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Detangling the Web--Beware Spyware
Did you know that most major Web sites--some of them popular and respected Web sites--download unwanted spyware on your computer when you visit? At its most benign level, spyware is used by Web sites to track your browsing and purchasing habits....
How to Create Backing Tracks If You Don't Play All the Instruments... or Any
Congratulations! Your singing has become amazing, and it's time the world knew. You've also written some songs that are just kick you-know-what. They need to be recorded, MP3ed and put on the net ASAP. But you've got two problems. First, you...
New Internet Users Beware...
The internet can be a confusing place for any new subscriber to the world wide web. Far from being a warm welcome, the internet can often seem daunting and full of hidden horrors. In addition to having to learn a wide range of applications and...
What Tablet PCs Can Do for You
Tablet PCs are great. If you are a mobile person, and you have never considered getting a tablet PC in the past, now is as good a time as any to start checking them out - the technology is cutting-edge, the usability is superb, and prices are...
Will RSS Replace Email?
RSS is a big buzz word right now, and this question has been popping up all over the place. Will RSS ever replace email? In short, the answer is no. RSS will never totally replace email because they each do totally different things. RSS was...
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Computer Maintenance and Improving PC Performance
Once you bring your personal computer home from the store or receive it in the mail there is no one around to offer basic personal computer maintenance tips for cleaning up and improving performance of your computer. Maintenance and cleaning up of your PC should be part of a regular routine to ensure that you don’t have any long-term problems with the computer. Unfortunately most basic computer users may not understand the mechanics of a computer or may feel intimidated with the maintenance. There are really simple steps anyone can take to ensure that your computer will continue working at the level it did when you first pulled it out of the box.
One of the first files to become acquainted with on your computer is the System Tools, located under the Start Menu, then Programs, and Accessories. The System Tools houses basic maintenance tools like Disk Defragmenter, Disk Cleanup, Backup, Scheduled Tasks, and System Information and ScanDisk on some Microsoft Windows computers. Strange that these files are located in Accessories because they really are the key to keeping your system running correctly and helping to improve performance as the computer ages.
On a regular basis you want to go to My Computer and then right click on the Local Disk (C Drive) and open up the Properties. This allows you to see how much space you are using and how much you have left to use on your computer. Under Tools in this area you can usually perform a scan of the disk. If you cannot run a disk scan from here, your Microsoft should have a disk scan available under the System Tools. It is important to run this disk scan to determine if there are any errors or problems running on your computer and the disk scan will repair those potential problems. Some experts recommend doing a thorough disk scan the first time and then a basic disk scan up to once a week to keep your computer performing at top conditions.
After this it is important to regularly perform a disk cleanup, which is located either under Properties under the C Drive, or under System Tools. Be aware that both the disk scan and the disk cleanup can take quite a bit of time and it is best to before these maintenance tools when you will not be using the computer. Set a routine with yourself like performing the disk clean up and disk scan on Saturday night while
you are watching movies with your family. After a disk cleanup, it also helps to regularly perform a disk defragmentation. A computer hard drive will begin to fragment over time, which means that programs that once worked in conjunction have become separated over time and may not be in the proper place to work well on your computer. This can slow down processes or make using certain programs difficult. Using the disk defragmenter can pull together those pieces again and return things to working order.
Basic maintenance routines that will ensure your computer runs at peak performance start with simply getting rid of files you do not use. If you have old word documents, software programs you have not used in a long time, or pictures and music you are not using, delete them from your computer. Remember that once you delete them, they do not automatically disappear, but instead go to the recycle bin and it is just as important to empty the recycle bin as it is to delete old files.
Old internet files can also cause your computer to slow down. Often with a Disk Cleanup there will be an opportunity for you to get rid of temporary internet files, but you can also get rid of them on your own by going to your Temporary Internet files in Microsoft Explorer. Click on Tools then Internet Options, General Tab, Temporary Internet Files, and Delete Files. As well, take time to clean out any other temporary files you may have acquired, like downloads from the internet. Depending on the model of your computer, the temporary files could be in different locations, but most often when you go to Disk Cleanup and scan there will be an option to get rid of temporary files as well.
A lot of maintenance and pc repair work can be automated by a software utility like the PC Bug Doctor PC Bug Doctor
One of the other helpful and easy ways to maintain your computer’s performance is to always run your protection programs, use a personal firewall when accessing the computer, and always install software updates available for Microsoft and protection programs. Keeping up on regular maintenance and setting a routine for updates on the computer will ensure that your computer performs the way it was intended to when you first brought it home.
Shawn Shellenbarger
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| Tucows Downloads - Download Freeware and Shareware Software |
| Download freeware, shareware, and demos. Maintains over 45000 software titles that are tested, rated, reviewed and ready to download. |
| www.tucows.com |
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| Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com |
| Download shareware, freeware and Demo software for PC, Mac, Linux, and Handhelds categorized into categories, plus software reviews. |
| www.download.com |
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| Computer software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Shareware.com - Search for shareware programs and free software ... |
| Search for shareware programs from more than a dozen downloadable software directories. |
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| Jumbo: Free & Shareware MP3 files, Games, Screen Savers & Computer ... |
| Source of free and shareware computer programs and utilities for PC and Mac. Evaluate software and read product reviews. Download games and screen savers. |
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| Computer Software in the Yahoo! Directory |
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| IEEE Software |
| IEEE Computer Society's magazine covering all aspects of software, including software engineering. |
| www.computer.org |
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| Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software |
| ZDNet's Software Directory is the Web's largest library of software downloads. Covering software for Windows, Mac, and Mobile systems, ZDNet's Software ... |
| downloads.zdnet.com |
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| FSF - The Free Software Foundation |
| Free software is a matter of liberty not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech". |
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| Apple - Software |
| Software products for your digital life. ... The perfect addition for professional review. QuickTime Broadcaster. Encoding software for live events. ... |
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| Open Directory - Computers: Software |
| In Partnership with AOL Search. about dmoz | report abuse/spam | help. the entire directory, only in Computers/Software. Top: Computers: Software (38471) ... |
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| freshmeat.net: Welcome to freshmeat.net |
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| Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
| Listing of the GNU software packages. |
| www.gnu.org |
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| Sun Software |
| Get enterprise-class software--Solaris 10 OS, the Java Enterprise System, ... Sun Java StorageTek Software reduces cost and complexity with a single, ... |
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| Internet Real Estate.com -- owns and operates a portfolio of the ... |
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| Joel on Software |
| A weblog by Joel Spolsky, a programmer working in New York City, about software and software companies. |
| www.joelonsoftware.com |
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| Amazon.com Software: Computer & video games, business, accounting ... |
| Online shopping for computer & video games, business & office productivity software, software from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe & more; accounting, antivirus, ... |
| www.amazon.com |
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| IBM Software - Home Page |
| IBM home page for all of its software products, including Lotus and Tivoli, with keyword search, category browse and AZ product names. |
| www.ibm.com |
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| Opera web browser: Homepage |
| Copyright © 2006 Opera Software ASA. All rights reserved. Skip navigation. Opera Software ... Copyright Opera Software ASA . All rights reserved. ... |
| www.opera.com |
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| Google Directory - Computers > Software |
| Search only in Software Search the Web ... Software Categorized by Letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ... |
| www.google.com |
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