best way to keep my computers happy

Welcome to majorgeeks

Just a few of the applications I run, maybe daily, weekly, monthly....

You will get some other members input on this so try a few of them out and find what your most happy with using

Junk/Temp and Registry Cleaners
CCleaner which will not only remove all the temp internet and temp installers* ( *left over from installing various software ) but it will also clean your registry and a clean registry to a point does help in the OS finding the correct paths to installed software faster.

This one recomended by BIGBAZZA is also a great option CleanUp! ( note: doesnt clean registry this one, but does clean temp files and junk, will catch what CCleaner misses )

This older but still good cleaner works a treat Regcleaner, easy to use and backs up the removed registry entries just in case something is changed and an application doesnt work ( never had it happen to me in the years using this app but you never know )


Defrag
The best option IMHO is O&O Defrag Pro, but sadly that one is not free so the next best options if you dont have a dedicated defrag application are, and I have two to choose from Diskeeper Lite or O&O Defrag 2000 Freeware Edition



Also a good option to boosting performance of your PC is to check the software that starts up with your PC as many un-needed running tasks can and do slow your PC, for his task, you can use Microsoft Defender's Tools menu link mentioned later on or CCleaner ( but do find out either by using Process Explorer to ID running tasks or Google the .exe file and you will generally find out what software an .exe is related to ) to delete the startup, which just means in most cases you have to manually start the software, ie. MSN Messenger, the multitude of update programs for items like your printer, burning software etc, DO however leave all security and operating system update applications alone )


Malware ( aka Virii, Trojans and Spyware )
well you have many options in this catagory and below are a few I personally like.

Spywareblaster
Does not scan and remove spyware but does help prevent it being installed in the first place by adding all the known sites and URLs that propagate this unwelcome guest!

Microsoft Windows Defender Beta
Good resident malware scanner, also has a few other tools, one as mentioned earlier is the ability to tell you whats in your startup and which software it relates to, this allows you to make your mind up to wether you really need it to start at boot or not... to get to this menu run the software and click Tools > Software Explorer > the drop down box gives you some options but generally it starts with startups, just look down the list and decide what software you have installed that doesnt really need to start at boot time but only when you need it, choices are Disable( if your not sure you want to remove fully or not ) and Delete ( to perminently remove ).

Ad-Aware SE Personal another good on demand scanner for Malware/Spyware

a-squared (a²) Free edition A great on-demand scanner for many trojans/virii/dialers etc and is compatible with other AntiVirus applications.


then options for AntiVirus are
AVG
AVAST
AntiVIR

Firewalls
ZoneAlarm Free
Outpost
Sygate


( note: only one Full resident/background scanning AntiVirus and Firewall should be installed at once )




most if not all of the above and some other great options not listed can be found in the

Majorgeeks ~ Must have free downloads

 

And while I remember, please have a read of our How to Protect yourself from malware! guide.

 

Justa heads up........ A2 ( A-Squared ) you will have to register for to gain access to updates etc, but it's a free registration and they do not spam you with emails ( I have used this software for well over 1yr+ ), they do if you wish have the option to get their newsletter o rnot at registration, which I actaully like as its a quick alert to some of the new nasties that are going around,

when you do your cleanup routine, just add A2 to your list and before scanning, check for updates and it does update alot fo take into account the many new variances in malware, then scan, its just another software scan to give you a bit more peice of mind.