Are Registry Cleaners Effective?

Registry cleaning software has seen a rise in users because of the ever populating viruses and malware floating around the net.  Registry cleaning programs exist for one reason: to help users who don't understand system hardware or the system registry but want to safely clean out malicious programs from their PCs.

Some people say registry cleaners are worthless; some say they get a lot out of it.  It all depends on what your needs are.

A registry cleaning program will go into your computer's registry, find malicious programs from malware, spyware, and viruses, and get rid of it.  Most registry cleaners also have added virus protection or system cleaning tools to help you keep your computer in ideal shape.

A registry cleaner can help you get rid of and prevent invasive operations on your computer.  Your system registry becomes cluttered over time with remnants from old programs or hardware you've installed, and the malware/viruses only make it more sluggish.  Because your registry is so vital to your computer's basic operations, having a cluttered, dirty registry means your computer will run more slowly in general.

So are registry cleaners really effective?  Are they worth investing in?  It basically depends on why your computer is running slowly.  If you primarily have malware and virus problems, it's best to find a good malware cleaner and antivirus program and do a thorough system scan/clean.   If you have a legitimate registry problem, you can either clean it yourself (which can be dangerous to your system if you don't know what you're doing), or you can get a registry cleaner.  It's essentially a question of time vs. money: would you rather take the time to learn how to fix it yourself, or get a program to do the work for you?