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Hey guys, this is meant to be an area that the computer savvy can share tips, tricks, and other such things with anyone who needs help, has problems, or is just interested in speeding up their PC.
I do have an IT background, but for me, computers are a passion and hobby. Over the years, I have picked up a few programs that I have found are essential for computer maintenance. When I say a program such as an anti-virus is "the best", it is because I have purposefully introduced hundreds of viruses onto a computer I keep solely for testing anti-viruses on. The "best" one is the one that caught the most stuff. Nothing is 100% perfect, but the ones I mention below preformed the best.
Good maintenance programs for your computer: (Note, these are all 100% FREE, or have free trials that you can infinitely renew)
- ASC5 (Advanced System Care 5)
http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare/3000-2086_4-10407614.html
This is by far the BEST program to have on your computer. Its is very easy to use, lightweight, and comes with an entire suite of tools, from computer maintenance, to advanced tools, such as a file shredder, deleted file recovery manager, a PROPER uninstaller (none of that built in windows garbage), etc. I would highly recommend at least trying it out- I doubt you will be disappointed.
- Smart Defrag V2
http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html
From the same makers as ASC5, this is the best disk defragmentation utility I have come across (and I have tried many!). Simple, powerful, and easy to use, this defragmentor is leaps and bounds above the built in Windows defragmentation utility. For those of you who do not know what Disk Defrag is, download this immediately and run it! Your computer will thank you!
- CCleaner
http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER
This is a good program to get rid of "junk" files on your computer. Over time, your computer builds up temporary files, cookies, and other such nastiness. These junk files cause slowness, take up hard-drive space, and overall decrease your PC's performance. This program can be slightly more complicated to use, so if you would like me to give you a hand with it, let me know. Pleas keep in mind- You can damage your PC with this program if you do not know what you are doing! Occam offers the following advice if you are not comfortable using CCleaner:
- Malwarebytes Anti Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
This is the be-all end-all of Malware protection. Malware IS NOT the same as a virus- do not think that because you have an anti-virus program (such as Norton, McAfee, AVG, etc) that you are protected from malware. To see the difference, look up the definitions of "computer virus" and "malware". This program has a 30 day free trial that you can keep using after it expires. I would highly recommend this program- run it approximately once per week, and you will keep your computer protected.
- Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Spyware is not the same as malware or computer viruses. This is the best anti spyware program I have used, and like everything else, it is free! I would recommend running this once per week.
A note from Occam on using Malwarebytes and Spybot: - as far as anti-spyware/anti-malware go, your best bet is to use Spybot S&D, Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes. None of them will pick up everything, but between the three of them you'll catch pretty darned near everything. Just don't run scans on all of them simultaneously...
-MSI Afterburner
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Afterburner-2.0.0-Final-download-2562.html
This is a basic overclocking utility. This can help you squeeze a little extra performance out of your hardware, rather than upgrading it. Whether you are gaming or surfing, if you have less than ideal performance, this can help you. You can nuke your computer with this program if you are not careful. I am an experienced user, and have STILL blown up components by pushing them too far past their limit.
- AVG Antivirus
http://free.avg.com/ca-en/homepage
This is the best FREE antivirus program that I have come across. Now, every computer geek will tell you a different anti-virus program is the best, but this is MY personal experience. (I think we can all agree that Norton and McAfee are...sup-par). As an added sidenote, if you have an Android phone, AVG offers a free passive antivirus for your phone (Yes, Android phones CAN get viruses)!
- ESET NOD 32 (A not free antivirus)
http://www.eset.com/us/
These guys have the best paid anti-virus. While they also offer a free version, the free version of AVG is better than the free version of this, but the paid version of NOD 32 is better than the paid version of AVG. Make sense? Is it worth the extra buck? Well, that's for you to decide.
How to maintain your computer and get a longer life out of your investment
First and foremost, your computer DOES need to be physically cleaned. This means opening up the case once per month, getting out the swifter cloth, and getting all that dirt and grime out of there. This does actually make a huge differance- I had a computer in for repair that would just not turn on. After a few futile hours, I opened up the case- lo and behold, it was packed with enough hair to make a small cat. Once I cleaned it all out, it ran perfectly. You can use air duster (which is just air in a can), a vacuum, and a regular dusting cloth to get 99 percent of all dirt, dust and hair out. If you have never done this before, go do it! You WILL see a differance in preformance. Laptops also need to be cleaned, but are much trickier. I am not going into detail on it, but sufice to say, if you are not 100% confidant, do not open your laptop up, because you will most likely break something. As Occam mentions below, do not stick the vacuum cleaner in your computer! Static electricity can wreak havok on your system, and Vacuum cleaners / Compressors will generate static electricity very easily. I should have elaborated that I use the vacuum cleaner on my desk, after I have blown the dust / hair out using air duster.
As far as maintanance that can be preformed with a mouse, there a few easy steps to take to ensure that your PC operates smothly. Do a weekly Defragmentation (if you are a heavy user, such as 6+ hours per day, run defrag every night), a weekly virus / malware / spyware scan, and some other things that do not need to be done as frequently. If you are having poor preformance on an old computer, remove icons off your desktop. Having tons of icons on your desktop will really hamper your preformance, and removing them can help. I personally would never have more than 15 icons on my desktop at any given time (I currently have 0 icons on the desktop on all 4 of my computers). Delete your temp folders every couple of weeks (once per month will suffice). To find them, click "Start", click "run", and type TEMP. Then select all of the files in the folder that pops up, and delete them. The second temp file can be accessed by clicking "run", typing %TEMP% and pressing enter. Select all of these files, and delete them as well.
I do have an IT background, but for me, computers are a passion and hobby. Over the years, I have picked up a few programs that I have found are essential for computer maintenance. When I say a program such as an anti-virus is "the best", it is because I have purposefully introduced hundreds of viruses onto a computer I keep solely for testing anti-viruses on. The "best" one is the one that caught the most stuff. Nothing is 100% perfect, but the ones I mention below preformed the best.
Good maintenance programs for your computer: (Note, these are all 100% FREE, or have free trials that you can infinitely renew)
- ASC5 (Advanced System Care 5)
http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare/3000-2086_4-10407614.html
This is by far the BEST program to have on your computer. Its is very easy to use, lightweight, and comes with an entire suite of tools, from computer maintenance, to advanced tools, such as a file shredder, deleted file recovery manager, a PROPER uninstaller (none of that built in windows garbage), etc. I would highly recommend at least trying it out- I doubt you will be disappointed.
- Smart Defrag V2
http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html
From the same makers as ASC5, this is the best disk defragmentation utility I have come across (and I have tried many!). Simple, powerful, and easy to use, this defragmentor is leaps and bounds above the built in Windows defragmentation utility. For those of you who do not know what Disk Defrag is, download this immediately and run it! Your computer will thank you!
- CCleaner
http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER
This is a good program to get rid of "junk" files on your computer. Over time, your computer builds up temporary files, cookies, and other such nastiness. These junk files cause slowness, take up hard-drive space, and overall decrease your PC's performance. This program can be slightly more complicated to use, so if you would like me to give you a hand with it, let me know. Pleas keep in mind- You can damage your PC with this program if you do not know what you are doing! Occam offers the following advice if you are not comfortable using CCleaner:
Occam said:
- Malwarebytes Anti Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
This is the be-all end-all of Malware protection. Malware IS NOT the same as a virus- do not think that because you have an anti-virus program (such as Norton, McAfee, AVG, etc) that you are protected from malware. To see the difference, look up the definitions of "computer virus" and "malware". This program has a 30 day free trial that you can keep using after it expires. I would highly recommend this program- run it approximately once per week, and you will keep your computer protected.
- Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Spyware is not the same as malware or computer viruses. This is the best anti spyware program I have used, and like everything else, it is free! I would recommend running this once per week.
A note from Occam on using Malwarebytes and Spybot: - as far as anti-spyware/anti-malware go, your best bet is to use Spybot S&D, Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes. None of them will pick up everything, but between the three of them you'll catch pretty darned near everything. Just don't run scans on all of them simultaneously...
-MSI Afterburner
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Afterburner-2.0.0-Final-download-2562.html
This is a basic overclocking utility. This can help you squeeze a little extra performance out of your hardware, rather than upgrading it. Whether you are gaming or surfing, if you have less than ideal performance, this can help you. You can nuke your computer with this program if you are not careful. I am an experienced user, and have STILL blown up components by pushing them too far past their limit.
- AVG Antivirus
http://free.avg.com/ca-en/homepage
This is the best FREE antivirus program that I have come across. Now, every computer geek will tell you a different anti-virus program is the best, but this is MY personal experience. (I think we can all agree that Norton and McAfee are...sup-par). As an added sidenote, if you have an Android phone, AVG offers a free passive antivirus for your phone (Yes, Android phones CAN get viruses)!
- ESET NOD 32 (A not free antivirus)
http://www.eset.com/us/
These guys have the best paid anti-virus. While they also offer a free version, the free version of AVG is better than the free version of this, but the paid version of NOD 32 is better than the paid version of AVG. Make sense? Is it worth the extra buck? Well, that's for you to decide.
How to maintain your computer and get a longer life out of your investment
First and foremost, your computer DOES need to be physically cleaned. This means opening up the case once per month, getting out the swifter cloth, and getting all that dirt and grime out of there. This does actually make a huge differance- I had a computer in for repair that would just not turn on. After a few futile hours, I opened up the case- lo and behold, it was packed with enough hair to make a small cat. Once I cleaned it all out, it ran perfectly. You can use air duster (which is just air in a can), a vacuum, and a regular dusting cloth to get 99 percent of all dirt, dust and hair out. If you have never done this before, go do it! You WILL see a differance in preformance. Laptops also need to be cleaned, but are much trickier. I am not going into detail on it, but sufice to say, if you are not 100% confidant, do not open your laptop up, because you will most likely break something. As Occam mentions below, do not stick the vacuum cleaner in your computer! Static electricity can wreak havok on your system, and Vacuum cleaners / Compressors will generate static electricity very easily. I should have elaborated that I use the vacuum cleaner on my desk, after I have blown the dust / hair out using air duster.
Occam said:
As far as maintanance that can be preformed with a mouse, there a few easy steps to take to ensure that your PC operates smothly. Do a weekly Defragmentation (if you are a heavy user, such as 6+ hours per day, run defrag every night), a weekly virus / malware / spyware scan, and some other things that do not need to be done as frequently. If you are having poor preformance on an old computer, remove icons off your desktop. Having tons of icons on your desktop will really hamper your preformance, and removing them can help. I personally would never have more than 15 icons on my desktop at any given time (I currently have 0 icons on the desktop on all 4 of my computers). Delete your temp folders every couple of weeks (once per month will suffice). To find them, click "Start", click "run", and type TEMP. Then select all of the files in the folder that pops up, and delete them. The second temp file can be accessed by clicking "run", typing %TEMP% and pressing enter. Select all of these files, and delete them as well.
Never liked them personally, plus I find the cost...prohibitive 
