Overview Piriform Ltd was a British software development company founded in 2005 and based in London, England. It gained global recognition for producing utility tools that optimize, clean, and maintain Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Android systems. The company’s flagship product, CCleaner (originally "Crap Cleaner"), became a household name among PC users seeking to remove junk files, fix registry issues, and improve system performance. Founding and Early Days Piriform was founded by Piriform (Piri) , a pseudonym for developer Paul Yeffsky , along with his brother. The name "Piriform" is derived from the Latin pirum (pear) + forma (shape), referring to the pear-shaped appearance of the pyriform cortex in the brain—a nod to their focus on intelligent cleaning.