Glarysoft has a blurb on their site that at first glance may seem to be a little over the top. … “To call Glary Utilities helpful would drastically understate the situation. It hopes to become your INDISPENSABLE friend with its one-stop-shop utilities for optimizing and maintaining your PC for best performance.”
Since reviewing software (both free and commercial), is a good part of what I do as a blogger, I’ve tested and evaluated more than a thousand applications in the last few years. Sad to say, 30% or so, have turned out to be “not fit for consumption”. No, you normally don’t get to read reviews on the dreck – better to focus on what lives up to expectations, and not what doesn’t.
Based on this exposure to software applications, Glarysoft’s “indispensable” statement, got me thinking – so, I put it to my personal test. First, let me point out that I get loads of free licenses for the commercial version of applications that I test. However, to avoid the disclosure/non-disclosure issue, I do not keep such software on either my home system, or my test systems. Other than the OS, all software on my home machine is freeware.
But, I could have chosen to have kept on board any one of the dozen or so licensed computer maintenance utilities I’ve had access to in the last few years. Truth is, aside from the disclosure/non-disclosure issue, I’m just not into a “one click simple” computer maintenance solution. I’d rather rely on, as I do, a collection of freeware apps which are specially designed to address specific issues.
And, first among these freeware applications is Glary Utilities. So, from a personal perspective, I find little to argue with in Glarysoft’s “indispensable” claim. Since discovering Glary Utilities years ago, it has remained my go-to application for maintenance and cleanup.
Here’s why:
Glary Utilities, (last updated May 26, 2011 – version 2.34), is a terrific collection of system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain, and protect a PC.
A great deal of personal experience with Glary Utilities has convinced me, that a typical user, particularly a new user, will really benefit by having this application on their system. Twenty million+ downloads from Download.com alone, speaks to the popularity of this indispensable application (last time I reviewed this app – February 11, 2010 – this figure stood at eight million).
Using Glary Utilities, it’s easy to tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system’s performance; and its ease of operation makes it ideal for less experienced users.
You can quickly find the tool you’re looking for: disk cleaner, uninstall manager, secure file deletion, memory optimizer, (a gentle) registry cleaner, duplicate file finder, tracks eraser, empty folder finder; a very convenient feature for those of us who like to test drive new software.
Prior to making important changes to your system, Glary Utilities creates a backup copy first, a very important feature.
A quick piece of advice: never allow an application to make system changes, without creating a system restore point first.
As well, you can manage and delete browser add-ons, analyze disk space usage, find, fix, or remove broken Windows shortcuts, and manage startup programs.
A one click maintenance solution is included, but I’m not a fan of this since I like to be much more hands on. But, less experienced users, should find this feature useful.
Hands on users will appreciate the functional and easily understood GUI.
You can comfortably fine tune the application using the clear and precise Settings Menu.
Fast Facts:
Disk Cleaner Removes junk data from your disks and recovers disk space
Registry Cleaner scans and cleans your registry to improve your system’s performance
Shortcuts Fixer eliminates the errors in your start menu & desktop shortcuts
Startup Manager manages programs which run automatically on startup
Memory Optimizer monitors and optimizes free memory in the background
Tracks Eraser erases all traces, evidence, cookies, internet history and more
File Shredder erases files permanently
Internet Explorer Assistant manages Internet Explorer Add-ons
Disk Analysis provides detailed information files and folders
Duplicate Files Finder searches for space-wasting duplicate files
Empty Folders Finder removes empty folders (I love this feature)
Uninstall Manager completely uninstall programs
Languages: 23 Languages available.
System Requirements: Windows 7, 2000, XP, Vista. 32/64bit versions.
Download at: Download.com
A portable version is also available which you can download at GlarySoft.
During the install, pay particular attention to the offer to install the Ask toolbar. I suggest you reject this offer.
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I must say, Bill, that when I used windows as my OS I always had Glary Utilities installed. I found it very easy to use, and it never let me down. Not bad for a free application. 🙂
Now I’m on Linux, everything I use is free. I find absolutely no difference between free applications and pay for applications. Then again, I’m not tied to an office where everything is windows based. I work for myself and have no need, nor desire, to throw away my money on something just because ‘everyone uses it’.
In the current economic climate I believe we will see a lot more people using freeware as their preferred applications. Many of them are indeed as polished and capable as Glary Utilities.
Best Wishes for the weekend,
Paul
Hey Paul,
You’re quite right – freeware applications are often as capable as wallet crushing applications. For example, I just couldn’t see my way clear to put out the $ for MS Office 2010, so I’ve gone with LibreOffice – a very capable substitute. Oh yeah – it’s FREE.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Best,
Bill
Bill,
I am glad to see your very positive review on Glary Utilities. I was always reluctant to go with a system utility suite and a past review of Glary Utilities that you had done sold me.
It is my number one system utility application.
Rick
Hey Rick,
As a fellow tech blogger (and a damn good you at that), you have lots of opportunity to test utility suites. Great to hear that you and I agree on the value of Glary Utilities.
Best,
Bill
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So which would you say was better, Tune Up Utilities 2011 or Glary Utilities? I have been using Tune Up Utilities for a year or so, and find it to be very useful. But I’ve heard so many good things about Glary Utilities that I’m torn between the two. Could you possibly compare them in a future post?:)
Hey Ben,
TuneUp Utilities and System Mechanic are two very classy applications – neither one misses much. They are however, as you know, not freeware.
Comparing either of these two apps to Glary Utilities though, is just a non-starter. They are much more inclusive. You can read my full review of TuneUp here, and System Mechanic here.
Glary Utilities is, in my view, at the top of its class and, supplemented with additional freeware utilities, a user will generally be very satisfied.
Best,
Bill
Best,
Bill