This utility offers a one-stop-shop for cleaning and maintaining your computer for better overall system performance. The interface is very simple, featuring only a few buttons which makes it easy to get down to cleaning immediately (in fact, it automatically runs on start up, if you want it to) and doesn't confuse you with multiple steps.

The Maintain Windows section focuses on four areas of maintenance: spyware removal, Registry cleaning, a privacy sweep, and deletion of junk files. The Diagnose System button provides system optimization tools, detects spyware, defragments your disk, and

scans for hijacked Windows settings. In our tests the scan and clean for each of these areas took less than 10 minutes to complete. In many of these scans, it is difflcut to tell what exactly is being accomplished by some of the tools, but we were able to test against other trusted apps, which confirmed Advanced SystemCare's efficacy in those areas.

Under the utilities section you are given several tools, which are similar to plug-ins, for other areas of optimization and diagnostic tests. Overall, Advanced SystemCane Free is a good way to maintain your system's speed and clear out junk files.

It's hard to stand out in the crowded field of defraggers, but SmartDefrag is able to do so with an unexpected twist. Along with quick analysis and scans, SmartDefrag boasts an automated defragger that continually defrags the files that you use the most, and does it without becoming a persistent drag on your system resources. When running in the background, the program only eats up 14MB of RAM, so it's possible to run it smoothly on older machines.

Other features we like include a scheduler you can set up

to defrag whenever you want and some customization features if you want the program to start when Windows loads or right before logging off. You also can set it to shut down your computer when it's done defragging your hard drives and partitions.

Overall, if you would like a handy defragger with options for scheduling and more, this is a great defragger for both novices and more experienced users.