The most important thing you can do for yourself to maintain your computer is to keep the antivirus software uptodate

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE DIRECTIONS

Due to increasing problems with many computer systems because of spyware and adware, I am putting together some suggestions for maintaining your system to clean up and prevent problems. This will also probably help to speed up systems that have started slowing down.

General Maintenance

No matter what operating system you are using, it is important to regularly maintain your computer. When you visit any web sites, you are receiving every page on your computer. When you have your system freeze up when you are working on a document or printing a document and the system freezes or the power goes off suddenly, there are temporary files that are left on the computer. Every time you install a program, there are temporary files that mostly won=t be deleted. All of these temporary or unnecessary files build up and will slow down your system. If you run disk cleanup, you will clean out most of these files, but not all of them. Below are some guidelines for routine maintenance:

1. At least once a month especially if you use the computer a lot, you should run Disk Cleanup. You will find it one of two ways: either by going to Programs (All Programs on Windows XP)/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup or by opening My Computer and then right clicking on the hard drive (usually C:) and then left clicking on Properties. Either way, you will see a button towards the lower third of the General tab that says Disk Cleanup. Click on it and then wait for the system to identify the files to be deleted. Make sure there are check marks in Temporary Internet Files, Temporary Files, Recycle Bin, and any setup files. DO NOT have a check in COMPRESS FILES! This will take forever to run and will actually slow down your system because it takes old files and compresses them. When you go to use them, it takes time to uncompress. The only exception would be if you are extremely low on disk space.

2. After doing the Disk Cleanup, you can run Scandisk (Error Checking) by clicking on the Tools tab on the Hard Drive Properties screen. If it stops frequently or says it can=t run, you can restart your computer in Safe Mode. That=s done by hitting the F8 key (at the top of the keyboard) when the computer starts. If the Windows screen comes up before you do that, you will have to start the computer again. You can start hitting the F8 key within the first few seconds of when the computer restarts. It should bring up a menu with several choices. Go to Safe Mode (usually number 3 on Windows 98). Read the menu choices. After the computer is in Safe Mode (which takes a while to start), you can again go to My Computer and open it and then right click on C: and then left click on Properties at the bottom of the menu. Go to the tab for Tools and use the first choice for Error Checking. It will run right away on Windows 98, but it will do the scandisk when you restart the computer on Windows XP.

3. If you have deleted lots of files or about every three months, it is a good idea to do a Defrag. Again, you will go to My Computer or to System Tools under Accessories. On My Computer, open it and then right click on the C: drive and left click on Properties. On the tab for Tools, you can go to Defrag. This is true on Windows 98 and on Windows XP. Running defrag will take a while, but it will put the files all back in sequential order and will help speed up your system if it is running slow.

Removing Spyware and Adware

More and more these days, there are bad programs that get in your computer whether you realize it or not. They can actually hijack or take over your Internet Explorer or cause lots of popups or strange things to happen. There are several steps to take to remove these and to help prevent them from getting on your machine in the first place. Following are some steps to take:

1. MOST IMPORTANT B you absolutely must have current antivirus software running and keep it up to date. The hackers have found ways to get viruses into your computer without you even having to download attachments in emails. Just previewing an email in Outlook or Outlook Express or Incredimail or other mail programs will be enough to let a virus or Trojan horse in. With good antivirus software, it will help. If you don=t know who is sending you and email or you aren=t expecting an attachment from someone you know, DON=T OPEN IT B DELETE! If you get something from someone you know and you aren=t sure why they are sending you something, ask them before you open it. It takes time, I know, but it could also save you from getting a virus.

2. Download these really good programs (all are free) that help with spyware. You can get them by going to www.download.com. It will bring up a search area and you can type in the names as below and then download them and open them. On all of them, there is a choice to check on updates. That needs to be done regularly because there are constantly new problems trying to take over your computer. All three programs are relatively small and won=t take forever to download or to check for updates. When it comes up and asks if you want to Open or Run or Save, you can choose to save it in a download directory where you can easily find it later or go ahead and Open or Run it right then. You will have to be online in order to get the updates, however.

a. The first one is Ad-Aware. The one you should select is Ad-Aware SE Personal. It will find ad software and cookies on your system that could cause problems. Just follow the prompts to have it update and then scan your system. It will bring up a list of files that can be removed. Put a check mark in each box and then click on next. It will say it is quarantining the files and then deleting them. This is good.

b. The second one is Spybot Search and Destroy. The current version is 1.3. Just follow the prompts. After it goes through the setup and has updated, go to the icon on the top left that says Search and Destroy. Then click on Check for Problems. It will take a few minutes to run. After it finds the problems, click on Fix Selected Problems. It may come up with a warning saying you have Ad-Aware installed, just click on ok and continue. These two programs will have some overlap in what they find, but they will both find additional problems.

c. The third program to get is Spyware Blaster. Follow the prompts for downloading and installing it. Have it check for updates right away and then on the main screen you will be able to tell it to Enable All Protection under the Quick Tasks on the menu choices under Protection. There will be a Status, Internet Explorer, Restricted Sites, and Mozilla Explorer set of buttons across the top.

All of the spyware and adware programs should be run once a month. It=s amazing how many new things will be added and you need full protection to keep your system running smoothly.

Another very important thing to remember in order to protect your system is to do the Windows updates. They should be set to do automatically so that they will be downloaded when you are connected to the internet. There have been a lot of security problems and the updates help to correct them, but they don=t work unless you install them. Windows XP should be set up by default to be downloaded. By now, you have probably received the Windows XP Service Pack 2. It is important to go ahead and install it when you get it. It will take about a half hour to run the whole thing and you shouldn=t try to use the computer for anything else while it is installing. You will have to restart the computer when it is installed. At that point, it will come up and ask you about turning on the Windows Firewall. I encourage you to say yes to it being on. If you are set up on a network system, it should recognize that and allow the network functions to work correctly. It will probably also say you don=t have current antivirus software if you have a version of Norton Antivirus 2003 or earlier. As long as you know it is being updated automatically, you can change the setting by going to Start/Control Panel/Security Center. Click on the Recommendations button on Anti-Virus. Then put a check mark in the box at the bottom of the window that says AI have an antivirus program that I will monitor manually.@ There are lots of nice features in Service Pack 2 like popup control and the ability to choose what gets downloaded so that programs you don=t want, don=t get installed and take over your Internet Explorer.

I hope these steps will help you keep your system from getting bogged down. If you have questions or need assistance, I am more than happy to help out. You call me at my office at (480) 921-7216.