Web User - UK (2020-01-22)

CCleanerCloud offers all the benefits of the desktop

toolbutwithout the bundled junk

Compress files and open archives in a jiffy
using the online tool ezyZip

Avoid security-software clashes by

checking your PC with an online scanner

Upload a file to VirusTotal to scan it using

more than 70 antivirusengines

Stop using software

COVER

FEATURE

22 Jan - 4 Feb 2020 41

as 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org) instead.

An even smarter option, which

doesn’t require installation, is ezyZip

(www.ezyzip.com). This online

compression service can create zip files

and open archives in a variety of

compressed formats including ZIP, RAR,

TAR, TGZ and JAR. Usefully, it can also

convert one archive format into another

• RAR to ZIP, for example – directly in
  yourbrowser.

Software you no longer need:

WinZip, WinRAR

SCAN YOUR PC FOR

MALWARE

If you suspect that your PC may have

picked up some malware but your

existing antivirus solution (assuming

you have one installed) isn’t finding

anything, you can use an online scanner

to provide a second opinion, rather than

downloading a second security tool that

may cause clashes.

F-Secure Online Scanner (bit.ly/

fsscan493) is one of the better options

and promises to scan and clean your PC

for free. To use it, click the blue ‘Run

now’ button and it will save a small file

to your desktop. Launch this to open

the online scanner and click the ‘Accept

and scan’ button. This will set up the

scanner so it can begin checking for

harmful items.

If you don’t want to download

anything at all, you can use Chrome to

look for malware on your PC. Type

chrome://settings/cleanup in the

address bar and press Enter. Click the

blue Find button and it will begin to look

for potential threats. Chrome displays a

spinning circle during the process – you

don’t get any idea of the progress – so

be patient and it will eventually report

back with its findings.

System & Security

Software you no longer need:

AVG Free Antivirus,

Avast Free Antivirus

SCAN SUSPICIOUS FILES

FOR THREATS

The real-time protection offered by

reputable antivirus software ensures

you’re protected from most threats at

all times but, if you’re careful and don’t

visit bad sites, download suspect files,

or blindly click on unknown email

attachments, you may not need this

level of security, especially as Windows

10 has Defender built-in.

Google’s VirusTotal service (www

.virustotal.com) can help keep you safe

by analysing suspicious downloads and

potentially malicious websites. It uses

more than 70 different antivirus engines

including AVG, Bitdefender and Sophos.

To scan an item from your hard drive,

click the ‘Choose file’ button and

navigate to it. The file will be uploaded

to VirusTotal and scanned by all the

engines, with the results displayed in

your browser. To check a website, click

theURLtabandenterthesiteaddress.

Software you no longer need:

Malwarebytes

REMOVE JUNK AND
FREE UP SPACE
CCleaner (www.ccleaner.com)
is an excellent if controversial
(since it was purchased by
Avast) system-cleaning tool,
but you don’t need to install
and download the program.
CCleaner Cloud Free (www
.ccleanercloud.com) offers the
same functionality, but runs in
your web browser, which
means you can completely
avoid the bundled junk that
plagues the desktop software.
This cloud service lets you
manage and maintain up to three PCs
remotely (including systems belonging
to friends and family), and it can also
clean every user profile on your PC,
making it more thorough than the
desktop version. Other features include
the ability to remove junk files, disable
unnecessary startup programs, repair
Registry issues and defrag hard drives.
You need to sign up with CCleaner
Cloud and run the 14-day trial but, after
that expires (no credit card details are
required), you will automatically be
switched to the free edition. This means
losing some functionality, but it’s
nothingtobetoobotheredabout.

Software you no longer need:

CCleaner, BleachBit

ZIP AND UNZIP FILES
Windows comes with built-in
zip support, allowing you to compress
files and open archives directly in the
operating system without needing to
install any software. However, it’s
not the most elegant of solutions,
which is why most people prefer to
install a third-party program such