Ultra Win Cleaner Utility Suite,

Version Eight

Ultra Win Cleaner and its very colorful interface.

Do not let the happy colors fool you. This program means business when it comes to eliminating debris from your hard drive. Granted it looks different, but it does a slightly better job of killing clutter than Windows own utility.  As a suite, the progam also includes anti virus protection as well.

Friday, October 01, 2004

Ultra WinCleaner Utility Suite Version Eight

Web Site: www.wincleaner.com 

Review by:  Kurt von Behrmann

Sunday, September 26, 2004 

Requirements

1. Windows 98 through Windows XP
2. 32 Megs of Ram
3. 20 MB of hard drive space
4. IE 4 or preferably higher

The orange and yellow Tide Detergent appearance of the package will definitely catch your attention.  Aside from the visual look of the box, Ultra WinCleaner Utility Suite version 9 from Business Logic offers up one of the most efficient disk cleaners on the market.  Removing debris left over files and clutter from your hard drive, the primary focus of the program is on keeping your computer lean and mean.   

Available as just Ultra WinCleaner, the suite serves up some rather interesting applications that expand on the idea of what a cleaning utility can, or perhaps should, do. 

Offering up Win Cleaner, which includes it’s own set of utilities, the Suite consists of Ultra Destroy It ( a program that completely removes uwanted files), Ultra Memory Cleaner ( this one defragments memory, monitors your random access memory and recovers ram that has leaked along with performance tuning your cache file), Win Disk Alert ( a utility designed to let you know if disk failure is imminent so that you can rescue data before it is lost), Ultra Win Cleaner Quick Heat Anti Virus version 7 ( an antivirus program), Ultra Zip ( as the name explains a zip utility) and Win Start Commander ( a utility that allows you to configure the start up of your pc for different modes). 

While the focus of the program is disk cleaning, the suite goes on to cover other areas of computer management.  Moving beyond the scope of just clearing up loose files and left over programs, this application is more ambitious in its range. Although not a full featured utility in the sense of System Mechanic or Norton Utilities, there are some surprising inclusions here.  Namely the choice to offer up a Zip Utility and anti virus application are certainly stretches, but in terms of expanding on what the idea of a clean hard drive can be, they do make sense. About the only thing missing is a back up utility. 

The big question that has to arise with a program like this one is this, can it do more than the disk cleaner already installed on windows XP?  The answer is that it does a more effective job of removing clutter.  Consistently WinCleaner managed to free up more space than other programs and did so with amazing speed.  In brief, it does do a better job of cleaning up files. 

Incorporated into the program are a registry cleaner, uninstaller, a program mover, privacy feature and junk and short cut remover.  In the arena of cleaning up a hard drive, the program is extremely complete. The only problematic area with the program is with the Win Start Commander. 

For neophytes, assorted newcomers and even some experienced users, the Win Start Commander could be too much too fast too soon.  This program in essence allows you to start windows in different modes. If you are interested in just using a pc for video editing, you can disable features not related to that task. The idea is to create a more focused experience. 

While the idea of configuring start up for different operating modes is a good idea, the implementation, use and problems that this could cause for those not well versed in windows could have some rather tragic consequences. My strong advice for newcomers is to avoid installing this feature immediately until you are absolutely sure you need such functionality. 

The only real down side to this able performer is the interface.  While it is fun and bright, it looks more like a shareware utility than a high performance one. In terms ease of use, the program is straight forward, with the notable exception being the more complex Win Start Commander. 

Summation 

Expanding beyond cleaning up clutter on a hard drive, Ultra WinCleaner does an admirable job of getting the job done. The real compelling reason to move the Suite as apposed to the stand alone cleaner depends on your need for virus protection and the added feature set offered by the suite.  If cleaning is your priority, and you want the most effective cleaner, this one earns some very high marks.  My only advice is install the Win Start Commander later after you figure out what it can do and how it works.