If you want to keep your PC in good condition and running as smoothly as the very first day you switched it on, you've got two options: either you download a dozen different system optimization apps or you just use TuneUp Utilities, a nice piece of software that has turned into an essential maintenance toolkit for your PC.

The new version of TuneUp Utilities brings many exciting new features that make the program even better. It has not only improved many of the tools included in previous editions, but has also added new ones such as a defrag tool or a repair wizard. Also, you'll notice a completely revamped interface which makes the program even easier to use: tools are classified into several categories as usual, but now there are also direct links to the most frequently used ones. As for the other areas in the program, TuneUp 2008 maintains the same clear, intuitive and eye-catching design that has made it so popular among users.

The first thing you see when launching the program is a nagging window, a short message reminding you that this is not free software and that you have a 30 day trial period. It's a bit of a nuisance because it appears every time you run TuneUp, but no big deal.

Featured tools range from customizing the appearance of your Windows installation to editing the Registry and covering many important aspects of your system. You'll be able to optimize its overall performance, gain disk space by erasing useless files and even recover those documents you've deleted by accident. TuneUp can also generate a highly detailed report on the state of your PC. The good thing is that, no matter how many changes you make, you can always go back to your PC's previous state thanks to TuneUp Rescue Center.

TuneUp is seamlessly integrated into Windows. New commands are added to context menus to shred or undelete files in your Recycle Bin. Also, you'll find a new shortcut named "1-Click Maintenance" on the Desktop, which enables you to perform a quick maintenance check-up and which has also been optimized in TuneUp 2008. This is certainly a very handy tool which we recommend running every week as a periodic maintenance task.

TuneUp Utilities gathers pretty much all the maintenance and optimization tools you need into one efficient, easy-to-use application. You couldn't ask for more.