You Can Prevent Computer Slowdowns & Issues

Most people understand preventive maintenance like changing the oil in your car will help your car run better and last longer. The same principle holds true for your PC. Based on the computer repair services we do on computers in Cincinnati, we believe 80% of computer slowdowns and problems can be prevented!

The purpose of this article is to help you understand how you can prevent computer slowdowns and other issues.

The top 10 ways you can prevent computer slowdown are?

1. Ensure antivirus software is installed, automatically checking for updates, and automatically scanning all incoming files. If there is a virus associated with a new file it will automatically be repaired or quarantined. New viruses come out daily. Because of this, the anti-virus software needs to be configured to automatically updates it's self. McAfee and Norton's are the most popular anti-virus software and what we recommend.

2. Run antispyware/antiadware software. Spyware and adware are hands down the most common cause of PC slowdowns. This software is critical if you are surfing the Internet. Spybot Search & Destroy or Ad-aware are the two most common free anti-spyware/adware packages. We recommend a more proactive packages like Spy Sweeper which proactively scans your system and cost less than $30. A combination of Spy Sweeper and Ad-aware provides very good coverage today.

3. Install a hardware firewall to keep hackers out. Hackers have automated tools that are looking for any PC connected to the Internet without a firewall. To give you an idea, at the time of this writing, my home PC was scanned 158 times in the last 24 hours. This means it was scanned an average of every 9 minutes. If you're connected to the Internet but don't have a firewall, hackers (criminals) will be in your PC. Beyond stealing your information they can install programs that can damage or slow your PC down. A hardware firewall to protect all the PCs on the local area network provides the best protection. Recommended hardware firewalls are Linksys, Netgear, and D-link. Hardware firewalls are easier to set up and maintain than software firewalls.

Software firewalls work but we don't recommend them because they are complicated to maintain and often cause other confusion and issues.

4. Microsoft Windows is constantly releasing updates for their operating system. Most of these updates are repairing security holes in their software. You want to configure your machine to automatically check for and download critical updates as they become available.

5. Delete your Internet temp files monthly. This will keep your system cleaner and allow it to run faster.

6. Defrag your hard drive quarterly. This is not the issue it was but there are still benefits to defraging your hard drive on a regular basis.

7. Read the terms and conditions before signing up for or downloading anything for free on the Internet. Free downloads like Kazaa (music), games, toolbars, and coupons often come with adware or spyware. The terms and conditions of downloads explain adware will be installed on the persons machine in exchange for the free software, music, pizza or whatever. Of course, few people read these terms and conditions.

8. Don't open e-mails from strangers. Don't open attachments from people you know if your not expecting it. Call the person and ensure they sent it. If they did not, don't open it. E-mail from strangers and unexpected attachments may contain adware or spyware waiting to install on your computer. It probably won't install if you don't open the e-mail or attachment. (Note: If you're using e-mail software with a mail "Preview Pane" like Microsoft Outlook, previewing the mail is the same as opening it. You should turn this feature off. Unselect "Preview Pane" under the "View" drop down list in Outlook.)

9. Use the Firefox web browser from www.mozilla.org. It is more secure and less vulnerable to popup ads, viruses, computer slowdowns, etc. It also has some additional tab and other options not available with other browsers.

10. We've talked about preventive maintenance but issues still happen. Hard drives fail. Computers are stolen, etc. Because of these risk, it's important to backup your data on a regular basis. The best backups are stored off site. This can be done with an Internet service or store the data to a CD and take it to another location on a regular basis.

In summary, we guarantee regular preventive maintenance will keep your computer running better. We suggest doing these things yourself or schedule a computer professional to proactively perform and ensure these preventive maintenance steps are in place and working on a monthly basis. This will prevent computer slowdowns and issues!

John Daniell and the Swordfish Computer Solutions team help people prevent computer slowdowns and resolve computer issues. They do this by providing IT outsourcing computer services including computer networking, repair, training, website development, and graphic design in Cincinnati, Ohio. John can be reached at http://www.SwordfishCS.com.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Ceramic Disc Capacitor-How to Accurately Test It

The last article I mentioned about electrolytic capacitor breakdown when... Read More

Lock Workstation Fast

When you work in an office, it's important to lock... Read More

Top Three Factors to Consider While Choosing a Data Center for Your Business

Data Centers are the core of the Internet. The computer... Read More

A Guide to Refurbished IBM Laptops

IBM boasts a very large array of older and newer... Read More

Upgrading, Adding or Removing a Video Card, Sound Card, or Other AGP/PCI Card

For Video cards - Most PC video cards these days... Read More

Printer Cartridges - Step Back in History

You are working and trying to print out important documents... Read More

Give Your PC a Monitor Makeover

Whether you are crunching figures at a front office job... Read More

What to Do Once You Are Infected with Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses

What to do once your PC is infected with spyware,... Read More

Expansion Cards Part 1: (of a 3 part series)

PCIThe expansion slots available on motherboards allow for a variety... Read More

A Review of Refurbished HP Laptops

HP refurbished laptops can be found on their website hpshopping.com.... Read More

Protecting Your Computer From Power Surges, Data Loss, Viruses, And Spyware

Protecting Against A Power Surge:Your computer is an expensive investment;... Read More

Can I Use My Old Ink With My New Printer?

The quick answer is...yes and no.Consider this. How many printer... Read More

Wireless Notebooks: What You Need To Know About Going Wireless!

It's not exactly breaking news that our world is becoming... Read More

What You Should Know Before You Buy Computer Equipment

You will have many factors to consider when deciding on... Read More

The Merging of Humans and Computers

Soon the human brain will be completely interfaced with the... Read More

How to Read CRT Tube Part Numbers

All picture tubes, whether monochrome or color type are identified... Read More

Getting to Know Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers were born in the 1980s, replacing the popular... Read More

Two Essential Accessories For Notebook Computers

A Good Notebook BagForget those that are bundled with your... Read More

How to Choose a New Hard Drive for Your Computer

If you are running out of space on your computer... Read More

You Can Prevent Computer Slowdowns & Issues

Most people understand preventive maintenance like changing the oil in... Read More

RAID Disk Recovery

RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive)... Read More

Where does technology come from?

Ever wonder where all the cool gadgets come from? Ever... Read More

What Is A Crystal? And How To Test It

Crystal are use to keep the frequency of the clock... Read More

High Definition DVD

High definition DVD, also known as HD-DVD (which actually stands... Read More

How to Change, Upgade or Remove an IDE Hard Drive

Hard drives - Hard drives are a little more complicated.... Read More

How to Solve Multiple Paper Loading Problem in HP5L and HP6L Laser Printer

Have you ever encountered before the problem of having multiple... Read More

Purchasing Laser Toner Refills

Laser toner refills can be expensive. Over the life of... Read More

Selecting a Laptop

Small Can Be BeautifulWhen purchasing a new computer, you may... Read More

ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can... Read More

Build Your First Computer from Hardware Scratches

Wow- if you do it first time and have some... Read More

Flash Your ATI Video Cards BIOS

Flash your ATI video card BIOS.You will need the following:1.... Read More

The Printer Cartridge Review

Years ago computers were huge and their accompanying printers were... Read More

What Everybody Should Know About An Inkjet Printer: The One-Year Cost Of Printing

You can purchase an inkjet printer for as little as... Read More