With the exception of the help file and an exit option that are in the menu, everything is available via the 9 tabs.
I checked the update tab and on clicking the update button the program downloaded a program update, which when auto-installed, did not change the version number. Curious, I checked for an update again. This time, the new malware database was downloaded. Everything proceeded without fuss.
Next in line is the scan tab. Here you have the option to do a "smart" scan, which is the default. This only checks the places threats would normally hide. Or there's a full scan, which checks the entire drives you select.
I went with the default scan and hit start. Scanning finished in 3 minutes 25 seconds, so things shouldn't take too long on your own system, depending on among other things, your hardware setup. If needed, you can pause/resume at any time, or stop.
On to the options tab: Here you can turn sounds on or off, and disable live news. The main focus though, is the heuristics setting. Here you can move a slider that will make the program more particular about detecting what could be called, virus-like activity. The more you move the slider to the "paranoid" end of the scale, the more activity that would normally be considered safe, may be flagged as bad. It's a trade off.
The reports tab is what its name suggests. It's where you check what's been detected, and are given the option to repair.
On the whitelist tab, you can add files or folders that you don't want included in a scan.
Quarantine is where removed malware is stored.
Log keeps a record of what the program has done since being started.
Finally, the about tab gives you some info regarding the vendor, registration status, as well as a means to submit a sample of what could be malware, and a means to report a false positive.
Should you want to uninstall The Cleaner , the program is removed in a flash.
The 7 experience:
Everything from the XP test above applies, except the scan only took 2 minutes 19 seconds. Something of a shock, since I expected it would be much longer!
