@jsmorley and Krondonian: Thanks, not sure if I want to turn it off. I'm pretty safe with my computing, but I recieve many attachments in emails for my job, and would not want to risk it. Wish there was a way to make an exception, but it makes sense you can't.

Two clicks are not that bad to run CCleaner I guess.

bbobjoe

@bbobjoe:

I know of no way to create an "exception" for UAC. That would kinda defeat the purpose as it would immediately be exploited by malware authors.

You can of course turn UAC off. I turned it off about 2.5 minutes after installing Vista, but there is some loss of protection that this feature offers. You will hear strong opinions on either side of "to UAC or not to UAC" question.

If you do want to turn it off, you can:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Open "User Accounts"
3. Click on the "Turn User Account Control On or Off"
4. Click to unselect the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer".
4. Click on the Ok button.
7. You will be prompted to reboot your computer. Do so when ready.

If you wish later to enable UAC just re-select the above checkbox and reboot.

jsmorley

@bbobjoe: I don't have Vista myself, but this article- [lifehacker.com] - should help, I think.

Krondonian

My problem with this is on Vista I have to give the program permission to run. Does anyone know how to turn that off?

bbobjoe

Another trick with CCleaner:

It will offer when installed to associate itself in the right-click menu of the Recycle Bin. So instead of saying "Empty Recycle Bin" when you right click the trash can, you say "Run CCleaner" and it silently runs CCleaner (and cleans out the Recycle Bin of course) every time you empty the trash.

You do that so often during the day that if you get in the habit of using that menu selection you are constantly keeping things clean. Doesn't take but a second or two longer than a normal "empty", and in any case it runs invisible in the background so you can't even tell it happened.

jsmorley

@jsmorley and @bbobjoe:
You can create an "exception" for UAC for a single application by creating a scheduled task to run an application interactively, and then creating a shortcut that runs the scheduled task. It's slightly complicated, but works pretty well for something you run all the time.

If you look at the bottom of my article, you'll see an "extra credit" link for the instructions.

The How-To Geek

@jsmorley: What dock are you using in that screenshot and what is the skin your using on it? I'd love to know.

APer3Caper

@The How-To Geek:

Thanks... I guess there is always a way, it's a computer after all. ;-)

jsmorley

@jsmorley: Thanks! This is great. Oh, and by the way, I like the Serenity background.

APer3Caper

The dock program is StarDock ObjectDock and the "dock" is one called KtekZ that I got from [wincustomize.com]

jsmorley

@strabes: Yeah, that's what I was thinking of doing.

Brad

@jsmorley: Thanks for the wallpaper link!

APer3Caper

Back on XP I used to just set up a Scheduled Task to run this a couple times a day. Got the job done quite nicely.

strabes

You are welcome. The wallpaper is at:

[gs266.photobucket.com]

if you want it.

jsmorley

This would be useful only CCleaner takes a full minute to load on my computer. I had been happily invoking IE Privacy Keeper with a keystroke but it stopped working with Firefox after I upgraded to version 3.

vanjos72

You can set up an exception to run any program on Vista without UAC using this procedure:

[www.howtogeek.com]

Scutworker

@strabes - Yeah, me too. Schedule to run it twice a day and you dont have to remember to press the key to run it. also on top of that one problem with this shortcut thing is that it *needs* the app shortcut to be on the desktop. And if like me, prefer to keep your desktop clean - this is no no!

mskadu

I just have Cobian backup run ccleaner as an event in /auto mode every night along with some of my other backups.

hippytyre

@mskadu: You can put the shortcut into the Start Menu, and the shortcut key should still work (sometimes you have to log off and back on before it activates)

The How-To Geek

Is there really a need to run ccleaner multiple times a day? I run usually about once every 2 weeks. What is the advantage of running it more often?

Ryan Fisher

@Ryan Fisher:

There isn't really a need to run CCleaner multiple times a day. It probably removes 5-10 meg of stuff each time I run it, and that is line noise in today's huge hard drives.

However, having gotten into the habit of using it to empty my recycle bin instead of the normal "empty recycle bin" just means I don't really EVER have to "think" about running it, and I know I am keeping my computer cleaned up while getting rid of stuff in my browser cookies/cache and Windows temporary folders. (favorite lurking places of internet nastiness)

Is there a "downside"? I guess there is one small one. If you are repeatedly viewing a web site that is graphic intensive, cleaning out the browser cache all the time means you are re-downloading all the graphics instead of getting them from the cache, and it could slow down your browsing experience just a tad on that site. But with today's fast computers and broadband speeds this is hardly noticeable.

jsmorley