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What is a good program for getting rid of junk files on my computer?

As you use your computer, lots of unnecessary files build up on your hard drive.  This is especially true if you regularly use the internet.  Temporary files, cookies, stray registry entries, and unused files can slow your system down.  There are many tools that can improve your system’s performance by cleaning up your disk./p>

One such tool is CCleaner. This is a free program and is available for download at http://www.ccleaner.com/

Just follow the instructions at the website to install and run CCleaner to remove the clutter from your system.

There are three tabs that let you analyze different parts of your system.  The first is the “Windows” tab.  This tab contains all of the settings that control how CCleaner scans Windows itself.  The options selected by default ensure a thorough cleaner, but you can scroll through the list to pick the options that you want.  Once the options are set, click the “Analyze” button to have CCleaner scan your system

To analyze and clean Windows:

1. Select the items that you want to scan in the list on the left.  The default options ensure a thorough cleaning.
2. Click the “Analyze” button in the right panel of the window.  CCleaner looks for unneeded Windows files.
3. Once the scan is finished, click the “Run Cleaner” button to remove the unneeded files.
4. Click the “Yes” button when the message box warning you that you are about to delete files appears.  CCleaner removes the unnecessary Windows files from your hard disk.

The “Applications” tab is next, and it has options for analyzing several common programs.

To analyze and clean these common programs:

1. Select the items that you want to scan in the list on the left.  The default options ensure a thorough cleaning.
2. Click the “Analyze” button in the right panel of the window.  CCleaner looks for unneeded application files.
3. Once the scan is finished, click the “Run Cleaner” button to remove the unneeded files.
4. Click the “Yes” button when the message box warning you that you are about to delete files appears.  CCleaner removes the unnecessary application files from your hard disk.

The last tab is the “Issues” tab.  The settings here determine how CCleaner scans and fixes the Windows registry.

To analyze and clean the Windows registry:

1. Select the items that you want to scan in the list on the left.  The default options ensure a thorough cleaning.
2. Click the “Scan for Issues” button in the right panel of the window.  CCleaner looks for unneeded registry entries.  Problems that the program finds appear in the list in the right panel of the window.
3. Right-click the list of problems. 
4. Click “Select all.”  Checks appear next to all of the list items.
5. Click the “Fix selected issues…” button.  A window describing the first issue appears.
6. Click the “Fix all issues” button.  CCleaner takes care of all of the erroneous registry entries.

Running scans in all three tabs of CCleaner is a quick and easy way to rid your computer of unnecessary files.  Doing this periodically will keep your system running smoothly so you can enjoy using your computer instead of worrying about performance.

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