Benjamin Computer Services, Inc Mills River NC 828-890-5125

There are MANY disk utility programs being advertised on the internet. Which one should you use and HOW do you know if it is the right one? These are questions I get asked almost every day when someone calls my office complaining about a hard drive in a computer that has slowed way down and is barely working. They ask me to help them and which utility is best to use. I like Window Washer from a company called WebRoot. WebRoot makes an antispyware program also. Window Washer has the capability to remove JUNK from your hard drive. WHAT IS JUNK? Every time you open your browser and got to a web page, the elements that make up that web page are downloaded onto your hard drive in order for your browser to open up the pages for viewing. The problem with this that these elements don't go away, and remain on your hard drive until you use a utility program like Window Washer to remove them. YES, you can remove some of the JUNK if you know how without a utility, but there is a file called INDEX.DAT which is a DATA file (that's why it has the extension .dat) that you cannot get access to where a vast majority of the JUNK is stored. Window Washer was written to access and clean out this DATA file. YES, there are other utility programs, I am sure, that work as well as Window Washer, but I'm only speaking about one product that I am very familiar with.

Here are some screen shots that I captured to help you configure Window Washer to work at its best.

This is the MAIN screen of Window Washer. Window Washer has the capability to be configured so that your passwords, history of web sites etc. won't be erased.

This is the Window Washer SETUP screen. I got to this screen by clicking WASH SETUP found in the LEFT column.

The FIRST item I clicked on in the WASH SETUP screen was the EDIT button to the RIGHT of INTERNET EXPLORER. Once opened up you have a BUNCH of choices. The above screen shot is what I setup my computers to use and all of my customers' computers. NOTICE the box labeled AUTOCOMPLETE FORM DATA is UNCHECKED, WHY? Autocomplete is one of the ways your passwords to places, like your bank and any other secure websites, are kept for you. This is your choice whether to use this feature or not. If you're interested in knowing more about this feature, GOOGLE it.

The next choice is the Start Menu and Desktop Items. If you want to KEEP your HISTORTY of every where you visit the internet, then UNCHECK RUN HISTORY box. The same goes for START MENU CLICK HISTORY check box and the START MENU ORDER HISTORY. If you WANT TO KEEP THIS INFORMATION THEN UNCHECK THE BOXES! Again, this are MY preferences!

This is wash list for Windows System Items. Again my choices,and if there is ANYTHING you don't want washed out of your hard drive, thren simply UNCHECK the box(s) next to the item you want to keep. I will tell you in all of my years (now over 21 years!) of doing this for a living, I have NEVER had a problem on any of my computers and no complaints on any of my customers computers by the above screens with the boxes checked!

Here is the wash list for RECENT ACTIVITY (MRU) . . . NOTE see where I am leaving the 3 right column boxes unchecked. I run a network in my office and have made the choice that I don't want these items removed by Window Washer.

Wash list for Windows System Items. See the box in the right column marked DFAULT LOGON USER NAMES - As you can see I let Window Washer remove it. But I don't mind retyping it, if you DO then UNCHECK the box!

We are done with WASH SETUP, now click on the OPTIONS box in the left column. Here are MY choices. I run Window Washer manually. If you want to automate Window Washer you have choices. The top choice allows you to run Window Washer on scheduled times of the day. Below you have choices to run Window Washere when you exit Internet Explorer, or when Windows starts or stops, when you are shutting down the computer. I URGE you to choose one of these so that Window Washer gets to run and do its job! What's the use to buy a program, install it and configure it if you have no intention of manually running it?? NOTE: WINDOW WASHER WILL NOT RUN AUTOMATICALLY!

Under OPTIONS, as you can see, I have clicked on several features, one of which is adding BLEACH. BLEACH?? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT . . . BLEACH?!!? This is a feature where Window Washer deletes JUNK of your hard drive, and using the GUTMANN feature, writes over the area of the hard drive 35 times to make SURE the JUNK has been removed. Same goes for washing the SLACK SPACE.

The last screen allows me to setup Window Washer so that everytime it runs it doesn't open up and stays minimized in my system tray. With this setup, all you see is an icon of of a SQUEEGEE in the system tray. The handle is RED when the program is idle but turns BLUE and animates when Window Washer is running. ONE MORE NOTE: IF YOU HAVE WINDOW WASHER SET TO RUN WHEN YOU EXIT INTERNET EXPLORER BE ADVISED IF YOU DOWNLOAD A FILE TO RUN WHEN IT'S DONE, IF DOWNLOADS INTO A TEMPORARY FOLDER AND WINDOW WASHER WILL REMOVE IT BEFORE THE DOWNLOAD IS COMPLETE, SO, CLICK ON THE ICON AND TELL WINDOW WASHER TO SHUT DOWN UNTIL THE DOWNLOAD IS DONE AND IT IS INSTALLED. THEN FIND THE DESKTOP ICON FOR WINDOW WASHERE AND CLICK IT TO RESTART THE WINDOW WASHER PROGRAM.

Window Washer can be downloaded by clcking HERE Window Washer can also be purchased locally at stores like Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, OfficeMax.