Regarding CCleaner

[John C.]

I've been using the portable version of CCleaner v5.89.9385 (64 bit) for
quite some time now. In the program's settings, I have disabled both:
_________________________________________________________________________
- Keep CCleaner updated automatically
- Send notifications when there is a new version of CCleaner
_________________________________________________________________________

Despite this, often when I start the program lately I get a message that
I *MUST* update to a newer version. I always click on "Remind me later"
and proceed to use the program as usual.

I became curious about the latest update and in the process, found this
page on Piriform's (who own CCleaner) website:

https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download

Scroll down and you'll see a chart under "Choose the option that's right
for you:" Features for three different versions are displayed in this
chart. Apparently, Piriform is real proud of their program and actually
believe that people are willing to pay *subscription fees* to use a
"Professional" or even a more expensive "Professional Plus" version of
the program.

Also shown are the new, pitiful features for the "Free" version which
now consist only of the following:
_________________________________________________________________________
Privacy protection - Remove data to help keep your online activities
private on a shared PC

PC Health Check - Analyze, fix, and tune your PC's performance

NEW! Driver Updater - Maintain your PC's hardware, internet connection,
sound, and visuals
_________________________________________________________________________

I avoid all programs that purport to keep an eye on my system's drivers
and will install updates to them, so I sincerely hope that this
"feature" can be disabled.

Going here:

https://www.ccleaner.com/download

it seems that there is no portable version available. However, I was
just able to download a portable version at Snapfiles from here:

https://download.ccleaner.com/portable/ccsetup616.zip

I extracted the files to a folder using 7Zip and ran the CCleaner64.exe
file. Looks like there are more features (pretty much everything that
was available in the older version) than are shown at the first download
web page. Go figger.

However, there's no way to disable the "Driver Updater" without going
through the Wizard and allowing the program to "Scan your drivers". I
don't WANT CCleaner to scan my drivers, so off my system the new version
goes. I'll just have to put up with their nagging that I "MUST" update
to a newer version.

Kinda pissy, if you ask me.

--
John C. BS206. No ad, CD, cripple, demo, nag, pay, pirated, share, spy,
time-limited, trial or web wares for me please.

I block (filter out) messages posted to this group:
-cross-posted messages (sent to multiple newsgroups at a time)
-through Google Groups (source of most of spam posted here, but it's
already filtered out by my newsfeed)
-through Uzoreto (AKA "Vipernews", source of other spam posted here)
-from several common trolls (egs. "al", "Bucky Breeder", etc.)

[VanguardLH]

When Avast acquired Piriform's products, one of the first changes was to
insert their code to add an adware platform to some products, like
CCleaner. Disabling options within the program does not neuter the
adware platform within.

To kill the update prompts, you have to kill CCleaner's Internet
connections. Despite none of its functions require Internet access,
their adware platform does. In the Windows Firewall, define rules to
block outgoing connects from ccleaner.exe.

Outbound rules - block:
ccleaner.exe
ccleaner64.exe
ccupdate.exe

Add the paths to those files which is probably the installation folder
for CCleaner.

[AllanH]

If you do not have the x64 or x86 Subfolders, you should not have a
problem with the Driver Updater, since there is no "CCleanerDU.dll" file
for the program to use for that feature.

[BenSometh...@wherever.com]

I stuck with version 5.46 when those Avast bums got their hands on it.

I have my firewall blocking even my old 5.46 from calling home.

[John C.]

Many thanks for that info, VanguardLH. Will do.

[John C.]

BenSometh...@Wherever.com wrote:
> VanguardLH wrote:

Yeah, would go back to that version if I could find a portable version
of it. I've never had a program actually tell me that I *MUST* update,
despite my having turned off the update option.

Discovered that a couple .dll files in my portable CCleaner folder are
described as "Piriform driver updater" when I look at the file's properties.

Regardless, I just blocked CCleaner64.exe outgoing in my firewall.

[John C.]

Thanks, I just deleted those two folders and the program still works
fine. I also (as per a suggestion from VanguardLH) blocked the
executables in Windows Firewall.

[VanguardLH]

Just understand that blocking CCleaner from the Internet means it won't
inform you when there is an update. However, that wasn't a problem for
me. When I get prepared to update the OS and apps, I allocate time and
save an image backup, and then do the updates. For CCleaner, I just
visit their site to check if there is a new version.

[John C.]

Not informing me that they have an update is exactly the point. I don't
have any need to go with a newer version of the program.

As for updating the OS, that's not going to happen either. I loath W10
and W11, consider them to be spyware.

[Geoff Realname]

Late to the party here, and may be missing something obvious to everyone
else, but there is a portable version available at
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds
It doesn't contain ccupdate, I've blocked the exes in my firewall and
unticked the obvious privacy-busting boxes in settings, and it seems to
be fine: no requests for anything, and you can ignore all the
temptations to go pro that appear in various places.
--
I would be unstoppable if I could get started.

[D]

On Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:19:43 +0100, Geoff Realname <realn...@virginmedia.com> wrote:
>Late to the party here, and may be missing something obvious to everyone
>else, but there is a portable version available at
>https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds
>It doesn't contain ccupdate, I've blocked the exes in my firewall and
>unticked the obvious privacy-busting boxes in settings, and it seems to
>be fine: no requests for anything, and you can ignore all the
>temptations to go pro that appear in various places.

using Tor Browser 12.5.4 w/obfs4 bridge to open this link:
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds
>CCleaner - Download Builds
>Optimization and Cleaning
>CCleaner Free (v6.16.10662) - Latest official release
>Standard installer
>Download
>CCleaner Free - Official sunset release
>Standard installer for Windows XP or Vista users
>Download
>Builds below are for system admins and advanced users. They are not
>for distribution or mirroring.
>CCleaner - Slim
>Installer, no toolbar
>Download
>CCleaner - Portable
>Zip file, no installer
>Download
>https://download.ccleaner.com/portable/ccsetup616.zip
(45.8 MB/48,046,080 bytes)

ccsetup616.zip extracted folder:
<drive>...\ccsetup616
(110 MB/116,162,560 bytes; 67 Files, 3 Folders)

[VanguardLH]

How do you get from ccleaner.com to ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds? The
builds page is a hidden document. The other web pages don't have a link
to the builds page. Searching on "portable" in their help or support
page turns up nothing. ccleaner.com/ccleaner/version-history mentions a
fix in CCleaner Portable, but no download links there, either.

By accident when bouncing around using the links they do provide, I
found their web page for their knowledge center (not their help or
support pages) by going to About Us -> Release accouncements. Searched
on "portable". Turns up "Want a portable version of CCleaner for your
business?" which goes to
www.ccleaner.com/knowledge/want-a-portable-version-of-ccleaner-for-your-business.
That reminded me of their tech edition, but it is for business-use only.
The article mentions CCleaner Portable is /not/ licensed for commercial
use, but no link to its download.

To find CCleaner Portable, I had to go outside to search, like
www.google.com/search?q=ccleaner%20portable%20site%3Accleaner.com, which
gives a hit on ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds. The reason there is no
navpath to this page from their web site is it is their old-style of web
doc. At the top, is a navbar showing "Home > CCleaner > Builds". If
you click on "CCleaner" or "Home", you're back to their new style web
pages. From old Usenet articles, I found their CCleaner download page
at ccleaner.com/download, but no link to a builds page. Clicking on the
"Download" link for the free version takes you to their new-style pages.
They have a hodgepodge mess of old- and new-style web docs with
navigation missing in the new-style docs to the old-style docs.

In the builds page, there's a link to an older version. Just one. No
list of all old builds to let you select which older version you want.
The current version listed there is for 6.16.10662. The single older
version listed there is 5.64. To get a version without the adware code
added by Avast, you have to get back to 5.63.

Thanks for mentioning the portable version doesn't contain ccupdate.exe,
but you noted that you still have to define outbound firewall rules to
block other CCleaner files from getting Internet access. ccupdate is
used to perform the update, but ccleaner.exe and ccleaner64.exe still
try to connect to Avast to check and notify you about an update. Not
sure how you get ahead of their adware code by using the portable
edition. However, some folks perfer portable (non-installed) software,
though, when available.

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[Geoff Realname]

On 19/09/2023 20:16, VanguardLH wrote:
> Geoff Realname <realn...@virginmedia.com> wrote:
>
>> John C. wrote:
>>

>>> <Snippage>

>>
>> Late to the party here, and may be missing something obvious to everyone
>> else, but there is a portable version available at
>> https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds
>> It doesn't contain ccupdate, I've blocked the exes in my firewall and
>> unticked the obvious privacy-busting boxes in settings, and it seems to
>> be fine: no requests for anything, and you can ignore all the
>> temptations to go pro that appear in various places.
>
> How do you get from ccleaner.com to ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds? The
> builds page is a hidden document. The other web pages don't have a link
> to the builds page. Searching on "portable" in their help or support
> page turns up nothing. ccleaner.com/ccleaner/version-history mentions a
> fix in CCleaner Portable, but no download links there, either.

I've no idea how to get there; I've had it bookmarked for years, with a
vague memory of someone posting the link either here or elsewhere.

I admit it's not great, but using this version in this way deals with
enough paranoia to enable me to use it. Ymmv.

[D]

On Sun, 24 Sep 2023 18:39:43 +0100, Geoff Realname <realn...@virginmedia.com> wrote:
snip

>vague memory of someone posting the link either here or elsewhere

e.g. "[Update] CCleaner v.2.05.555" (posted to a.c.f. 21 February 2008):
>Path: news...!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail
>From: CoMa <hubbab...@algonet.se>
>Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware
>Subject: [Update] CCleaner v.2.05.555
>Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:45:04 +0100
>Organization: CoMa Corp.
>Lines: 51
>Message-ID: <qf3rr3hocbk7c7fic...@4ax.com>
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>X-Trace: individual.net +acqfaXzMgcuudE0bmoPowvCZTk0ENkSjH+ktWRWZeeMLl27I=
>Cancel-Lock: sha1:c7/VfD0+LS8mVl79E7oGnHlrzkA=
>X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 3.3/32.846
>X-Face: 6Y<{qwMNUxpFVlt|-2]FQ8O\NB=qJiQ=kv6wT.,M:aaC4<9z://(I.}c{{c/05TVc:Gk%Mu6EK/at&p}wE>(Uh$89:!w;4/-2rk^\bNa|zVqcqjC9&\`,C;q~1~f4djOL\4:;IPI0eF')Hc`hZIc<X/7o;Ph@
>Xref: news... alt.comp.freeware:30584105
>
>CCleaner
>http://www.ccleaner.com/
>CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization tool.
>That removes unused and temporary files from your system,
>allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you
>more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally
>taking less that a second to run) and Free.
>You can get 3 different builds
>Standard (Installer with Toolbar)
>Portable (No Installer)
>Slim (Installer but not Toolbar)
>http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds
>Version History
>v2.05.555
>--------------------------------------------
>- Updated Index.dat cleaning in Vista.
>- File scanning performance increase on NTFS drives.
>- Improved exception handling methods.
>- Fixed IE cache folder location bug.
>- Uninstaller tool now exports foreign languages correctly.
>- Fixed bug where IE temp files could be incorrectly listed.
>- Performance improvements to secure deletion.
>- Tweaks to Uninstall tool detection.
>- Minor GUI changes.
>- Minor bug fixes.
>v2.04.543
>--------------------------------------------
>- Added system tray icon when background cleaning.
>- Added minimize to system tray option.
>- Optimized file deletion routines.
>- Improved Firefox file analysis speed.
>- Added text status info for slow cleaning processes.
>- Added program icons to the uninstall tool.
>- Fixed bug with saving window location when maximized.
>- Fixed bug with 64bit OS registry keys.
>- Fixed cookie issue with foreign language usernames.
>- Fixed bug with running CCleaner as a scheduled task.
>- Added Netscape 9.0 support.
>- Updated Antivir and Foxit Reader cleaning.
>- Minor GUI tweaks and fixes.
>- Other minor bug fixes.
[end quote]

see also "CCleaner v2.01.507" (update 28 September 2007; snapshot 11 October 2007):
https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds
>Welcome to CCleaner
> Home - Features - Download - Screenshots - Reviews - Help & Support - Forum
> Home › Download › Builds
> Builds
> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Standard Build
> 2,567KB
> Download now
> https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.ccleaner.com/download/downloading
> The following builds are for system admins and advanced users.

> They are not for distribution or mirroring.

> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Portable
> - No Installer
> 475KB
> Download now
> https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds/downloading-portable
> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Slim
> - No Toolbar
> 557KB
> Download now
> https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds/downloading-slim
> (c)Copyright 2005-2007 Piriform Ltd. All rights reserved.
>Visit the Piriform website
>https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.piriform.com/
[end quote]

[Geoff Realname]

Good find: thanks!

[D]

On Mon, 25 Sep 2023 17:10:31 +0100, Geoff Realname <realn...@virginmedia.com> wrote:
>On 24/09/2023 22:08, D wrote:
>> On Sun, 24 Sep 2023 18:39:43 +0100, Geoff Realname <realn...@virginmedia.com> wrote:
>>> vague memory of someone posting the link either here or elsewhere

snips

>> e.g. "[Update] CCleaner v.2.05.555" (posted to a.c.f. 21 February 2008):

>>> From: CoMa <hubbab...@algonet.se>
>>> Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware
>>> Subject: [Update] CCleaner v.2.05.555
>>> Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:45:04 +0100

>>> Message-ID: <qf3rr3hocbk7c7fic...@4ax.com>
>>> http://www.ccleaner.com/

>>> You can get 3 different builds
>>> Standard (Installer with Toolbar)
>>> Portable (No Installer)
>>> Slim (Installer but not Toolbar)
>>> http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds
>>

>> see also "CCleaner v2.01.507" (update 28 September 2007; snapshot 11 October 2007):
>> https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds
>>> Welcome to CCleaner

>>> Home › Download › Builds
>>> Builds
>>> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Standard Build

>>> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Portable
>>> CCleaner v2.01.507 - Slim

>>> Visit the Piriform website
>>> https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001658/http://www.piriform.com/
>>

>Good find: thanks!

mon plaisir monsieur . . . (links to CCleaner w/builds were posted and
discussed frequently on a.c.f. and in other newsgroups back in the day)