51 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said:

P.s., the registry cleaners aren’t really necessary these days unless you’re running really sketchy apps. And some are rumored to be spyware themselves, etc. 

id generally advise to avoid them (and crappy software!). 

Great advise. I used to think that all of the "errors" it reported after doing the scan was so important! I was young then, (30"s). I just turned 67!!! And you're right, they are most likely spyware.

Thank you for the responses!

Mike 

8 hours ago, simaddict said:

Also, would you use any software that scans your registry for errors, or should I just not be concerned?

Absolutely stay a million miles away from “Cleaner” tools and anything that wants to “optimize” your registry. 

Edited December 11, 2025Dec 11 by SayAgain

In the old days, Windows used to degrade over time.  It took effort just to keep it maintained, and I'd usually end up reinstalling every year or two.  With 10 and now Win 11, there's lots of criticisms, but I find that if you don't break it, it keeps working.  Keep your drivers up to date and patches and you're good.  If you really want to be proactive, you can run the system file checker tool.  If you ever get an update stuck, occasionally this command will resolve it.  Nothing to install, just open a command prompt as admin and copy/paste the commands.  

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files-79aa86cb-ca52-166a-92a3-966e85d4094e

Worst case, it just runs and does nothing.  

Some of the Tools I use frequently:

CMD run as admin — SFC /SCANNOW (run this at least once a week)

CMD run as admin - DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

CMD run as admin - DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

CMD run as admin - DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Resource Monitor - provides process to IP connectivity so you can check any connectivity that seem suspicious, however, if you have a malicious rootkit then that traffic can be hidden from Resource Monitor.

Run Windows Updates at least once a week.

All the above are provided by Win11.

If you want more protection there are a slew of IDS tools (Intrusion Detection System) but are focused more on the corporate environment.  This is usually pay as you go service.

Windows Defender has improved over the decades.  I use Windows Defender for Firewall control and MalwareBytes for anti-virus and malware.  Unfortunately some websites you’ll need to allow specific features in order for them to work … case by case basis and relatively easy to allow under MalwareBytes Browser Guard setting.  

For monitoring local storage, you can add file or folder exceptions so they aren’t scanned and/or monitored.

 

42 minutes ago, kerosene31 said:

With 10 and now Win 11, there's lots of criticisms, but I find that if you don't break it, it keeps working.

Yep.

my daily work machine is a 6 year old gaming rig still running the original OEM Windows install, plus an in-place upgrade to Pro, plus an in-place upgrade to Windows 11. 

as solid and stable as a bank vault. 👍

Spending money on a 3rd party anti-virus service is quite literally, throwing your money away.

That's been the case for almost 10 years now.  It mystifies my how anyone can still consider clogging up their system with these bloated, utterly redundant programs.

Third party security software is one of the primary reasons BSOD's still exist. The other two reasons are bad drivers and hardware failures. AFAIK, this is all a remnant of the antitrust lawsuits filed against Microsoft back in the day. MS is basically required to provide kernel level access to these AV companies or they threaten lawsuits. Remember the CrowdStrike bug that brought PCs across the world to their knees last year? Never would have happened if CrowdStrike didn't have kernel access. This is also why you don't see these types of failures on MacOS

In the enterprise space there is Defender for Endpoint, which leans on the Azure infrastructure and AI to detect threats. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't offer the same level of sophistication for end users, but the following should be all you need:

• Built-in Windows Defender with automatic updates for Windows enabled
• Keeping your browsers and other important software up to date
• A good adblocker enabled in all of your browsers (this one is important as malware is often delivered through compromised ads that show up during common Google searches... I recommend uBlock Origin/Origin light)
• Someone else recommended DNS-level protection and I concur... I like quad9 over CloudFlare for privacy reasons, but both offer DNS servers with built-in malware blacklists
• Power users can look into AdGuard, ControlD or PiHole for more robust adware/phishing/malware protection
• ...and most importantly, a dose of common sense when you're clicking links or opening attachments!

Thank you ALL for the responses!! Just to close the loop on this, I uninstalled WEBROOT and just had the "Cleanest" flight I've had in forever. 

The WEBROOT  office is 2 blocks from KBJC in Broomfield CO.

Nice addon BTW.

dd

The company I work for (an automotive component factory) has some (IMO) overzealous security policies that make me wonder if I am working for them or for the Pentagon. But they rely on Defender for AV. I'm sure I can trust Defender too.