Your computer's registry allows the machine to run programs smoothly. When the registry's clogged with misleading or errant entries, however, Windows might slow down significantly, causing a lot of frustration and potential long-term stability issues.

RegCleaner is one of many tools designed to help you optimize your registry to avoid a slow, unresponsive operating system. It's geared towards advanced users, which is apparent in its no-nonsense interface. Upon starting the program, you're greeted with a list of registry entries sorted by category. You can select an entry to edit it, delete it or review detailed information. You can also automatically scan your registry for simple optimizations or load backed up registry entries if you've made a mistake.

When you apply edits with RegCleaner, they occur immediately. There's no dialog box confirming your decision to make changes, so make sure that you're aware of how your actions will affect the stability of your PC. RegCleaner is powerful in the right hands but potentially dangerous for inexperienced users.

A good rule of thumb for your computer's registry is that if you don't know what you're doing, you shouldn't do it. The Windows registry affects the entire operating system experience, and a haphazard deletion could cause serious issues. RegCleaner automatically creates backups, but you should still exercise extreme caution when editing your registry.

RegCleaner's power isn't a disadvantage, however. This is a professional-level computer maintenance tool intended for serious computer users with a solid understanding of the Windows operating system. The included automatic scan is a nice feature that you can use safely without a lot of registry experience, but in general, this is a professional utility with some really nice, intuitive features and a great interface that power users will appreciate.