HenwoodWeb

I wanted to make a post today regarding your computer and keeping it clean. There are a LOT of different programs available to take care of this for you. My goal is to show you the ones that work and best of all are free! All the programs and information I give you are based off what I use and practice myself. There are other applications and practices used that work just as well, this is just my personal preference.

I am going to keep this as short as possible. There is a lot of information I can give on this subject but it will just take up to much time and you can visit their site to get it all anyways. So here we go.

#1 Wait

Before any applications are downloaded, there is one thing most people don’t even think about when maintaining their PC. Cleaning the computer with software is great and all but don’t forget about the actual computer its self! Buy a can of Caned Air and open that computer case up. See all that dust? Yea… It’s bad! Clean it all out and do this at least once every 3 to 4 months, doing this will keep the computer from heating up to much. Too much heat will damage the entire computer and we don’t want that. It also keeps the moving parts like fans running smooth and quiet. …Matt…

#2 CCleaner

CCleaner is freeware system optimization and privacy tool. Basically it is used to clean out your internets temp files, cookies, history, and scans your hard drive for old broken temp file and removes them. This will allow your internet to run faster and clear up space on your hard drive.

Download Here

#3 Spybot

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, adware, keyloggers, and more. Out of any of the available spyware/adware removal tools this one is by far my favorite. It removes infections, immunizes against known infections, and monitors in real time against changes to your computers registry (teatimer).

Download Here

#4 Lavasofts Ad-Aware

Ad-Aware is essentially the same thing as Spybot with more detail on its graphical interface (it looks pretty ). Ad-Aware removes adware, spyware, trojans & hijackers, password stealers, and keyloggers.

Both Spybot and Ad-Aware do basically the same thing but don’t tell yourself one program is good enough to keep my computer safe. I use both of these applications because where one doesn’t find anything the other will. Also they both have different and powerful tools to keep your computer safe real time. Meaning you don’t have to do an actual scan of your PC all the time, they monitor for threats.

Download Here

#5 AVG Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus protection against viruses and spyware and is used by over 70 millions of users. Just because it’s free does not mean it’s inferior to the pay versions such as Norton. AVG is my one and only anti-virus software on my computer because it’s light weight and works perfectly without bogging down my computer.

Download Here

#6 Finally…. FIREFOX!!!!

This one is simple folks. Internet Explorer is getting better but is still way to vulnerable to use. Scammers, spammers and trigger-happy viruses are true threats. Firefox is an open source internet browser more powerful then Internet Explorer and gives you more security and customization control. Basically Firefox is setting the standard for fast, secure, and reliable web browsing and Internet Explorer is just playing catch up. I still have to use Internet Explorer for something work related but other than that, everything I see on the internet is on a Firefox browser.

Download Here

That’s it guys! I tried to keep it down to a minimum on the info. Take a look at the programs and I hope this helps some of you understand how to keep your computer safe and clean. Have fun! Please let me know if you have questions.