CyberScrub Privacy suite Review

Review summary

Good points

Bad points

Our verdict

CyberScrub Privacy Suite offers privacy-protection capabilities that few competing programs are able to match. Fans of previous versions and new users will be quite satisfied with the features included in CyberScrub Privacy Suite Version 5.1.

Full review

These days, keeping personal information secure can be a challenge. CyberScrub claims that their privacy suite is capable of protecting privacy by deleting traces of online and offline computer usage. To find out whether or not this is true, we installed CyberScrub Privacy Suite Version 5.1 and put it to the test.

Setup

CyberScrub Privacy Suite Version 5.1 can be run on any Windows computer that has at least a 300MHz processor, 128MB of memory, and 20MB of free hard-drive space. On our computer, which easily met all system requirements, there were absolutely no installation problems. From start to finish, the installation took about 2 minutes to complete.

Internet cleaning

For clearing away all traces of Internet-related activities, few programs are as capable as CyberScrub Privacy Suite. CyberScrub can easily clear away all traces of web browsing, from cookies to download information. All popular browsers, with the exception of Google Chrome, are supported, and the clearing options for each browser can be customized by users.

In addition to browser-cleaning functions, CyberScrub features cleaning functions for peer-to-peer programs, instant-messaging applications, and e-mail clients. With these functions, users can easily erase all information concerning their downloads, online conversations, and e-mail communications. For example, CyberScrub can securely remove deleted e-mails, sent e-mails, and more from users' hard drives; it can even delete entire e-mail accounts.

PC cleaning

CyberScrub Privacy Suite is capable of cleaning private information from a wide range of popular offline applications. For instance, CyberScrub effectively removes traces of usage from several multimedia applications, such as Windows Media Player, by clearing playback histories, playlists, and file libraries. As with CyberScrub's Internet-cleaning options, the cleaning options for offline applications can be customized to meet each user's unique needs.

Also, to ensure that unwanted files cannot be retrieved, even by professionals, CyberScrub offers a powerful, comprehensive file-deletion utility. This utility can be used to completely and securely delete files that contain sensitive information, including their properties; it can even wipe the space occupied by previously deleted files to protect users' privacy. CyberScrub's file-deletion utility is so effective that it exceeds the Department of Defense's standards for the permanent erasure of digital information.

Safety

With the pre-configured options selected, CyberScrub Privacy Suite is safe and easy to use. It clears sensitive information from hard drives without affecting users' personal files. These settings will not delete essential system files, and they will not remove anything unexpectedly. With customized options, on the other hand, it is possible for users to delete important files unintentionally. However, since the information included with all customizable options is detailed and fairly easy to understand, unintentional file deletion should not be a major concern for most users.

Features

Shadow copy destruction – This feature removes the shadow copies of specific files to protect users' privacy without compromising their systems' back-up capabilities.

Cookie management – This feature protects certain cookies from deletion. By protecting useful cookies, such as those required for logging into websites, other cookies can be cleared without making Internet browsing inconvenient.

Third-party program support – CyberScrub supports a wide range of third-party applications. From Skype to VLC, CyberScrub Privacy Suite is capable of clearing personal information from all types of applications, and the list of supported programs is constantly growing.

Ease of use

Once the installation of CyberScrub was complete, we were greeted by the program's quick-start menu. This menu serves as an excellent introduction to a few of CyberScrub's most popular functions, and it describes each of these functions in an easy-to-understand manner. By default, this quick-start menu will pop up when CyberScrub is opened, but it can be disabled.

After closing the quick-start menu, we were left with CyberScrub's main menu. From this menu, users are able to access and customize each of CyberScrub's functions. Descriptions and instructions accompany most major functions, and this information is fairly detailed. Also, with pre-configured defaults and comprehensive customization options available, users of all experience levels will be able to use CyberScrub Privacy Suite easily and effectively.

Help & support

CyberScrub's customer support is good, but it is not quite as good as the support offered by many of its top competitors, such as Webroot. While CyberScrub's website does offer a section devoted to resolving common issues, it does not have an active forum. Similarly, while CyberScrub offers ticket-based e-mail support, they do not offer phone-based support, which is something that many software companies now offer for free.

Overall

CyberScrub Privacy Suite is an excellent privacy-protection program. It offers a wide range of tools that can be used to securely remove usage information from online and offline applications. Furthermore, with comprehensive file-deletion features and support for a wide range of third-party programs, CyberScrub contains everything that users need to keep their personal information safe.

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Overall
Setup
Internet cleaning
PC cleaning
Safety
Features
Ease of use
Help & support