Ad-Aware, Firefox and Other Tips to Keep Computer Running Smoothly

Cleaning computer ad ware: Some easy tips to show you how to be a computer excellent user. Basically, that means taking responsibility for what crap gets installed on your beloved machine.� Most of this is geared to those who frequent the Internet, and all its glory. Some of this may seem harsh, but please don’t take it that way.� I understand how frustrating a computer can be when it doesn’t seem to do anything right and I’m trying to save you a trip to anger management, so here it goes.�

Adware Removal Tools

1) If you are being offered something in a pop-up, just say no.� They paid for someone to create a program that would invade your privacy, monitor what pages you visit, and then show you pop ups based on what you have been looking at. While this may be creative advertising, the quandary is, they, are not the only ones, and before long you’ll have 100 or more of these buggers, running on your computer� and there is the problem: not only are the pop ups annoying,� but you’ve got 100 little programs running in the back-round at the same time. That is why it gets�so slow, your machine has to constantly process this information, on top of the work you are intentionally giving it.� The lickety-split and simple answer: “Just Say NO”.� don’t click on that pop up at all. Instead, find it’s anchor on the task Bar, and right click it,� hit close. this should work for 90% of them, some of these guys even manage to hide the anchor. there’s a fix, just bear with me.

2) Go to www.lavasoftusa.com and gain the free version of ad-aware, as of me writing this the latest version is 1.06 SE and it works. the best part, it’s free for individuals, not so free for corporate entities, or if you want to benefit from the automated features where it will update and run itself then you gotta pay, but the basic version�is free, forever.� Be careful; a simple misspelling of the page or program name in your search engine, or Internet browser will lead you to a bogus and very malicious version of this program. So just click the link I provide you with at the end of this.

3) Keep your anti-virus up to date. Some of the best ones actually are free. There’s one called AVG from www.grisoft.com,� same�rules of freedom as applied to ad-aware.��Another Anti-virus, the one I currently consume, is one called Avast! anti-virus from www.avast.com, also free.�Again, you can pay for versions with more features like automation and� network�scanning for example, but for many the free version�will do just blooming.� If you have windows service pack 2 (shame on you if you don’t), then the new security center built into windows will help you keep track of your anti-virus, and let you know that they need updating.�The great thing about these two programs though is that they already sustain themselves up to date; so it’s works famously.

4) Keep windows up to date. Microsoft’s own procedure of trying to sustain ahead of the�game, by patching up security holes whenever they are poked.� That new security center feature will keep windows up to date, it works great if you have an always on (broadband)�connection.� Simply leave the machine on overnight�with�widows update�on automatic and it will preserve itself up to date, so the only thing you have to worry about is getting your work in on time, or beating your latest solitaire high score.

5)�There’s an alternative to Ad-aware, called Observe Sweeper. You can find it at www.webroot.com; these guys make a lot of�really good�programs, but they are not free,�Spy Sweeper and Window Washer alone can save you a lot of money when it comes to repairs, so they are worth a look.� If you are interested in window washing, aka, cleaning up you tracks, protecting your privacy, and removing the most stubborn of cookies, then�I recommend Window Washer or it’s free alternative, Crap Cleaner, recently shortened to CCleaner; available at� www.ccleaner.com� it works, use it.�

6) Download, install, and employ Firefox.� Get it at www.Mozilla.org now. It’s an alternative to Internet Explorer, and solves/prevents�a�lot of these problems all by itself, mostly because it simply is incompatible with 98% of the spy-ware and viruses out there today.� It can disable those advertisers ability to hide their anchors,�affording you paunchy control over those�ad windows. �That number is always changing but have me the creators of Firefox are on top of it. Get it, consume it, you’ll recognize what I mean.� There’s also an alternative to IE, that still uses the IE core,� it’s called Maxthon and it’s�available at www.Maxthon.com, also free, but they ask for donations, as do the creators of CCleaner.�I suggest donating. This leaves the creators of these amazing programs, free to keep improving them without having to find day jobs. It is these people that are promoting�so many of the improvements,� by “forcing the hands” of Microsoft and many of the other corporate giants to go attend over their work and patch up the vulnerabilities. They ask for little and offer a lot.� For example,�both Maxthon, and Firefox, offer you�tabbed browsing, the next generation of Internet Surfing. One window, a tab for each web page, Something�so wonderfully simple, you’ll Wonder�how you ever managed before it came along and simplified your life.�Even Microsoft is planning to upgrade their next version of Internet Explorer 7 to a tabbed browsing Interface. However, what I like about these Alternatives, is that they stop a lot of the security holes that IE leaves open by default. Get it, use it, you’ll inspect what i mean, it’s a beautiful thing.

7) Get those icons off your�desktop, the shortcuts (identified by the microscopic curly arrow in the icon)�should go into the unused shortcut folder, but get the rest off your desktop, the computer has to work harder to keep them there because the desktop is a very active folder, so it has to read all that stuff over and over again all the time. That’s why�they support blinking and disappearing every so often.� Organize and fall them into the my document folder�instead.

Well if you’re detached here then there only one last step to keep your computer fairly happy; that’s Scan-disk, then Defrag�in that order, restart after each one. Scan disk checks for file system and hard drive errors, if you direct it to do so (honest check all the boxes and be patient), while defrag, short for defragment�cleans up the mess windows makes every time it accesses a file. Think of it as a clothing drawer. Every time you go in there, you don’t fold and put everything back in the same order, you objective kinda stuff it in and clean it later. Well Window’s Defrag, is the cleaning it later part. It puts all the ducks in a row, nice and neat and color coordinated, to improve overall file access efficiency. If you have multiple hard drives,� then you must do this for each one. You can only do one at a time, don’t hate me, that’s unbiased the way it works. If you have never done a defrag or scan disk before, this is the where and how.��

Move the mouse�to the “My Computer” icon on your desktop and double click it or collect in in the Initiate menu and click it.�Right click on�a hard drive icon.� A context menu will appear. At the bottom of that menu should be “properties”, click�that.� A new box should appear; within that box earn the tab labeled tools, and click that. There you’ll see scan disk, and defrag.� For most machines running windows XP�or widows 2000,� scan disk will need exclusive access to the hard drive. It will inform you that it will preform the requested action on the next restart, it says so in the dialog box that pops up, read it carefully, and find frail to doing that, this will save you a lunge to therapy in the future.�After that’s done; restart, let scan disk do it’s thing, then retrace those steps and run defrag for the same hard drive. Defrag can�run while you work, but I highly recommend finding something else to do while it works it’s magic.� You doing other things on the computer while it’s trying to defrag, is like someone�sitting on you desk�and talking to you while you try to clean and organize�it. Let the programs do their jobs, they are there for a reason.� Now one last thing. Many computers; for the sake of longevity, are programmed to shut off their hard drives if you don’t�move the mouse or type anything�for given space of time, usually around 30 minutes. Just like the screen saver, these things are on a timer, if you are using a laptop this is even more likely to be already set up.� You should disable that feature while it defrags, so the disk doesn’t get turned off while it’s defragging.��Or if you are one of those people who likes to watch the clothes go round and round in the machines at the laundromat, then just sit there and move the mouse for a few seconds every 5 minutes or so.�In case you’re wondering how bad a hard drive shut down during defrag�can it be,� imagine someone suddenly turning off the lights while you are juggling freshly sharpened blades.� Here’s how to adjust the power options.�Go to your start menu. Within the start menu, find “control panel” click that. In the control panel window, salvage “power options”. read through the box that pops up and set the hard drive shut down to “never”.��Click apply, then OK, then run defrag.� For those of you with laptops, the manufacturer of your laptop has most likely included a tweaked version of those power options,�you’ll have to find it, most of the time the icon for it will be next to the clock on the task bar. Once you read through it,�and�figure out the controls, (don’t worry, in most cases, this is abundantly simple)��the effects are the same.

Thats it.�Really.�You’ll see a difference. Try it, enjoy it. Rejoice, you just saved yourself a trip to the rubber room, and a few (hundred)�bucks.