You've probably heard that one way how to speed up your computer is to clean up your registry. Over time the registry builds up junk. Programs that you remove don't always uninstall cleanly. Spyware and other malware can insert entries into your registry which may not get totally cleaned out even if you do get rid of the bad stuff.

However this is only part of the process of how to speed up your computer and optimize your PC's performance. Yet it gets a great deal of press and a lot of people do buy stand alone registry cleaners. What I've got here is a list of the top three registry "fixer" programs (according to ClickBank statistics). Check them out if you are interested. You'll discover some interesting things. All three of these products offer a free and immediate download. RegCure, Registry Fix and the RegistrySmart registry cleaners are not free programs. What they are offering is a free scan. You would need to buy the product to get the problems revealed by the scan fixed.

As I said, all three of these are top sellers from ClickBank which means that they will not be loading any spyware since they wouldn't stay long on ClickBank after the first complaint or two. It also should mean that they do their job or people would be getting refunds and complaining loudly. Each has similar features. The prices - which are not shown on the pages - are in the $35 to $40 range.

Since you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't want to speed up your computer, you also need to decide how you want to go about it. Since one major factor is the state of your registry, you might want to check these programs as well as Fast PC Secrets.

Do I recommend any of them? Not really and it isn't because they don't work. I'm sure they work fine. But I do think Fast PC Secrets does more for you - it's not just a one-trick pony. These 3 programs basically just clean your registry and leave you with a bunch of other tasks you still need to learn about and do to keep your PC running fast and smoothly. But some people have a strong preference for commercial programs optimized for a single purpose. And these are the three most popular registry cleaners in today's marketplace, if you'd like to check them out.

Top Selling Registry Cleaners from ClickBank - Computers and Internet (01/16/2008):

#2 RegCure

#4 RegistryFix

#6 RegistrySmart

I have a preference for learning something and understanding what I'm doing and why - it helps me to actually carry out things like regular maintenance. If it's something I'm unclear about I also like a step-by-step easy to follow set of procedures. And I'd rather have both video and written procedures rather than either one alone. I also don't see a real good reason to have to purchase a bunch of stuff to handle what I see as a single objective - in this case, how to speed up my computer. I've been successfully using Fast PC Secrets for 8 months or so now. The procedures work and I didn't have to spend any additional money on other programs or guides.

The one area where I have some differences with the method in Fast PC Secrets is with regard to anti-spyware programs. With my particular machine leaving the anti-spyware running all the time slowed my machine down. When that happened I contacted support and got a quick response suggesting just doing anti-spyware scans weekly or as needed. With too many resident programs using up processor time and memory and with my machine's hardware configuration and the way I work (right now I have 6 applications running and a few minutes ago I had 9), it works much better for me to just scan on an as needed basis. As well as doing that I also do a couple other things for spyware and adware which I'll be going into in a later post.