They could impact OS reliability and performance, it adds

Dec 26, 2015 09:51 GMT  ·  By

Registry cleaners and system optimization tools have been around for a while, and millions of users turned to them to boost the performance of their Windows computers.

But with the arrival of Windows 10, fewer users are actually interested in such apps, as it seems that Microsoft has more or less improved the operating system up to a level where third-party optimization solutions are no longer needed.

A long discussion on reddit questions the performance of CCleaner on Windows 10, as the app has been intensively criticized lately, with a Microsoft employee who posted in the thread explaining that bugs and compatibility issues were the ones responsible for the “new” bad reputation of this tool.

The CCleaner saga

CCleaner is generally considered one of the best apps of its kind, as it provides a rich set of tools to keep a Windows computer in tip-top shape. But with the arrival of Windows 10, CCleaner was originally flagged as incompatible and removed during the upgrade process from Windows 7 and 8.1 computers.

An update to CCleaner fixed the problem and made it fully compatible with Windows 10, but then a number of users reported issues with Cortana and other OS features after installing the app. So is CCleaner no longer an app that can improve system performance? Is there an issue with its registry cleaner that's causing issues on Windows 10?

“This seems like a great question to ask of the CCleaner team, as they should be aware of the bugs/problems their software has or has not introduced over time,” Microsoft employee DrPeppy explained.

Microsoft itself doesn't seem to like CCleaner either. A company executive has recently had an unexpected reaction when asked about the app:

“CCleaner is… how do I put it mildly… Don’t… let’s just move on!”

In fact, Microsoft itself is now recommending users to stay away not only from CCleaner but also from any other registry cleaner on their Windows 10 devices, claiming that they could impact system performance and reliability.

“Some products such as registry cleaning utilities suggest that the registry needs regular maintenance or cleaning. However, serious issues can occur when you modify the registry incorrectly using these types of utilities. These issues might require users to reinstall the operating system due to instability. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved without a reinstallation of the Operating System as the extent of the changes made by registry cleaning utilities varies from application to application.”

In the end, it's up to users to decide whether such apps are helpful or not, but with so many bugs occurring even when running the best of them, creating backups should be a priority.