If you have the technical knowledge and several hours to spare, you can optimize Windows 10 manually, speed it up and free up disk space. Save time and effort with an all-in-one utility for PC.
I am pretty much a manual tune-up sort of guy and whenever I spot a problem, like the computer slowing slightly, disk space disappearing, unused software, startup items I don’t need and so on, I sort it out. I clean up and tune up as I go and my Windows PC is pretty clean, optimized and speedy.
The downside is that, knowing I am a geek, people tend to complain to me that their PC is very slow and they struggle to get anything done on it. Browsing the web or running apps are a major hassle for them. Their PC is slow, running out of disk space, and barely works. Could I help?
Yes, I could, but the least fun thing to do is spend all day cleaning up someone else’s bloated and barely working computer (unless they are paying me). It can take hours of cleaning, tuning, optimizing, deleting junk, uninstalling apps and so on. It is so much easier to install an all-in-one clean-up, tune-up and optimizer utility like IObit Advanced SystemCare and just run it. It saves a lot of work.
To be honest, I don’t use tools like this on my own PC because I keep it in good shape, but if someone hands me a computer that is barely working and asks for help, I’ll use Advanced SystemCare to scan it and fix it in minutes rather than spend several hours of my valuable time and effort cleaning the junk from their PC.
Even the free version of this app can make a significant difference to a well-used PC that has never been optimized. The paid Pro version goes even further.
Don’t over-clean or over-optimize
Some clean-up and tune-up tools can be a bit too enthusiastic and remove too much, even things you might need, so you have to be careful with them. It is a good idea to head to the settings straight after installation to see what it is doing and to customize the clean-up options. Advanced SystemCare settings are comprehensive.
It is good to see that the software takes a conservative approach to most things it does. For example, it will empty the recycle bin, but it will keep items deleted in the last week, two weeks, month, three months or year. You are not going to lose the ability to restore a recently deleted item because it cleaned up. Memory dumps and temporary files can also be kept for days, weeks or a month before being deleted.
Web browser history can be cleaned for privacy reasons, but you can choose to keep the last few days, weeks or month. Most automatic clean-up and tune-up services are all disabled by default and must be manually enabled. You can do this after checking what it is cleaning and deleting, so it only does what you want.
I like the default settings, which are designed to be fairly safe while still offering some clean-up, tune-up and optimizations. This is important for non-technical users who might install Advanced SystemCare and just run it without checking what it is doing.
AI vs manual clean-up and tune-up
The app starts with a big SCAN button in the middle of the window and options to choose AI Mode or Manual Mode. Artificial Intelligence? IObit says it learns your optimization habits, looks at what needs optimizing, then scans for the items to clear and optimize.
Select Manual Mode and there are 16 items with checkboxes to include or exclude from the scan, like Registry Clean, Junk File Clean, Disk Optimization, Software Health and more.
There is a Privacy Sweep module that enables you to clear your tracks, like web browser caches and history, Windows Run history, even recently used files by some apps. Some are useful, like when you want to hide your internet tracks, but some are trivial, like Paint and Notepad recent files – they’re a privacy risk?
Whether you use AI or Manual modes, the default is to show a list of items to be cleaned. It will not do anything automatically unless you configure it, which is good. I like to see what is going to be deleted before I go ahead and actually remove anything.
Automatic clean-up and tune-up
There are several ways to automate Advanced SystemCare and AutoCare can be enabled in Settings to run whenever the computer is idle or at a certain time daily or weekly. It cleans privacy issues, junk files, the registry and a few more items. Activities are selected with checkboxes.
AutoClean can be set to run when the computer starts and it cleans cleans web browser caches and histories, and Windows items like recent files histories. Auto RAM Clean monitors memory usage and when the system is short, it clears memory and disables inactive processes.
Malware, spyware and privacy
Advanced SystemCare contains security features and system scans can include spyware detection and removal as part of the clean-up process. In the Pro version is an option to enable real-time antispyware protection. Windows Security and Firewall status are shown in the app.
There is a Sensitive Data Protection module that does two things. One is to warn you when untrusted programs access certain things like web browsing history, contacts and OneDrive, and the other is to actually block attempts, which is a Pro feature.
Ad blocking, anti-tracking, and surfing protection (like cryptominers) can be enabled for whatever browsers you use. Email protection blocks or warns when email threats like phishing is discovered. All are useful security features.
Undo changes
There are probably more disabled features than enabled ones in the app on first run and it is tempting to go through and enable everything. Don’t. You do need to know what the consequences are of deleting things like app histories, startup programs, internet settings, disabling services and so on.
If something goes wrong, the Rescue Center can help. It enables recent activities to be undone, like changes to the internet, startup, security, and registry. I haven’t had to use it, but it is good to know it is there if I ever do. I would still recommend a full system backup before using Advanced SystemCare though.
More features
The features mentioned here are really just the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more available that I don’t have the time or space to cover. I could not possibly mention everything and have just highlighted a few items that caught my attention. There is a whole lot more!
It is as if IObit has put every Windows utility they could think of in one app and it is like the software equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife with every tool you could ever need. It is a true all-in-one app, from cleaning the disk to system optimization, to security, to monitoring computer health, to fixing problems, and more. You don’t have to use everything! Just use the items you need.
Advanced SystemCare Free has a lot of features and the Pro app has even more. When I ran it, I was offered a 3 PC license for $19.99 a year, which is $1.67 a month. That is a bargain and I don’t know how long that price will last. Install the free version and see what deal is offered for the Pro license.
