Take it for what it's worth: Apps to avoid

I saw the article a few days ago on MSN. I only use it to periodically clean up the temp files and cookies in Edge. Seems to do a more thorough job than using the built-in delete option. What are others planning to do with this suggestion?

Sounds like scare tactics, to me. Notice that web page doesn't mention what/any data Microsoft is collecting via Windows Defender, Windows firewall and/or Windows itself....hmmm....

I also only use ccleaner periodically. I exclusively use Firefox which I've set to clear cookies and site data on closing, buts lots of stuff still gets left behind. Stuff from Dell's sites doesn't get completely removed. On some days, there are hundreds of MBs, even GBs, of leftovers after the browser is closed.  The only way I've found to get rid of the leftovers is ccleaner.

You should probably be able set your firewall to block ccleaner (and other apps) from having any internet access. That means you won't get notices about updates, but that's what we have @ky331 for!  And you'll have to manually download/install them yourself because ccleaner's built-in updater won't be able to access the internet.

Check the instructions for whichever firewall you use, either the one built into Windows or a 3rd party one.  I use ZoneAlarm's firewall (free version) and it's easy to give/deny internet access to apps. Whichever firewall you use, just be careful not to deny access to essential apps like Windows components, browser, email client, Zoom, etc. 

If I don't want to fully deny internet access to an app, at least ZoneAlarm has an option to warn me with a popup when something tries to phone home. I can click to allow or deny. And if the same app is constantly trying to phone home, I just block it completely.  (You'd probably be amazed by some things that try to phone home constantly and secretly!)