Slim Cleaner Plus. - Good or Bad?
Yesterday, we sacrificed a fresh Windows install to explicitly PC Keeper Test Results. Today, our target is Slim Cleaner Plus. Slim Cleaner Plus is software that normally requires the user to install it on their computer.
Slim Cleaner promises to extend your laptop battery & improve speed by removing junk from your computer.
So we again, Installed a fresh version of Windows. With no other software loaded, we immediately went to the Slim Cleaner website and clicked install Slim Cleaner Plus. Straight away, we were taken away from the Slim Cleaner website and landed on download . cnet . com. (Download . com used to be a great resource.) 3.5 Million downloads of the install file… yikes… it’d better be good.
After watching an Ad for Microsoft Forza 7, the download begins, the installer installs the program very quickly and I’m taken straight to a SlimWare utilities page offering more ‘free’ software. I close that down so I can look at the ‘Microsoft Gold Certified Partner’ application in all its glory.
On the surface, Slim Cleaner plus actually does look the goods. Being a new install, there’s not much for it to check so I decide to install a few more programs to see how it responds. Avast security, Google Chrome, & VLC media player. I notice immediately that Slim Cleaner has also installed ‘Driver Update’ This happened without warning me or asking if Driver Update should be installed.
I dig a little deeper and hit the online chat button and ask for some proof of Microsoft Gold certification and the reply I get is a copy and paste from the website. It’s not looking good. I ensure the live chat rep that I am a genuine buyer with proof of Microsoft accreditation citing ‘being careful online is important’ While I wait, I run a virus scan with AVAST, and to my surprise get a ‘clean’ result. (Avast isn’t strong on Malware Programs)
A few minutes pass and Scott, (the LiveChat representative) tells me “This means that our business and our developers meet the highest level of standards in developing software for Microsoft Windows” I dig a little deeper again and ask where I can verify the status they so proudly display… I’m then told, I can send an e-mail to their ‘info@’ email address for more questions. I am then told I can ‘buy’ SlimWare Utilities for a limited time offer of $27.97 by following the link provided and a full refund is offered for 60 days if I’m not happy… I’m quick to remind Scott that, If I do in fact buy the software, my credit card details are now in their system and reviews suggest refunds are typically difficult to get. “Is there anything else I can help you with Sir?” is then the only reply I got.
Is Slim Cleaner Malware? Our best guess is no… But our research does suggest it being a PUP, (Potentially Unwanted Program). The delivery system of SlimWare is a sneaky one, usually bundled in with other software like driver update or other SlimWare products. Once installed, it’s very much in your face with popups and reminders to ‘register’. Misleading marketing and sneaky tactics firmly place it in the be careful category. Put simply, we don’t trust the software or the company. Their evasive Live Chat strategy is a clear marker to me that something isn’t quite right. Reading some reviews, and it’s clear that other users think the same.
If you have SlimWare Utilities on your computer and would like it removed, let us know. We can do it onsite in Ballan, Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh, Daylesford and surrounding areas. If you’re not in these areas, we can help remotely. Give us a call on 03 5368 2611 to arrange a security check today.
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