System Mechanic Free

System Mechanic Free does an excellent job of optimizing your computer's performance and protecting you from viruses. Though it's not easy to set up by any means, the number of features tucked away inside of this program is too good to pass up. It doesn't hurt that the program sports a nifty, easy-to-use layout, either.

This program handles just about any task you'd need to perform to boost your computer's performance. In addition to the typical virus and malware protection, it offers performance scans, memory and Registry clean-ups, and other boosts that will keep your computer fast and error free. Before you can get started, the program offers a "quick" scan that took more than 20 minutes during our testing, which was a little annoying. Once we got past that, we were able to set up routine cleaning tasks -- so the program wasn't so much of a time suck -- and a slew of bonus features that offered performance boosts and other goodies. All of the app's goodies are easy to find, thanks to a menu that seamlessly blends style and usability. This program's default installation makes you download a widget and sign up for e-mails about the program, so make sure you opt out of that if you don't want them.

While it may not outperform anti-virus software at killing viruses or utility software at cleaning up your PC, it does both just well enough to make the grade. Since it rolls both of those features up in an impressively polished, easy-to-use package, it's definitely worth the download. System Mechanic Free will impress rookie users and hardcore computer geeks, equally.