CCleaner gives you an option to clear the System tray (Notification area) icons:
Link Removed due to 404 Error
But in my experience, on Windows 7, the CCleaner method of clearing the notification area is a bit hit or miss. The manual method of using a small registry hack and then stopping and starting Explorer however, works every time.
Copy and save this code as a .reg file.
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify]
"IconStream"=-
"PastIconsStream"=-
Open Task Manager
(R-click taskbar for a Start option) to the processes tab in preparation.
Now merge the .reg file you created into your registry.
Back to the Task Manager. Under the processes tab highlight
Explorer.exe and click on end process. Then on the Task Manager menu bar click
File then
New Task (Run...). Type
Explorer.exe in the
Open: window and press enter.
Be aware that both methods restore default settings to
all the notification area icons so your display preferences will need to be re-set.
