Installing and Using CCleaner

CCleaner is a program developed by London-based software maker Piriform. CCleaner is a utility program used to clean potentially unwanted files and invalid Windows Registry entries from a computer.

CCleaner also has additional utilities that will not be covered in this tutorial. The instructions below are for using Chrome in Windows 10. Other operating systems and browsers may be different.

1. Navigate to https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download.
2. Click the download button under the CCleaner Free column.
   
   
3. Click on the program executable in the download box at the bottom of your browser.
   
   
4. When the User Account Control pop-up appears, click Yes to continue.
   
   
5. Click the blue Install button and wait while CCleaner installs on your PC.
   
   
6. Wait while CCleaner is installed on your computer.
   
   
7. After the installation has completed, remove the checkmark from the View release notes box and click the blue Run CCleaner button.
   
   
8. Scroll down through the list of items under the Windows tab until you reach the heading for System. Remove the checkmarks from the following three boxes.
   
   • Memory Dumps
   • Chkdsk File Fragments
   • Windows Log Files

   The files from these sections can assist with troubleshooting problems with your computer.
   Next, click the blue Analyze button.
   

   
9. While CCleaner is looking for files, you will see the green bar moving across the top of your screen. CCleaner may need to close open browser windows or folders to complete the process.
   
   
10. Once the green bar has reached 100% it will state Analysis Complete with the time taken and the amount of space that it will free up.
    Click the Run Cleaner button in the bottom right of your program window.
    
    
11. The first time that you run CCleaner, you will receive a pop-op confirming that all files will be permanently removed from your computer.
    To avoid receiving this message each time, put a check in the box for Do not show me this message again. Then click OK.
    
    
12. Once the cleaning has completed it will say Cleaning Complete in your window.
    
    
13. Close the program by clicking the X in the top right of the program window.
    A small pop-up should appear in the bottom right of your screen letting you know that CCleaner is monitoring your computer.
    Click OK Thanks.
    
    
14. Whenever you close a browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.) you will be prompted to set an action for when the browser is closed.
    Click the blue button to select action.
    
    
15. Select an automatic action to take place, prompt every time, or to do nothing with that browser.