Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 17.4.0.125

★ Winner of Best System Cleaner in 2017 and 2014.

Overview

IObit boasts of a high reputation on the privacy and security market and no wonder Advanced System Care Ultimate became a successful product in no time. BitDefender and IObit technology and capabilities are combined in this comprehensive tool to grant some peace of mind in terms of protection. PC tune-up is as easy as it can get, letting your machine reach its optimum performance. IObit makes this application accessible for both technically savvy and beginning users providing powerful solutions for protection and maintenance tasks.

Installation

You must have at least 800 MHz processor or faster, 512 MB of RAM and 500 MB of free hard disk space. Win 8 is supported. No worries, installation is simple and straightforward. The wizard suggests you close all open applications. There are no surprises or unwanted bundled software in the pack. In fact, it would be odd for an IObit security pack to come with something of that kind.

Interface

Once installation is complete, the wizard introduces a very simple tutorial to get you familiar with features and at the end you get to choose the skin to personalize your tool. GUI represents a hi-tech approach in design and effects creating a confident and simple, yet elegant look. Users can choose between “Simple Mode” for beginners and “Expert Mode” for computer literate users and advanced geeks. Both modes are simple and transparent, though. The main window appears after the launch displaying your PC's health and notifying the user if any action is required. There is no need in searching for the intricate Menus and Settings, because the main features are on the surface – the Scan button is big and conspicuous, while the Menu is quite simple to sort out.

Pros

The option to choose between simple and expert mode is great for beginning users. Whoever is interested in enhancing his PC's health and protection has access to a powerful tool without possessing advanced tech skills. Expert mode reports to the user with the list of actions in progress: malware removal, privacy sweep, vulnerability fix, disk scan, junk files removal, registry defrag and fix, system optimization, etc. Advance System Care can be scheduled to run at specific time in the background, for example after you boot your PC. However, you will notice it's running, because it consumes some resources, so your PC may display certain delay in response. Many users will appreciate Turbo Boost mode that optimizes your PC for better gaming experience. Customization options allow you to adjust the tool to match your preferences and behavior.

ASC also offers a nifty widget that displays CPU and RAM usage. Click an arrow to expand the window and you will see the report in more details, as well as a button to start a scan. The widget is handy when you need to perform common ASC tasks.

“Rescue” tool is another smart feature in this pack. Its main aim is to create system and registry files restore points you might need in case something goes wrong. It is available in paid version.

Virus scanner in ASC Ultimate runs smoothly with other antivirus scanners, but it disables Windows Defender. A combination of BitDefender's technology with IObit's malware detection engine provides a powerful virus detection for your peace of mind. Internet booster speeds up browsing. ASC can also download Windows system updates.

Cons

ASC Ultimate strains system resources, so you basically need to put your work on hold while the scan is running. However, 20 minutes of a regular scan is worth waiting for if you get security and protection in return. Even when system scan was not running, Comodo IceDragon and Mozilla Firefox got somewhat slower.

System recovery tools are quite basic.

Alternatives

CCleaner is a system optimization/cleaning app that removes unused files and clears your Internet history. AVG has a free version of anti-virus protection that also offers some nifty tools with it.

Conclusion

Advanced System Care Ultimate is undoubtedly a marketed product with an excellent support team and a comprehensive suite of smart tools to protect, monitor and optimize your Windows PC. Ease of use and impeccable reputation makes it easy to recommend IObit's products. Overall impression is quite positive with only a few complaints about slowing down the browsers. The app saves a lot of time and thinking out of maintenance issues.