Every time you open a web page, your computer is downloading all of the info from that web page. While it’s running, it’s important to understand what it actually does, so that you’re not just blindly clicking buttons. On the “Applications” tab I leave the defaults checked, minus the following: Any of the “Office 20XX” under Applications, RegEdit and Remote Desktop (again, because I’m a tech, I use those last two a lot, you can leave them checked if you’re not a tech), and then click Analyze.Īnalyze will take a few minutes to run. I work with a lot of documents and command line options, so I don’t like to clear that stuff. I generally leave the “Windows” tab with the defaults checked, minus the following: Recent Documents and Run. The initial interface will bring up a window with the tabs “Windows” and “Applications” on it. (Watch it, it tries to sneak a toolbar in!) Click “Yes” when you first open the app when it asks if you want to intelligently scan for cookies. Many viruses and malware apps target only IE, so it’s good to have something to get you on the internet to be able to fix things.Īfter you have successfully installed Google Chrome, install and run CCleaner. I listed Google Chrome because you always want to have at least 1 other web browser on your system besides Internet Explorer. I suggest downloading the above and installing them in the order listed. See the pic below and click the correct one! Extremely disappointing is the fact that its download link is directly below a JunkWare link. For paid software, I personally use Sophos on my computer - Note: ComboFix is a great app. Note: Avast and some others are also popular. Once that is done, I generally download all of the below apps into the My Documents or “Downloads” folder, so I know where they are: Personally, I like to make sure all critical Windows Update patches have been installed first. Make sure you have a back up of ALL critical data.If it has the word “Toolbar” in it, get rid of it!.If neither myself, nor the end user knows what an application is used for, get rid of it!. Here are my general personal rules when I clean up a PC: If your PC is 3 years old or more, its pushing the envelope of obsolete, but if it’s 3 years old and CLEAN, you’re a lot better off than 3 years and LOADED with JunkWare. What YOU see are lots of popups, ads for things, and clutter all over your web browser, and extreme slowness.īut there’s good news! We’re going to show you how to clean a lot of that stuff up, and your PC will run as well as it can. Typically what we see are lots of extra toolbars, animated cursors, free coupon printers, and free computer tuneup and virus scanning applications. What happens though, is that the average home user has 2 or 3 years worth of these “free” applications on their computer. In my case, it’s trying to install McAfee Security Scan: When you click on it, and go to install the update, it generally tries to sneak a toolbar in to the installation, usually the Ask! toolbar. Java Updates are a classic example, shown here circled in red: A lot of software updates install what I call “JunkWare” with their standard updates, because they get some sort of financial incentive for doing so. Now that that is out of the way – where to start? The first step is knowing what to look for. This information is for educational purposes only. We are not responsible for anything that happens to your computer by following or not following these directions. If you are not comfortable performing these steps yourself, contact a professional (Like us!) to do it for you. Almost all of the software you need should be available for free. Forget those services on TV trying to sell you software – that’s step one.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |