After some time, my closet gets quite full of old, useless junk that I saved for one reason or another, and at that time, I tend to go through and throw out all the old junk that I don’t really need. The same clutter seems to occur on most users’ hard-drives today with all the applications we install on a regular basis. Unfortunately, distinguishing the useless files from the required ones is not all that easy. That’s where Quarterdeck’s CleanSweep Deluxe 3.0 comes in.

When an application is installed into Windows 95, not only does it copy its files to the hard drive, but it also copies libraries and extensions to system folders. Unless the application comes with an Uninstall program, uninstalling it completely is virtually impossible, because one never knows which libraries are part of the program and which ones aren’t. CleanSweep Deluxe’s several uninstall wizards allow users to easily get rid of hundreds of megabytes of debris, much of which is hidden in convoluded directories, and undetectable by Windows’ Add/Remove Programs. For even better application removal, CleanSweep, once installed, watches the hard disk as programs are installed, and logs installation activity. Later on, this information can be used to more completely remove an unwanted application. Although this feature is useful, it is not worth the resources for just a little bit more thorough cleaning.

To make sure you don’t accidentally delete a file, CleanSweep Deluxe installs the resident, Safety Sweep. Safety Sweep blocks from deletion files that are considered important for an application currently installed, or files which have been recently used. An additional safety feature is CleanSweep’s Registry Genie. Like Windows’ Regedit, it allows the user to edit keys in the Registry, which contains vital information about your system and the hardware and the software on it. Unlike Regedit, the Registry Genie has a large application database, from which it can describe what different values in the registry are, as the actual names can be quite ambiguous. The Registry Sweep can remove any obsolete keys from the registry, as well as entire applications.

CleanSweep’s application clean up abilities alone make it an excellent package, but Quarterdeck did not stop there. Realizing that perhaps an even greater source of hard drive debris is the Internet, Quarterdeck included an entire set of comprehensive Internet debris cleaning tools, labeled Internet Sweep. Internet Sweep monitors all types of files downloaded over the internet, including the elusive cookies, plug-ins and even programs installed over the Internet such as ActiveX controls. Like the file installation monitoring, these monitors do intrude on system resources, but in this case, the slight performance hit is worth it. CleanSweep also comes with its own virus protection, called TuneUp AV. TuneUp AV watches for viruses in both files that are downloaded and those that are copied to your hard disk. Like many other Quarterdeck products, Update It technology has been incorporated into it, which checks for updates to the CleanSweep software on the Internet, and then download and installs them.

CleanSweep Deluxe is an excellent software package. It quickly, safely and effectively rids your hard drive of hundreds of megabytes of debris, but at the same time keeps important files safe from accidents. CleanSweep Deluxe is a must have for anyone who frequents the Internet and who doesn’t like useless space-taking files sitting on the hard drive. The price is a bit high at $59, but for such an invaluable bundle, the price is worth it.

Product Information System Requirements
Manufacturer:

Quarterdeck, Inc (www.quarterdeck.com)

Price: $59 (-$10 rebate); $19 Upgrade

Platform: Windows 95, NT

Distribution: CD-ROM

486/33

Windows 95: 8/10 MB HD, 8 MB RAM

Windows NT 4: 12 MB HD, 16 MB RAM (recommended)

Software: Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later, NetScape Navigator 3.0 or later, AOL 3.0

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