CCleaner Pro "Lifetime" Licence - why has it expired?

[Dave CCleaner]

This thread has quite a few different topics in it. My response was to the most recent item. Most of the other matters have already been answered.

On the broad topic of people saying that their serials don't work when entered into the product, there are a number of reasons why this can happen:

• The most common is a mistranscribed serial key - typing a "2" instead of a "Z", etc. For customers who have purchased online, it is recommended that the serial key be copy-pasted from the email to avoid this.
• Putting the wrong information in the "name" field.  The CCleaner licensing system is a bit old, clunky and temperamental - you need to enter a name, not an email address and it's case sensitive to the capitalisation it has on record for you.
• Counterfeit keys.  There are quite a few of these sold by third parties for too-good-to-be-true prices. They tend not to work.
• Cancelled pirated keys. Periodically, we'll cancel keys that have been found to have been pirated.

No keys were cancelled just because the licences had expired, and retail keys will work on the downloaded software.  Indeed, I am currently using an old retail serial key at the moment, entered directly into version 5.56 which cheerfully auto-updated itself to 5.58.

If any of the bullet points above do not apply, then your key not working would be a bug not a feature.  @Derek_S DM me your key and I can get it checked out to see what is up with it.

 

 

[Derek_S]

1 hour ago, Dave CCleaner said:

This thread has quite a few different topics in it. My response was to the most recent item. Most of the other matters have already been answered.

On the broad topic of people saying that their serials don't work when entered into the product, there are a number of reasons why this can happen:

• The most common is a mistranscribed serial key - typing a "2" instead of a "Z", etc. For customers who have purchased online, it is recommended that the serial key be copy-pasted from the email to avoid this.
• Putting the wrong information in the "name" field.  The CCleaner licensing system is a bit old, clunky and temperamental - you need to enter a name, not an email address and it's case sensitive to the capitalisation it has on record for you.
• Counterfeit keys.  There are quite a few of these sold by third parties for too-good-to-be-true prices. They tend not to work.
• Cancelled pirated keys. Periodically, we'll cancel keys that have been found to have been pirated.

No keys were cancelled just because the licences had expired, and retail keys will work on the downloaded software.  Indeed, I am currently using an old retail serial key at the moment, entered directly into version 5.56 which cheerfully auto-updated itself to 5.58.

If any of the bullet points above do not apply, then your key not working would be a bug not a feature.  @Derek_S DM me your key and I can get it checked out to see what is up with it.

 

 

6 hours ago, Dave CCleaner said:

It is worth noting that CCleaner Pro being a one year licence is not exactly a new thing.

It was mentioned on the forum in 2013 ...

>Snip details for brevity>

And also back in 2012 ..

<snip>

... although what is relatively new is CCleaner actually telling people that they have expired.

Later this year, CCleaner will start sending less in the way of pop-up notifications to expired home users (particularly for those who expired in 2018 or earlier), relying more on making your status more prominent within the product console itself as a reminder instead.

I suspect you haven't read this whole thread through before posting. Whilst it's true Piriform were selling a one year licenced version then and I was aware of that before I bought my copy, they were also selling non time limited versions. Maybe those were only some of the ones sold through third party vendors as it seems most of the people complaining in this thread didn't buy the digital download version direct from Piriform.

I myself bought a sealed boxed version from a third party retailer, costing considerably more than the digital download because and in the full knowledge it wasn't a limited licence version.

[Sonartech]

1 hour ago, Dave CCleaner said:

 @Derek_S DM me your key and I can get it checked out to see what is up with it.

How bizarre.

Your response would seem to suggest that Piriform did, at one time in the past, actually offer a lifetime/perpetual license option (for owners of CD-based software).  This doesn't jive with anything previously discussed in this ridiculously long thread, nor does it jive with the software EULA at the time which no one (including myself) actually took the time to read.  According to the EULA(s), Piriform has always only ever sold CCLeaner as a 1 year subscription-based product, but they just never chose to enforce the subscription model.  That is a proven fact, and has absolutely nothing to do with how the software was delivered (download/CD) OR paid for.  Even Piriform's payment processor didn't know that CCleaner was a subscription-based product, and that detail wasn't advertised anywhere on Piriform's web site (except the EULA), in your payment receipt, or even in the software itself - again, because Piriform made the decision not to enforce the terms described in the EULA.  Then Avast comes along and starts trying to monetize anything not nailed down to the floor, and they discover this (small) detail - and set the trap that has ensnared so many of us.  

...and now you're telling us that there is/was such as thing as a lifetime perpetual license.

I for one no longer care.  I've successfully managed to burn Avast out of my company as a supplier; they are blacklisted for dishonest business practices.  They couldn't care less how many paying customers they burned with their shenanigans, and they've done absolutely nothing to show even basic remorse for their actions.  I'm quite happy to report that their indifference with me in this stupid affair has cost them a hell of a lot more then what I paid for CCleaner so long ago, and I will continue to steer people away from Avast's products every opportunity I get.

It's not like we made any of this up.  The history's all here for anyone who wants to read it.

[Derek_S]

Well, I just installed the 14 day trial on my backup PC and the serial appears to have worked. It now says that it's registered to me the same as my main PC does. It also says the Product Status is Expired - the same as my main PC. So I won't know for sure unless I leave it installed for 14 days. I have definitely had that serial number rejected twice in the past though. First of all when I got an email saying there was an updated version. I followed the link and installed it but it wouldn't accept the key. I had to delete the program, reinstall from the original disc and update within the program itself. More recently, I bought my wife a Windows 10 tablet for Christmas last year, which doesn't have a DVD drive, so I tried to install from the download. Once again, I got a system message that the serial number was invalid. Apps like CCleaner aren't important to her anyway so I uninstalled it.

As for there not being substantial differences between Free and Pro versions I'm sure there were some very relevant differences for me four years ago but unfortunately can't remember the details. I think it was to do with secure file deletion of custom folders and automatic ability to handle system files though. There must have been something as I'm not one to buy software when a free version that does the same thing is available.

So I uninstalled the CCleaner Pro that I just installed on my other PC and downloaded and installed the free version to see what the differences are. As you say, (Replying to Dave CCleaner) most of the features I need are in that too now. but Scheduling, prompting to clean, automatic browser cleaning, multiple users, automatic updates are all disabled and shown as Pro only.

[Stefke]

On 6/14/2019 at 14:17, Dave CCleaner said:

It is worth noting that CCleaner Pro being a one year licence is not exactly a new thing.

It was mentioned on the forum in 2013 ...

And also back in 2012 ...

... although what is relatively new is CCleaner actually telling people that they have expired.

Later this year, CCleaner will start sending less in the way of pop-up notifications to expired home users (particularly for those who expired in 2018 or earlier), relying more on making your status more prominent within the product console itself as a reminder instead.

I have no message on what was posted in the forum in 2012 or 2013. When I bought it in 2014, the word annual or expiration date did not appear on any page I saw or in any email I received. I also did not buy it from some obscure retailer, as suggested in some answers, but directly from the Piriform website.  If a company want to be honest with their clients, they put the important information clearly visible on the pages and not hidden in some obscure EULA that is almost impossible to read.

[lov2teach]

I bought the Pro version back in 2015.  I recently bought a new laptop and found out that I needed to upgrade the program so it can run on Windows 10.  Do I need to purchase the Pro version?  

Also when I was looking at the download page, I don't see anything that says it's only for one year......is it written somewhere?

Could someone please help me with these questions?

Thanks so much for your time and help!!

[Andavari]

Piriform employees have made more than one post explaining it's only a one year license/subscription for the Pro version - they never enforced it before for many years. The newest post that would be official that I'm aware of is in this very topic, here's the post by Dave:
https://forum.piriform.com/topic/52694-ccleaner-pro-lifetime-licence-why-has-it-expired/?do=findComment&comment=307061

[Derek_S]

15 hours ago, lov2teach said:

I bought the Pro version back in 2015.  I recently bought a new laptop and found out that I needed to upgrade the program so it can run on Windows 10.  Do I need to purchase the Pro version?  

Also when I was looking at the download page, I don't see anything that says it's only for one year......is it written somewhere?

Could someone please help me with these questions?

Thanks so much for your time and help!!

If you download either the free version or the Professional Trial version from Piriforms site, they will install OK on a PC running Windows 10. In my case, I can now use my original 2015 key to upgrade or register it as a Pro version, which I couldn't do in the past. It says license expired but that doesn't seem to stop anything working. However my version was a retail boxed version so I can't guarantee you'll  be able to register it too. You may as well just try. It's a very small download that only takes a minute or so to download and install. If it comes to the worst, you have the free version to use and it does most of the things you're likely to need.

[Sonartech]

Well, congratulations, Derek - You've managed to successfully harass them into actually getting what you paid for while simultaneously debunking their obvious lie about there not "ever" being a perpetual license for sale.  I am curious - was there a EULA included in the CD-based product, and if there was did it also mention the 1 year subscription model?

It's also pleasing to see that the lie is still being successfully spread by various online retailers...

for example.  Took me about 6 seconds to find that one.

http://www.codesdepot.com/ccleanerpro.html

For just $22.95, you too can buy a CCleaner Professional 1 User "Lifetime Retail Key" featuring their super secret 1 year subscription limit.

And yet, you don't see anyone at Avast busting their butt to shut these sites down...  They're clearly quite happy to continue screwing new customers.

[Nergal]

15 minutes ago, Sonartech said:

Well, congratulations, Derek - You've managed to successfully harass them into actually getting what you paid for while simultaneously debunking their obvious lie about there not "ever" being a perpetual license for sale.  I am curious - was there a EULA included in the CD-based product, and if there was did it also mention the 1 year subscription model?

It's also pleasing to see that the lie is still being successfully spread by various online retailers...

for example.  Took me about 6 seconds to find that one.

http://www.codesdepot.com/ccleanerpro.html

 

For just $22.95, you too can buy a CCleaner Professional 1 User "Lifetime Retail Key" featuring their super secret 1 year subscription limit.

And yet, you don't see anyone at Avast busting their butt to shut these sites down...  They're clearly quite happy to continue screwing new customers.

That is not an official download site.  I would use caution when searching for ccleaner on the web.

[Derek_S]

2 hours ago, Sonartech said:

Well, congratulations, Derek - You've managed to successfully harass them into actually getting what you paid for while simultaneously debunking their obvious lie about there not "ever" being a perpetual license for sale.  I am curious - was there a EULA included in the CD-based product, and if there was did it also mention the 1 year subscription model?

It's also pleasing to see that the lie is still being successfully spread by various online retailers...

for example.  Took me about 6 seconds to find that one.

http://www.codesdepot.com/ccleanerpro.html

 

For just $22.95, you too can buy a CCleaner Professional 1 User "Lifetime Retail Key" featuring their super secret 1 year subscription limit.

And yet, you don't see anyone at Avast busting their butt to shut these sites down...  They're clearly quite happy to continue screwing new customers.

The EULA isn't visible on the installation CD. It only becomes visible after the executable installation file has been expanded and the installation is complete. I can't remember what it actually says at that point now but I think it changes every time you upgrade to the latest version and of course if the automatic upgrade feature is active, that means you don't actually get a chance to agree to it.

[Sonartech]

5 hours ago, Nergal said:

That is not an official download site.  I would use caution when searching for ccleaner on the web.

Sure.  Whatever.  Then they're either:

1.  Selling pirated keys, in which case you should be shutting them down, or
2.  Re-selling 1 year subscription keys under false pretenses, in which case you should be shutting them down.

...but instead, you'll do nothing.  Like normal.

[hazelnut]

4 hours ago, Sonartech said:

Sure.  Whatever.  Then they're either:

1.  Selling pirated keys, in which case you should be shutting them down, or
2.  Re-selling 1 year subscription keys under false pretenses, in which case you should be shutting them down.

...but instead, you'll do nothing.  Like normal.

I can assure you that behind the scenes Piriform run a vigorous take down of scam CCleaner sites . They have taken many down this year alone.

 

 

 

[Nergal]

6 hours ago, Sonartech said:

you'll do nothing. 

I have no power to do anything, i'm just a volunteer software user like yourself, the only power I have is to ban spammers and deal with troublemakers.

[JoesCat]

I see this old thread doesn't even go as far back as I do with Piriform and CCleaner. I've purchased many "copies", both download and retail box. I still have an opened box I've installed from, and one unopened one from circa pre-2012 I believe. And I've known about (and used) CCleaner well before that (back when it fit on a floppy disk).

Of course, like most people, I did not save the published EULA from way back then. On the box(s), on the receipt I have from Jan 2013, nowhere is there any mention of a "subscription" - to any portion of the product. Updates, support, nothing, zip, nada. TODAY Piriform (now owned by Avast, purchased in July 2017 I believe) just keeps repeating it was ALWAYS an annual subscription, currently for "support and updates". I join the rest of you in believing there was NO expiration period of any kind. It's disgusting that every support rep I contact regarding this just keep incessantly repeating it has ALWAYS been an annual subscription, the "Pro" version will continue to work as it always has just without updates and support, and there NEVER was a lifetime/perpetual purchase option. NOTHING in print ANYWHERE regarding my original purchase, boxed or digital download affirms their claims. Nor does it state it's a "lifetime/perpetual" license. It was NEITHER.

It's just generally, intentionally vague (they wrote all iterations of the EULA), and all of the receipts I have, digital or retail box, still definitely prove this today. Again, I have right here, in my hand, an unopened retail box. No subscription mentioned. At all. They are telling me TODAY that it doesn't exist and never did! With the box still factory sealed, there is no way to determine for certain what's inside - but as the purchaser, my case is ironclad - the ONLY information I can reasonably expect to learn is what I'm reading on the box. No subscription.

Piriform / Avast, are you hearing us?! That's the crux of the matter - I guess we're quibbling about priority tech support for the price? I guess.

On their own website TODAY, it's their "summer sale" (50% off), and the usual columns comparing versions. The "Free" version includes only "Standard Privacy Protection" and "Standard Cleaning". The "Professional" version has 7 additional items listed, 

Standard Privacy Protection

Standard Cleaning

Quote   Updates apps to reduce security risks Complete cleaning Keeps your browsing history private Detects and removes internet trackers Keeps you from running out of space Instant product updates Priority customer support   Only the item "Updates apps to reduce security risks" has a mouse-over to explain further.
Only the item "Updates apps to reduce security risks" has a mouse-over to explain further.		Still keeping it vague obviously.

[JoesCat]

This website comment editor is funky, so I went ahead and posted the previous message before I ended up losing all of the content.

Another mention and reinforcement to Avast:

Rethink your business model and treatment of your paying customers! WE got you this far. Please don't go the way of so many businesses that look at the immediate bottom line only, and burn your long time devoted customers.  Yep, you had (and still have) a good product, have swallowed up smaller companies like AVG and Piriform into the Avast collective - and showing your ever-increasing coldness along the way. Sigh.

Others have cited their responses to that attitude - I may join them. I too have recommended (and sold) CCleaner SO many times.  Today, I'm also (and was) and AVG CloudCare business reseller (now Avast of course), (unrelated to this forum account),  and you have my attention as "Avast" in this thread. Am I big enough to take you down? Probably not even noticeable as your apparent business attitude seems to suggest. But I could leave a mark. At any time, I could cancel my numerous paying business customers (monthly, so the effect would be within 30 days), across the board. And the damage to your reputation along with it as a paid consultant reversing my stance and most definitely, loudly and with direct effect, advising AGAINST all Avast products. My good word has notably increased your sales, equally so should I decide to turn against you completely. Click-click in the admin portal, and immediately billing ceases, customers drop off immediately. And I'm well aware you simply do not care. That's the sad part. It just perplexes me why companies like yours adopt this attitude and business model, burning the very people who helped get you to where you are, supporting companies you've snatched up then disappointed their established user base.

It would cost ME much time to adopt an alternative product, almost certainly hurting me more than you in the short term. I've come close to that decision many times as there are a lot of good products out there to compete with any of yours. MY company philosophy is whenever I feel compelled to go to such lengths, I set a loosely determined quota as a percentage of damage caused to me back to you that is significantly greater. In the long run, I will hurt you more than I am hurt - just like I've personally helped you more than you'll ever realize. Particularly in today's widespread word-of-mouth social media. And my very useful presence on a major thoroughfare traveled every single day by untallied thousands of vehicles. Meaning whenever I post a sign, it IS seen by thousands of people each day. Trust me, the combined salvo of all the things I can leverage WILL have an effect. Some of the companies I've targetted through the years for whatever reason have ranged in their response of course; some including senior management traveling from afar to hand me a check and personally apologize, imploring me to cease the onslaught, some companies folding completely, and yes some continue to care little if at all, they're still making their tidy profits. Seemingly you are of the last type. That's sad to see.

I show on 12 currently following this thread (voluntarily). I doubt anyone of importance at your organization will happen to read this drivel. Oh well. I could, and might still, really get your attention but by then the mutual damage will have been done. In the meantime go on and ignore the issue, pay people to copy/paste canned responses, enjoy your growth and profits while they last, continue to market in your vague, confusing ways. Many, many countless companies, some so huge it was inconceivable they would ever fold - are completely gone. Wake up - there are paying customers and hungry competitors aplenty just waiting for that day, their chance . . . . I don't have that risk. That's the stinging bite from the "little dog" that too many neglect to watch out for until it's too late. A little bite . . . it gets infected . . . and ends up in some way different than the way it started. All the while, I'm the "little dog" that is completely insulated from such risks. The popular phrase is "the bigger they are the harder they fall".

[Sonartech]

If only they cared.  As you noted, they don't.  Not at all.  Personally, I would take the short-term productivity hit and drop anything Avast-related into the crapper.  They have proved they are unworthy of customers, unworthy of our trust, and unworthy of growth.  They destroyed CCleaner (and Piriform along with it) during their acquisition.  The only reward Vince Steckler, Phil Marshall, Ondrej Vlcek, Robin Selden, Peter Turner and Gagan Singh deserve is serious hit to their financial statement - that's the only thing these mediocre "executives" care about.  Customer service is NOT on their menu of responsibility; "they'll have their people look into it"...

I've already voted with my feet and convinced my company to do the same.  We moved to Immunet and dropped Avast.  I've already cost them several thousand dollars at this point, and I'm hardly going to be doing them any favors in the future...  and all for a $20 kick in my nuts...

Color me SUPER happy at this point 

[Dave CCleaner]

On 23/06/2019 at 00:24, Sonartech said:

Sure.  Whatever.  Then they're either:

1.  Selling pirated keys, in which case you should be shutting them down, or
2.  Re-selling 1 year subscription keys under false pretenses, in which case you should be shutting them down.

...but instead, you'll do nothing.  Like normal.

The pirates who posted the 245 246 eBay listings that we have shut down over the past 3 months would probably have a different view on the matter to you. The international game of whack-a-mole required for other websites requires a little longer to jump through various hoops, but we have about a half dozen domains working their way through the take-down queue at the moment.

[Dave CCleaner]

On 22/06/2019 at 18:19, Sonartech said:

Well, congratulations, Derek - You've managed to successfully harass them into actually getting what you paid for <snip>

Actually no. No changes have been made to his account at any point.  His issue was that the key he entered was not accepted as valid.  Since it was a validly issued key which had not been cancelled for piracy, all he had to do was try again for it to work. And he did.  Previous attempts may have been a mistranscription of a printed serial key or there may have been some error connecting to the licensing server at the time.

This topic seems to be conflating a number of separate issues.  I have been addressing the matter of serial key validity. To avoid further confusion, I'll talk about serial key expiry in a separate response.

[Dave CCleaner]

On 15/06/2019 at 03:37, Sonartech said:

Your response would seem to suggest that Piriform did, at one time in the past, actually offer a lifetime/perpetual license option (for owners of CD-based software). 

This topic seems to have conflated the two separate matters of licence key validity and expiry. I was addressing the key validity matter for folks who were saying that their keys weren't accepted by the product.  Aside from entry errors (and occasional bugs), a validly issued home user key that hasn't been cancelled for egregious licence infringement will be accepted by the product. If it has expired, then your licence information box will tell you that it has expired, but you can still enter it into the product.
 

Back to the topic of the semi-mythical "lifetime licence".  CCleaner has never advertised the paid CCleaner Professional product as being a "lifetime licence" and has never issued perpetual serial keys with no end date for home users.  Every serial key ever issued was generated with an expiry date - usually 12 months from the date of creation, as the licensing system was built many years ago with only direct online sales in mind.  Naturally that wasn't going to work to well physical distribution, so to work around the fact that retail boxes can sit in a warehouse or on a shelf for a while, when serial keys were issued for retail manufacturing in 2013-2015 these were created with a longer period - usually 18 or 24 months from the date of creation.  Extra time if you picked one up hot off the presses, but less so if you picked up old stock.

There are two ways to buy software:

1. By version, where you can keep using the version that you purchased for as long as you want but you then need to pay again if you want to update to a new version for new features.  This will often come with a period of customer support and, to avoid frustration on the part of customers who have purchased just before a new version is released, often an "assurance period" where you can update for free to the latest version for a limited period of time.
2. By subscription, where you can only use the software while the subscription is active, but ongoing customer support and all updates are included as part of the package.

If you bought CCleaner Professional between 2012 and 2017 then that was under the first model - by version.  So if you bought CCleaner v4.04 back in July of 2013, for example, then you were entitled to keep using that version for as long as you wanted and also to get 12 months of priority support and 12 months of free updates - up until the July 2014 release of version 4.16; if you bought CCleaner v5.17 in April 2016 then you were entitled to updates up to the April 2017 release of version 5.29; etc (see https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/version-history for a list of versions and dates going back to mid-2008).

But as you would have noticed, we've been letting customers update well past the end of their version entitlement. A bit of background on that ...

Prior to 2011, CCleaner was donation-ware - for home users there was only a free version available, which was updated on a regular basis.  From 2005 if you donated more than $20 you got a warm feeling of funding the continuing development of CCleaner, and as a bonus you also got the new releases before everyone else. 

In 2011 CCleaner introduced more formal paid licences for home users - while the software itself was still the same as the free product, for $24.95 you'd get a year of premium priority customer support. If you didn't renew your subscription, then the premium priority support would end after a year.

The subscription was later expanded to add additional value with the inclusion of a year of automatic software updates, and later in 2013 additional "Pro" features for paid users started to be added. But this created a bit of an awkward situation - the addition of those Pro features added extra value for the paying customers, but also made things a little untidy if a customer didn't renew. While a free user could update to the latest free version at any time from the website, a paid user who didn't renew was no longer eligible for updates and was stuck on their current version if they wanted to continue to use the Pro features - the only way that they could update to the latest version was if they reverted to the free software. On one hand, we wanted everyone to get the latest and greatest version, but on the other hand we figured that users who had bought the Professional version for the additional features wouldn't want to relinquish them.

Mixing the two models by selling version-based software, but with a subscription layer on top had created an holy mess - so CCleaner basically ignored the fact that a subscription had expired, and allowed those expired users to continue to update (reserving the right to enforce free upgrade limits at some point in the future) assuming that we'd eventually figure a way to sort it all out in an equitable fashion and that in the meantime no-one would be likely to complain about getting more updates than they'd technically paid for.

To give us a cleaner path forward, in 2018 CCleaner started selling CCleaner Professional under a subscription model - which unifies all of the entitlements into a much tidier package. For customers who bought by version prior to that and have not transferred to the subscription model, your product still works, but the 12 months of support and free updates have most certainly expired. As at the time of writing, for expired home users who bought by version:

• You can still contact Piriform customer support - although you will no longer be in the priority handling queue
• Automatic updates may still function - but may cease at any time
• Manual updates and reinstalls to the latest release will still work - however at some point in the not-too-distant future we will probably be announcing a "sunset" release for version-based customers which will be the latest release that users who have elected to remain on the "by version" model will be able to update to, with additional updates past that point  requiring a switch to subscription licensing.
• All things considered, requiring a "last officially entitled version" rollback for version-licensed customers who have been updating past their free update entitlement expiry date is highly unlikely. Most likely outcome is that entitlement (at least for manual updates) will be grandfathered up to any "sunset release".
• In a similar manner, the availability of the various "Pro" features within the product released after your expiry date will also be grandfathered up to a certain point - at least for those features released prior to the commencement of the subscription model. TBD for Pro features released in 2019 and beyond (such as Software Updater).
• No - nothing that you bought is being taken away. Yes, your product will say that the 12 month subscription component has expired - because it has. Yes, if you are a home user you can continue to use the product  - subject to the limitations mentioned above.

 

[Derek_S]

Well thanks for that detailed explanation. It certainly explains why the confusion came about and does sound quite fair in theory. However, whatever the intention I don't believe things have gone exactly to plan:

Although Piriform has maybe never advertised the paid CCleaner Professional product as being a "lifetime licence" it has certainly been presented it in such a way at least at times, that anyone considering purchasing the product would be unaware of a potential subscription requirement and make the reasonable presumption that it was indeed a "version based" product. I posted pictures of my box in page 2 of this thread and someone else posted a few days ago that they also have the original retail box showing no mention at all of a subscription. I've got no problem with something having a period of usable life defined by version. I have a couple of programs on my PC at the moment that I have been buying updated versions of since the 1990's. That is what I thought I was paying for when I purchased CCleaner pro. What has happened though, is the goalposts have been moved.

I see you are in the UK. In which case you shoulf be familiar with the Sale of goods act and other consumer protection legislation, most of which are in common with the whole of EU. To sell something that has no mention of a limited licence at point of sale and then try to introduce one at a later date is absolutely a blatant case of misleading advertising, which could lead to a court fine, and if the EU courts got involved, a very heavy one.

You say that people are entitled to use earlier versions related to when they made the purchase but unless they have the original installation media, there is no way to do that once they have upgraded to newer versions as the latest version is the only one available for download from the website. Even worse:

2 hours ago, Dave CCleaner said:

Manual updates and reinstalls to the latest release will still work - however at some point in the not-too-distant future we will probably be announcing a "sunset" release for version-based customers which will be the latest release that users who have elected to remain on the "by version" model will be able to update to, with additional updates past that point  requiring a switch to subscription licensing.

This is already incorrect information. You kindly tested my registration key for me on the 15th of this month and confirmed it was a genuine key and that it was possible to register version 5.58.7209. So I tested it myself on my back up PC and installed first the trial version of Pro and then the Free version and found the key was able to register both of them. I did notice at the time that the automatic update feature had been re-enabled so I'm not sure how I came by that version as I have always been doing manual updates but I thought that was a bonus.

I found this week though that the automatic update feature was effectively a trojan horse as when I woke my PC from sleep on Monday morning (June 24) I got a pop up window on my desktop announcing that my licence for CCleaner had expired and that automatic cleaning was no longer available unless I renewed it. I can't remember what else it said but it appears you do now lose certain features you have been able to use even if the licence was shown as expired. There was certainly no advance warning this was going to happen.

I didn't open the actual CCleaner program. Instead, I closed the pop up and used System Restore to go back to the previous day when I had V5.58.7209 meaning the automatic cleaning and all other features were still working. Then, I opened the program itself and got a message saying there was a new version available and asking if I wanted to download it. I declined, and instead deactivated automatic updates and just to be sure blocked CCleaner update in the Windows Firewall. Up to now, everything appears to be working as it was although I get a prompt urging me to upgrade to version 5.59.7230 if I open the program. Since that is the version that seems to disable the Pro features I decline. In fact, I very rarely open the program itself normally as the automatic cleaning feature is the only one I need on the whole. I'll just leave things as they are for now.

Interestingly, as I mentioned previously, I had tried my key on my backup machine the same day you did eleven days ago and it worked. Unfortunately, I left it with the free version installed. I took a look earlier today and decided to try the key to see what would happen expecting it to be declined. Instead, as you can probably see your end, it was accepted so that one is also registered now as a working Pro version 5.58.7209. Of course, I get the prompt to upgrade to V5.59.7230 but I declined and deactivated automatic updates. I would have disabled Firewall access to CCleaner update too but it wasn't even listed so it must have been requested by the updated version before I reverted on my main machine.

I'm interested to see if other people are having the same experiences now.

[psychopomp1]

I'm now getting a nag screen on my Pro version, never seen this before until today. Does that mean this will happen regularly until I take out a new subscription? Shame on you Piriform/Avast/whatever-you're-called for fraudulently selling the Pro version with a non-expiring, lifetime key. As others have already said, at the time i bought this (directly from Piriform website) around 2012-2013, there was nothing in the email order confirmation that stated the Pro Version had an expiry date.

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by psychopomp1

[Derek_S]

Use system restore to go back to a few days ago before you got this message. That should restore your installation to how it was. Then open CCleaner, decline to update to the latest vesionn. Go through all the options and disable anything that implies automatic updates. To be sure, use the cookie keeper in CCleaner to remove CCleaner and Avast's cookies  from the "keep" list. Finally, use the windows firewall to prevent anything from CCleaner or Avast being allowed to communicate with your PC.

Once you have done this. you will still get the occasional message urging you to update to the latest version but decline to do that and your original installation will be safe and automatic cleaning will still work..

Basically, everything we have ben told since the end of last year is a lie. Let the app update and you will lose your lifetime licence and you will revert to the free version which is missing various things such as automatic cleaning once you have a certain amount of recoverable space.

[Dave CCleaner]

20 hours ago, Derek_S said:

Let the app update and you will lose your lifetime licence and you will revert to the free version which is missing various things such as automatic cleaning once you have a certain amount of recoverable space.

This is not actually a thing. Blocking CCleaner from talking to the internet only helps users who are trying to install pirated keygen serial keys and makes no difference to anyone else.

That said, rolling back to the version that you initially bought and declining to update to any version released after your period of included updates expired is an admirable adherence to the principle of version-based purchasing.

If you are on Windows 7 you can go forward as far as CCleaner version 5.42 and shouldn't receive any additional notifications that your service component has expired.  Note, however, that CCleaner versions prior to version 5.46 are not recommended for users on Windows 10. Customer support only covers the latest version, but if your support has expired then this should not be an issue either way.

[Derek_S]

4 hours ago, Dave CCleaner said:

This is not actually a thing. Blocking CCleaner from talking to the internet only helps users who are trying to install pirated keygen serial keys and makes no difference to anyone else.

That said, rolling back to the version that you initially bought and declining to update to any version released after your period of included updates expired is an admirable adherence to the principle of version-based purchasing.

If you are on Windows 7 you can go forward as far as CCleaner version 5.42 and shouldn't receive any additional notifications that your service component has expired.  Note, however, that CCleaner versions prior to version 5.46 are not recommended for users on Windows 10. Customer support only covers the latest version, but if your support has expired then this should not be an issue either way.

Not a thing? If you mean I'm being paranoid and my precautions are not necessary, maybe that's right............ I'm not in any hurry to test that theory. The thing is, I'm running version V5.58.7209 and I'm not accepting any updates as they steal my open ended license. It's running just fine as I paid for at the moment.