Window Washer - Opinions

"Window Washer Wipes Your Web Slate"
By Larry Blasko
Associated Press Writer
Software reviewing is reaching into your Christmas stocking every day of the year, most of them to discover a lump of coal. But every now and then, you find a diamond.

The latest diamond to surface from the stocking is called Window Washer from a Boulder, Colo., company called Webroot.com, and it's a very nifty little utility that addresses two important issues that arise when you use a PC or Mac (the Mac version is called MacWasher) on the internet.

The first issue is privacy. Traces of where you've been on the net can show in your browser cache, cookies, history and Windows document menus, recycle bin and temp directories. You can ferret that stuff out yourself, of course, but it can take some time. And you can miss stuff.

So if you would rather not share with a spouse your dogged pursuit of late-night studies in comparative anatomy, or your boss your visits to employment sites, Window Washer is worth considering. And for a system shared by many users in a family, it sounds like pretty much of a must.

The second issue is disk space, which sounds, at first, like a non-issue. How much space can a few cookies and temp files take?

Turns out, on both the home and office systems where Window Washer was tested, about four megabytes of space was recovered on the first run. And subsequent sessions routinely turned up saves of 50-100 kilobytes.

The software has a few bells and whistles, like automatic timed cleaning and the ability to assign files and folders to be cleaned. For the truly paranoid, the software can "bleach" removed files to Department of Defense standards by overwriting files with random characters up to ten times, making the erased data unrecoverable.

Installation, from a single floppy disk, was simple and smooth. The user interface is pleasant and easy to understand. If, for some reason, you tire of the product, it includes an uninstall module.

MacWasher and Window Washer are distributed via the web at http://www.webroot.com. The site allows you to download either for a free 30-days trial, after which the software just stops working. Or you can have a registered copy for $29.95, with software upgrades free for one year from date of purchase. If you wish, Webroot will also mail a diskette, but that costs an additional $5 for shipping and handling.

The web site is nicely done and doesn't assume the user has a doctorate in electrical engineering.

Window Washer wants to see 16 megabytes of RAM and five of hard disk space for Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT 4.0. MacWasher wants to see Mac OS 8.0 or higher.

More User Opinions:

"Thank you for your prompt assistance re window washer problem and re-install. I wish all dot-com sites were as responsive and cooperative as yours. Thanks again!"
- Paul Byerly

"Wow, Window Washer is AWESOME...I LOVE IT!"
- Gary Schein the Host of the P. C. Club Hour on KSHP in Las Vegas

"I have just registered Window Washer. I wanted to offer my sincere appreciation for this fine utility. Not only does it offer me the security I want and need, but it is an elegantly executed and designed piece of software."
- Aron Sebastian, Software QA Engineer

"With security and privacy being important issues these days, the Webroot software is a real blessing. The user menu is very well laid out. This is honestly the best cookie manager we have seen."
- John Victor, Vice-President of Western New York Computer Society

"I tried Window Washer myself and it worked 100% as promised, no problems with installing or running it. As a matter of fact, I discovered how important eliminating cookies can be. The value of Window Washer cannot be understated."
- David Burke, Coastal Area Users Group

"I am writing to say how much I have appreciated using your Window Washer. It does all you claim for it and is wonderfully useful. It is certainly the most valuable piece of software I have bought and I use it daily. Congratulations!"
- Professor Philip Burnard

"Window Washer is an absolute must for anyone who values his or her privacy. I can now search the net with total confidence that my anonyminity is 100% preserved. This is the only online software purchase I've made because I am able to download and run it with total confidence. The download is quick, it's easy to install, select and set options, and easy to understand. I highly recommend this program for any user - beginner to expert."
- Kathleen O'Malley

">I have been using Window Washer for several months now and have nothing but praise for this software. It does everything that you claim and it is very easy to use for a computer non expert like me. I would recommend this as essential software to anyone. Especially impressive is the way it completely removes all records of caches, sites visited, etc. This software is so good it should be standard issue."
- Doug Longmire

"I love the program! It's easy to use, cleans up my computer with one touch of a button, and makes my computer run faster. What else could you ask for?"
- D. Taylor

"As a novice computer user, I have made many mistakes, but one thing I did do right was buy Window Washer. It has never failed me and continues to astonish me. "
- Jan LaFata

"I have tried your Window Washer and think it is most probably the best piece of software for functionality and ease of use that I have seen in a long long time."
- Trevor Bridgman

"I have been using your product for a month and am happy to report that I've found nothing to complain about and much to praise. This is a fantastic program. I've set the options to do what I want, when I want, and by God it does what I want when I want it to do it. Perfectly every time...I'm recommending this program to my students as one of the best deals on the net."
- Greg Ledford

"I just installed your Window Washer software, and to my pleasant surprise it cleared up 350MB of hard drive space. I had no idea there was so much junk on my system. Thanks for a great product."
- Steven R. Saunders

"I have found Window Washer to be most convenient and effective in cleaning out cache files and the like. Its superiority to other cleaners is that this one machine handles so many actions. I do not have to search continually through my files to find the right one for the right application. And it's fun to watch the files being cleaned on the pop up window and in such a quick manner. Thank you again."
- John M. Poletto

"This is the answer to a surfer's prayer. I tried it one day and bought it the next. Having previously used 'Unmodify' and Paul Mayer's 'Cache Killer Pro', this program waxes the lot. Brilliant! The plug-ins are useful and make it child's play to extend Window Washer's properties even further. Cookie setters eat your hearts out."
- Peter Dutton

"Thanks for you assistance as I find that Webroot's Window Washer is a valuable piece of software. It's amazing how much hard disk space those Internet files take."
- Andrew Moffat

"Window Washer is exactly what I have been looking for to avoid the tedious process of manually tidying up the Internet Explorer files. Congratulations on a first class piece of software."
- Ian Langdown

"Just want to tell you Window Washer is working flawlessly and has saved me many gigabytes from the heretofore inaccessible caches plus dumping lots of unwanted cookies. I've recommended your site to several people."
- J.M. Preston

"Finally, a product that does what it says it does! Window Washer is great! It's fast, and most importantly, it does protect privacy and clear up hard disk space!! With a 2-Gig hard drive, my disk space is always at a premium. I downloaded the trial version of Window Washer yesterday, ran it, and went from 1 Gig of hard drive space to 1.7!!!! I registered it today!! Thanks for a great product!"
- John Russell

"Just wanted to let you know how much I really enjoy Window Washer. It's a terrific program and I tell all my friends about it. Keep up the great work!"
- Bonnie Greer

"Thank you so very much for your free upgrade to Window Washer 2.6 and also for the continued work on creating more plugins for Window Washer. I consider Window Washer to be the most valuable of all my Internet utilities."
- Bill Thompson

"Window Washer took moments to download and install. I would like to say that the quality of your software and customer relations are first class. I wish you every success."
- Chris Lidstone

"I've been using your Window Washer software for several months and am very happy with it's performance and the fact that it has not interfered with my other software. I just want to thank you for a product that delivers performance that is up to the advertising. "
- Julio Perez