I'm always trying to squeeze a little more power out of my computers, and recently my laptop has really gotten slow. Seeing the 'Finally Fast' commercials on TV got me to wondering if there was a similar program that was free. It only took a quick search on Download.com to find "Advanced System Care".
On the surface, it seems like just another form of 'Spybot' or 'Adaware', but there's a lot of interesting and powerful features packed into this program.
The program is divided into 3 sections in a customizable interface. Section one is called "Maintain Windows", which allows you to check for Spyware and remove it, Check the system registry for errors, Do a 'Privacy Sweep', which clears your browser history and cookies, and finally, Junk Files Clean, which clears out junk files and recovers disk space.
Section two is "Diagnose System", which allows you Optimize your system settings, Security Defense, to prevent spyware from being installed on your computer, Disk Defragment (pretty self explanatory) and Security Analyzer, which searches for hijacked Windows settings.
Section three is my favorite. Here, you can manage other supplemental (FREE) applications offered by IObit. I really like the 'Deep Defragger' program. It is not only a stand-alone application, but is can be managed from the ASC control panel. Another great app that you can download and control from here is SmartRAM. This app can run in the background, constantly monitoring your RAM to keep it clear of junk, and available for other more important programs. Finally, and by far my favorite app, is Game Booster. I've already been running a batch file I created myself which shuts down unnecessary processes and programs in the background, but this program takes that process even further, by offing a checklist of everything that's running, and allows you to decide whether it's necessary when you're gaming. And best of all, unlike my batch program, I can start all these processes back up with just a click of a button.
After running these programs for just a day or so, my laptop's fan is rarely running at high RPM, my big fat programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver run like never before. If you're having any of these issues, or are interested in keeping your computer running lean and clean... for FREE, you might want to check this program out.
