Piriform Software

Piriform Software Ltd. is a British software company based in London, owned since 2017 by Avast which itself became part of Gen Digital in 2022. The company develops cleaning and optimisation tools for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Android operating systems, including CCleaner, CCleaner Browser, Defraggler, Recuva and Speccy. On 22 September 2015, Piriform launched CCleaner Cloud, a tool to maintain computers remotely.

History

The company was founded in 2004.

The name Piriform means "shaped like a pear," possibly referring to the British slang "to go pear-shaped".

CCleaner was launched in 2004 by founders Guy Saner and Lindsey Whelan. In July 2017, Piriform Ltd was acquired by Avast.

In September 2017, researchers discovered that CCleaner was compromised by hackers who inserted a backdoor into the software, enabling remote access to infected machines. The malware was in version 5.33 of CCleaner, prior to the acquisition by Avast. Avast quickly fixed the vulnerability and required version 5.33 users to update immediately.

CCleaner

CCleaner is computer cleaning software featuring MacOS and Windows versions. CCleaner has the option to clean computer browser software including Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox as well as a computer system's temporary files. It has a separate tab to clean the registry. (A potential backup of regedit is available.) CCleaner's other tools include editing and uninstalling programs, editing the operating system's startup apps and editing browser plugins. It can analyse hard disks individually to determine which files are taking the most space. It can search for duplicate files to help reduce drive storage space. It allows one to quickly access system restore points, and it can wipe clean the free space on individual drives to completely remove deleted files. In addition, CCleaner can automatically update computer software and drivers.

Piriform also distributes a web browser called CCleaner Browser, included as an optional add-on included within the CCleaner installer. The browser, built on Google's free and open-source project Chromium, includes built-in ad blocking and anti-tracking features. The browser is only available for Microsoft Windows. The browser is identical to Avast Secure Browser, which is also owned by Piriform's parent company, Gen Digital.

CCleaner also develops a tool called Kamo, which feeds trackers fake information to help stop a 'digital fingerprint' (a unique fingerprint that can be used to identify and track people) from being created. It supposedly makes websites and advertisers less able to show targeted ads, recommendations and price increases.