Downloads: Download of the day: System Ninja

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System Ninja is a neat little optimization utility designed to scour your PC for junk files, resulting in a faster, more stable system. It also deletes browser tracking cookies, preventing unscrupulous advertisers monitoring your online activity.

System Ninja's star feature is its Junk Cleaner, but it also includes an extended suite of system-boosting tools to further accelerate your PC's performance. Its Startup Manager lets you stop non-essential programs running when Windows starts so you reach your desktop faster, and its built-in uninstaller is a quick way to remove several programs at once.

System Ninja also includes a process manager that lets you select and end multiple processes at once, and its system information tab gives you a thorough description of your PC's hardware and software.

Why you need it

System Ninja is a worthy rival to leading system speed-up tool CCleaner thanks to its deep cleaning and array of additional optimization options.

The program uninstaller is particularly good; unlike many dedicated uninstallers, it lets you select multiple programs with a simple checkbox system and remove them all in a batch. There's no automatic deep clean afterwards, but a quick scan with the Junk Cleaner will erase any leftovers. System Ninja can highlight the software that came pre-installed on your PC – ideal for clearing out the bloatware supplied with a new computer.

Delve into System Ninja's settings and you'll find some well thought-out options for customizing its Junk Cleaner. You can select certain directories or drives to scan, or particular ones that should be excluded from a full scan.

If that's not enough, System Ninja also supports plugins to extend its already impressive feature set, including a duplicate file scanner, batch file renaming tool and Windows Service manager.

Key features

• Junk file scanner
• Batch program uninstaller
• Process manager
• Support for plugins

Works on

Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10

Price

• System Ninja Home – free
• System Ninja Pro – US$14.95 (about £12, AU$20) per year