Glary Utilities 3.6

Overview

Glary Utilities is one of the most proficient freeware system maintenance programs available at the moment. While the features it comprises are able to meet the demands of any system engineer, they are also quite useful for the average user. This program was designed to help in removing unwanted files from the hard drive, protect the system against malicious third party software, and cleaning up the registry. For computer experts, Glary Utilities offers a wide plethora of options, whilst novice users can perform the maintenance with only one click. Using it once on a daily basis ensures that your system is able to reach its full potential, as no registry errors and junk files are holding it back.

Installation

The installation kit of the Glary Utilities is rather small, as it occupies only 8.5MB of your hard disk. In addition, the minimal system requirements of this software utility are also low: it only needs 32MB of RAM and 20MB of free space on the designated installation drive to work properly. Once you have completed the download, all you need to do is click on the executable file and you will be prompted to choose the language, the destination folder for the installation, and whether you would like to have a shortcut on the desktop, or in the quick launch bar or not. At this point, it is worth mentioning that Glary Utilities has been designed for compatibility with the Windows operating systems 2000, XP, Vista (both x32 and x64) and 7 (x32 and x64).

Once you have agreed to the classical terms and condition disclaimer, the installation will proceed. Due to its relatively low size, installing Glary Utilities will only take a couple of seconds and the instant it is done the interface tab for the 1 click maintenance feature will pop up. In order to enjoy the full potential of this maintenance utility it is recommended that you upgrade it to the latest available version and that you download the kit from a source that has undergone antivirus and malicious software testing - see our antivirus report for Glary Utilities.

Interface

There are four tabs on the interface of the Glary Utilities: the status tab, the 1-click maintenance tab (the one that opens by default once the installation process is complete), the modules tab and the menu tab. In the status tab you will be able to update you current version of the utility to the latest one released and upgrade your free version to a paid one by registering for enhanced features.

The 1 click maintenance tab enables you to perform routine tasks that improve the performance of your computer, such as cleaning the registry, fixing shortcuts, managing startup programs as well as removing spyware and temporary files. In addition, this menu has a rather ingenious feature: the track eraser. This option allows you to remove the surfing history from Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as the recently used plug-ins and recently opened documents from Windows.

The third tab, modules, gives experienced users a more detailed list of maintenance, optimization and repairs options. One of the most appreciated features here is the advanced file and folder management system, as it enables users to delete empty folders and duplicate files efficiently. In addition, you can analyze your hard drive and get statistics regarding the type of files that are commonly present on them.

Pros

Glary Utilities is a freeware utility capable of performing system maintenance and repair tasks with the same proficiency as any paid program. The interface of this program is easy to comprehend and use, but that does not mean it lacks the features experienced system technicians look for in this type of software.

Cons

There really is nothing bad that can be said about Glary Utilities, except for the fact that the interface looks a bit behind the times. However, since it is after all a software program designed for functionality rather than aesthetics, this is completely understandable.

Alternatives

The main competitor of Glary Utilities is TuneUP Utilities, as the array of features provided by this software is a littler larger. However, TuneUP Utilities does not have a freeware version, unlike Glary.

Conclusion

Overall, Glary Utilities is one of the best freeware programs designed for computer maintenance, protection and repair tasks on the web. If you are looking for a utility with the entire set of classical features as well as some new and innovative ones, you should not hesitate trying out Glary Utilities.