Some Basic Steps That Should Be Run Through Any Computer. They Help Keep Performance Up And Your System Running Clean From Threats. Much Lower Percent Of Your Computer Crashing From Something Software Related. Best Of All It's All Free!

*Restart Your Computer After Each Of These Steps*

Run Through The Startup Items And Get Rid Of Unneeded Ones - Start>Run>"msconfig">"Click" Ok>Startup "Tab" : To The Right Of The Check Boxes Is A Name : Type The Names Into This Website Search Box - http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php : Uncheck The Items That Are Not Required For Startup : When You Are Done : Hit Apply Below And Close : When The System Starts Back Up A Little Box Will Appear : Check "Don't Show This Message Again : And Click Ok


Use FireFox As An Internet Browser - http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ : Easy
Interface : Better Security Than Internet Explorer : You Can Use IE And
FireFox : In My Opinion Also Faster


Uninstall Programs You Don't Use - Start>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs : Wait For The List To Populate : "Remove" Programs You Don't Use : *Do Not Uninstall Something Unless You Know It's Not Required For The System To Startup Or For Your Hardware On The Computer To Function Properly*


Run A Disk Defragmenter - Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter : Let This Run : Should Take Around 20-40 Minutes Depending On Computer Specs


Run Your Anti-Virus And Spyware Scans And Keep Them Updated - Don't Have Any? : http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Vir...-10320142.html : AVG Anti-Virus : It's Free And Constantly Updated : http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-...ml?tag=lst-0-1 : Ad-Aware Anti-Spyware : Same Type Of Deal : Free And Constantly Updated


Download Install And Run Registry Mechanic - http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/ : Run The Scan : It May Not Be Able To Fix All The Errors : The Full Version Will Allow You To Update And Fix All Errors Found : *Only Use If You Are Running Windows Xp* *I Highly Recommend Buying The Full Version Of This product : However It Is Not Absolutely Needed As You Can Fix Some Errors With The Demo*


Keep A Software Firewall Running At All Times - I Recommend ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm : It's Free And Definitely Does The Job : Just Download Install And Follow The Basic Instructions And It Will Protect You By Itself : You Can Download It Here http://www.download.com/ZoneAlarm/30...ml?tag=lst-0-2 : *ZoneAlarm Will Be In "Learning Mode" When Something Tries To Access The Internet ZoneAlarm Is Going To Ask You "Allow" or "Deny" Also You Will See A Check box That States Something Along The Lines Of "Remember This Choice" : So If You Are Trying To Access Let's Say Windows Live Messenger You Would Choose "Remember This Choice" And Choose "Allow" This Would Make It So That ZoneAlarm now learned How To Handle That Program On A Regular Basis : If You Are Working On A Microsoft Word Document And A Strange Looking Program Name Popped Up With "Allow" Or "Deny" You Would Hit "Deny" Because You Are Not Accessing Anything Related To The Internet So It Could Be A Threat : Now If That Strange Program Is Popping UP Frequently Make Sure You Choose "Remember This Choice" And Then "Deny" To Block It Permanently : Lastly If You Made A Mistake And Permanently Blocked Something By Accident : You Can Open Up ZoneAlarm And Find What You Blocked From The Program List And Allow It


*Restart Your Computer After Each Of These Steps*
Hope This Helps.


-Brent

-Diam



Sorry about the caps.