What is a CCleaner key and where to find one legally?
A CCleaner key is your product license key that you receive when you purchase any of our paid software like CCleaner Professional. If you have been searching the internet because you want to use CCleaner Professional to speed up your PC and improve your online security, you may have come across software called “CCleaner Key”. None of our software is called by this name and is only available on illegal sites.
Confused? We understand; it can be tricky deciphering what’s real and what isn’t on the net. That’s because there are sites known as cracking sites. These sites promote paid-for software that they have taken from other companies (like CCleaner) and let you download it for free. Why would they do this? Usually to tempt you to their sites where malicious malware and viruses are waiting or so that you download infected software.
Let’s look at why this can be a serious problem and where to download CCleaner products safely including our free CCleaner PC cleaner.
Beware of pirated software online
The issue of fake and cracked keys and software is nothing new and it isn’t likely to go away. It’s just too easy and tempting for cybercriminals. You’ll see that some of these sites even offer the product license keys (like a CCleaner key) for life. However, cracked or pirated software doesn’t come with the regular updates (security and performance) that you get with registered software from an official source.
If you download “CCleaner Key” or any other software using our company’s name and a free CCleaner key from a warez site or via BitTorrent, your data and computer are at risk of the following issues:
- a ransomware attack
- malware or spyware on your computer
- a virus
- stolen credit card or bank information
- stolen website passwords or account details
- a keylogger recording what you type so cybercriminals can blackmail you
- personal data or files stolen
- other digital data stolen, like your web browsing history
What’s more, these rogue sites may have pop-ups or redirects that take you to a dangerous site that can infect your computer and pose all the issues mentioned above. The risk is simply too great because there is no way of telling which sites or pirated software downloads will lead to this.
How big is the problem anyway?
While consumers are definitely getting smarter when it comes to internet safety so are the hackers, unfortunately. Some of the latest figures compiled by DataProt suggest that:
- Every day there are 560,000 new pieces of malware found
- More than 1 billion malware programs exist
This just goes to show what a big business this is. DataProt has also compiled a list of the best antiviruses on the market. An antivirus is an essential part of your computer maintenance and security protection measures. There are good free and paid products around. A great free antivirus that DataProt lists and we always recommend is Avast because it’s simple to use and effective.
Another useful way to protect yourself is by using a combination of our CCleaner products which are there to clean, speed up, and boost your internet privacy.
Where to find or check a CCleaner key?
If you have purchased CCleaner software and are looking for your key you can contact us here and provide your email address so we can send your original CCleaner key to you.
If you are here because you’re looking for CCleaner Professional, great, you’re one step closer to a happier computer and safer online presence. Before we tell you how to download CCleaner Professional and get an original CCleaner key, have you tried out our free CCleaner product? It could be that you don’t need the full version with all of its bells and whistles, although we obviously love the tool as do many of our customers.
What is CCleaner free and where can I get it?
Our original CCleaner product is available to download here in an instant. It will help you and your computer in a number of ways:
- Control which apps use your computer’s resources
- Provide basic privacy protection
- Perform a basic health check on your PC and tune its performance
What is CCleaner Professional and where can I get it?
CCleaner Professional is our full-service PC cleaner and you can download it here. It comes with a 14-day free trial so you don’t need to commit to anything until you’re sure that you need it.
As we mentioned, both are free to download now and if you wanted to continue using CCleaner Professional after the trial period, you can choose from one of our subscription packages. Both our free and pro versions are very popular so try them out for yourself and see which is right for you.
We also recommend using a secure browser whenever you’re online. We created a free CCleaner Browser to help protect against identity theft, keep you anonymous online, and block annoying (and sometimes dangerous) ads. That’s just the tip of the iceberg and if want to find out more or start using it straight away, you’ll find everything you need to find out about CCleaner Browser here.