For cleaning the registry I use on both 32b and 64b XP and W7
iObit Toolbox - Its free and has 20 useful tools
iObit and Malwarebytes settled their differences amicably about a month after the stink hit the internet. There was never a lawsuit or anything like that. Malwarebytes issed a statement saying it was no longer an issue after the iObit Security360 signature database was reduced in size significantly.
Even if we assume that iObit was using Malwarebytes signatures to my knowledge it was never publicly stated how iObit came by the signatures.
It could have been new iObit employee who had left Malwarebytes took the signature database with him/her out of spite. It could be that this person was part of the design team for iObit Security360.
Then once this issue became public iObit management like everyone else found out what happened. iObit management could then have immediately terminated that employee and removed the signatures from their iObit Security360 databsse.
The points are
1. The whole issue lasted only a month
2. No lawsuit ever came out of it
3. To my knowledge it never became public how iObit obtained those signatures.
It would not be the first time
that a tech person has left one company and taken stuff with them to their new company. I know that this happens for a fact having worked for decades in the high-tech industry in California USA
I also use Wise Disk and Registry Clearners. Both are free and to my knowledge the free versions have to restrictions.
Both the Registry Cleaner in iObit's Toolbox and Wise Registry cleaner make a backup of your registry before cleaning it.
If you want to be super paranoid you can always use Windows to make a backup of your Registry before cleaning it.
I do have Windows make a daily backup of the Registry on each of my computers. This would fall more under the heading of prudent rather than paranoid.