Computer health, maintenance, tools and scans

[hammy]

I have never used an antivirus(wouldn`t advise this unless you are a computer geek) as all they do is slow your pc down, I have never had a virus but get the normal trojans of which I have TR(trojan remover) running in the background which picks up on them straight away.

[sleah]

And to continue annoying Angela about AV....

Make sure you only have ONE anti-virus type program running.
It can be tempting to put two different ones on for the 'belt'n'braces' approach, but unfortunately it does the opposite.....

Windows does a reasonable job of looking after itself. Often it's badly written software that causes machines to 'clog up', and don't think it's just free/shareware, the big names can be as bad.
The likes of Adobe and Sun have done some attrocious programming.
How many versions of 'Java' can you have at once
Java is appauling at housekeeping, it NEVER uninstalls an old version, it just piles new versions on top of old ones.

It's worth going through add/remove programs every few months to de-clutter, not just un used programms, but clearing the likes of Java/Flash etc and reinstalling the current versions.
However, nothing can beat a full system restore - extreme but sometimes the only way

Keeping your desktop clear can speed up logging on too

In terms of fragmentation, having a separate drive/partition for data can work wonders. Constant movement of documents as you alter them, add new, delete old will cause a drive to become fragmented. Keeping a system drive free of documents will help keep it more efficient.

[Marc J]

Windows Firewall
Free AV: Microsoft Security Essentials
or Paid AV: ESET NOD32
Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster & Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Keep all these up-to-date (some require manual updating) and keep Windows up-to-date too.

Also keep things like Flash Player, Java and Adobe Reader up-to-date, and disable Javascript in Adobe Reader. As sleah says, with Java in particular it's best to uninstall the old version first.

Install the free Secunia PSI to scan your system and report any out-of-date or unpatched software installed.

IMHO steer well clear of any registry cleaners, and AVG.

[DB Entertainments]

do you mind me asking why you should stay clear of AVG?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

do you mind me asking why you should stay clear of AVG?

I've used that for years without problems.

[Excalibur]

I've used that for years without problems.

+1 in favour of AVG.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

Yep, ive never had any issues with AVG either..

[Marc J]

do you mind me asking why you should stay clear of AVG?

While using it I was infected with a virus. Which is fair enough, it can happen, but then an update killed my PC to a snail's pace (see http://forums.avg.com/gb-en/avg-free...show&id=41169).

Since swicthing to the paid version of ESET NOD32 (for XP) and Microsoft Security Essentials (for Win 7) I've never had a problem.

[chrisj]

I have just been told that Microsoft Security will be as good as Eset Nod32 that I have paid for for the last 3 years.
Can anyone remark on this as I am not very knowledgeable about these things?
I have had no problems since being with Eset Nod32 but if I can save the cost I will go Microsoft if it is as good.

[Marc J]

I have just been told that Microsoft Security will be as good as Eset Nod32 that I have paid for for the last 3 years.
Can anyone remark on this as I am not very knowledgeable about these things?
I have had no problems since being with Eset Nod32 but if I can save the cost I will go Microsoft if it is as good.

As I said, I use ESET NOD32 for XP but MSE for Win7. Both on the same machine on a dual boot, I had already shelled out for the ESET before installing Win7, and it has just stayed because it's proven itself in the time I've been using it. Having said that, I feel MSE is fine and don't feel any need to buy ESET again for the Win7 installation. Although, my usage is about 95% Win XP and 5% Win7, so can't say that the MSE has really been tested much.

If I really had to choose between the two, at this point, I'd sway towards ESET only because I know it has stopped some nasties in their tracks, and works well. I'd only by the AV though, not the whole security package.