It’s been quite some time since any freeware system cleaner has enthused me so much, as PrivaZer has. Sure, I like many junk files and registry cleaners, but the UI and the options I saw in PrivaZer truly impressed me.
PrivaZer for Windows Review
PrivaZer is a junk file, temporary file, registry cleaner, history remover, and privacy cleaner, all packed in one. It will look for every nook and corner of your Windows computer and clean out the junk and traces for you. Not only that, but it will also delete the junk, using 1 pass … or even 35 passes, should you be so paranoid about your computing and surfing habits. Some essential features and options of PrivaZer are listed here.
In-depth scan: It can perform an in-depth scan of various files (mostly junk files) so users do not experience significant lag even after using the system for a long time. It can detect and scan for junk files in these locations –
- Second hard drive. It can be an HDD or SSD.
- External storage (HDD or SSD).
- USB key
- iPod
- MP3 player
- SD card
- Network storage
- NAS
Scan specific traces: Sometimes, you might want to remove all the internet activities, whereas sometimes, you might want to clean the Registry Editor as well. This tool can search for specific traces-
- Internet activities
- Residual traces of old files
- Software use
- In Registry
- USB history
Delete without a trace: In case you have some confidential files, and you do not want them to be found by any file recovery software such as Pandora Recovery, etc., you can use this option.
Schedule cleanup: You can schedule all the cleanups so that it does the job even when you forget to do it manually.
Automatic cleanups: If you do not want to use the features mentioned above and you want to make things happen automatically, you can use these options. It is possible to clean everything up automatically. For obvious reasons, this functionality is minimal. For your information, you can have these two options-
- Internet activity
- At PC startup
There are more options included in PirvaZer. However, you need to use it to get them all.
Different sections are equipped with different options, and they appear as per the requirements.
PrivaZer can, with a single click, let you clean securely:
- Traces in MFT, free space, USN Journal, $LogFile
- Internet browsing
- Cookies, Super/Exercookies
- Silverlight Cookies
- Flash cookies
- RAM
- Dat
- Webcache
- Messengers
- Windows history
- Registry
- Indexing
- Memory
- Jump List
- Quick Access
- Copy, burning
- Downloaders
- Other software
- Temporary files
- Recycle bin
- Software use
You may not find all these options in one place as they appear as per your chosen option.
PrivaZer download, installation, and use
It is quite easy to install PrivaZer on your PC. The best thing is that you can have a portable version of this tool so you can use it one time. However, if you plan to use it regularly, going through the installation process is recommended. After downloading and opening the .exe file from the official website, you can find a window like this-
It has three options –
- Install
- Run PrivaZer without installation
- Generate the portable version
To proceed with the installation, select the first option (Install) and click the Install button. After the installation, if you want to remove something from the right-click context menu, you need to keep the corresponding checkboxes checked in the next window during the installation process.
After doing everything successfully, you can find a window like this-
First, you should visit the Advanced options page so that you can set things up as you desire. The most important tabs are the Cleanup, Memory and Indexing tabs. In the Cleanup tab, tick the Always create a restore point checkbox so you do not encounter any problems in the future.
Secondly, you need to visit the Memory, Indexing tab where you can find these options-
Delete pagefile.sys
- After each cleanup with PrivaZer
- At the next PC shutdown only
- At each PC shutdown
Hibernation
- Allow computer hibernation
Wsearch Indexing
- Start or stop
- Change Startup type
Let’s assume that you want to scan the system drive (C drive) for junk files. To do so, go to the Scan in-depth tab and select the Computer option.
After that, make sure that the Local Disk (C:) is selected. Next, you need to choose the parameters or what you want to search for.
Then, click the Scan button. It will scan all the parameters you selected to complete the task. It may take some time, depending on how many options you chose earlier.
Once the scan is completed, you will be asked what you want to do next—i.e., how you would like the clean-up to be done. As we mentioned earlier, PrivaZer does not just delete files; it performs US Department of Defense-grade file wiping, making deleted data unrecoverable.
Click the See cleanup options.
From here, choose 1PASS – All zero Pass option and click the OK button.
Now, click the Clean button to make it happen.
For your information, we have shown the process to clear junk files from the C drive only. You can perform the same steps with a different disk selection to delete them from another drive.
PrivaZer is slower but more thorough. If you want deep privacy cleaning, PrivaZer is the better choice.
I have tried PrivaZer on my Windows laptop, and it worked just fine. Re-booted – no issues faced! If you like, you can download PrivaZer from privazer.com.
But as I have always mentioned, it is always a good idea to create a system restore point before making any changes so that you can revert back if you do not like the changes.
