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registry cleaners

18 years ago

I presently am on a 1-year subscription with Norton's Anti-virus protection system. But recently I have been getting these window messages telling me I have over 200 "errors" on my PC and I need to upgrade in order to take care of the problems. I went to another site and they claimed I have over 2,000 discrepancies but they too wanted money to clean it up. Are these companies like RegCure reputable? Is it worth the $40 to use their system?

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Comments (3)

randy_ca
18 years ago
Absolutely NOT, please don't fall for these scams.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
18 years ago
do not ever pay money to one of those companies they are only hoping you fall for the scam and send them your credit card info. I am running linux I can go to those same sites and it acts like it is scanning my pc and tells me I have infections um hello I am on linux not windows the things it says I have are not possible, they say the same for all computers it is all faked.

I personally do not use or recommend any registry cleaners except for use by those that are very very proficient in registry work, if you do not know well how to deal with the registry and fully back up the registry then my suggestion is to leave it alone.

rely only on good reputable programs that are recommended on tech support sites or sites like spywarewarriors sites.
Spyware Warrior

are you seeing this "windows" warning down in your systray and does it look similar to the windows security symbol? if so that is an infection, it can be cleaned using the free version of superantispyware.
SUPERAntiSpyware
the blue free version, update it and run full scan allow it to delete what ever it finds, update it and run it once a week.
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Agree we are happy to help and a thank you is nice but what is really nice is if we find out we have helped solve the problem or not and if not we can try a new option. I posted on several of your questions and I suggested you please put WOT on your browser to help you not go to those unsafe sites and also I suggested you install spywareblaster to protect you and you have never come back at all to reply one way or the other. I am suggesting these things to Help you, keep you safe. Because the sites you were asking about are known scam sites, often just visiting such sites with a pc that is not fully updated is enough to infect the pc with a drive by infection. I am a senior also and I do understand taking patience and time and it is not as easy as it once was, we are doing that but please do your part to and at least let us know if what we are saying is going to you. This is not a warning or a scolding it is us asking you to please let us know what is going on and if you need more help let us know what is working or not.
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Ed Bott who is a windows expert and a former editor of PC World has a great blog I often read. He some time back blogged about this subject, it is a very informative read as well as the comments area following it. I will provide a link. I know a lot of people that use various cleaner programs, and really it is a what works for one does not always work for someone else situation with them. Each person has different experience just as each user has different pc usage. The main reason for the caution in my post was simply to warn those that are not familiar with these products to know that there are situations that can occur that could really be unfortunate. Plus there are those companies out there that prey on novice users and put out junk products(all kinds of products). I think the greatest thing is when a person takes it upon themselves to educate and seek info and research deeply before taking on any kind of task! That is the real way to learn. Do your research and read all the pros and cons then you can make an informed decision. YES acting smart is definitely not being smart.... being smart is being informed and proceeding with caution (after major backups)! LOL Here is a link that might be useful: Ed's blog
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firstkim, Make sure you are running the current verision of spybot-Search & Destroy open the program and it should be at 1.5, anything lower go to railheadwitzs' link & download the current version it was just updated recently to 1.5 I think this cleaner you bought is adding an entry to the registery so it runs all the time spybot may not like that looks like you have tea timer enabled in spybot that is good but No need for registery cleaner to run all the time, you can tell if it is running if it has created an icon in the task bar by the clock, a registery cleaner should run when you choose to run it.
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I definitely agree on the warning on the registry cleaner, I do not use them and I highly urge people not to use them unless they are extremely knowledgeable about the registry. I used to recommend foxit but now use and prefer PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER it has not been as affected by vulnerabilities as have Adobe and foxit. As far as list sites go there is only one that I recommend and that is Gizmo's freelist site, he is extremely well known and has been doing the list for many years, his is one you can trust. Gizmo's Freeware Reviews I have been a gizmo fan for years, always got his newsletter and now that he moved to windows secrets I get the newsletter there and I do pay a donation and get the paid version it is an excellent resource. I use and have used many of the ones listed on the PC Pitstop list, and I do like and trust PC Pitstop, I also get their newsletter. I have been recommending REVO uninstaller here since it came out and several others on the list. It is always best to ask about certain freebie programs before trying them to see if anyone knows of issues, and of course always always scan them with all your security programs before opening them. Not all lists sites are reputable and trustworthy though many are the ones trying to supply us with their freebies with added features like malware and spyware, free is not always free sometimes we get more than we bargained for and are left trying to salvage the pc.
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DA_Mccoy
18 years ago
Randy is correct. Avoid these scams at all costs. Deleting your cookies and Internet files may eliminate your messages.

You didn't report which O/S you have. If you have an older system the old free JV16 is still available if you search for it.

If the O/S is XP or Vista the commercial JV16 Suite has a 30 day trial period includes the registry cleaner.

Both create backups and are user friendly. The suite is the first application I have ever considered purchasing.

DA

Here is a link that might be useful: JV Tool Suite

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