The technology inside your desktop or laptop computer is far more powerful than those cutting edge room-sized computers of 30 years ago that were run by serious-looking men in white smocks. A system cleaner for them meant completely breaking down the computer and reassembling it with blank storage and a freshly reinstalled operating system. It took days.

Today's PCs and laptops are designed so that even someone with little familiarity with how a computer works can leverage the full power of modern computer science. Every keystroke and mouse click launches millions of instructions that result in things we take for granted: emails, documents, photo storage, Internet surfing and much more.

Using a PC today is so easy that many people forget how much is going on deep inside. A system cleaner sounds like something that might be good, but what does it do exactly?

A system cleaner isn't an anti-malware program, although a computer free of viruses, worms, spyware and malware is often said to be clean. For that, you need an anti-virus program. A real system cleaner should removes or deactivates programs that are preventing your computer from operating as fast as it could be. There are two main areas that need to be addressed to clean your system.

The first is startup. Certain programs are configured to load automatically when Windows starts. While some programs are necessary, many are unnecessary and may even pose a security risk. Turning off unwanted startup programs can significantly improve startup time and overall system performance. In fact, neglect of this aspect alone brings about the feeling of a computer getting "older".

The second is the identification and elimination of duplicate, unwanted and partial programs that overload your system. In addition to all the programs you install yourself, there's the software that came with your PC that you may never use, as well as any number of programs that may have installed themselves on your computer without your knowledge. These redundant apps and bloatware can significantly slow down your PC, taking up hard drive space and utilizing resources without your knowledge. Here's how to remove them safely using community recommendations: http://www.iolo.com/resources/articles/the-problem-your-clogged-pc/

The challenge is determining which programs are safe to prevent from launching at startup or delete as repetitive or unwanted. You need help with this.

System Mechanic, a patented, full optimization suite for Windows, includes Startup Optimizer™ and CRUDD Remover™ that clean up your start menu and junk files by showing you what's safe to remove and what choices others in the user community have taken. The freeware version is also available. For more information, click here: http://www.iolo.com/landing/smfree/