Some of them actually work really but if beware because most of the time these "free" softwares that supposedly monitor and clean your computer will bring home more trouble that it does taking them out. They sometimes install adwares and other BS third party applications than can make your computer run even worse. If I were you I'd stick to the default cleaning systems pre installed with Windows, Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter.
I have an inbuilt PC maintenance system and I use a Windows 8. I think it is very important to be able to use the maintenance system effectively, but till now I never had to use it. The software will check for any trouble in the system on a regular period of time and other than that it does not do anything else. It did not show any error in the system till now.
As Ohiiotom76 said, CCleaner is free and effective. My experience with other malware cleaning software is they lure you by saying that their program sis free. They then tell you that your PC has a dangerously high amount of malware on it, then tell you to pay for their service. CCleaner is free and actually cleans you registry and deletes malware, no strings attached. If I recall correctly, some of these "malware cleaning" software actually is malware, giving you ads on your internet browser and such. I suggest you delete any malware detecing software as soon as possible and install CCleaner instead.
You're right. Seems like 'all that those programs do' is access file-deletion functions that you can usually access on your computer anyway (and I wouldn't trust any program that deletes files you can't get to yourself anyway ) But I DO usually use the freeLog In program---not because I can't erase the files myself, but because of the convenience of erasing several different types of files (cookies, temp. files, index files, etc.) at the same time (plus, CCleaner tells you HOW MANY of these unneeded files you've got 'plugging-up your machine's pipes').
I feel like a lot of those programs are adware. A lot of them are designed to persuade you to upgrade the software to the "premium" version. This way, they make money. Also, these softwares really don't work very well; a lot of them perform fake checks that don't actually do anything. If you really want something that will find malware and speed up your computer in general, try out MBAM (Malwarebytes Anti-Malware). It's a pretty good program: it is arguably the best Anti-Malware software on the market that is really cheap for what it does. There is also a free version which is basically what the paid version does except has a few less perks. This may sound like an ad for MBAM, but I strongly recommend it. The other programs won't work, are potentially adware, can be annoying, and slow down your PC in general because they run in the background.
Malwarebytes AntiMalware and Spybot Search & Destroy are the two best options out there. I've been using both for what seems like an eternity and they've done exactly what they claim without hassle or forcing me to buy a professional upgrade. Any time I see an ad for another system utility, I will usually hit Cnet.com for reviews, just in case the home site is a scam. I never download utilities unless I've got my virtual machine or sandboxie running to reduce the chances of getting nailed by something nasty.
