Spyware Removal

Spyware is a small piece of software that gathers information about the host of the computer without them knowing. There are various ways these programs can be installed onto your computer, simply  by clicking on the wrong section of a popup window can install spyware.

Adware is similar to spyware in that it gathers and reports users information. It is usually geared more towards advertising. Still if you dont want to share this information then it can be classed as invasive. A big downside to having lots of Spyware and Adware installed on your machine is it will slow down your machine, in some cases dramatically. So getting rid of them can also speed up your machine.

How do i get rid of Spyware and Adware?If you are running Microsoft Windows Xp or Vista then Windows Defender should already be installed on your machine. Just click on “Start” then you should see Windows Defender listed above All Programs. It has a small grey castle as its icon.It will inform you if it needs to check for updates, if it does then let it do it. This does take a while.On completion of the latest definitions being downloaded perform a scan. Again like the AntiVirus software this will take a while, so just leave it while this happens.

If you do not have or want defender then a free Spyware removal tool might appeal to you. in that case LavaSoft Ad-Aware 2007 Free is for you.Click on this link http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7423-page,1/description.html Now click on the “Download Now” button in the new window.Then select the ”Run” button in the small window. If you prefer save it to your computer then double click on it when the download completes.The program will now download and install. When this happens just follow the directions it provides.When it has finished installing update the definitions and perform a full system scan.

AVG Free AntiVirus

In my opinion Avg Free AntiVirus is one of the best virus detection and removal tools available. AVG Free AntiVirus is Lightweight, this means it does not slow down your computer. It will just sit in the backround until a full scan is either requested or scheduled.

This program is free to download for home users. With free live updates for the life of the program. Millions of home users have this running on their machines. I have this on my machine, and i install it on nearly every machine i am asked to fix.

This version is the basic package and does not have any technical support. It is best to uninstall any other AntiVirus software you are running first. Then follow these steps: 

1. Click on this link to get to Grisofts download site http://free.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/frt/0?prd=aff

2. Click on the “AVG 7.5 Free for windows” and select “Run”. If you prefer to save the file then just remember where you saved it, then double click on the file.

3. Just follow all the instructions, and i would recommend that you click on “Check for Updates” button when finished.

4. Perform a complete system scan straight away. This does take a while so you might want to let it do its job.

5. When the scan is complete it will inform you to its findings. If it does find anything you can either select to Quarantine the item or Clean it. This is your choice and either way the problem will be resolved.Thats it, you should now have a Virus free machine. I would recommend you set the schedule scan for a time when you are less likely to be using your machine, as any machine will be slowed down while this is in progress.

Defrag The HardDrive

What on earth is that?

Well the hard drive is like a library. It holds all the information on your computer, from the software you use to the files and documents that you create. Fragmented is when some of those files are split up and saved in various positions. Defragmenting puts all those split files into single files.

Doing this will increase the speed of your machine depending on how badly the files are defragmented. Follow these steps to defrag your harddrive:

1 Click on the the Start bar, normally found on the bottom left of your machine. click on “Programs” then click the folder called “Accessories” then “System tools” then from the list select “Disk Defragmenter” 2 Select “Analyse”, after a short while a little window will pop up telling you how much the disk is defragmented. Next to the “Analyse” button is the “Defragment” button, just click on this and wait.

3 This process will take from minutes to hours, depending on how cluttered your machine is. Just let it get on with it until it informs you it has finished.Thats it, your machine will be defragmented.

If you are more experienced you might want to do this from the command line, in which you can use the following steps

The Windows XP command line defragmenter is defrag.exe.

If you open a CMD prompt and type defrag /?, the following is displayed:

Usage: defrag <volume> [-a] [-f] [-v] [-?]   

volume drive letter or mount point (d: or d:\vol\mountpoint)

    -a     Analyze only

    -f     Force defragmentation, even if free space is low

    -v     Verbose output

    -?     Display this help text