat
Hello everyone. Brand new to this tribe but love TechTV. I especially love Leo's show on KFI, wish it was available on satellite radio.

Anyways, here's my question... Can someone recommend to me a program (preferrably freeware) that will allow me to remove registry entries that load spyware programs, adware programs, or deleted programs?

I don't want to go around messing with the registry unassisted and foul things up.

Thank you.
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Goat
offline Goat
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  • Cereal
    Cereal
    offline 28

    Re: Registry cleaning software

    Tue, May 17, 2005 - 7:18 PM
    I'm pretty sure ad-awareSE scans your registry for spyware stuff, if that's all your looking for.
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    • Goat
      Goat
      offline 78

      Re: Registry cleaning software

      Tue, May 17, 2005 - 7:20 PM
      I have spysweeper and it works really well, but there are some things that have gotten past it and have become quite bothersome.

      Also there are TSR's that are some bypass spysweeper and get into the registry and whenever you try to kill them they reload themselves. It's driving me nuts.
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      • Mike
        Mike
        offline 15

        Re: Registry cleaning software

        Tue, May 17, 2005 - 7:56 PM
        I've used free registry cleaning tools before and had serious problems... my dad has bought them and had success though...

        I find that reformatting my system every six months and starting from scratch is good enough for me to keep a clean system... But not all people like to spend a day re-installing everything... I don't mind though...

        Still, run anti-virus and anti-spyware apps... AVG, Ad Aware and Spyware Blaster are a great set to use...
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        • Tim
          Tim
          offline 45

          Re: Registry cleaning software

          Tue, May 17, 2005 - 8:06 PM
          www.tune-up.com/

          Alot of utilities in one program.. used to keep your system clean and up to date.... I currently run this and the basic Ant-Spyware/Adware programs and my system's running fine...

          I also defrag my system at least once a month even if it doesn't need it.... sometime's i'll do it more than once a month especially if I'm d/ling and deleting alot of files...
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  • Mike
    Mike
    offline 7

    Re: Registry cleaning software

    Fri, June 10, 2005 - 4:25 PM
    I know I'm jumping into this discussion a bit late, but I had some related things to share.

    First of all, the word I've heard from most tech people are that you should run at least two spyware cleaners regularly. No one product catches everything, and there are even some who give exagerated reports ("Look out!!! It's a cookie!!!") to make you think it's doing more than it is. I tend to use AdAware and Spybot: Search & Destroy.

    For a general cleaner, a friend pointed me to a site at www.ccleaner.com . CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) will scan and remove old registry entries, browser entries, etc. You can choose what you want it to scan and what you want it to leave alone. Very handy. Hope you find it useful.

    Is everyone listening to the old Screen Savers crew on the This Week in Tech podcasts? www.twit.tv
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    • Mike
      Mike
      offline 15

      Re: Registry cleaning software

      Fri, June 10, 2005 - 11:38 PM
      yea, was actually thinking of making a TWIT tribe but, you think it'd catch on?
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      • Joe
        Joe
        offline 3

        Re: Registry cleaning software

        Tue, June 14, 2005 - 11:07 AM
        I'd also recommend Webroot Spy Sweeper. You can use the trial version, but this is a license program. That being said, it really works well. It was able to remove invasive programs that both Ad-aware and SpyBot didn't even acknowledge.
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        • Goat
          Goat
          offline 78

          Re: Registry cleaning software

          Sun, June 19, 2005 - 10:33 PM
          I use spy sweeper and norton anti virus together, and they both work very well. That doesn't really address my question though.

          I'm hoping to find software that will allow me to safely delete old entries and entries that refer to spyware without screwing up my regsitry.

          Thanks.
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          • Kelly
            Kelly
            offline 46

            Re: Registry cleaning software

            Wed, August 17, 2005 - 10:28 PM
            I still use regcleaner. It isnt available on the web anymore, however, I have kept a copy of the original installer and use it on every machine I work on. It cleans up the reg, allows me to remove any and all start up items, is the best uninstaller I have used and then allows me to cleanup all traces of any program I like. Ive used it on machines running everything from win98 to xp without any problems. Email me for a copy.
            Kelly
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