From the first day you procure and set up your computer, you are delighted at the speed and ease of its operation. You work with files, browse the internet, and carry on with whatever tasks you obtained the machine for, and for a while, you have no worries until one day, the computer freezes up. By this time, you will have installed a multitude of software that you did not bother to set to not run in the background, you may have accumulated an assortment of junk files, tracking cookies, viruses, and other unwanted items that somehow found their way on to your machine. Your computer runs slower and slower...but this could have all been prevented with some basic maintenance.

After years of computer use and experimenting with various maintenance software, I will offer a few points to help computer users out there in maintaining their machine so that it still runs with the speed as it did on day one. Here are the actions that I consider essential:

Virus Scanner - whether you pay for the service or you have found free virus scanners, make sure this is installed and running to scan in the background. Also, set it up to update the virus database automatically.

Firewall - Turn on the built-in firewall that comes with the operating platform (Windows XP) or install one independently.

Disk Cleanup utilities - run these on a regular basis to remove junk that accumulates on your hard drive.

Disk Defragmenter - run this to reallocate fragmented files on your hard disk so that your machine can run faster. I have also found free software that you can install to automatically defragment your hard drive when your computer is idle (ex., SmartDefrag by IObit).

Registry Cleaner - not every uninstallation, etc., will remove components completely. In particular, registry entries may still remain. With a registry cleaner, you can clean up invalid entries.

Spyware Removal - this may work in conjunction with any cleanup software, or it may be available as stand-alone software. Some websites and software downloads unbeknown to you will install spies to track your computer usage or to deliver annoying pop-up windows. Spyware Removal software will stem the tide here.

For any software you have installed, set it up to automatically search for updates. This way you do not have to do it manually and you will be sure your software is up-to-date with all the latest releases and patches, etc.

If you cannot afford to pay for maintenance software, the following are useful, and are available for free download:

Advanced Windows Care V2 (IObit) - cleans junk files, spyware, invalid registry items, and contains a utility for optimizing your system and startup process.

CCleaner (Piriform) - similar job to Advanced Windows Care and also contains an uninstall utility. Also has a setting for delete level (normal to high security (such as that used by the military)).

Revo Uninstaller - perhaps the best free uninstaller I have seen so far - also lets you get rid of remnants that the softwares' original uninstallers left behind. Finally, it has a secure file deletion function.

ClamWin Antivirus - a good free antivirus.

Comodo Security Software - contains antivirus, firewall, malware cleaner, web verification engine, and email scanner.

These are some of the easiest actions you can take to maintain your computer trouble free. However, if you are finding that the software updates and upgrades are no longer compatible with your machine anymore, then a hardware upgrade, or procuring a whole new machine for that matter, may be necessary.

Learn more about this author, George Platanitis.
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