When you first get your computer, you are usually impressed at how quickly it runs, and how rarely it commits errors. After awhile, though, things slow down, and you find that you can no longer start up, restart, stream, or browse very quickly at all. This is a sign that there may be a number of things clogging up the way that your computer is running, and definitely time for a cleaning. There are a number of things to clean and look for, and many ways to do it. When cleaning a computer, here are some of the main things that are removed:
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<li>Cookies: These little bits of info are things that websites want you to hold on to so they can give you a quicker startup experience. They may be a “hello, welcome back Fred” kind of cookie, or in some cases, they may be more complicated.</li>
<li>Viruses: These computer programs are created to wreak havoc on your computer. Sometimes they are made to allow someone else access to your most personal information, other times they are used just to destroy your ability to use your computer. </li>
<li>AdWare: These are small computer programs designed to look for keywords that you use in your computer usage, so they can target the kinds of ads that will make you most likely to buy something. They are meant to be helpful, but can clog up the speed with which your computer works. </li>
<li>SpyWare: This is more dangerous than adware- it works on the same principle, but is meant to look for certain combinations of words typed in order to steal passwords. </li>
</ul>
What to Do
It is likely that you have a combination of these items in your hard drive, and the best way to clean it out is with a combination of methods. First, clear the cache on your hard drive. The way to do this is with a combination of steps. First, clear the browsing history on your computer. Second, look up your temporary files, and clear those as well. Clean out your recycle bin. Finally, run the cleanup tools that are a part of your windows programming. This will do some additional things like disk defragmenting.
Second, run your antivirus program, and make sure that it is set for regular updates and scans. If you don’t have an adware and spyware program, consider a free one, like AdAware by lavasoft. Run these as well.
If you do this once a month, you will find that your computer continues to run well, almost like the first day you got it.