Several people here on the list, have been talking about the Advanced
SystemCare software from Iobit. Some encourage the use of it, others tell they
don't find it very accessible. It is my hope, that this mail, might help people
to get a bit more out of the software.It sure took me a good deal of time, to
really get going, but if I can save some other people that hazzle, it's well
worth.
First of all, there might be some on the list who doesn't know the software,
and what it actually accomplishes. The software is a scanner, which searches
for - and removes - Spyware, bad entries in your registry, useless 'trash' (or
temporary) files that only takes up space, and certain traces of private
information that is left on your PC. It does also hold a memory optimizer. You
further have the chance of turning on/off which software should be loaded
through your system startup procedure. Some of these features (i.e the startup
manager), you need a certain amount of knowledge before playing around with.
That is why, Advanced SystemCare (ASC) does not do anything of these 'more
advanced' tasks without you specifically asking it to do so. If you just run a
standard scan, ASC will only do the operations that is safe to do. These are
the spyware scan, privacy sweep, registry cleaner, and removal of temporary
files.
The benefits of doing a scan with software like ASC, are quite many. First of
all, none of us want spyware. Although a good seperate spyware scanner is
encouraged, ASC will take care of certain traces. Secondly, we all want our
system to run as smoothly as possible. This requires, for the system to run as
few applications as possible, and have the least amount of files to search
through. Many times, when a system is slow, or unstabile, it is due to the fact
that it has got messed up, by loads of old temporary files, and bad, old or
incorrect entries in the registry. How could this happen?
Whenever you install a software on your computer, it makes some entry in the
registry. This is done, as a way of ensuring that this software is allowed to
run on your computer. Such entries could be your license key for the software,
certain setup parameters, and loads of other personal settings you make in your
software. Some programs, tend to make excessive use of the registry. Others
hardly ever touches the registry. For one example, Outlook Express makes one
new entry, for each rule you make for your E-mails. If you make 100 Mail-rules,
there will be at least 100 new entries in your registry. It is not uncommon to
see a registry in Windows, holding from 5000 to 10000 entries.
During installation of software, as well as when a software needs more space,
than what you have memory, the system creates temporary files. A good example
here, is Internet Explorer. When surfing on the net, your system will download
and temporarily store, certain information. This is done, so that you won't
have to download it over and over again, when you come back to a given webpage.
Let's say, as an example, that you are doing a search on Google. The results
will be shown in a web window, and certain info will be stored on your
computer. You want to check out the second search result, hence click on that.
Upon reading the new webpage, you decide it didn't really hold what you were
looking for, so you go back to your search result page. Due to the fact, that
your system already have downloaded given parts of that page, it is quick and
seamless to do your reverse.
Unfortunately, not all software are well written, when comes to tide up when
they are closed, or uninstalled. I have seen software, that makes new entries
in the registry, every time you make an update of the software, without
deleting the old (absolete) entries. And, since we already touched Internet
Explorer, it leaves a ton of old temporary stuff on your PC. If your system is
a year or more, chances are GOOD that you will have a ton of old stuff, that
takes up resources, and in due time will make your system unstable. And this is
where registry cleaning software, like Advanced SystemCare, comes in handy.
There is a few cleaners on the market. Some are free, others fair priced, and
some rather expensive. Some only concentrate on cleaning your registry, while
others are loaded with features. Certain software packages are rather user
controled, and might need a lot of interaction from the user, each time it is
being run. Other software will be possible to run more or less automatically.
ASC is in the latter group. It might need a bit of setup to suit your personal
taste, but first setup, it can be run with only a couple of keystrokes. Many
users will find, there is even no need for any setup, and the software can be
used, right out of the box. A few scanners can even be set to run at given
times, ensuring your system is always optimized.
I will here, only cover the very basics of how to operate Advanced SystemCare.
First you are up and running, you might be able to do your exploring, and
playing, on your own. Only, be careful. Doing excessive changes to software of
this kind, might cause your system to get lost, and even need a reinstallation
of your whole system. I strongly recommend, unless you are 100% sure what you
are doing, don't fool with any settings. Simply just run the scanner in the
standard mode, and it will do it's main job, safely enough.
You can download the software from the developers homepage:
iobit.com
It is a bit confusing web design, but I will leave you to find your way around
there. Another way of getting the software, is to go to pages like
download.com
and do a search for Advanced SystemCare.
First downloaded, run the installation process. It is self-explainatory, and
quite a standard installation process. After the installlation is completed,
start the software. It will ask you to create a System Restore Point. Simply
accept to do so, as this is a good wmeasure of security.
The main window of Advanced SystemCare, is not very accessible for a visually
impaired person. And definately, not so, in the standard setup. Some people
have been able to adjust the screen settings in ASC, and by excessive use of
the mouse, been able to operate the software from the main window. I don't
recommend this aproach, specially so, as it is unneceessary. This is why, you
simply press Alt-F4, at this point, and close the main window of ASC.
Now, press Insert-S, to go to your SysTray. Here, you can scroll down to
Advanced SystemCare. Press Enter, and use the arrow keys, to scroll down to the
item reading ACTION. Press ENTER, and choose SCAN. Press ENTER, and your
scanner will start its job, running silently in the background. You can use
your system, while the scanner is running. Just be aware, that the scanner is
taking up a good amount of resources, while working, so your system might be
rather slow in this time. How long your scanner will take to finish, depends on
your system, and what other applications are running at the moment. Typically,
I would suggest, something like five to ten minutes. The scanner will search
for, and automatically, remove any errors. So, you don't have to interact
anything more with the software. Whenever you want to do a scan, simply just
repeat the instructions, found in this very paragraph, starting with pressing
Insert-S.
As you see, your process only took a very few keystrokes. This is one of the
big reasons, why Advanced SystemCare, is the choice of many users on this list.
The software is powerful, in that it removes a lot of stuff, in a short time.
Many cases, you will find your system is running more smoothly, and maybe even
quicker, after a scan. It is recommended, to run a scan, regularly. And,
specially, you should always run a scan, when you have uninstalled a software
package, to ensure there is no traces left from the process. Also, if you are
encountering trouble with your system, it is a good idea, to run a scan, and
see if Advanced SystemCare, will take care of the trouble.
If there is interest for it, I will consider writing another article, dealing
more in details with how to make use of - and set up - the different parts of
this software. I have decided to not touch these 'more advanced' ways of
operating the software, as most users will find it confusing, and should never
do any fooling with these. Such an article will take its necessarity, of being
far more technical as well. Still, it is my hope, that this article will prove
helpful, to those who just want to make use of the power in the scanner, and
enjoy a smoother computer system. Feel free, to ask questions, and leave me
feedback on your experience with this article.
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