Whatever you want to do, it seems there's a bit of software that claims to be able to save you time, make life easier, and if you don't buy it, you'll explode. The registry cleaning market is no different. But do you really need a registry cleaner? Do they actually do what they say?

As wonderful as technology is at the moment, behind the scenes things are still a bit of a mess. Surf the web and your computer will start to acquire spyware. Surf a bit more and you're almost certain to catch a virus.

Most people are, thankfully, aware of these problems and have cleaners and protection against them. So why don't most people clean their registry? It could be because problems in the registry are less of an obvious threat.

The registry runs in the background, doesn't get any media attention and, let's be honest, it's not the most exciting subject to most computer users.

But maintaining your registry is seriously worth doing. The key to it is regular scanning. All good tools even do that part for you by letting you schedule a scan. The benefits of using a registry cleaner to keep things clean are well worth it. Regular use of a good scanner will:

• Protect against errors
• Help keep crashes/freezes at bay
• Speed up the computer
• Removed the need for a full re-install
• Free up disk space
• Start Windows quicker

The good news with the registry is that removing the junk from it is guaranteed to improve your PC's performance. The bad news is that it's very VERY easy to 'tweak' your registry and bring the house down around your ears. Unless you're an experienced computer technician, don't be tempted to go into RegEdit in Windows and start messing. You could do way more harm than good.

Most registry software has been designed with the average user in mind and doing a scan requires nothing more than clicking a 'scan' button. Seriously, if you can turn a PC on, you've got the experience to do the scan. Even if you are experienced, I can't imagine anyone sifting through their registry and removing hundreds of errors. Unless you're really bored!

Bottom line - using a tool to scan your registry makes sense because:

• It's fast - scans can take from a few minutes to 10 minutes on average.
• It's easy - one to a few clicks depending on the software.
• It's safe - these programs do not break your registry.
• It's thorough - the better tools don't miss any errors.

Whether you use your PC for staying in touch with friends, business, gaming, or anything else, it's important to keep it in working order. It's a bit like a car in that sense. Here's the list of tasks I do regularly on my computer, to keep it running smoothly.

• Weekly backups of my important files (I use WinBackup)
• Degragment the hard drive (free tool that comes with Windows)
• Run my spyware cleaner programs (Adaware & Spybot)
• Run my registry cleaner (I'm using Registry Easy)
• Update and run my virus software (Grisoft AVG)

	The best software I've found
	Comparison of the major programs
	Reviews of Registry Cleaning software