Five Apps to Degunk Electronics

Posted: November 07, 2014

[caption id="attachment_12095" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: iStockphoto.com/clu[/caption] No matter the electronic device used, it's bound to become cluttered with unwanted junk. Some simple system housekeeping will help get rid of the junk and keep devices running smoothly. Use the right tool for the job, whether it's a fast fix, or a deep clean. Jack Wallen, award-winning writer for TechRepublic and Linux.com, introduces five apps to kick system clutter to the curb.

Five apps for degunking your system

All systems, be they desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets need a little cleaning now and then. Sometimes the cleaning is just a simple riding various caches or deleting unwanted files. Other times, the cleaning is deeper and more involved. No matter what the situation, you need the tools to be able to rid that system of what ails it. Note: This article is also available as an image gallery and a video hosted by TechRepublic columnist Tom Merritt.

1: CCleaner

CCleaner (Figure A) has been my go-to tool for cleaning up various temporary files on Windows machines for a long time. There's a reason this tool comes up with such regularity with lists such as this -- it's an outstanding tool. CCleaner cleans all browser caches, Windows system temp files (such as recycle bin, recent docs, temp files, log files, clipboard, error reporting, and memory dumps), Windows registry, and third-party applications.

Figure A

Some would argue there are better registry cleaners available, but they're not associated with one of the most efficient system optimization/privacy/cleaning tools. The one drawback with the registry cleaner is that you will often need to run it multiple times before it registers as completely clean. Even so, all Windows users should have CCleaner on hand to keep their system free of cruft, gunk, and slop. CCleaner offers a free version as well as a paid version, which adds auto cleaning and support. You can see the feature matrix and pricing here.

2: Clean Master

Clean Master (Figure B) is an Android system cleaner that claims to clean junk (temp and residual files), free up RAM, scan and clean viruses, and remove unwanted apps (such as obsolete apks). Clean Master has a simple interface that completely removes any complication from the usage of the tool. From the main window, you can manage each task with the tap of a button. Should you be using a rooted device, Clean Master will allow you to uninstall carrier bloatware. Clean Master also includes a widget so you can free up RAM with a single tap. Rooted devices can move some apps to the SD card (through Clean Master). Clean Master is a free app installed from the Google Play Store. Read the entire article, Five Apps for Degunking Your System, on Tech Republic.