CCleaner is in touch with MicrosoftĪvast has told us that they are in discussions with Microsoft to resolve this issue as soon as possible. It appears that only the free version of CCleaner is detected as PUA by Windows Defender and Windows 10 will block CCleaner until the installer itself comes with such software bundled by default.
Bundling of software, especially products from other providers that negatively impact the user experience fall under the category of PUA or PUP.ĬCleaner installer has been found bundling the following apps: Microsoft says CCleaner installer includes certain software, such as the Google Toolbar and Avast. Windows Defender also flags apps with ‘poor reputation’ as potentially unwanted program due to “certain kinds of undesirable behaviour”.
In support documentation, Microsoft noted that PUAs are not categorized as viruses, malware or other types of threats, but such as apps could “adversely affect endpoint performance or use” and offer to install other apps that qualify as PUA.
According to user reports, Windows Defender flags CCleaner as a Potentially Unwanted Program with alert level low, but the CCleaner is not detected as a threat to the system and users can still manually allow the app to run on their systems.
