Microsoft is taking on CCleaner to help your PC in a future Windows 11 update

PC Manager is in testing and could be available soon

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Microsoftis reportedly working on its own utility to help maintain yourPCby recommending certain settings and deleting unused files and apps to help save space for a futureWindows 11update.

According toWindows Latest, it’s available on the Microsoft Store as a public beta, but the company seems to have hidden its availability for now.

Regardless, we were able to obtain a version of PC Manager and try it out for ourselves. While a third of its features refused to work, we could stop apps from running, while the ‘Boost’ feature was able to remove a bunch of temporary files, showing how much space it freed up. Such a clean-up job is typically handled by third-party products likeCCleaner.

Microsoft Defender could be due for a big update

Microsoft’s app already works well, regardless of it crashing (it’s clearly unfinished) but it’s fast and could eventually be a great feature forWindows 11.

It’s telling that Microsoft has decided to expand itsDefender suite, which was meant to rival McAfee and Norton back in the days of Windows XP. Going to the ‘About’ page showsMicrosoft Defender, so it could arrive as a new version of the company’s anti-virus suite in 2023.

So far, PC Manager is a promising start from Microsoft, which could signal that the company wants to double down on helping the user better manage their PC and delete files that are safe to remove, without them having to go deep into system folders.

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Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he’s written a book, ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’. His second book, ‘50 Years of Boss Fights’, came out in 2024, with a third book coming in 2025. He also has a newsletter called ‘Springboard’. He’s usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that’s about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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