GiveAwayOfTheDay for December 28, 2008: WinUtilities
A Review of the Application:
The Good
* Has almost every tool in the book needed to clean/maintain your computer
* Almost no learning curve
* Automatically Creates system backups before doing any changes to registry.
* Has an option to recover deleted files and to ’securely’ delete files.
* Has a ‘1-click’ system maintenance option.
* You can schedule times when maintenance will run automatically.
* Vista compatible
* EXE file password protection feature.
The Bad
* No defrag tool.
* Uninstaller does not scan registry/computer for left over files.
* Duplicate File scanner does not discriminate between important files and useless files.
Free Alternatives:
CCleaner
Tuneup Utilities 2007
Glary Utility
Ashampoo WinOptimizer 4
Advanced SystemCare Free
(For a limited time, you can get 6 months Pro license for free at Raymond.cc)
RevoUninstaller
Recuva
Eraser
PMnet Verdict: WinUtilties is an excellent program. I have been using it since I got it in October and it has been very reliable. Not to mention the automatic backups of registry and other files gives you piece of mind if anything ever goes wrong. However, with so many free alternatives to do this same task, I would recommend the following: For one single computer optimization/management program, I would say go Advanced SystemCare (get Pro while you can then switch to Free once Pro license is over). As I mentioned in the Premium Booster review, Advanced SystemCare is the most resource intensive out of all the alternatives listed above, but it is an excellent tool in terms of computer management - especially the fact that it has automatic scheduled cleaning of your computer almost every day. After Advanced SystemCare, I would rank the other programs in this order: CCleaner/WinUtilities/Tuneup Utilities 07, then Ashampoo/Glary. However, I still recommend downloading WinUtilities because of the ‘extras’ it has such as EXE password protection that Advanced SystemCare does not have. Lastly, regardless of what system optimization program you decide to use, you should definitely download RevoUninstaller to help you completely uninstall all your programs.
Full Review: GOTDReviews.info
I'll probably skip this application -- but it's great to have the info on all those free alternatives!
