* Posted by damccoy (My Page) on Sat, Jan 23, 10 at 13:28 CCleaner is regularly recommended. v2.27.1070 has been out since December 23rd and I haven't read of any concerns. Since it is used at default settings and does not require preferences I recommend a removal of the prior version before installing. It only takes a minute and there is no reboot required. I, OTOH, make sure that CC doesn't delete my more important cookies. Under Options > Cookies I have cookies for my frequently visited sites (forums, email services, etc.) saved so they don't get washed away with the junk cookies. For this reason I just do an upgrade. An uninstall/re-install would erase all saved cookies, right ?

Spwareblaster would be fine to install and a good idea. Along with a program called Web of trust (Wot) These programs actually can prevent Malware from installing in the first place. Only run 1 Anti Virus Program. Only use 1 Firewall. And only 1 Active Spyware program, like Windows Denfender, in your case Kaspersky probably covers you as it would more then likely have spyware protection and a firewall included. Spywareblaster does not scan in the background so it will never interfere with any other active spyware programs running. You will need to up-date it manually, I check mine once a week. Malwarebytes free will also never interfere with other active scanners, it's called an on-Demand scanner and does not run in the background and does not prevent malware, it is generally used after the fact to remove malware. Malwarebytes is the first tool of choice to use when you think you may have an infection or just addware like myweb search, or the ask toolbar.

Marie, if you want to pay for something, pay for a license for one of the top comprehensive security suites that include antivirus. You can usually get what you need for less than $20 a year, especially if you get a multi-user package and split it with friends. With something like Kaspersky or Norton or Bitdefender, the tasks of protection, monitoring, and cleanup are all done automatically and invisibly. Aside from well regarded Malbytes, I don't follow why people think having 3 or 4 or 5 separate and unintegrated pieces of software is the way to go. With real time screening and protection, a program like Malbytes is never necessary. To me, it's the difference between planning for success vs dealing with failure. To each his own.

The default settings are the ones that the application comes with. If you haven't used it in some time, it will probably tell you there is a newer version. Download and install the latest version and use it without fear. Like azinoh I have used both the clener and registry tool with no problem, always backing up the registry. This is just one step in my routing maintenance before I defrag.