Woke up this morning and had a discussion with a couple friends regarding PC performance and sluggishness. So figured it was time to review technojunkyard’s library list of tools we use to perform a clean up of a poorly performing system and do a write up on any new ones that may have come on the scene as well.
First step if your having issues with your PC. Scan it for viruses, many already have a virus scanner they use daily for a quick scan and weekly for a DEEP scan. If not, you really should be. One further step that should be taken is to use another virus scanner to keep the one you are using HONEST. This is recommend this about one time a month. We all are aware that we should NEVER RUN or INSTALL 2 virus scanners at the same time as they will conflict and cause no end of problems. So best way to accomplish this. Use of an online scanner, one we have had the best results with is ESET [http://go.eset.com/us/online-scanner]
After you have done an online scan, cleaning up the Malware is the next on the list. Malwarebytes has been the ONLY program we really recommend to do this as it’s works well along side your
active virus scanner and throws very few false positives. It’s worth every penny they charge
for it as well, if your considering purchasing it.
We have an outlined entire system cleanup/speed up our Library on technojunkyard.net. All of the links are up to date and it’s pretty simple to follow. Of course those that may need some hand holding contact me I’d be glad to login remotely and assist for a small fee. You can reach me via the form located here. [http://wp.me/P3wmuX-9]
CleanUp/SpeedUp Computer Checklist can be found at the following address.
[http://wp.me/P3wmuX-cl]
We have created a page that contains a collection of the programs recommended to keep your PC’s running with the best performance possible. We do attempt to keep these programs links up to date here. Most offer a functional FREE TRIAL so are excellent resource.
[http://wp.me/P3wmuX-fB]
What do we use on our own systems?
Well this year we are using Avast 2015 and Malwarebytes both seem to do a great job. We have not purchased Avast’s addon’s we are not seeing they do a good enough job as the other items in our toolkit. At this time we are only using their Virus Scanner and software updater.
We have compiled a great list Virus Scanners both online and offline located in our library. At the following link. [http://wp.me/P3wmuX-eJ]
The list of tools we use for Malware removal, can be found here. [http://wp.me/P3wmuX-eU]
Lastly one thing we should touch on is Browser health, both Chrome and Firefox offer update’s. Some folks don’t bother when the notification is up and never get around to looking back at this until some new issue or exploit makes them wonder did I update? Both update processes are located under the About in your browsers texts options. Chrome under the = lines to the right of the browser and Firefox’s can be found with ALT+SHIFT+H then select About. Each browser will tell you if your up to date if not it will provide a button to download the update and then when complete to press to restart the browser.
Firefox has added one more item worth mentioning as well. Updating Addon’s from Firefox’s add on screen. CTRL+SHIFT+A, you will see your Extensions, and Plugin’s. It’s worth clicking on each and then the GEAR located next to the Search all add-on and then selecting Check for Updates on both of these at least once a month to make sure they are up to date. This helps to make sure Firefox launches a bit faster and provides that best security. Another suggestion is remove any unused extensions or plugin’s. If your unsure they may be… Remember GOOGLE and BING are your friends.