3 Reasons NOT to use Registry Cleaners

I know that downloading can be fun and pop-ups can be enticing. But when it comes to most system utilities (programs supposedly designed to help your computer), just say “NO!” One of the worst add-on utilities you can get is the so-called “registry cleaner”. First, let me try to define the registry. Starting with Windows 95 and all versions of Windows since then, Microsoft has employed a large and complex database that tracks all hardware, software, user settings, drivers, and more for our computer. This “database” of information controls everything we do with our computers from the installation of software, customization of the desktop and more importantly how all the programs we use interact with each other and with Windows.

If that sounds imposing already, imagine that any computer user (usually technicians only) can navigate this labyrinth of information and make adjustments or tweaks or hacks to the registry. One wrong move in the registry and your computer can be rendered useless. Thus my “3 Reasons NOT to use Registry Cleaners”:

1. Many of the “free” Registry Cleaners found online contain spyware and can slow your computer down to a crawl.
2. Registry Cleaners are designed to look for dead wood or expired entries and then delete those entries.As I mentioned already, one wrong move in the registry can crash your computer. Do you trust a computer program to make all the right moves?
3. Problems caused from registry damage caused by these ridiculous utilities can cost you hundreds of dollars in repair bills and/or lost data.
   

The best way to keep your registry clean is to first and foremost not install extraneous software that you don’t or won’t use. When you do try a program and find that you don’t like it, use the Add/Remove program utility in the Control Panel to remove the program. Using Add/Remove gives your computer the best chance of erasing the registry changes that the program made.