CCleaner 6 is here, complete with better updating mechanism and a unique Performance Optimizer

In the world of system optimization and clean-up utilities, there are lots of names vying for attention, but it is CCleaner that wins the popularity contest. It has been a while since the app received a significant update but that changes with the release of CCleaner 6.

There is a lot to talk about in this latest release, but the headline grabber is the new, unique and patented Performance Optimizer feature. While many performance optimization techniques found in other apps make only a subjective differences, the boost given by this new feature can be measured in benchmarks.

Included in the Pro version of CCleaner 6, Performance Optimizer works in a different way to other performance boosters. There is a patented three- step process which helps to not only improve the speed of just about any Windows system. but can also squeeze more battery life out of laptops.

It works by detecting all of the apps and services you have on your computer and identifies any background tasks and processes that they may be running. CCleaner is able to put anything that is deemed unnecessary into sleep mode, thereby freeing up resources and speeding things up. When a sleeping component is needed by an app you are using, it will be automatically reenabled -- but only for as long as necessary.

This automated approach is not only much easier and faster than manually determining which processes you can kill, it is also much safer thanks to the whitelist of 'safe to disable' programs CCleaner has in its optimization database.

Another new feature of CCleaner 6 is the improved software updater. In the name of security, features and performance, it is imperative that the apps you have installed are kept up to date, and CCleaner helps to ensure that you always have the very latest versions installed.

The program has offered this feature for a while, but with this latest release there is support for an additional 50 software titles. On top of this, there are plans to add support for even more this summer.

It is only natural to be skeptical of tools that claim to give a performance boost -- there are, after all, a lot of snake oil merchants out there. But CCleaner 6's Performance Optimizer gives tangible results that cannot be found elsewhere. The developers ask: "Confused why this is new, or why no one else has done it? (Spoiler alert: we hold a patent on it -- that’s why!)".

This killer feature may only be part of the Pro version of CCleaner 6, but you can test drive the trial version. And even if you decide not to splash out on the software at the end of the trial period, the free version of CCleaner still has a great deal to offer.