Free Computer Cleanup Steps - Windows

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Today I had a coworker ask me how to make his machine run faster. I'm no computer repair expert, but I whipped up an email with a few quick tips. I decided to post it here as well in case someone else ever asks me. The farther down the list you go, the more advanced the task. Don't proceed farther than you are comfortable or capable. Changing things with which you are not familiar can do irreparable damage to your machine.

  1. Get a good antivirus & run it daily. Make sure it is up to date. There are lots of good free ones: AVG, Avast!, Panda, Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials, etc. Read some comparisons online to see which is the best lately. I think Avast! & Avira are both decent. Ideally you want something with good detection ratings & little bloat.
  2. Download, Install, & run MalwareBytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free
  3. Download, Install, & run SpyBot: http://portableapps.com/apps/security/spybot_portable
  4. Go to Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Programs and Features (Windows 7) and uninstall anything you are not familiar with (use Google to find out what it is before you uninstall.)
  5. Go to Internet Explorer -> Internet Options and look through your Internet Explorer add-ons & toolbars. Uninstall any that you don’t use.
  6. Go to Start -> Programs -> Startup and delete anything there that you don’t want starting when your computer does. Note: deleting the shortcut does not uninstall the program, just removes it from the startup list.
  7. Go to Start -> Run -> type “msconfig” & press enter. Go to the startup tab & make sure the list doesn’t have anything on it that you don’t need starting when your computer does. Note: if you remove things from this list, the programs will still run when you open them, they simply won’t be running all the time in the background.

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