I saw a commercial on TV today for Finallyfast.com. A free “Microsoft Certified” computer scanner that assured me it would make my slow computer fast, as it showed video clips of users getting error messages and BSOD’s on both PC’s and Mac’s. I decided I’d give it a try and write a review.
They seem have a decent website, and a small file size for their installer. Downloading and installing was problem free, and everything ran smoothly.
After the install completes, you have an option to scan your computer on these areas:
Registry Errors, Missing Windows Shortcuts, Missing Shared Files, Missing Application Paths, Missing Fonts, Missing Help Files, Invalid File Extentions, and Device Driver Errors.
The scan took about 10 minutes, and I had a few errors in several places. I had 16 Registry Errors, 697 MIssing Windows Shortcuts (Whatever that means), 6 Missing Shared Files (Missing shared files?), and 41 Invalid File Extensions. You can review the results, and it will show you a breakdown of each error it found per catagory. I noticed that some important File Extensions were in the list of errors. Someone who may not know file extensions very well may run into some problems after this.
Now here’s where they get you. In order to remove all the errors it finds (most of which I think were phoney), you have to purchase a username and password for $30 from their website.
The Verdict:
From what I experienced, it seemed to be just another average spyware scanner that does a few more things (if those “free more things” are even problems or not). You may give it a try, as it seems like it’s a legit piece of software. It probably would do what it said, and increase the performance of your computer.
Many times installing free stuff like that only gets you into more problems (my boss had a laptop where he had downloaded an Anti Virus solution that was 100% fake, and was actually a virus itsself). My suggestion, research Adaware SE, and Spybot Search and Destroy as they pretty much do exactly the same thing, except for free.