An item about cleaning out your computer in Etan Horowitz’s User’s Guide column on the front of Saturday’s Tech Support section may have left unclear which files can be deleted safely. Computer users should delete only those .exe or .dmg files used to install programs. Such files usually contain the word “install” or “installer.” Users should not delete files that run computer programs. Link
Here’s the text that has been added to the online version of the offending article:
An earlier version of this column may have given the wrong impression about deleting .exe files as a way to clean up your computer. This may have been misinterpreted as an instruction to delete ‘all’ .exe files which was not my intention. You should be very careful when deleting these files and only delete ones that you are sure were used to install a program. A good way to identify these files is if the filename contains the word ‘install’ or ‘installer.’ These installer .exe files are typically downloaded from the Internet, often saved to your desktop and should not be confused with the .exe files used to run programs on your computer. If you have any doubt as to whether an .exe file should be deleted or not, don’t delete it. Deleting the wrong .exe files can seriously harm your PC. Link
Thanks, Rick!
