5 of the Best Free Linux System Cleaning Tools
There are lots of ways of improving the performance of your
computer. We investigated a number of solutions in our feature entitled
Ubuntu
Tips - Boot Faster which concentrated on
shortening the time taken for a machine to boot. These included
disabling services that are not needed, concurrent booting, and
reprofiling the boot sequence. The article also gave tips on optimising
the general system performance including ways to make more efficient
use of memory, improving hard disk performance, and by using a
lightweight desktop environment. These can all have a marked effect on
minimising the boot process. However, having a machine that is quick to
boot is only one area that needs to be tackled if a computer is going
to remain responsive.
Many readers will have witnessed their computer system
becoming progressively slower in use over time. This particularly
affects Windows so much so that over time it can feel like the machine
is running at half speed. This is in part due to users continually
installing more applications, and not performing system
maintenance. Other factors include ineffective uninstallation
routines, Microsoft's propensity for almost daily patches and
security updates, hard drives full of temporary files, a bloated
registry, and poorly configured antivirus software. These types of
issues also affect Linux albeit to a lesser degree. Nevertheless, if a
Linux machine is to remain in pristine condition, there is a genuine
need for users to run software that vacuums up the detritus, wiping
clean applications, deleting cookies, shredding temporary files,
removing logs, and other types of system maintenance.
There are a number of open source applications for Linux which
help to keep the operating system working like new. To provide an
insight into the software that is available, we have compiled a list of
5 of our favourite open source system cleaning tools. Hopefully, there
will be
something of interest here for users who want to ensure their computer
system retains its vitality.
You may be surprised to see a package manager included in the
list below. We have seen many systems where system performance has been
affected simply due to the number of applications that have
been installed which are no longer being used on a regular basis. It is
worth using a package manager to identify and remove redundant
software, thereby freeing up hard disk space, and removing unnecessary
daemons, servers, and libraries being loaded in the process.
So, let's explore the 5 cleaning tools at hand. For
each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full
description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots,
together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
Return to our complete collection of Group
Tests, identifying the finest Linux software.
Last Updated Sunday, February 05 2012 @ 12:09 PM EST
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