Maintaining a Healthy PC

"Help! My computer is running so slow!"

Most likely you have been infected with spyware, which is often worse than viruses. These can install themselves from web pages, or come packaged with that great "free" program you downloaded (Kazaa, Weather programs, Games, etc).

These tools are what I use to remove spyware from my family's PCs

• Firefox web browser. Sometimes Microsoft IE gets so infected it is nearly impossible to download any tools. Install a clean web browser that is better at protecting you from popups and spyware. I use Firefox exclusively for my web browser. Use this to download a removal tool, then reboot in safe mode (hit F8 when booting) and/or unplug the network connection to prevent the spyware from kicking in.
• Spybot Search & Destroy. This utility not only removes spyware, it also immunizes you from getting infected with new ones. It also comes with Tea Timer which is great if you want to know what is being added to the registry. I don't recommend Tea Timer for anyone that would be overwhelmed with the decisions it gives you when something adds itself to the registry.
• Lavasoft Adaware. Another great utility for removing spyware.
• Security Task Manager. This scans all processes in memory and allows you to quarantine any program that launches itself and you suspect is spyware or otherwise a program you don't need running all the time. If you quarantine a program you do need, you can go back and restore it. The advantage this has over the Windows task manager is that it prevents spyware that re-launches itself from coming back when you kill the task. This can also more effectivly remove spyware that Adaware and Spybot S&D need reboots to remove. It gives ratings to all processes but you need to decide what is spyware and needs to be removed.
• Hijack This. Another tool for removing programs that launch themselves through the registry or web browser. For more advanced users.

Most places that you would pay to remove spyware will use these free tools. You can save a lot of money doing it yourself. I've seen places charge $200 or more just to remove spyware and viruses. Sometimes its just easier to reinstall Windows. This is a good option if you have the restore disks for your PC or a Windows install CD. Restore disks typically reformat your hard drive, so first back up your data! Also make sure to write down your license key so you can reuse it when reinstalling. KeyFinder is a handy tool for finding the license key.

Some programs are not spyware or viruses, but have quick launchers or automatic update tools running at all times, which can slow you down! Lots of times these are apps you do not use every day. Keeping applications up to date is nice but usually not important enough to suffer the performance hit. Some common offenders include:

• Quicktime
• iTunes (remove this if you do not have an iPod/iPhone)
• Real / Realaudio
• Java Runtime
• CD burner software: Nero, Roxio

Security Task Manager or Hijack this can be used to remove these updaters.

Virus Removal

Virus scanners can also slow down your system. If you practice safe computing, you can go without a virus scanner. I haven't used one in many years. You can use Housecall from Trend Micro to perform an on demand scan for free from a web browser. Another free virus removal tool is McAfee Stinger. This removes some common viruses, but not all of them.

Stay Safe!

Here are some simple guidelines to keeping yourself free of viruses and spyware:

• Use Mozilla Firefox web browser. Most spyware targets Microsoft IE, so using another browser somewhat protects you. Firefox also automatically blocks popup ads.
• Turn on Automatic Update for Windows. If you are not on Windows XP service pack 2, go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and let it download all the updates for you. These updates plug security holes that viruses and spyware exploit.
• Try to keep the number of places you give your email address to a minimum to keep yourself from being a target of spam. Sign up for a free email account from yahoo or hotmail to use when filling out forms online (even buisnesses you are a customer of, they often sell your info!). Be wary of signing up for sweepstakes, they almost always just want to harvest your email address to sell you things or sell your address to others. Only give your primary email address to people you actually know and want to get email from.
• Don't be fooled by popup ads! They often try to convince you they are a Windows error message, or scare you into thinking your computer is infected by viruses/spyware. If in doubt, click the close button (x in the top right corner) on any suspicious window.
• Never open an email attachment from someone you don't know. Even if does appear to be from someone you know, do not open anything that is out of the ordinary for that person to send you. Some viruses automatically send themselves to all addresses in their address book, so you can get one in a email that appears to be from someone you know.
• Use a firewall. XP inclues a software firewall, but if you have a wireless access point/router/switch, it likely includes a firewall also. In this case you can disable the XP firewall if it interferes with file transfers on your home network.

Further Improving Performance

The single best way to improve your performance is to upgrade your RAM. If your computer is a few years old, chances are you could use more RAM for today's programs. If you are using Windows XP, 128MB or RAM is the bare minimum to function. The realistic minimum for XP is 256MB. I recommend 512MB or more. The less memory you have, the more your computer is paging to disk, which is what REALLY slows you down. Memory always getting cheaper. Often you can double your memory in your PC for $100 or less. Check your manual or a website to find out what kind of memory your computer accepts and the speed. Most now use DDR2 RAM, but some older systems will use DDR or SDRAM. I have found that new SDRAM has some incompatibilities with older Compaq Presario PCs. The fewer chips it has, the less likely it will work in a Compaq.

Your hard drive can also be a bottleneck. Cleaning up your drive by clearing you browser cache and removing old restore points clears up continuous space. Once that is complete, defragment your drive (under Accessories->System Tools) to rearrange the file fragments into continuous files. Old hard drives are also much slower than today's models. If your hard drive is 40GB or less, it is slow. If it is less than 20GB it is almost unbearably slow. Capacity doesn't really indicate speed, but it does generally reflect the age of the drive and the capabilities of it. New models have 7200 or more RPMs and 8MB or larger cache. Drives a year or more old may have a 2MB or less cache and 5400 RPMs. If you have the support in your motherboard, switching to serial ATA can also increase performance.

Buy computer upgrades online at newegg.com, or zipzoomfly.com. They either offer free shipping or very reasonable shipping along with their low prices. Beware of eBay sellers! They often are selling dammaged goods or sock it to you with very high shipping costs.

Shhsh!

Cheap computer components can be very loud! Manufacturers are reducing the noise produced by your PC. Power supplies, case fans, CPU fans, and graphics card fans can be very noisy. Look for noise levels of 25dBA or less. Larger fans can move more air at slower speeds, which produces less noise. Quiet power supplies are often power efficient as well, which can save you money on electricity.

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