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Performance and verdict

Overall, PCKeeper is a light-weight tool that won't annoy you with pop-up windows. After stopping some unnecessary programs from running at startup as the resident expert suggested, I noticed that my boot-up is noticeably quicker. I can now open programs as soon as my Windows Desktop is loaded, whereas before I had to wait an excruciating 20 seconds just to open a Web browser, for example. Not only did PCKeeper Live help me get rid of the 19 GB of junk from my hard drive, it also automatically defragged my drives, which I appreciate.

There are some features that made me question whether they belong in an utility program. I found the Disk Explorer function unnecessary, as you can just open My Computer on your Desktop for the same information. While I like the ability to customize my right-click menu, I was frustrated by its interface: it's hard to know which sub-menu I was tweaking without a live demo where I could see my changes.

For a program that is supposed to be easy enough for non-geeks, PCKeeper Live lacks some of the finer usability touches that would take it from good to great. Although I was pleasantly surprised by all the different issues the Find & Fix feature can address in just one click, I would have appreciated additional explanations of what is being done to my computer. When I was using Duplicates Finder, I didn't know I had to click on the tiny blue triangles to select the files to delete. Also, the only reason I knew my Geek on Demand had answered my questions was because the support staff told me to search through my email for his response. Perhaps I should have asked our Geek to call me instead.

We liked

PCKeeper Live is one of the more attractive optimization tools available that doesn't overwhelm the user with obscure technical details. Find & Fix seems to be the only feature that you need to use to keep your computer in good shape, as it address everything from junk files to performance issues with just one button. The Kromtech support team is responsive and friendly, which makes you feel comfortable voicing even your silliest tech question or concern.

We disliked

When you consider the fact most of PCKeeper Live's optimization features are easily found on most free tools, and that some were simply not useful at all, the price for the Kromtech solution seems unreasonably high. At times, the program erred on the side of being too simple, so much so that we didn't know how to use each feature properly. Although our program snafu had more to do with our choice of antivirus software than PCKeeper Live, we wished Kromtech could have been more upfront about potential program conflicts and steps to avoid such problems.

Final verdict

Kromtech's friendly and easily accessible support team is what elevates PCKeeper Live from being an overpriced optimization tool to a product that you can recommend to someone who is less technically inclined, or a small business that just needs some basic tech support. Power users may find PCKeeper Live lacking in unique features like a real-time monitor or hardware control, or that its most useful features aren't much different than other tools on the market. That is why we feel PCKeeper Live would only appeal to users who want unlimited access to their own Geek, and have very modest optimization needs.