Some of our clients have asked us what they should do to keep their PCs running smoothly. We usually give them a quick rundown of our usual tasks, but one day we came across the following schedule courtesy of GeekSquad - yes, we always give credit where credit is due. Unfortunately, they’ve since taken the information off their site, but we felt it was useful enough to share, so we’ve made some minor changes and voilà.
Regular maintenance is the key to keeping your PC running smoothly and preventing bigger repair expenses down the road. We’ve put together a list of tasks that can increase the speed, reliability and overall performance of your computer. Feel free to tailor this schedule to fit your needs, make sure you have virus software and a firewall in place to protect your computer and its data from harm.
| WEEKLY TASKS |
WHY |
STEPS |
| Anti-Virus Update |
- Keep your computer and files safe from viruses
- New viruses come out every day — make sure you have the most current virus protection
|
- Make sure you are connected to the Internet
- Right click the anti-virus icon at the lower right corner of your screen
- Choose update
|
| Windows® Update |
- To ensure that your operating system is up to date on the latest patches
- Windows frequently sends out updates that help improve performance
- There is no such thing as error free code, patches are sent out as errors are detected
|
For All Windows Users:
- Go to Windows Update and download the critical updates - Or Windows XP can be set to update automatically:
- Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System
- On the Automatic Updates tab, click either of the first two settings
- To turn off automatic updates for your computer, select Turn off automatic updating; I want to update my computer manually
- If you choose not to use automatic updating, you can always install specific updates from the Windows Update Web site. Open Windows Update in Help and Support Center
|
| Backup, Backup, and Backup |
- Accidents happen and you don’t want to lose your pictures, music, banking records and all the important fantasy football preferences
- This is a simple task that will save you a ton of time and money if an accident does occur
|
- To start Backup, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup
- You will need some type of removable media to complete this task such as floppy, CD, DVD or external hard drive
|
| Hard Drive Clean Up |
- Temporary files can add up quickly and inhibit the performance of your computer — get rid of them to speed things up
|
- Go to Start menu
- Select Run
- Type cleanmgr (computer will then list the areas you can clean)
- Select areas you want to clean up (you can highlight the choices if you aren’t sure)
- Click OK
- Click Yes if you are sure
|
| Spyware Check |
- System monitors, Trojans, Adware, and Cookies all fall into the bucket of Spyware
- Trojans and system monitors need to be removed immediately as they affect your PC and privacy.
- Adware is advertising-supported software that displays pop-up advertisements whenever the program is running even if you have a pop-up blocker installed
- Cookies are pieces of information that are generated by a web server and stored on your computer for future access; cookies personalize your web experience
|
- Run an audit on your machine to determine vulnerability to Spyware
|
| MONTHLY TASKS |
WHY |
STEPS |
| Clean your PC |
- Dust can be a big enemy for computer users and prevent keys from working and the mouse from rolling
- Five minutes of cleaning each month (or as needed) can go a long way to prolonging the life of your machine and maintaining performance
|
- Use a can of compressed air to blow the dust and any other critters that may have gotten lodged under the keys
- Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean the track ball compartment on your mouse — be very careful not to damage any of the rollers inside your mouse
|
| Disk Defragment |
- Consolidates fragmented files and folders to improve efficiency
- Consolidates free space and makes it less likely that new files will be fragmented which can slow down your PC and cause system issues
|
- Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter
- Click the Settings tab, select the check boxes you want (to ensure fastest startup of programs, select the first box), and then click OK
- Select the drive you want to defragment, click OK, and then click Yes
|
| QUARTERLY TASKS |
WHY |
STEPS |
| Password Protection |
- Your passwords can be easily comprimised if you’ve been infected by a virus or some types of spyware
|
- Change them — your financial accounts, email, and your fantasy football lineup could be affected
- The longer the better (8-10 characters) — the longer it is, the less likely it is to be guessed
- Never use a word you can find in the dictionary — hackers use software that can try millions of words per hour
- Combine numbers and letters (for example, instead of “arcadia”, try “arcadia99″
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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 6:57 pm by Ma and is filed under Tech Support. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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