Overwhelming amount of files.

When I first got my computer, and ran a virus scan it showed that it had scanned 100,000 files. Now when I run a virus scan (a year later) it shows that it has scanned over 1,000,000, and it takes 4 hours to complete a scan. I was just wondering if this was normal? I don't add that many files, and if i do it's music, and I surely don't had THAT many.

you get more files added over time. every time you install a program, like say, microsoft office, you dont just install one file-it will install dozens of different files that all need to be there for that program to work. music and pictures will be just one file, but youd be surprised how much that adds up, like you type a paper and save it, download a pic, etc. etc. and then there are cookies your web browser downloads without your knowledge every time you visit a new site, each cookie is a new file, and yes you get malware and spyware over time without your knowledge, even if you did a scan and deleted it, more will appear over a period of a few months of casual web surfing. You need to scan for spyware and malware on a regular basis. but as for as 1,000,000 files that kind of a jump, it may be from the things I mentioned, but on the other hand it could be a virus that your normal scanner isnt catching. Im assuming its up to date, but no single anti virus scanner can find everything, you might try using different scanners. ones that I like to use are AVG or MCAFREE does a free online scan that I use a lot. Im sure theres better ones out there.

Also, how large is your "Temporary Internet Files" section?

If you delete the temporary Internet files before a scan you won't be scanning all of those files.

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune & save it to your desktop.

• Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
• Under Main "Select Files to Delete" choose: Select All.
• Click the Empty Selected button.
• If you use Firefox browser click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
• Click the Empty Selected button.
  If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
• If you use Opera browser click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
• Click the Empty Selected button.
  If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
• Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.

Note: On Vista, "Windows Temp" is disabled. To empty "Windows Temp" ATF-Cleaner must be "Run as an Administrator".

Thanks guys. I'll let you know the next time I run a scan how many files there are.

Another program that is good at cleaning out junk.
CCleaner by Piriform Ltd.

• Download the file and Save it to your desktop
• Double click ccsetupxxx.exe where xxx is a number 216 was the latest.
• Follow the prompts to install CCleaner.
• Once it is installed click on the CCleaner icon on your desktop.
• If you have any passwords or cookies you want to save make sure the cookies check box in the left panel is unchecked.
• Click on Analyze
• Your computer should be scanned for junk files. Don't worry it doesn't remove them just yet and this could take a while depending on how much junk has accumilated.
• After the scan you can check the list to make sure any files you want to keep are not included. (usually not).
• To finish cleaning click Run Cleaner

All the junk files on your computer should now be gone.

What makes this different from ATF is

• It's ability to clean the registry(make sure to use it's back up feature before you do this)
• List startup files and enable disable them(programs that load as windows starts)
• Uninstall programs listed in the add/remove programs control panel.

If you use CCleaner to uninstall programs, it makes sure it is completely removed. It scans and cleans the registry of any leftovers, and scans/cleans the files for any empty or uneeded folders that were related to the program. (those files you usually have to delete after an uninstall)

Edited by rsmith12573, 25 February 2009 - 07:38 PM.

Well, depending on how much dling you do, a million files is alot. I've owned my Vista for 2 years now, and I have about 410k Files. But I delete my Temp's often, and clean out junk I don't need.. I suggest you run your computer with CCleaner..

I use the Disk Cleanup on Vista. Is CCleaner better?

Actually, ATF works just fine as the extra pieces of CCleaner (mainly the registry cleaner part of it as registry cleaners are not promoted here at BC) isn't really needed when clearing out temp files. And it's best to uninstall programs through add/remove to my understanding.

ATF is good also. CCleaner and ATF have nothing in difference besides the registry cleaner. It's up to you, i'd try both.

Can ATF be set up to automatically clean out junk files, cookies & the recycle bin? That's what I do with CCleaner.

Can CCleaner be set to automatically clean? I have been using that program for at least a year (one of my favorites, btw) and have never seen a "real-time" cleaning aspect to it. I do use it every night after I close my browser and any other unnecessary programs, and I use it especially before I shut down.

Bleeping Computer DOES NOT recommend the use of registry cleaners/optimizers for a several reasons:

Registry cleaners can damage the registry by using aggressive cleaning routines. Many users (including some Staff Members) have reported problems after using registry cleaning tools - to include those tools released by Microsoft. This can cause your system to become unbootable.

Registry cleaners generally don't do anything significant for your system. This topic discusses it in greater detail than we could address here: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=61015 Although the topic discusses the XP registry, the concepts there apply to all other versions of Windows.

Not all registry cleaners create a backup of your registry before making changes. If the changes prevent the system from booting/logging in, then there's no backup to restore in order to regain functionality. A backup of the registry is essential BEFORE making any changes to the registry.