64-bit virus scanner, 64-bit reg. cleaner?

[Crunch]

Hey all...I am used to using WinASO for cleaning my registry. Their latest version (3.2) is still not 64-bit capable. My guess is that I should use a 64-bit registry cleaner?? What do you guys use and recommend?

Same for virus scanning. I have a license for AVG Professional. No 64-bit one available, so I'm running a trial version of eset nod32, which has a 64-bit version, and works very well. Again, which one do you guys use/recommend? Should I buy a license for nod32, or can I use my paid-for AVG 32-bit one?

Finally, is it important to have an x64 virus scanner, as well as an x64 reg. cleaner, or would I be able to use 32-bit versions of each???

Thanks!

[scoot1212]

Avast works on x64 Vista and it's free.

Scott

[Aroc]

Avast was one of the first with x64 support, I believe. I also have experience with McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i (patch 4 and patch 5). Both the free versions of Avast and the commercial versions of VSE 8.5i work just fine under x64. I haven't tried any others under x64.

Registry cleaners, IMO, are a throw back to the Win9x days. On NT-style platforms (2000, XP, W2k3, Vista) registry cleaners are either simply not needed, a waste of time, or even potenially dangerous. I'd say there's no real gain to using one (the extra, obsolete information contained in the registy appears to just be simply ignored by the O/S in nearly all cases and does not in any way contribute to system instability). IME, of course. But that's my professional opinion.

[erik]

AVG works perfectly fine under 64-bit.   that's what i use and i could care less whether it's 64-bit native so long as it's compatible (which it is).

the only software that you should even remotely care about being 64-bit native are ones that are processor- and/or memory-intensive.   something as simple as a virus scanner, registry cleaner, or web browser don't need to be 64-bit whatsoever to work quickly or efficiently under WoW emulation.

it'll take another year or two before today's 32-bit apps are finally ported to 64-bit.   in the meantime, don't worry about it.

[bill bolton]

registry cleaners are either simply not needed, a waste of time, or even potenially dangerous.

[snip]

the extra, obsolete information contained in the registy appears to just be simply ignored by the O/S in nearly all cases

The point is that it is not ignored in "all cases", and in my professional experience its not by any means even "nearly all cases".

Registry cleaners do fulfil a very useful purpose when used in an appropriate manner.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Aroc]

Mr. Bolton,

I don't mind if you disagree with me since everyone comes here with different experiences and different needs. It's what makes this such a good community. I still stand my my original suggestions though.

I figured my statements might be controversial in the enthusiast sector -- who by and large seem to over prescribe registry scanners - all IMO, of course. I was hoping it might open some candid discussion on registry cleaners. Of course, neither of us nor the OP knows if or when the other would prescribe a registry cleaner for use on a system. Everyone else is supporting a vastly different fleet of computers with different circumstances. My main issue, and perhaps this was not the intention of the OP, was that I would hesitate to recommend Antivirus and registry cleaning in the same breath. To me, that would aritificially elevate the importance of the registry cleaner in its role of ongoing or preventative maintenace - which I don't believe accurately reflects what I'm seeing in 2008.

I do think the tool does have its place, as I suggested, from what I can see we may be disagreeing on frequency of the need for a registry cleaner, which is to be expected given our different experiences. Had I seen what you have seen, I would probably agree with you. However, right now I can't really recommend them outside of a few perhaps very specific isolated cases.

I'm glad you took the time to respond.

Regards,
Aaron

[Crunch]

Hi Aaron,

I am the OP, and I have used registry cleaners for a few years. I know that broken links, and wrong paths are not entries that need cleansing. However, in certain scenarios, a registry cleaner is very important, or at the very least recommended. I think we've all had some "leftovers" from an uninstalled application generate an error eeeeeeeeeevery time we boot the system. Harmful? No. Annoyingl, and disruptive? Very!

I have also seen my registry cleaner save me from having to re-install the entire operating system, as it would not let me install an application after I had experimented a little too much again, had it not been for WinASO, which is not free, but more conservative, and not as intrusive, as Registry Mechanic, for example.

And my question was not as to whether or not to use one at all, but rather if an x64 one was going to be necessary, which it apparently isn't. Based on the responses so far, I'll either go with what I had been using on my former x86 Vista, AVG, or avast, which also has a free one, but in 64-bit. I much prefer the UI of AVG, so I'll likely go with it vs. avast.