O&O Defrag Professional 18 integrates with Syspectr platform, promises reduced defrag times

Berlin developer O&O Software has unveiled O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 32-bit and O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 64-bit, a major new build of its renowned Windows drive defragmentation tool.

Version 18 introduces two new features of note: the ability to configure and use the tool remotely using a smartphone or tablet, and a History view that provides users with an analytical chart of how the program has accelerated the system.

The new remote feature works with both desktop and mobile platforms via O&O’s Syspectr platform. With the release of O&O Defrag 18, a new defrag module has been added to Syspectr giving users remote access via any mobile or desktop browser to their computer.

The full version of O&O Defrag 18 comes with a complementary year’s access to the full Syspectr Premium package, although a cut-down free Home package is also available.

The program also debuts a new History view, which displays a graphical representation of how each different defrag operation has helped to optimize the system. The view offers lifetime performance statistics from the moment O&O Defrag was first installed.

Another new feature sees O&O Defrag offer to securely wipe unused disk space.

Version 18 also comes with the promise of reduced defrag times -- up to 35 percent on the previous version -- thanks to accelerated algorithms. Automatic defrag has also now been switched on by default to optimize disks in the background without affecting performance.

Other improvements include better support for implementing TRIM on SSD drives of any make, even in Windows Vista and 7, while locked files are also handled better in the latest version.

O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 32-bit and O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 64-bit are both available as trial downloads for PCs running Windows Vista or later. Support for Windows XP has been dropped as of this version. The full version retails for $29.95.