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| Cookies usually contain the login information for the sites like NAT, meaning that next time you open that web site, you'll have to log on with your user name and password again. You may also lose specific settings like thread view or the particular level of zoom you use on that web site too, etc. Nothing critical that you can't afford to lose. Some online purchase web sites might store order information, so I recommend that you finalize your on-going purchase before deleting the cookies, or you may have to restart the order from scratch. Most decent web sites store the order information on their servers, though, so you can access your order from any device or after deleting the cookies.
CCleaner has an "Intelligent Cookie Scan" option that tries to distinguish regular cookies from the ones containing login information (from a fixed list of providers, like Google or Microsoft.) Firefox does something similar, it can delete cookies separately from your currently active login information. I usually don't delete cookies unless something went wrong on the web site. But if you've been running the same browser for a few years, it's certainly a good idea to delete all cookies at some stage. Make sure you have all your passwords handy or a way to retrieve or reset them. Most web sites will send you a new password or password reset code via email or text, so it's usually never a problem.
CCleaner also cleans the Windows Registry from unwanted or unnecessary junk. This is a system database that is easy to corrupt. CCleaner seems to be safe enough, but I don't want to take that risk as part of a regular clean-up routine. It's fine to use it though if you make a full backup of your system (like a system image) before running CCleaner once in a while.
You can save the whole Windows Registry from the "regedit" program (in Start|Run), selecting File|Export from the root branch or "All" in the "Export range" field, but that will not backup the user and program settings, they can be stored in settings files on the system drive instead of entries in the Windows Registry. With Windows, anything goes... ;( So use the "system image" of your regular backup software instead, or clone your system drive. Or just live dangerously and click on that "Delete all and flood the Earth" button! ;) | |
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CCleaner
