DLS review: System Ninja complements CCleaner, doesn't replace it

Filed under: Utilities, Windows
Using the word "ninja" in the name of an application is a good way to grab a geek's attention. Enter System Ninja, a CCleaner-like cleaning and tune-up utility for Windows. After reading about System Ninja this morning on Freeware Genius, I decided to give it a go.

In addition to performing file clean-ups, System Ninja includes a handful of other utilities. However, I don't need to use a startup manager or process manager very often, and the included tools aren't really an improvement over those that are already a part of your Windows install, like MSConfig and Task Manager. To me, it's really all about cleaning up the digital junk I leave scattered about my hard drive -- and CCleaner located almost 50 times more than System Ninja. That's a pretty substantial difference.

I'm also not keen on "borrowing" icons from successful apps -- and System Ninja does just that (image after the break).

Does that folder junk cleaner icon look familiar to anyone else? Moving on...

The Folder Junk Cleaner is somewhat interesting, however, in that it looks everywhere for certain types of files that might not be needed. CCleaner, on the other hand, only checks pre-defined locations out-of-the-box. That means System Ninja could theoretically find and remove more cruft -- except that you can add custom folders and file types to CCleaner (which is what I'd recommend doing).

System Ninja can also download and run MalRun Destroyer, a malware and spyware tool. Upon downloading the tool and running a scan, however, I found that the MalRun .INI file currently only sports 93 known processes -- not quite the comprehensive coverage I'm looking for in a malware cleanup tool. It could, however, prove useful for taking care of certain common, easy-to-remove malware.

Need to check a file's MD5 or SHA checksum? I've never really had the need, but System Ninja has the built-in ability to do so. There's also a boot log generator, but again -- you can do this quite simply using MSConfig.

The Good:

Portable
Lightweight and fast
Finds some files that CCleaner won't without customization
Decent assortment of system tools

The Bad:

Didn't find anywhere near as much junk as CCleaner in my testing
Process and startup manager aren't really an improvement over Windows' built-in tools
No option to customize file types to search for



Bottom Line: It never hurts to give a new clean-up application a try, and System Ninja may work better for you than it did for me. If not, all you've got to do is delete the files and move on -- there's really nothing to lose except for a few minutes of your time. System Ninja definitely has potential and will be worth keeping an eye on.
DLS review: System Ninja complements CCleaner, doesn't replace it originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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