{SOLVED} bleachbit

[poorguy]

hey all,

need to get some input about bleahbit. what i want to use it for is cleaning up browser history and that is all that i am interested in using it for as i know if not used with caution it can break a linux distro.

thanks.
the poorguy

[Habitual]

Useless.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 0#p1072690
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 7#p1070507

Most browsers allow you to clean up history in the browser.

[Flemur]

Check your browser settings.

Additionally for firefox you can:

Code: Select all

rm -rf ~/.cache/mozilla/*
rm -rf ~/.macromedia
rm -rf ~/.mozilla/firefox/profile-name/storage/temporary

[jimallyn]

I have seen people here on the Mint forums, 5 or 6 times now, complaining about how Bleachbit trashed their system. One guy called it princess, which seems appropriate, from the stories I have read here. You do what you like, it's your computer, but there is no way I would use Bleachbit on any of my computers.

[Crewp]

I have seen people here on the Mint forums, 5 or 6 times now, complaining about how Bleachbit trashed their system. One guy called it princess, which seems appropriate, from the stories I have read here. You do what you like, it's your computer, but there is no way I would use Bleachbit on any of my computers.

I agree totally, just use the settings in your browser as stated above if that's all you are concerned with.

[Cosmo.]

If you really want to clean anything: Remove this software wrecking ball. The best cleaning activity ever. Some call it malware, that does not deserve to be in the official repositories, I call it malicious software. And as - as others here already noted - that what you want to do can be done without that software, it is for you quite obviously superfluous. Or would you take in your bathroom a second peace of soap in your hand, just to clean your face or your hands?

[poorguy]

ok well this is what i was wanting to know.
i to have read all of the horror stories that bleachbit has caused.
i was just curious about what i would find here on the forums.
it doesn't sound like a program would have any benefit to install and use.

thanks.
the poorguy

[daveinuk]

There's using it blindly, and finding out what things do, if you use it blindly, good luck, if you learn what the features are for and which way to use them, it's a tool that can come in useful. You can also tweak your browser settings, and other settings to do some of the 'work' for you and if you look into cleaning things up manually, you'll find you can do almost all of what bleachbit does yourself. You'll also find that Linux doesn't attract as much crud as MS does so therefore you don't collect enough to need cleaning half the time, but bleachbit in itself is not the devil.

[poorguy]

i believe it is a tool that one needs to understand fully before using.
in windows i have use ccleaner and it is already configured with the bare defaults and unless you know how to use it, it can destroy a OS very quickly.
i was just wanting input on bleachbit and i found some here.
i am one who does major research on software as bleachbit before i jump in and use it.
there is quite a lot of info on bleachbit and also a lot that needs to be understood before using it.
i am going to do more looking and learning about bleachbit as i don't do things blindly.
my linux distros function perfectly and i am not willing to destroy them.

thanks for the input and sounds that bleachbit could be useful providing that the user understands the features of bleachbit and how to use it wisely.

the poorguy

[daveinuk]

It's one of those things where i think in the first few years of using Linux after windows, you kind of look to things you used to do and look for things you used to do, you almost start to forget about them for a while, then one day you thing, oh sh** I've not de-fragmented in a year ! So you start looking up fragmentation on google and get all sorts of wondrous info's . . . . . . . then one day you think, oh sh** i've got no anti virus and you start looking up viruses for linux on google . . . . . .. . and so it goes, until you read enough to realise that all those things that seemed so important on windows are now largely insignificant on Linux and you can chill a bit more and not be so alarmed. Your backs already covered

[poorguy]

can somewhat relate to that.
did know that i didn't have to defrag or need antivirus was just wanting a little extra browser cleaning as i think even browsers in linux can get cluttered and full of crap after all it's still fire fox.

the poorguy

[Fred Barclay]

Pjotr has done a writeup on how you can clean Mint safely: https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/4
The guide also shows how you can keep Firefox from keeping the cookies, etc, in the first place.

[poorguy]

i have seen that article in easy linux tips project and that is what prompted me to investigate bleachbit.
i have used alot of info from easy linux tips project and find that it is a useful resource to have and use.

the poorguy

[helloimustbegoing]

I've used Bleachbit since week one of using Linux Mint. . . I've never had a problem with it. I carefully read every option of what to clean and only checked those I was sure wouldn't cause problems. It's not hard to properly use Bleachbit; why clean manually when you can do it with only a few mouse clicks?

If there are certain options that cause problems (like wipe free space) why doesn't somebody contact the developer and ask him/her to fix it?

[Fred Barclay]

I've used Bleachbit since week one of using Linux Mint. . . I've never had a problem with it. I carefully read every option of what to clean and only checked those I was sure wouldn't cause problems. It's not hard to properly use Bleachbit; why clean manually when you can do it with only a few mouse clicks?

If there are certain options that cause problems (like wipe free space) why doesn't somebody contact the developer and ask him/her to fix it?

I've used it too with no ill effects (though I don't now.) I think the problem is not so much using it as it is using it without knowing precisely what is safe and what isn't. It's like guns, or electricity, or even bicycles. If used properly and carefully, it (I'm sure) has some value. If used carelessly, you'll cause problems.
That's my take on it, anyway.

[poorguy]

the more that i investigate the more i find that bleachbit isn't the bad tool that all of the horror stories say it is. it does seem that one needs to understand its features and what they do before using this powerful tool. there is a wealth of information on how to use bleachbit and exactly what should be used with caution. this is why i go to forums so to get all the different opinions which gets me started searching to establish my own.

the poorguy

[Derek_S]

Hello poorguy - I guess I'm the exception to the rule. I've been using Bleachbit for over 2 years now with no issues. Instead of using the version that's available from Synaptic, I prefer to download and install the newer version from Sourceforge: http://bleachbit.sourceforge.net/download/linux

To install, all you have to do is right-click the .deb file, select "Open with GDebi package installer", and click the tab "Install Package". Don't let the progress bar confuse you, because it makes two or three passes before the installation is actually complete. When you see the tabs marked "Reinstall Package" and "Remove Package" appear, then you're certain it's done.

As you stated, it's knowing which items are safe to check and which ones should be left alone. You probably already know that Bleachbit can be run as User and as Administrator. Here's a summary of how I set up Bleachbit to run as User:

1.) APT - Don't check anything here. I prefer to use "sudo apt-get autoclean" and "sudo apt-get autoremove" so I can observe what's going on inside the Terminal when I run these commands.

2.) Bash - Check this to clear your history of Terminal commands.

3.) Chromium - Check everything here except passwords.

4.) Deep Scan - Don't check anything here.

5.) Firefox - Check everything here except crash reports and passwords.

6.) Flash - Check everything here.

7.) Libre Office - Check everything here.

8.) System - Don't check anything here when running as User; instead, I enable some of these when running as Administrator; see below***

9.) VLC Media Player - Check everything here.

10.) X11 Debug Logs - Don't check anything here.

***Running Bleachbit as Administrator:

1.) APT - Again, do not check anything here.

2.) Deep Scan - Again, do not check anything here.

3.) System - Here I'm very conservative. I only check broken desktop files, clipboard, recent documents list, temporary files, and trash. Leave everything else unchecked.

I think the most common problem is when people choose to use clean "Free Disk Space" because they are not aware of exactly how this works or how long it takes. It works by filling the entire free space with data and then deleting it, and this is a very lengthy process. For example, one disk I use is a mere 160GB in size, yet it takes 45-50 minutes to wipe the free space. Now multiply this by 3 for a 500GB drive and by 6 for a 1TB drive. When people get impatient and cancel the wipe operation, they find their disk filled with hundreds of GB worth of files, sometimes to the point where the root partition is nearly filled and the system is in risk of crashing. They then have to track down and delete these files manually. Or they can start another wipe operation, be patient, and let it complete.

[poorguy]

hey derick,

thanks for the guide very good info to have.
yeah as far as downloads i generally use synaptic but sometimes there is a newer version that is available and sourceforge is a reliable resource so yeah i don't have any issues with downloads from them.
as with everything do the research. i sometimes think people are afraid to research and learn something new but i am not.
yeah my whole intent is easy browser cleaning.
linux from what i read doesn't get clutter like windows and therefore doesn't need the cleaning like a windows box always requires.
https://camo.githubusercontent.com/fd8f ... 322e706e67
i thought this was a good idea and don't know why it isn't available in other distros this is from linux lite 2.2 LTS.

the poorguy

[Tar_Ni]

Useless.
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 0#p1072690
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 7#p1070507

Most browsers allow you to clean up history in the browser.

BleachBit, like Ccleaner on Windows is more efficient than what the Firefox or Chromium history settings allows.

It's a deeper cleansing. It can remove HTML5 DOM stockage, old crash & health reports, LSO cookies, Zombie cookies, Optimize database ect.

I don't use it to bleach the entire system but it's useful to remove junk files and cookies from apps such as Firefox, Chrome, Adobe Flash, VLC..

[poorguy]

that is what i would be using it to do and only things as such if i chose to use it. it does look like a useful tool to use once you understand how to use the features of the tool.