Did you know you are probably sitting on a gold mine of data about yourself, your browsing habits and more on your computer? Even when you run spyware, malware and clear you cookies or cache, there are still hidden traces just about everywhere on a computer left behind. PrivaZer is an amazing tool that helps find those hiding traces of your steps and delete them from your PC so they do not add up. When these items add up, your computer, Internet and more can slow down to a crawl. They can also expose your browsing history, track where you go online and give away some information about your computer experience.
Our guide to PrivaZer will show you how to get started, just what it can find and why you are missing out by not running this tool at least once a week.
How to set up PrivaZer
After you visit PrivaZer’s website and starting the install process, you will be asked what type of install you want to perform.
You can just install PrivaZer on your computer, which is definitely recommended or you can create a portable version to use multiple places. You can also simply run PrivaZer without installing it on your computer as well. Once you select what type of install you want, click “Install” to finish the installation.
After the install is complete, you will be asked whether you want to create shortcuts and contextual menus. Choose your settings, then click “Close.”
Once you open PrivaZer, you will go through a quick set up. You can choose to utilize it or skip it. For the purpose of this guide, we will walk through it with you. Click “Help me to choose” and then click “Next.”
The first settings deal with cookies. You can choose how the program deals with them when found. This includes removing all cookies, saving more common cookies and manually selecting cookies. For most users, the recommended setting will be easiest to use. Click “Next.”
The next set of settings deals with invalid shortcuts. This eliminates shortcuts that no longer exists. Most users never clean up shortcuts, so the first time you use PrivaZer you should use this setting to do so. It will help make your computer run faster, especially when opening programs in general. Again, click “Next.”
The third set of settings deals with Microsoft Office’s history. PrivaZer will delete your history in the Microsoft Suite programs you use which can increase the speed of those programs. Then, click “Next.”
The next set of settings deals with photo and image histories. This will clean up temporary files, shortcuts and other cached information in these programs. This is another way to speed up these programs, too. Click “Next.”
The fifth set of settings handles your thumbnail cache in Windows. Whenever you simply look at pictures in Windows through the Explorer, you may see thumbnails related to them. These are cached so you can see them again quickly, but this can eat up memory. If you have never cleaned up these thumbnails, we recommend using PrivaZer to do so. Now, click “Next.”
The next set of settings handles auto complete history in browsers. When you enter information in a browser, the browser will save that information for user later when you want to go back to that website. PrivaZer will delete this history from your browsers. Click “Next.”
The seventh set of settings will deal with Microsoft gaming histories. Microsoft Games actually saves a hefty amount of data to speed up loading time for games, histories and more. This will eliminate those files. Then, click “Next.”
The next set of settings deals with previous installations of Microsoft Windows. If you have upgraded, changed or installed multiple versions of Windows, this will clean that up for you to free up space. Click “Next.”
The final set of settings deals with hibernation mode. When Windows goes into hibernation, it still runs programs until you wake it up. This can take up a lot of space and memory. This will turn on or off hibernation mode. Click “Save” to end the setup.
Now, we can start using PrivaZer.
How to use PrivaZer
You will now be introduced to the main screen for PrivaZer where you will do everything with it.
As with all new software installs, click “Update” to begin.
This will ensure you have the latest version and any updates available for PrivaZer so you get maximum support.
Now, click “Advanced options.”
The first tab is your General options. This allows you to set up automatic updates, save backups and how PrivaZer runs.
Click the next tab: “Memory, Indexing.”
For 99% of users, you can ignore this area. However, tinkering with these settings can help speed up how PrivaZer goes through your system especially if it’s running very slow.
Then, click “Internet browsing.”
This is where you can set up the cache paths for your Internet browsers. For the most part, this will be set up automatically.
Finally, head back to PrivaZer’s main screen.
Now, choose what area of your computer you want to scan, and click “Clean.”
You will be given a comprehensive list of each every your computer PrivaZer will attempt to clean up. You can uncheck boxes as you see fit but for the first time you run a scan, you should leave everything checked to get the maximum benefit. As you go through each box, you can see a little bit of information on each area for you to learn from.
When ready, click “Scan.”
The first scan can take quite a while, so sit back and let PrivaZer do its job.
Its first pass will be to scan all areas of your computer for space, similar to the defragment process. Once it makes it through this process, it will begin cleaning up area by area on your computer once you click “Clean.”
A pop-up will appear that alerts you that it may take some time to run the cleaning function. It will then give you an estimate of how much time it will take and two options: Normal and Quick. Quick is just a preliminary cleanup as well as a normal which does a total cleanup. For the first time using PrivaZer, you want to choose the normal cleanup. Click it.
Now, let PrivaZer run. It will show you what it is doing as it is cleaning up. You can stop, pause or boost its priority any time you see fit.
When finished, you can see exactly what PrivaZer did, see more advanced details and then shut down the program.
PrivaZer can clean up your system in ways you never thought possible as you can see from the setup, scanning and cleanup process.
How effective is PrivaZer for protecting your steps online?
PrivaZer offers an amazing range of cleanup for your computer. While other programs, some of which we have covered in the past like CCleaner, can clean up more common areas, PrivaZer can clean up what it misses. When coupled with a program like CCleaner, PrivaZer offers optimal protection for eliminating your traces online and from your computer itself.
