WinUtilities is another in a long line of do-it-all Windows tools that promises to do everything from cleaning your hard disk and Registry, to speeding up startup, to protecting your online privacy by cleaning up traces you leave behind when you surf the Web. It largely succeeds, although it doesn't offer as much help as some similar programs.
The WinUtilities suite has just about every tool you could want to help keep your PC running well. It offers 21 different modules organized into four general groupings: system cleaners, system optimizers, system control, system tools, Registry tools, and file tools. Generally, using any module is simple, and requires that you do little more than click.
Some modules are outstanding; the system information one, for example, offers more information than you'll ever need about every part of your hardware setup. But although most modules are easy to use, they don't always offer helpful advice on what actions you should take based on what WinUtilities tells you. The Startup Cleaner, for example, only shows you what is in your startup folder, Registry, and other startup locations, and offers no advice on whether any of those programs need be run. TuneUp Utilities 2009 (also $50), by way of contrast, does offer that type of advice.
At $50, WinUtilities doesn't come cheap, and many of its modules, such as a file cleaner, are available as free utilities. So you'd do well to compare it against competitors like TuneUp Utilities 2009--and against building your own suite from the free competition--to see whether it's worth the money for you.
--Preston Gralla
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