A registry cleaner is a computer program that will help you improve your computer’s life quality – if used correctly. The older your computer gets, the more junk it amasses, and the bigger the probability of slowdown and instability becomes. With registry cleaners you can prevent all of the above: they have several different tools that can boost your computer’s speed by fixing or defragmenting your registry, freeing up disk space and deleting unnecessary files that are hoarded in your machine.
Before jumping right into the world of registry cleaners it is important to have some basic notions of what the registry is. A computer’s registry is where all the actions you performed over time are located. In other words, every time you do something an entry is created in the registry, making it like a record activity log. (In fact, if you’re reading this article it is most likely that there is an entry created in your registry recording this action.) But the thing with registries is that they accumulate unnecessary entries as well, which most of the time occur when you do the mundane task of installing, updating, upgrading or uninstalling programs. Speaking of the latter, no program is completely uninstalled using the regular method (the control panel), leaving behind the so-called leftovers. Regardless of how insignificant they may seem, they still contribute to what’s known as registry fragmentation. And last but not least, the older your registry is, the more superfluous entries it hoards, resulting in slowing down your PC even more.
A registry cleaner takes care of these unnecessary registry entries. After thoroughly scanning your computer and listing all possible threats, the program lets you decide whether you want to eliminate said threats, fix the problem causing them, or perform registry defragmentation. Regardless of the chosen action, the process needs to be done carefully, as the registry is so delicate deleting a wrong entry can turn your computer useless. So if you wish to fix your registry, always use registry cleaners with care. As for how often you need them: every once in a while or after you removed the biggest threats to registries in general, viruses or malware. Also make sure to have a restore point or backup file in case something goes haywire during the process.
Some registry cleaners also provide more tools that can be used more often and without any remorse, such as a disk cleaner, an uninstaller (running this can prevent the aforementioned leftovers) and a file shredder. With these extras you can successfully delete any superfluous files, manage computer startup programs and browser extensions, and many more, ultimately resulting in a faster and healthier computer experience.