The problems with CCleaner

[Tarun]

Features such as UTF-8? The bug reports that get reported fixed? It's own backup folder with the application?

There are numerous things users complain about, key, critical issues that should be resolved.

If we look at things, we have:

• Bug reports simply get ignored
• No Unicode support at all
• Overuse of ActiveX/OCX files for everything
• Visual Basic application
• Some elements within the application do not function as they should
• ...and many more

So what's wrong with all of this? Well, let's start with the top of the list and go through it.

Bug reports get ignored by the author. Heck, we rarely even seem him post after all. When a user comes to a website for support, especially for a product; they like to hear from a developer or the dev-team. I even had an issues with MSN Messenger settings getting wiped. It took over three months to get that issue resolved

No Unicode support. None, at all. Zip. Zero. There was (and still is) a lot of people talking about the Issues section of CCleaner that returns squares and other garbled items. Now, if Unicode was implemented that would resolve that issue.

Overuse of ActiveX/OCX files for everything. Well, simply put that can cause a ton of errors and issues on computers. It'll crash on most platforms. That does no one good in the end. Why do you need a special OCX file for the listview? For the checkboxes? The listview in the Issues cleaner? For the progress bar? The Common Controls OCX from Microsoft covers all of that and it works well. If all those OCX files do not register properly, the whole program fails.

Visual Basic application. Enough said there, really. VB applications are terrible for deployment to the real world, because of all the OCX files and dependencies they have. Look at how many people come here asking or support due to the runtimes alone. That says a lot, doesn't it?

Elements not functioning as they should. Heck, the progress bar for CCleaner doesn't even work properly. It just loops over and over "to show activity". That's poor coding to any programmer. Make it update with a percentage like the Issues scanner. At least that progress bar works. (Hint: BeginUpdate type method works nicely.)

Even the Issues cleaner needs a lot of work. If key was access denied, it happily acts like it deleted it, animates its removal from the listview. Then you scan again and OH LOOK THERE IT IS AGAIN! Surprise, surprise...

This post was also on the CCleaner Forums, but as you can see by clicking the link above; it seems MrG doesn't like any bad publicity. It was deleted without any word.

[Mangix]

Bug reports get ignored by the author. Heck, we rarely even seem him post after all. When a user comes to a website for support, especially for a product; they like to hear from a developer or the dev-team. I even had an issues with MSN Messenger settings getting wiped. It took over three months to get that issue resolved

that could mean that CCleaner might be a side project. i mean three months to fix one little bug is too long.

No Unicode support. None, at all. Zip. Zero. There was (and still is) a lot of people talking about the Issues section of CCleaner that returns squares and other garbled items. Now, if Unicode was implemented that would resolve that issue.

that's because Visual Basic is being used. i've heard from the maker of CD Art Display that Visual Basic has limited Unicode support which means no chinese or any other special characters.

Visual Basic application. Enough said there, really. VB applications are terrible for deployment to the real world, because of all the OCX files and dependencies they have. Look at how many people come here asking or support due to the runtimes alone. That says a lot, doesn't it?

well, since i doubt that MrG knows any other programming languages(oh say C++), there's no choice but for it to be made in Visual Basic.

This post was also on the CCleaner Forums, but as you can see by clicking the link above; it seems MrG doesn't like any bad publicity. It was deleted without any word.

nobody wants bad publicity :D

[Tarun]

Delphi 7 from Lite Applications is free.

Apparently he wants to hide it all by deleting it. Very poor methods. You address and resolve any bad publicity issues, not try to hide it. :D

[Mangix]

i doubt that MrG would want to spend time learning Delphi, and porting CCleaner from Visual Basic to Delphi .

that's true. so since CCleaner has a lot of problems, any alternatives?

edit:btw, where can i get my hands on Delphi?

[Tarun]

Check my post above. :D

[SenutyEnool]

Is CCleaner open source?

Cheers :D

[lokoike]

@ Mangix: You can download Delphi 7 SE 7.2 here.

@ SenutyEnool: CCleaner is freeware, but it is not open source.

[Mangix]

@ Mangix:  You can download Delphi 7 SE 7.2 here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yay. since i'm a member of demonoid.com(i chose to dl the torrent btw), i now have to seed it. yay

edit:btw, thanks for the link

edit2: sooooo i'll ask again. what's a good alternative to CCleaner

[MrT]

HDCleaner is nice...

[Mangix]

have you used it before? and if so, is it any good?

edit: i just used it quickly. when i first launched it, it froze opera and explorer for a while(foobar2000 was still playing DragonForce though). after that, it kept on loading and loading. i don't even know what it was doing(since the GUI wasn't visible)

edit2: ok this program is horrible. the interface is ugly as hell, there's something wrong with the OK button, the mouse cursor looks f***ed up as well. apart from the GUI, it doesn't look that bad. but this is definately a program which i will not use.

[MrT]

sorry Mangix... i didnt know it is so bad... i tried it before... but i stop using it once i switch to ccleaner...

[greenknight]

HD Cleaner is a good program, but not easy to use. It requires a lot of user interaction, it's not automatic like CCleaner; and I agree, the UI sucks, and it's a very slow load. I wouldn't dream of trying to use it while another program was running (I think that's the best policy with any cleaner program, for that matter). It's definitely oriented toward geeks, not ordinary users. I use it occasionally, it's found stuff that nothing else did. One nice feature - it can make zipped backups of anything it deletes, to an internal backup folder.

I also use EasyCleaner; it has a pretty good reg cleaner, with a proper backup system. Its Unnecessary Files scan just locates files by their extensions, and you get to look them over before it deletes anything (it deletes them to the Recycle Bin, so you have 1 last chance to recover). It finds stuff CCleaner doesn't, but CCleaner finds stuff it doesn't, by running them both I get pretty thorough cleaning.

About CCleaner: I think it's surprising, as little and as slowly as it's improved, that nothing has come along that leaves it in the dust. You'd think the open source community could have produced something 10 times better by now. I guess nobody gets excited about creating cleaner programs, too mundane. :D

[Tarun]

I have a need for one that does more than just the drive where Windows is installed. I may try to very slowly write a better cleaner program in Delphi 7 with some help. CCleaner is just way too limited and buggy.

[krit86lr]

I may try to very slowly write a better cleaner program in Delphi 7 with some help.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a good idea Tarun. :D

[SenutyEnool]

I have a need for one that does more than just the drive where Windows is installed.  I may try to very slowly write a better cleaner program in Delphi 7 with some help.  CCleaner is just way too limited and buggy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Heheh, hence my question whether it was open source. Was trying to goad someone into making an admission that they could do better.

Go Tarun

Cheers :D

[corjello]

maybee its my lack of knowledge with computers, but i do still love ccleaner after reading this whole thread. i have never had a problem with it, so i dont see it as an issue like you Tarun

)corjello(

[Tarun]

Try using it on a Windows 9x/ME computer. It'll harp about needing all these Visual Basic runtimes. I suppose with as much as I use it, I've seen tons of issues. Even the update checking of every 10 minutes with the only choice of disabling it is ridiculous.

[Mangix]

the update thing itself is silly. if your internet is chocked, then it takes at least 10 minutes for CCleaner to startup. i even made a suggestion for MrG to place the update checking in anothe thread so that it won't interfere with the GUI. but i guess that never got implemented.

[lokoike]

Try using it on a Windows 9x/ME computer.  It'll harp about needing all these Visual Basic runtimes.  I suppose with as much as I use it, I've seen tons of issues.  Even the update checking of every 10 minutes with the only choice of disabling it is ridiculous.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I personally don't see the need for Visual Basic runtimes as that big of a deal, since they are only a 1 MB download. I figure any new video game for PC requires the DirectX 9.0c runtimes, and those are over 50 MBs, so comparatively, the VB runtimes are nothing.

I do agree that the non-unicode support can be a big problem, but as mentioned before, that is a limitation of the programming language itself, so the only solution is to learn a new language and totally rewrite the program from scratch. And when it comes to learning a new language for the sake of a better program, you could say that Delphi is obsolete as well, because a Delphi app will never be as optimized as an app written entirely in assembly. Every language has it's shortcomings.

So, all in all, I would have to say that CCleaner really isn't a half bad program considering what the creator has to work with. If you feel Delphi offers more power and functionality, then by all means, please write a replacement! And if you do, make sure that I get to test it, cause I would love to help you make it the best program possible!

All I suggest is that none of us on this forum try to run down CCleaner too much, as not even a cleaner written in Delphi will be perfect (although it may be pretty **** close!).

[Mangix]

I do agree that the non-unicode support can be a big problem, but as mentioned before, that is a limitation of the programming language itself, so the only solution is to learn a new language and totally rewrite the program from scratch. And when it comes to learning a new language for the sake of a better program, you could say that Delphi is obsolete as well, because a Delphi app will never be as optimized as an app written entirely in assembly. Every language has it's shortcomings.

who the hell would even want to bother learning assembly? making an application in assembly would require MONTHS and MONTHS of coding for a simple program. as for Delphi, at least it's better than VB. it doesn't require any runtimes(well, not that i'm aware of) and it actually has unicode support. btw, if you want to optimize the application's filesize, then just use PECompact2. it works wonders

edit:also, as of yesterday, i don't use CCleaner. i use another program called "Uninstall Tool"(i only used CCleaner for uninstalling anyways). the program lists all of them and it isn't slow like "Add/Remove" is. it's also better than CCleaner's default one.

[lokoike]

who the hell would even want to bother learning assembly? making an application in assembly would require MONTHS and MONTHS of coding for a simple program.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course assembly would be far more difficult! That was the point! I was comparing VB to Delphi, and Delphi to assembly. Delphi is more difficult to learn and code with, but it is also more optimized and powerful. Assembly is more powerful than Delphi, but it is also harder to learn and code in. And I can imagine that debugging assembly would be a nightmare as well! But, if a program was written in assembly, it would consume very little size, be very fast, and offer limitless functions.

But is that to say that Delphi is a crap language just because something more powerful exists? Of course not! And does that mean that VB is a crap language just because Delphi is more powerful than it? No. VB is great if you want to quickly and effortlessly build an application. If you want something more optimized and powerful, and have a little more time on your hands, learn Delphi. And if you have an IQ of 600 and you want to build the fastest, smallest, coolest program there is, learn assembly. Every language has it's benefits and it's weaknesses, so no language is really "worse" or "better" than another.

[DjLizard]

You can write in assembly inline (or entirely) in Delphi, and Delphi is as fast as C++ is (and I certainly can't figure out how Delphi could be considered difficult... it's exactly like VB except with the prettier Pascal grammar)

I would only consider VB okay if you're writing in VB.net. VB6 is horrible and needs to die.

[lokoike]

(and I certainly can't figure out how Delphi could be considered difficult... it's exactly like VB except with the prettier Pascal grammar)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I personally find VB easier, but that is probably just because I've worked with BASIC for quite a while (I've only played around with Delphi for a couple days now). I just always kinda grouped Delphi and C into the same boat, and I've always thought C was harder than BASIC, so I just assumed Delphi was more difficult to program than VB.

I would only consider VB okay if you're writing in VB.net.  VB6 is horrible and needs to die.

So is the .NET framework pretty good then?

[DjLizard]

Yeah, it's cooler than I thought it'd be. I prefer C# to VB for .NET purposes, but that's because C & C++ are much better foundational languages for object-oriented programming than BASIC is, and C# is a mixture of C++ and some Object Pascal fundamentals.

[Tarun]

Interesting tidbit.

Thirdly CCleaner v2.0 is now being planned and worked on. We're going for a semi-complete rewrite in C++, to allow unicode, 64bit and thumbdrive support.

So, why did he just now post an announcement about this? Why not just address this things in the post that was there. Oh, but wait; it was "bad publicity" and we cannot have that. :D