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Offline MiracleOfTheSun

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Computer Cleaner/Protection
« on: February 29, 2024, 02:55:29 PM »
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    • Are there any good/free cleaners that clean up junkie computer files that collect on the hard drive?  Back in the day CCleaner seemed to be everywhere.  Is that any good?  I heard of another called Pegasus too.  Thanks.  Any feedback appreciated.

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    Offline Matthew

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #1 on: February 29, 2024, 03:14:38 PM »
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    • I find that there's no perfect substitute for backing up your files, (and your configurations/settings if possible) and "wiping" your computer with a fresh install of the operating system, installing the programs you CURRENTLY and actually use, etc.

    The machine is going to be simpler, with less baggage, have more free space, and less junk.

    The more years a PC has been used, the more software you will have "tried", used and stopped using, etc. plus everything gets out of date. It's also problematic to keep "upgrading" to new major versions of an OS. Eventually you hit a limit, and you just need to start from a clean slate.

    Some people do this when they buy a new PC. Heck, some people probably buy a new PC when they really just need to "wipe" their existing PC. I'm sure the same thing happens where people buy a new house when they should have just cleaned/painted/organized their existing home instead.

    We just breathed new life into a 5 year old laptop by installing a new SSD hard drive (the kind that looks like a stick of RAM) so loading/writing to the disk is about 6,000 times faster, and a 16 GB RAM upgrade for good measure. Total cost: $85 and a couple hours of time backing things up, cleaning things up, and actually installing it. The 17" Dell laptop originally cost around $1600 5 years ago, so we're happy with this latest frugal move of ours.

    It's a whole new machine now. The laptop even has an empty 500 GB "old fashioned" slower hard drive to store files (media, videos, audio, etc.) on now.
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    Offline Yeti

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #2 on: February 29, 2024, 04:06:15 PM »
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    • Yes, all of what Matthew said, plus I would suggest (as I was explaining in the other similar thread) that, if you don't want to buy a new computer, running Linux on older computers is usually a huge improvement because it uses much less RAM and runs much quicker than Windows, so a computer that has become too slow to run Windows (or can't run the current Windows version) will be able to run Linux just fine for the next several years at least. It uses about one-fourth of the amount of RAM that Windows uses to just sit idle.

    Mint Linux is by far the best distro, in my estimation, for the reasons I explained in the other thread. I use it on all my computers.
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    Offline MiracleOfTheSun

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #3 on: February 29, 2024, 04:55:14 PM »
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    • Sorry I forgot to mention, it is relatively new.  I'm just trying to stay ahead of the game and keep it running in good condition for as long as possible.  
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    Offline St Giles

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #4 on: February 29, 2024, 05:10:06 PM »
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    • Just don't use Vipre antivirus. It likes to hog roughly 50%cpu most of the time, and much disk activity, and at worst it will hog 90-100% cpu.
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    Offline AnthonyPadua

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #5 on: February 29, 2024, 05:44:04 PM »
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    • Quote from: St Giles on February 29, 2024, 05:10:06 PM
    Just don't use Vipre antivirus. It likes to hog roughly 50%cpu most of the time, and much disk activity, and at worst it will hog 90-100% cpu.
    Most anti virus are the virus. If you have safe browsing habits you should be fine without. On my windows machine i have malware bytes premium (infinite for free because a few years ago they have permanent keys to those who used a 'free' premium key, ahoy matey,) and windows defender.

    On Linux perhaps one of the other guys has a recommendation. On my Linux machine I just have good adblocking (brave + ublock origin).
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    Offline Sneedevacantist

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #6 on: February 29, 2024, 06:37:47 PM »
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    • Quote from: Yeti on February 29, 2024, 04:06:15 PM
    Mint Linux is by far the best distro, in my estimation, for the reasons I explained in the other thread. I use it on all my computers.
    Mint Linux is such an excellent Linux distro for everyone. It's one of those "just works" distros. I've used it a lot, but I actually daily a fork of Arch Linux called Artix (uses Runit for the sysinit instead of the atrocious Systemd that has infected 99% of Linux distros). Arch and it's derivatives provide a compelling experience for users who don't mind tinkering and fixing things when they inevitably break. I've broken my Artix install a few time during package updates, mostly when I go too long in between updates, but I eventually narrow down the problems and get everything fixed (one update I did broke the display manager so I was stuck only able to use terminal/console sessions, but I figured out which package to roll back and get my desktop environment working again). It's taught me a lot about how Linux works, and I even used that knowledge to rescue one of the Linux servers at my job.

    If Mint had the excellent Pacman package manager instead of Apt, I would probably use Mint more. That and if it had access to the Arch User Repository. The AUR is so much easier to use for installing software outside of the main repos that adding keys to Apt, but it technically is more dangerous since you build the software from a buildscript, so always check what the buildscript is going to do before installing AUR packages.
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    Offline Yeti

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #7 on: February 29, 2024, 06:48:17 PM »
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    • Quote from: AnthonyPadua on February 29, 2024, 05:44:04 PM
    On Linux perhaps one of the other guys has a recommendation. On my Linux machine I just have good adblocking (brave + ublock origin).
    .

    You don't need to use anti-virus software in Linux at all! This is actually one of the great benefits of Linux. My understanding of this is not very good, so maybe other people can answer this, but what I recall is that there are (basically) no viruses written for Linux because relatively few computers (in comparison with the total) use Linux, so hackers only write viruses for the two main operating systems, which are Apple and Windows. Also, I read year ago (not sure if this is still the case) that a virus written for Linux wouldn't work anyway because the operating system is designed in a secure way that does not allow malicious software to access any sensitive sections of the environment.

    Linux has never had anti-virus software, and still doesn't to this day. :cowboy:
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    Offline Yeti

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #8 on: February 29, 2024, 06:52:31 PM »
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    • Quote from: Sneedevacantist on February 29, 2024, 06:37:47 PM
    the atrocious Systemd that has infected 99% of Linux distros).
    .

    I'm afraid to derail the thread, but I just have to ask, I've been hearing people complain about systemd for years, but I've never known why. What I read was that it creates uniformity among distros, which seems to me like a good thing, so what is the big problem? And Mint runs so well that I honestly can't imagine how it could run any better, so what is the big problem with systemd?


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    (one update I did broke the display manager so I was stuck only able to use terminal/console sessions, but I figured out which package to roll back and get my desktop environment working again).
    Yikes. Wow, serious respect to you for being able to do this, but no thanks, I'll just use Mint and call it good. :cowboy:

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    Offline Sneedevacantist

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #9 on: February 29, 2024, 07:44:44 PM »
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    • Quote from: Yeti on February 29, 2024, 06:48:17 PM
    .

    You don't need to use anti-virus software in Linux at all! This is actually one of the great benefits of Linux. My understanding of this is not very good, so maybe other people can answer this, but what I recall is that there are (basically) no viruses written for Linux because relatively few computers (in comparison with the total) use Linux, so hackers only write viruses for the two main operating systems, which are Apple and Windows. Also, I read year ago (not sure if this is still the case) that a virus written for Linux wouldn't work anyway because the operating system is designed in a secure way that does not allow malicious software to access any sensitive sections of the environment.

    Linux has never had anti-virus software, and still doesn't to this day. :cowboy:
    There actually is anti-virus for Linux, like Clam AV. Though in most cases, you really won't need it because infecting a Linux system is much harder to pull off than on Windows. However, there are viruses for Linux, and they will only multiply as more people start using it (though it won't be like the atrocity of Windows where it's an active effort to try and avoid viruses).

    Viruses on Linux would depend on the user giving superuser permission to execute a malicious script. For example, if someone hijacked the Firefox package in the Mint repos (which it wouldn't go unnoticed for long since many people monitor it, but you could still be unluckly enough to update while its compromised) and replaced it with a compiled build that included malware, it could infect your system if you went and updated your software. In order to install or update software on any Linux distro, you have to run with your root credentials. That's why you should never log in normally with your root user instead of your standard user account, because then you would lose that layer of protection. You could also get a virus the old fashioned Windows way by manually downloading and installing software from a website, but as a general rule on Linux you should never do that because it's a messy way of installing and managing software. If you stick with software that are in the repos, you will be safe 99.9% percent of the time. Using an ad blocker like Ublock Origin in your web browser is another great way to safeguard your OS. If you really want to be thorough, though it is not necessary and is very inconvenient, you could implicitly block all JavaScript from running and then manually allowing on each site which scripts may run. I used to do that, but it was a hassle that gave me little benefit in security and a whole lot of issues making websites work properly.
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    Offline Sneedevacantist

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #10 on: February 29, 2024, 08:20:52 PM »
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    • Quote from: Yeti on February 29, 2024, 06:52:31 PM
    .

    I'm afraid to derail the thread, but I just have to ask, I've been hearing people complain about systemd for years, but I've never known why. What I read was that it creates uniformity among distros, which seems to me like a good thing, so what is the big problem? And Mint runs so well that I honestly can't imagine how it could run any better, so what is the big problem with systemd?
    The problem with Systemd is more on a philosophical level at this point, but it's a ticking time bomb. It's an OS component that started with a simple scope and has grown to engulf other OS tasks, making many programs that used to be sysinit agnostic to now depend entirely on Systemd. This makes it harder to vet and maintain since it keeps tacking on more and more features and modules, and it becomes increasingly imbedded in the base system functionality beyond just being a sysinit. If you want a comparison, look at the relationship between Internet Explorer and Windows. Do you think it's merely a web browser? That's a reasonable assumption, but it's actually a core part of Windows functionality. If you fully delete Internet Explorer on your Windows install, it actually breaks Windows because IE has its tendrils wrapped around a lot of the core of Windows. Funny enough, the guy who made Systemd currently works at Microsoft.

    On a practical basis, Systemd doesn't cause any major performance problems, but it is technically slower than some of the other sysinit alternatives. Artix using Runnit for its sysinit boots slightly faster than any of the Systemd distros that I've used (I've tested this on three different laptops), but it's not a bit enough difference to fret about. That's why my opposition is to what Systemd represents, rather than what it currently affects. Systemd dependency is a bad direction for Linux to head in because that puts control over Linux in the hands of the Systemd maintainers. Linux is about freedom to choose your software, all the way down to the kernel. Sure, uniformity can be good for some aspects of software, but letting one piece of software have a monopoly on critical system functionality is not a good thing. Just look at how Google controls the web through the Chromium monopoly (there's Firefox, but Google funds it to give an illusion of competition to avoid antitrust suits).
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    Yikes. Wow, serious respect to you for being able to do this, but no thanks, I'll just use Mint and call it good. :cowboy:
    Thanks, during that time I was contemplating switching back to Mint on my main laptop before I fixed it :laugh1:. The way I see it, I have to break things and then fix them before I truly understand how they work. But Mint is so refreshing to use because it's ready to go whenever I need it. Updates in Mint are not stressful!
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    Offline Pax Vobis

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #11 on: March 03, 2024, 05:56:25 PM »
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    I find that there's no perfect substitute for backing up your files, (and your configurations/settings if possible) and "wiping" your computer with a fresh install of the operating system, installing the programs you CURRENTLY and actually use, etc.
    Good info.  A few questions:

    1.  Is there a ‘how to’ guide somewhere online for this?
    2.  I’m running basic windows 10.  How would reinstall?  I don’t have an OS disc.  I purchased this computer with windows already installed.
    3.  I purchased a video editing software a few years back.  How would I reinstall this without having to pay for a new license?
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    Offline Drolo

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #12 on: March 03, 2024, 07:04:35 PM »
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    • Quote from: Pax Vobis on March 03, 2024, 05:56:25 PM
    2.  I’m running basic windows 10.  How would reinstall?  I don’t have an OS disc.  I purchased this computer with windows already installed.
    You can use a Bootable USB Flash Drive with a Windows 10 ISO. Using an OS ISO is the same as using ans OS disc.

    Use a software to create bootable USB drives such as Rufus or Ventoy. You can download the ISO from the Windows official page.

    Then, you enter the BIOS and change the boot order to put the USB first. And boot with the USB.

    WARNING! You will lost the information of the USB Flash Drive that you boot. Use an empty USB drive.

    I post a youtube tutorial video to be more clear for you:


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    Offline Pax Vobis

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #13 on: March 04, 2024, 09:58:18 AM »
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    • Thanks, Drolo, I found the windows ISO files.
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    Offline Ladislaus

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    Re: Computer Cleaner/Protection
    « Reply #14 on: March 04, 2024, 11:21:58 AM »
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    • Quote from: Pax Vobis on March 04, 2024, 09:58:18 AM
    Thanks, Drolo, I found the windows ISO files.

    You can also get them from Microsoft ...
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    If I'm not mistaken, you're also entitled to update to Windows 11 for free if you have a Windows 10 license key.  There are also instructions on the site there about how to make a bootable USB.

    https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11
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