GoogleClean 2017.133l

Overview

Many of us use Google-related products and websites on a regular basis, including Google Chrome, Google Desktop, Google Earth, Google Toolbar, as well as YouTube, GoogleDocs, and GoogleMail too.

What most may not realize however is that behind the scenes these services collect information and send it back to Google. That is where GoogleClean steps in and helps prevent these unwanted data transfers.

Installation

Generally, installing GoogleClean shouldn't present any difficulties and it supports both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

However when you first launch the software, you'll be confronted by a prompt that will ask you whether or not you'd like to activate the full trial for 30 days. If you opt to do so, you'll need to provide your first name, last name and email address so that a confirmation email with a link that you need to click can be sent to you.

Following this, you need to answer a couple of simple questions and GoogleClean's wizard will help configure the software accordingly.

Interface

At first glance the GoogleClean interface may appear a little bit daunting. The icon-based navigation bar on the left has no less than 11 different tabs, and there are buttons and tickboxes almost everywhere.

As you acclimatize yourself however you'll realize that most of the navigation tabs relate to a particular type of Google software or service, and the buttons at the bottom will identify which products are installed on your PC and provide you with easy access to  options that help clean them up.

That being said, there is quite a bit of overlap in the navigation as the buttons really just link to content that is accessible via the tabs anyway.

Pros

Although it is hard to tell whether or not GoogleClean effectively blocks all data from being sent to Google, when put to the test it certainly did appear to cover most bases. Some of what it can accomplish includes:

• Clearing out Google and YouTube related cookies
• Disabling communication with Google Analytics servers
• Easy access to settings regarding the type of information that is forwarded to Google from software such as Picasa, Google Earth, Google Toolbar, and Google Desktop
• Active monitoring of cookies and other data being sent to Google

In a nutshell, you should be able to feel fairly safe and secure that information about you isn't ending up in Google's hands.

Cons

The one flaw in GoogleClean is that it isn't exactly the most user-friendly software. Its interface does leave quite a bit to be desired (as was mentioned earlier) and there is very little explanation regarding most of its options.

Alternatives

To be honest there isn't any alternative out there that occupies the highly specialized niche that GoogleClean does. Other anti-malware software such as MalwareBytes or SpyBot help fulfill the same sort of task but they aren't specifically targeting Google and will not directly disable its software from transmitting data.

Conclusion

If you are an avid user of Google-related software and websites who would rather their information remain strictly private then GoogleClean is the best option out there - despite its flaws. Once you become more familiar with its workings, it should perform exactly the way you want it to.