Steps to keep your personal computer

1. Safety First! - Protect your computer from viruses and spyware.

Many PCs come with a free trial of an anti-virus software. However, once this study is, what should a basic home user?

It 's very common for people to go to the choice of a free anti-virus, or pay a subscription to Norton. However, Norton produces unwanted pop-ups and warnings, and takes so much RAM a computer, really slowPC performance.

I recommend AVG Anti-Virus. This is a free program, the computer offers very adequate protection for your. It can be downloaded at the following link. to update AVG and scan at least once a week.

You also need to protect your computer from spyware. Microsoft, "Spyware is a generic term for software that performs certain actions of the sound, such as advertising, collecting personal information or describeChanging the configuration of your computer, generally without your permission first. "It can be very dangerous and is often overlooked when basic users protect their PCs.

A very useful program to wipe your system of spyware is Spybot Search & Destroy. It 's also a free program and can be downloaded at the following link. It should be updated and a scan once every few weeks should be executed.

2. Make your hard drive does not workhard.

Like any appliance or car, your computer's hard drive will suffer a "wear". You can usually expect a hard disk for the last 4-5 years, but which can greatly increase the driving time to tune up.

The first step is to use the Windows Disk Cleanup tool. This is done by clicking Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup. It scans your computer, and offer aList of files you can choose to remove. This will remove all files on the computer, and can be applied not only take up room. Disk Cleanup should be done once a month for the average user.

Therefore, you should run Disk Defragmenter. The hard disk can become fragmented, with a higher frequency of new software installations, Internet downloads of movies or music, or simply create files. The fragmentation of a hard drive, because all filesstored in fields and if a file is opened, a needle is in all parts of the file on your hard drive. When a file is created, it is a great package, but many small parcels that make up the whole. If these packages are stored, are stored in the first open area on your hard drive. When a disk is fragmented, packets are not met, and is the driving force to work harder to create the file. This can reduce both life and the hard drive and speedThe computer.

Defragmenting simply put all files in a position that relieves the stress on a hard drive. It can be done by clicking Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter. You can then analyze in Windows XP and will give you an answer to whether you should defragment. Windows Vista, you can schedule the frequency with which you now want to defragment. This should at least once every three months, on average,Users, but you may need to do more often for some.

3. UPDATE!

Windows allows a user to enable automatic updates, so use it. This can be done by clicking Start -> Programs -> Windows Update. It should be automatic, so as current as possible on the construction of the security measures that can be set to Windows already installed.

There is also a good idea to update all the programs installed to test. This is not necessarilyrequired but is recommended to make the most of your programs. It can usually open through the program and then made to find the "Update" in the Help menu.

4. Do some Spring Cleaning

All computers have fans to promote air flow through the tower to ensure that the processor runs at a cooler temperature. dust and pet hair can clog the openings and the overheating of the processor. This must be clean to avoid a very costly repair. Each computerTech has a story about a computer that is opened and everything was caked with dust. Let this be you. It can be intimidating for some to open the computer case, but it is very simple.

Go to your local PC shop and buy a can of compressed air, which only cost a few dollars. Make sure all UNPLUGGED! Open your computer tower. There should be only a couple of screws, but if I can not understand, then you probablyshould not open before. Use compressed air to remove dust from the fan on the motherboard and processor. Plug everything back, and you're done.

You can also use compressed air to clean the keyboard. clean with alcohol and a soft cloth on the monitor screen. You can also use a CD-ROM is clean and the unit is clean. It is basically a felt-CD in the optical lenses clean.

Follow these steps and you will greatly increaseperformance and life of your computer.