Windows Cleanup Tools: Our Top Two Freeware Picks

By | October 15, 2024

 

Windows Cleanup Tools: Our Top Two Freeware Picks

A few years ago, Microsoft warned Windows 10 users not to install CCleaner. CCleaner was once a highly regarded Windows system cleaner that Avast purchased.  That has led to many controversies as Avast (which now owns AVG too) started using CCleaner to spy on its users, as an advertising vector for Avast antivirus, and as a way to entice users to download software bundles, etc. You can read more about that here. The article is not new, but we’ve seen nothing coming from Avast that shows the company has changed its ways. They still bundle useless software with their “free” antivirus attempting to make money from freeware.

While Windows Storage Sense does a good job of keeping Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers clean, many people prefer using a third-party cleanup app that provides a privacy option.  There are dozens of free Windows cleaner apps available… many of them don’t work well and some come bundled with useless even malicious software.

So we’ve sifted through the mess and found two good free system cleanup tools and we’ve tested them for you. The two are BleachBit, and PrivaZer. Let’s take a look at each of them. 

BleachBit

Our number one choice is BleachBit because the free version is the “Pro” version. There is no paid version.

Cloudeight Freeware Pick - BleachBit

Cloudeight Freeware Pick - BleachBit

BleachBit is a Cloudeight freeware pick. If used with its default settings it is easy enough to use that just about anyone can safely use it.

From BleachBit…

“BleachBit has many useful features designed to help you easily clean your computer to free space and maintain privacy…

“When your computer is getting full, BleachBit quickly frees disk space. When your information is only your business, BleachBit guards your privacy. With BleachBit you can free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard junk you didn’t know was there. Designed for Linux and Windows systems, it wipes clean thousands of applications including Firefox, Adobe Flash, Google Chrome, Opera, and more. Beyond simply deleting files, BleachBit includes advanced features such as shredding files to prevent recovery, wiping free disk space to hide traces of files deleted by other applications, and vacuuming Firefox to make it faster. Better than free, BleachBit is open source…”

BleachBit works with Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Read more about BeachBit and/or download it here.


PrivaZer

Our second choice is PrivaZer. There’s a free version and a Pro version. To get the Pro version, you need to contribute. The free version should work well enough for most users. If you’re an advanced user, you’ll probably want the Pro version.

PivaZer

Privizer is almost like a cult favorite. It has a very loyal following and for good reason. PivaZer is a very powerful deep system cleaner even when used with its default settings. PivaZer is extremely robust and continues to be a favorite among advanced users who like to twiddle around with PrivaZer’s advanced settings.

After testing it again today, we think almost all of you – even those of you who are not advanced users – will find PrivaZer useful right out of the box… without messing around with any of its advanced features. 

PrivaZer is certainly one of the most complete and powerful free system cleaners available. We have tested it several times and found it to be safe if used with care (default settings).

From PrivaZer’s website:

With simply one click, PrivaZer is able to clean securely

. Internet browsers
. Index.dat
. Cookies
. Cookies Tor
. Cookies Flash
. Cookies Silverlight
. DOM Storage
. IndexedDB
. AppCache

. Registry
. RAM
. Pagefile.sys and Hiberfil.sys files

. Use of software
. Messengers
. Histories of visited websites, videos, software, opened docs, etc
. Jumplists

. Recycle bin
. Temp files
. Log files
. Invalid Prefetch entries
. Indexing service
. ThumbCaches, Thumbs.db

. Residual traces of deleted files
. Free space
. File table (MFT or FAT)
. INDEX attributes in MFT
. USN Journal, etc

PrivaZer is a cleanup tool that comes highly recommended. To get the most from PrivaZer, be sure to read the documentation and instructions. 

PrivaZer works with Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Read more about PrivaZer and/or download it here.

6 thoughts on “Windows Cleanup Tools: Our Top Two Freeware Picks

  1. Irene Harper

    I have Emsisoft and Registry Organizer paid versions on my computers. Can either BleachBit or PrivaZer do anything that I am not able to do with Emsisoft or Registry Organizer?

    Reply
    1. infoave Post author

      RegOrganizer is a system optimizer, and has many useful utilities (like an uninstaller, reg cleaner, startup manager, registry editor and more.). It has a Windows cleanup feature that works to clean up junk files and clutter. It does not focus on shredding files or deep cleaning drives. PrivaZer and Bleachbit are privacy tool that remove files and render then unrecoverable.

      Reply
  2. David Butterfield

    I have BleachBit installed on my desktop PC, but had not used it for a while. Your article prompted me to run the app. Once opened, the app prompted me to update it to the latest version, which I did. I tried to use the latest version, but was prompted that I had not selected what was to be cleaned. I assumed that the app had default settings, so I re-read your recent article on BleachBit and you stated “If used with its default settings it is easy enough to use that just about anyone can safely use it”. So what are the default settings, because there are none on the latest version I just installed? Regards, David

    Reply
    1. infoave Post author

      When you open Bleachbit, on the left you’ll see items like Brave, Firefox, Google Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, System, VLC, etc. If you click on, let’s say “System” you’ll see a preview show on the right as to what will be cleaned. Those are the the default settings… See the documentation here at https://docs.bleachbit.org/doc/general-usage.html

      Reply
  3. Richard Raszkiewicz

    You mentioned that Bleachbit will thoughrolley clean — and you gave the list — which also includes “Chrome”. I don’t want it to “bleach-out” my Chrome, which is working just fine?

    Can you give me an explanation?

    Rich

    Reply
    1. infoave Post author

      The new version (released after this was written) has Chrome checked by default. If you don’t want BleachBit to remove your traceable info and browsing history then uncheck “Chrome”. And I want to mention that you should never allow a browser to save your passwords – anyone with access to your computer could easily access your password protected sites. It’s much better to use a password manager that requires a master password to access your passwords. Letting your browser store your passwords is convenient yes, but secure, not so much

      It’s also a great idea to read the documentation for the new BleachBit. You can read it here at https://docs.bleachbit.org/doc/general-usage.html

      Reply

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