Windows 10 is notorious for sharing data with Microsoft in the interest of improving its services, so you might be pleased to know that Iolo System Mechanic Pro includes a set of tools for managing these settings. You can run System Shield manually whenever you like from within System Mechanic Pro (and it’s a good idea to do this the first time you install the software), but it can also run scheduled checks and provide real-time protection from threats.

After the initial installation, the software will keep itself updated with new virus definitions to ensure you’re always protected. You can defer this, but you’ll be left without antivirus software protection in the meantime. It's an incredibly useful feature.You’ll also be prompted to install the System Shield antivirus engine. Instant Alerts gave me the option to either keep the toolbar or uninstall it, so I removed it. In my tests, Instant Alerts triggered a pop-up window when it detected a browser toolbar (a toolbar that I didn't intentionally install, by the way). SlimCleaner Free lacks those features, as well as SlimCleaner Plus' ability to identify inactive or out-of-date antivirus software, and the new Instant Alerts, which leverages community recommendations to notify you that unwanted software (such as a toolbar that came packaged with an application) tries to insert itself into the bootup process.

If you're concerned about your digital footprint, this is a very useful feature. For example, you can nix the 'Getting to Know You' feature, which prevents Microsoft from gathering speech, contacts, and calendar information. SlimCleaner FreeIf you're wondering about the differences between SlimCleaner Plus and SlimCleaner Free, here's the skinny: SlimCleaner Plus has a one-click scan and fix button, laptop power-consumption settings, the ability to deactivate unneeded features for greater computing efficiency, and Windows 10-specific protection that lets you customize the operating system's privacy settings to disable, or limit, features that collect and report data to Microsoft.

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