Reviews (1)

When I first saw and heard about the FixMeStick, I was immediately impressed with the simplicity of the idea. Here was a stand-alone device that, when activated, used its self-contained Linux OS to take over the PC or Mac computer to which it was attached, extract every single file from the hard drive of that machine, take out every bit of code that was not supposed to be there, bit by bit, and reinstall the cleaned file back onto the hard drive. Sheer genius! Add to that the automatic update of all the malware scanners in the FixMeStick via a live internet connection, and the idea becomes a sure-fire winner. But knowing how easy it is to hype claims that just aren't what they say, a little skepticism cannot be avoided. It took me a minute or two to understand what would happen when I used the FixMeStick I purchased through a very attractive online/TV promotion, but that's all it took. Operation is simple: plug it in, close whatever programs you have open, go to your file manager and click on the FixMeStick icon, then sit back and have a rest. All functions are then carried out automatically. You have the option of running a full scan or a "quick" scan, and a couple of other information management options, but that is all the user interaction that is required.

I use my FixMeStick on an Acer laptop running Windows 7. That particular unit is prone to seizing up temporarily, often at the most inconvenient times, by loading the CPU to 100% for no apparent reason. It had been running at an ever slower rate for a while when I got my FixMeStick, and I figured it was because there was getting to be a build-up of unwanted programs running in the background and using up CPU capacity. When my FixMeStick was delivered, I set about to run a full scan with it. I was very surprised that that first scan took almost three full days and had scanned something more than 354,000 files on my computer. The result was as I expected. The FixMeStick generated a rather long list of unwanted files that it had found and removed, most of which were bitcoin miners that had been put onto my machine during my online activities (as a contract writer/editor for a large publishing company, I often have to do a lot of online research for fact-checking and updating information, and I also receive about 200 emails per day from many different sources). After the scan, my computer ran significantly faster, as advertised. Since then I use my FixMeStick to run a quick scan (which takes a couple of hours) about once a month, and a full scan every 2 - 3 months. The last full scan I ran just a week ago found no problems at all, and scanned all 354,000+ files within 24 hours.

The bottom line for me is that this device is worth every penny I paid for it. I highly recommend it.