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Does It Really Do That? Win Cleaner

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – There is nothing like the speed of a computer when it's just out of the box.

But, over time and with use, our computers slow down. For many, there's nothing more frustrating that having to wait to get online.

There are many products that claim they can clean your computer and get it back to that like-new speed.

KDKA-TV news anchor Jennifer Antkowiak worked with the Win Cleaner to answer the question - Does It Really Do That?

Ron Buckner has been in the computer industry for 15 years, the last couple, at KDKA-TV and CBS Radio, as one of the people in charge of keeping our computer systems up and running.

"As a kid, I was always one of those guys who liked to take things apart, and figure out how they work," he said.

Now, he's found a way to get paid for it. Over the years, Ron's seen a bunch of technical issues, and agrees that most frustrating for people is the slow, sluggish computer.

In an effort to help people eliminate those kinds of feelings, Ron agreed to help test the Win Cleaner. The commercial says one click, and it starts working automatically to clean junk, and get your computer running like new.

Ron just happened to have a slow running computer. He timed how long it took to get from boot up to connect to the Internet.

Ron said ideally, that process should take a minute, but it took this computer about two-and-a-half minutes.

Would the Win Cleaner clean the junk and restore the speed?

Ron's seen a lot of products that claim to help, and he shares that he's skeptical of lower-priced products that claim to do things that more expensive software would do.

"I wonder how can you do this so much cheaper?" he said.

Set-up is simple, just plug it into a USB port, and let it do its thing. It's supposed to be one click, and once you register the product with a code that comes in the packaging and select settings, you do click once to start the program. It shows a list of areas it's cleaning, and the progress.

Ron: "Now that I'm looking at it, it's not doing anything that other cleaners do.".

Jen: "Even free cleaners?"

Ron: "Yes."

When the Win Cleaner is done, it gives information about what it found on the computer, and what it wants to clean. Ron accepts those changes, and clicks to allow the product to "securely destroy" the things it suggests to restore speed to the system.

Ron powers down, and starts it back up ready to see if there's a time difference.

He sees it's running about five seconds faster at the beginning, but in the end, it takes just as long for the computer to start up and get him to the Internet.

So, the Win Cleaner claims to make your computer run like new with one click.

Does it really do that?

"I'd give it a thumbs down," Ron said, telling Jen he didn't see it doing anything that people wouldn't be able to find for free.

Win Cleaner is available online and in stores for $19.99.

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