Review: Glary Utilities

Don Bradbury rates this general factotum of a diagnostic, optimisation and system cleanup program

Product	Glary Utilities
Company	GlarySoft
Web	www.glaryutilities.com
Price	Free
We like	Comprehensive, customisable, quick, good online facilities, well laid out, excellent help file
We don't like	Aggressive tracks erasure, eg Vista's Recent Files and Applications
Rating	9/10
Requirements	All 32-bit Windows versions from 98 to Vista

Glary Utilities is a collection of powerful add-on and Windows access tools for detecting and fixing virtually anything that's amiss with your 32-bit Windows computer. From comprehensive Registry cleaning, to process organisation, spyware removal, startup management, tracks erasure, shortcuts fixing, temporary file deletion and system optimisation, with backup protection if you want to reverse any changes. There are neat, modular presentations of the facilities on offer, and each may be expanded to reveal further options.

The Status window opens up to show the current version and last update, and also on offer here is the option to go online and download the latest updates, for this program can scan for and remove Spyware and Trojans among its updateable facets of security.

System maintenance will probably be high on your list of priorities, and here you can take a 1-Click overview of your entire system, including the arcane, not so clever, but oh so important Windows Registry, plus the Windows Startup Manager, and the present state of any spyware infection on your system. Also analysed here are shortcut anomalies, and finally there's the option to remove temporary files and delete your browsing history with Track Eraser.

For all of these you can make settings to either carry out a scan and report, or scan and fix without confirmation. Glary Utilities can access Windows' backup security, but we think it sensible to, at the very least, create a Windows System Restore point before cleaning up your system, and perhaps take a full system backup with whatever backup program you prefer just to be on the safe side. Well, you have to do it sometime; it might as well be now!

Disk Analysis

The system tools are comprehensive, so let's make a start with disk analysis. Here, the program takes an in-depth look at what's accumulated on your system drive(s). With this you can view the files and folders on an entire disk, and see what space is occupied by each, the space hogs being clearly identified by both file size and the percentage of the respective folder they occupy. Within three distinct panes you're able to judge what can safely be removed to free up space. The graphic shows the top left-hand panel, but the other two panels might prove useful, too.

On a relatively low usage Vista PC, we were amazed at the number of Registry problems uncovered. True, many of these were just aimless pointers, but removing such can speed up Registry access and, frankly, everything that can prod Windows Vista, in particular, into greater operational speed is to be applauded.

The Restore Center option lets you decide which modules you would like to protect, but it's pretty obvious that it would be advisable to leave engaged all of the protection that's on offer.

Windows Standard Tools

Access to these is useful. Being able to run CheckDisk (Chkdsk), for example, can often bale you out of a tight spot if the system complains of disk problems, and it may be all that's necessary. System Restore is also a useful bale out, and though it doesn't cover every potential problem, it, too, can be a useful fall-back if you hit trouble.

System File Checker can be pressed into service if you suspect that a system file has been over-written, corrupted, or deleted. It's far quicker than a complete restoration of the operating system, for instance, though that would be your last resort. That, or a restore from backup.

A disk defragmenter is always useful for speeding up disk accesses because when files get splattered around the disk drive by use and expansion, they are that much slower to access. Finally, a system backup is the ultimate in rescue media. Glary Utilities gives you access to that, too. In this respect, it's difficult to fault the program; virtually everything appears to have been thought of, and that's all to the good.

Spyware

You may not think in terms of spyware removal with a utilities program like this, preferring perhaps to rely on more standard tools that specialise in the art. But an alternative, or even a first-base scanner is always useful as no single program is perfect in this regard: the Glary Utilities offering may detect something that your prime scanner misses and could just save your bacon.

As with most sections of this program, you can select - by putting a check mark within a box - what action you'd like the program to take after it has reported suspect items.

Process Manager

If ever an operating system needed good process management, Vista is it. It's not that such facilities are not, in the main, present within the OS, it's more to do with discovery and ease of access. If you know what you're doing, having tools easily to hand that bring the system to heel is all to the good. Mind you, that can also bring potential problems if you disturb program and services that are expected to be left running, so beware. Fortunately, Glary Utilities can give you good protection if you leave its default settings in action.

Within this module you can block or end a process directly, or display details of what it is and its current state, and you can even 'Google It' directly! Being able to pop off to the Web to fill in any blanks in your computing education may prove to be a real boon.

Conclusion

We have encountered Windows disk and system utilities before, but rarely a free assembly as comprehensive as Glary Utilities. In every facet of detection, protection, optimisation, clean-up, and just simple reporting, this program has to be counted among the best. All the above mentioned facets, plus duplicate file detection, empty folder reporting, system memory optimisation, a context menu manager, a file shredder, file undelete, file encrypter/decrypter, an Internet Explorer Assistant, a file splitter and rejoiner, direct restore from a chosen backup (if you use Windows' own backup facility), and even a powerful program uninstall manager are among the goodies many will welcome. Oh, and it also provides an uninstall option for itself, though we don't think you'll want to use it!

Just watch out when using the rather aggressive Track Erase facility. If you don't switch off the appropriate Windows features first (in Status/Options/select tracks you want to erase), your recently used apps list will disappear from Vista's Start Menu. A tad over-the-top, we thought, though that view could depend on what you've been up to on the computer!

Incredibly, Glary Utilities is totally free, though you are invited to upgrade to even more power for a modest sum in the form of the Pro version.

Recommended.

Don Bradbury