New Computer, Advice Wanted

Ok, so my old computer finally bit the bullet. The power supply and mother board quit working so I bought a new PC tower. I have a few questions on maintaining it, preventing malware attacks, etc.

Operating system: I took the free upgrade to Win 10 and I have a few weeks to roll back to Win 7. I'm doing well with Win 10, should I keep it?

Maintenance: What programs do I need to use and how often should I run them, programs like CCleaner to keep my computer working optimally? I'm sure I'm not too defragged right now, but how often should I check that?

Protection: I presume what you list in the Malware section to protect myself should be attended to first. I noticed that I don't have a choice whether or not I want to use the Windows Defender, it's locked either by the OS or by the McAfee Internet Defense that came with the machine.

Does it matter what components are used on my machine? Do you need to know more about it to give me recommendations? I have a blank slate here and would like to keep it working well. Thanks for your help. All I really need is some places you already have set up to instructions to do all this. I wasn't sure if it mattered whether a machine was brand new or not.

Haven't had a new one for over 8 yr, so feeling happy and wanting to keep it working well for me. Thanks for your help!

Regards,
Stiina / Laura

 

I almost forgot the most important question! I'm having trouble finding a way to transfer my old data from my HDD (SATA 3.0) to my new drive. I have lots of photos and other stuff I want to keep. With no indications anything was going, I didn't have a good recent backup.

 

Since this is a desktop machine, you can connect both the old and new hard drives to the new build, provided the old drive is SATA. A newer motherboard will not in all likelihood have a 40 pin EIDE/PATA ribbon connection. Connecting the old drive also requires "taking ownership" of your files on the old HDD.

As far as malware prevention, I believe in a two pronged defense. I stand firmly behind Kaspersky or Bitdefender, with the added security of MalwareBytes Premium. Just my opinion, others may differ.

If you have an SSD (solid state drive) DO NOT defragment the drive. Ever. Windows 7 and it's successors have defragmenting built into the OS automatically for standard mechanical drives (HDD). Chances are you won't have to defragment the volume manually.

Anything I missed, or other queries?

 

I no longer use Windows, and haven't for years, but it seems I'm the goto guy for computer issues in my circle of family/friends. With that unique perspective, my OPINIONS are as follows:

Congrats! And you're smart to be thinking of preventative maintenance, as prevention is always easier than the cure.

Win10 hasn't been out very long, but it's getting good reviews, apparently fixing many user-issues with Win8 and 8.1. However, I would've recommended you stay with Win7 a little longer, until more bug fixes and minor issues are ironed out as the user-base grows. But make no mistake, Win10 is the future of Windows and you only have a limited time frame to upgrade. Since you've already upgraded and are doing well with it, I'd say stick with Win10 and don't look back! With that said, I would suggest you learn how to address privacy issues and limit data/info shared with MicroSoft, which seems to be very liberal.

My only other comment regarding Win10 is that I have concerns about the future of the MS business model. We used to buy software and we owned it. MS seems to be moving to a "licensing" model, wherein you "subscribe" to the software, like a rental. Too soon to say for certain just how far they'll take it, but I would personally recommend you discover non-MS software programs that suit your purpose and start using them, in order to limit your exposure to MS monthly rentals. (I am a vendor lock-in conspiracy theorist, and will do just about anything to avoid being forced to use any particular software/vendor in order to continue to have access to MY data; although I am happy to use a superior software product for as long as it suits my needs.)

For instance, in order to avoid any future possibility of vendor subscription lock-in, instead of MS Outlook, perhaps Mozilla Thunderbird with addons will suit your needs? Instead of MS Office, perhaps LibreOffice will suit your needs? Instead of MS Media Center, perhaps VLC (video) or Media Monkey (music) will suit your needs? The list goes on and on... I hear MajorGeeks is a great site to find free, open-source, and/or proprietary software offerings that have been vetted for malware!

CCleaner is a WONDERFUL tool and one of my goto tricks for cleaning up Win machines with cruft. Definitely download CCleaner, and use every 30 days or so to keep your machine optimal. No need to defrag anymore, as Windows has built-in auto-defrag since Win7(?).

Other items of protection to consider include Avast, AVG, or Avira anti-virus (I refer to them as "the 3 A's"). All are FREE and all do a fine job, IMO. There are other Anti-Virus software offerings that do a good job (I have heard good things about BitDefender), but I'd stay away from Norton & McAfee products. I"m sure they do a good job catching & cleaning up nasties on your machine, but they're also obtrusive and tend to hog resources from your machine, decreasing it's maximum performance. It's a fine line to gain maximum protection AND a minimum performance hit. In my OPINION, all of the 3 A's hit that sweet spot...but only choose ONE of those 3! Never install more than 1 AV software on a computer!

Finally, I'd recommend MalwareBytes and SuperAnti-Spyware as clean-up programs for super-nasty malware issues that AV just can't completely eradicate. At a minimum, download the software for easy installation when you really need it, but a malware/virus won't let you online; no problem, though, as you've already downloaded it, and can easily install with no issues. Ideally, also install it and run it periodically, say every 30 days (along with the CCleaner), to make sure your system stays as clean and pristine as possible. The FREE version should be sufficient for most home users.

The fact you're even THINKING about prevention of problems is a good sign. Most folks don't think about these issues until there's already a problem. By then, a simple scan/fix has ballooned into a major problem. I've got a good feeling about you and I think you'll be fine!

CONGRATS and enjoy!

 

Here are 3 very usefull lists.

MajorGeeks Top Freeware Picks.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/news/story/majorgeeks_top_freeware_picks.html

Windows 10 Fixes.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/sortname/windows_10_fixes.html

Here is a must read Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools.
http://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/14/comparison-of-windows-10-privacy-tools/
Most of these tools can (and should) be downloaded from MajorGeeks.

 

And don't forget to download and install backup software, and set it up to make regular and periodic backups automatically! Set it, and forget it!

I use LuckyBackup on my Linux computers, and I know there's a version of LuckyBackup for Windows, but I wasn't impressed with the Windows version. Many external USB drive manufacturers, like Seagate, WesternDigital, and others will include a backup software program on their device. As long as it's not a cloud/subscription solution, I'd look into whatever the drive maker suggests. OTOH, perhaps others will chime in with their preferred backup software solutions.

IMO, backup software is just as important as AntiVirus, AntiMalware, and Maintenance softwares!

 

Yes, don't forget the backup software.
My preferred program is Paragon Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/

 

Thank you all for very helpful information. I haven't had nearly the number of virus or trojan issues since my hubs destroyed his HDD with an infection that was so bad we couldn't recover the computer. I think I was getting infected from his through our wireless. I've also had critters piggy back on some emails from a "friend" who gets insulted at the suggestion that she would send me any infections, lol. I've done some quick checks on her machine and I can't figure how she was able to get it to do anything for her she is so infested. I've learned to just delete her garbage and to never open her attachments. No system is perfect. I'm going to go download some software and get my protection set up now.

Again, thank you for your advice!

Stiina / Laura

 

I forgot to tell you that I just finished transferring my data from my old HDD to my new one and yes, I had to update the security access to do it. There were a few areas I was not able to change the security, but I don't think they were in places I needed information from, like program files and such. The cables from the power supply fit into both of them, but with only one set I had to transfer twice as I had a dual drive HDD. At least the partition set up for C: on one drive and E: on the other. I didn't realize the partition would separate the two drives, in my head they were all one piece of hardware, lol. I will hang onto it just in case for a little while should I have forgotten something!

Thanks again for your help,

Stiina / Laura

 

Hi, I know that there are the "Freeware Picks" advice available and very useful they are but I was wondering what suggestions/advice would be about a choice of what software should be installed on a new computer and, perhaps more importantly, in what order they should be installed.
Also, when installing Win10 at what point does it start sending dodgy info back? Should we, can we, download it then go offline until it's been installed?
Can we stay offline until an appropriate program can uninstall the undesirable bits?

 

That's a loaded question. What I want, you might have no need for.

Security programs before you connect to the internet.

On all computers I install malwarebytes, my choice for a malware preventer.