SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner Free
MSRP
$0.00
$0.00
- PROSPowerful tune-up abilities. Free. No license restrictions. Ability to schedule tune-up sessions. Browser clean-up and search engine selection tool.
- CONSCan't uninstall multiple applications at once. Can't delete multiple duplicate files at once. Software rating system requires a Web connection
- BOTTOM LINEFree, effective, and featuring innovative community-based problem solving, SlimCleaner is an excellent application for those who don't want to pony up money for a tune-up utility or deal with licenses.
Traditionally, PC tune-up utilities have performed a basic, straightforward function—improve your computer's overall system performance via a number of behind-the-scenes tweaks that ditch unused files. You ran it and moved on—it was a solitary experience. That has changed with SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner Free, a tune-up utility that uses aggregated data collected from its user base to recommend the optimal settings for your PC. It even rewards you with badges for contributing accurate information back to the community. In short, SlimCleaner is a mashup of social network and utility that does a fine job of cleaning gunked-up PCs. It's our Editors' Choice for free tune-up utilities.
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Note: SlimWare Utilities also offers a paid tune-up tool, SlimCleaner Plus ($29.97), that has several new, effective features, including power-consumption options and the ability to recognize out-of-date antivirus software.
System Requirements and InterfaceCompatible with Windows XP/Vista/7/8 PCs, SlimCleaner requires an Internet connection for downloading the software and for any updates that may be required during installation. Like Iolo System Mechanic 14$24.95 at Iolo (our Editors' Choice for paid tune-up utilities), SlimCleaner gives users permission to install the software on an unlimited number of systems. This gives it the edge over other tools with the three-license industry standard.
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SlimCleaner's attractive interface features a pleasant color scheme that deftly balances blacks and grays with a bright blue gradient. Clicking one of the categories located in the column located left of the main content area—Cleaner, Optimize, Software, Browsers, Disk Tools, Windows Tools, and Hijack Log—highlights the selection and displays that individual interface to the right. SlimCleaner also displays your PC's operating system, CPU, and GPU information just south of that. A gripe: I don't like that SlimCleaner sometimes opens secondary windows when you click an option. For example, clicking Disk Tools opens another window that lets you run disk utilities—I don't dig that. I prefer a tighter interface that keeps everything in one place.
Cleaner, Optimizer, Social FeaturesThe Cleaner area—the section that contains tabs for Windows, Applications, Browsers, Advanced, and Registry—is what you'll encounter upon firing up the application. Clicking the Analyze button causes SlimCleaner to run and spit back a list of problems—my initial scan uncovered dozens upon dozens on my test computer. The Clean button removed all the problem files and Web cookies, but I preserved the log-in cookies of Facebook and other sites I frequent using the IntelliCookie Filter. That's a great touch.
That's far from the only tool at your disposal. Optimize lets you alter which programs boot at launch—handy for those who may not realize that resource hogs are slowing the boot process and hindering the overall system performance. Here you can find detailed file information so you know exactly what it does before taking action, sort software (based on user feedback) using an adjustable, color-coded slider, and rate programs yourself using drop-down menu selections and mini-reviews—all very useful. I especially like that SlimCleaner gives you a warning if you are about to remove software that's been well-received by the community; it's a nice way to safeguard yourself from removing a file that may prove vital to the computing experience. Unfortunately, because the feature is community-based, your PC has to be connected to the Web to get the crowd-sourced software ratings.
Taking a cue from popular social networking sites like Facebook, SlimCleaner gives users a wall to display personal information and view badges, awards that are given for users with helpful useful reviews. In order to have badges saved to your wall, you need to create an account from scratch, or log in with your Facebook account. Personally, I could do without the badges, but I suppose they're carrots that will entice some users to contribute ratings, which improves everyone's experience.
Uninstaller, Browsers, Shredder, Hijack LogRunning UnInstaller causes SlimCleaner to scan your computer and display the total number of software installs. I began scrolling through the long list of software, uninstalling unwanted applications such as BlackBerry Device Manager, Yahoo Toolbar, and a number of others. I don't like that you can't select multiple applications at once; you have to uninstall applications one at a time, which quickly became a chore.
When I visited the Browsers section, SlimCleaner highlighted the Internet Explorer icon—the installed browser—but it also listed Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari (although they were grayed out). Clicking the icon brought up an impressive amount of information on that particular browser including the default homepage, and the toolbars, extensions, and plug-ins that were installed. It amazed me that I had so many junk installs, and that I had become blind to them in my daily use. Once cleaned, Internet Explorer opened far swifter than it had in months. I could also select a new search engine for the browser, which was an unexpected extra.
The Shredder lets you delete files or entire folders by overwriting them with data. There are different shredding levels, each with an increasing security level—Quick (one overwrite), Safe (three overwrites), Thorough (seven overwrites), and Guttman (a whopping 35 overwrites). Once a file has been overwritten, it can't be recovered, so use this feature carefully.
HighJack Log lists all of the programs and plug-ins that are vulnerable to third-party attacks that can take over the system. Windows Tools organizes system tools (Device Manager, System Information, and more) in one easily navigated interface. Another aspect of SlimCleaner that I liked a lot—there's a Revert Optimizations button on each screen which lets you roll back the settings should you have need for it.
You can schedule tune-ups to run on a daily or weekly basis, and you can make a portable version of the software by taking a trip to Settings.
SlimCleaner other features include Intelligent Defrag (lets users to run a personalized defrag based on their specific PC hardware), Software Updater (lets users check for updates to the software on their PC and install those updates directly from SlimCleaner), Solid-State Drive Optimization (lets users optimize the layout of files on their solid-state drives to speed-up loading programs and opening documents), and Duplicate Finder (gives users with a quick way to find and eliminate unnecessary duplicate files that can clutter and slow down a hard drive). Eliminating duplicate files proved a bit tedious as I couldn't do a mass elimination—I had to delete them one by one.
Performance ImprovementsI tested SlimCleaner's ability to whip a PC back into shape by performing two tests—running the Geekbench system performance tool and measuring boot times—before and after running the software to compare the testbed's potency. Each test was run three times and averaged. Before SlimCleaner scrubbed the system, the 2-GHz Intel Core i7 X990 Style-Note notebook with 4GB of RAM, and an 80GB Intel SSD drive achieved a 5,914 Geekbench score and booted in 50.3 seconds.
After using SlimCleaner, the system saw improved performance: The GeekBench score rose to 6,338 (which was short of Iolo System Mechanic 14's 6,369 score), and the boot time decreased to 41.1 seconds (a bit behind Iolo System Mechanic's 39.7 seconds mark).
Those numbers wouldn't mean much if it didn't translate into user-noticeable improvements—fortunately, it does. Windows, iTunes, and Steam opened with extra pep that wasn't present when the machine was junked up.
The New Tune-up Utility ChampSlimCleaner's system-improving tools makes it PCMag.com's Editors' Choice in the free PC tune-up utility category. SlimCleaner's community-based monitoring and tune-up tools make it a utility I will return to often for swift PC clean up. If your PC is sluggish, give SlimCleaner a try. If you want a tune-up utility with a little more power, check out Iolo System Mechanic 14; its dynamic PowerSense power-adjusting feature is quite the useful tool.
For more, check out The Best Tune-Up Utilities.
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