If you are one of the users who usually do maintenance on your computer, it is likely that you have met CCleaner, one of the utility tools top-rated and has long been a staple on many’s lists of recommended programs. Unfortunately, those years are yesterday and now the application has lost much of its reputation. A recent incident confirms this.
For much of what was his community, the decline of CCleaner started when Pyriform (English company that developed it) was acquired by Avast in 2017. There were many controversies in which the tool was involved after that, some related to malware. Now, as if that were not enough, one more has just been added.
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CCleaner accused of removing other programs
Recently, a Reddit user discovered that uninstalling CCleaner from his computer, the tool also deleted important files from other applications. The fact generated a wave of suspicion and criticism in the community, which caused Avast herself to speak out.
It all started when rounakr94 set out to remove CCleaner 5.91 from your PC. Precisely what the user did was delete the installation folder (he probably had a portable version). After a few minutes, he saw how the progress bar indicated that some files from Steam, Origin, MSI and more programs were also deleted.
After the uninstall was complete, rounakr94 verified that, indeed, delete CCleaner from your system it also removed important parts of Adobe Reader, MSI Afterburner, AIDA64, Steam, Origin, Discord, HDSentinel and more. All programs were rendered unusable as their files were corrupted.
The user spent hours recovering the data and scanning his system for malware, but found no threats. Another asked him in which directory he had installed the program (CCleaner), to which he replied that it was on drive D, that is, on a secondary drive where the affected applications were.
Many people responded to the Twitter thread recommending never installing CCleaner. Photo: Reddit
Avast and Piriform fight back
After many comments on the Piriform forums, a developer from the company commented on the matter: “CCleaner should delete everything inside its root directory under normal circumstances, exactly what you would expect it to do, and not just the files of your original installation, but also updates, bug reports, etc. It leaves no trace of itself.”
Rounakr94 accused the company and its developers of implementing flawed code and even employing revenge tactics on those who decide to uninstall the program.
An Avast spokesperson also joined the discussion, revealing that “CCleaner’s default behavior is to create a new folder upon installation.” “When this is uninstalled, everything in that folder should be able to be deleted with no problem. A user would have to deliberately install the program in a directory that they also use for other applications or use the same for other purposes after installation,” he said.
The company also confirmed to the PC Gamer portal that they are working on an update to prevent a similar incident in the future.
The infamous ccleaner doesn’t seem to have an end. After the purchase of Piriform by Avast in 2017, the program has faced crises due to the discovery of malware (2017), security problems (2018), accusations of installations without permission, among others.