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Computers have become an integral part of our daily lives and for the most part they work without any problem and do all that we ask of them.

On occasion however computers PC. will fail sometimes through lack of maintenance, software errors or virus infestation, and sometimes due to a variety of hardware failures including hard drive failure for example, which of course can be devastating to home and business users alike.

Data recovery is crucial if suffer from a hard drive crash, but hopefully this is something that most people will never need.

Whatever your computing problem finding local computer help or IT support quickly will help you get back on track in the shortest possible time frame and this is where we are here to help.

D.N.L Computer Repairs

D.N.L Computer Repairs is a useful and helpful resource to help you quickly find a repair technician in the area of Derby no matter if you are a PC home user or a business user.

D.N.L Computer Repairs will be able to offer you a broad spectrum of computer repair services ranging from desktop PC and with many software programs becoming more complex people are increasingly requiring just plain and simple computer help and computer support with everyday tasks for example configuring a new wireless router or firewall or even installing you latest copy of Microsoft office.

PC repair Let us diagnose the fault and get your PC up and running again in no time

If your machine is getting on a bit and things are falling off faster than you can stick them back on, then why not give it a little TLC and let our PC repair service replace the parts before they finally fry! PC repair can breathe new life into your old PC and can replace like for like parts when performing the repair, or you could even opt for an upgrade at the same time.

The PC repair service is available on our website and includes the cost of labor. If the PC cannot be repaired then we offer a No Fix No Fee PC repair service.

A experienced technician will diagnose any problems with your PC and recommend which parts need replacing.

The PC repair cost covers the repair time no matter how long it takes, and we can even upgrade your PC at the same time! (Money always upfront on all upgrades as upgrades need to be ordered in)

Bring your PC to D.N.L Computer Repairs (we do NOT collect)
Just bring your PC  – leave the keyboard etc at home. Explain the symptoms to us and we’ll diagnose the problem. We will recommend a solution in no time. PC repair Includes an estimate for any parts needed. If you’re happy, we’ll carry out the PC repair. We will let you know how long it will take. We will give you a full service report when you collect. We will answer any questions you have on the PC repair. Experience a rejuvenated PC and enjoy computing with a new lease of life. NEW ONLINE STORE GREAT DEALS LOW PRICES!!

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When they were first introduced, laptops were often underpowered, expensive, and heavy. As technology has improved, modern laptops and notebook computers offer performance on par with today’s most powerful desktop computers and are lightweight, making them very portable. With portability and all the extra features, though, problems can occur that that can leave a laptop broken.

The most common hardware fault found in a laptop involves its power source. Many people are familiar with a scenario in which the computer fails to turn on after many attempts. At first, it may seem like the battery needs to be recharged, but even plugging the computer into an electrical outlet does not seem to help. Chances are that the laptop has a bad power adapter or a bad power jack. The power jack on a laptop is susceptible to damage because of the frequency of its use. With users carelessly plugging and unplugging the AC adapter, the jack can get damaged as the solder welds wear down, preventing the laptop from receiving external power. Once the batter runs out, the laptop will not function and cannot be recharged.

Another laptop repair issue that owners face is overheating. Overheating is caused by a faulty fan that stops working or by blocking the airflow into the computer. Laptops are cooled by small fans that turn on and off, bringing in cold air from the surrounding environment to cool off the electronics inside. If the fan malfunctions and stops bringing in air, the components in the laptop like the CPU and hard drive may overheat, causing the computer to shut down intermittently. Furthermore, laptop overheating can occur if airflow into the system is blocked. One common cause of this is resting the computer on a soft surface such as a pillow when in use. To prevent this, laptops should always rest on a flat, hard surface when turned on.

Laptop PCs are built for portability, but in the course of being taken many places, they can also suffer a lot of abuse. Bumps or falls are a major contributor to laptop failure. Impacts are notorious for causing hard drive malfunctions. Sudden jolts or impacts and disturb the delicate magnetic platters or reading head in a hard drive, rendering it unreadable. When this happens, the computer will still turn on, but may begin to make clicking noises and fail to boot to the operating system. A warning message will sometimes appear on the screen telling the owner that a hard drive failure has occurred. When this happens, the drive must be replaced.

Finally, some laptop faults are software related. Many users complain about their computers being slow or acting in strange ways. Sometimes these problems are more characteristic of a software problem rather than a hardware fault. Common causes of software issues include bad drivers, incompatible software, or viruses. It’s important to keep drivers and the operating system up to date, while also performing routine virus scans and disk defragmentation.

Understanding the underlying causes of laptop faults can help to diagnose the problem and remedy the solution quickly.

Even technophobes who never really got the hang of computers, and who may type with one finger may find that they have to use laptops occasionally. Such is the technological revolution that almost every job now needs a basic level of ability in using computers and laptops and now that laptop prices have come down, many more are providing laptops to their staff rather than heavy, non-mobile desk top or tower computers.

This means that there are very many more laptops around in use and some of these are in the hands of people who may not be aware of the best way to take care of their laptop hardware. If you are not sure of the best way to look after your computer, here are some tips to keep your laptop in good condition. Don’t prop books up on the keyboard as you revert to traditional sources of information to look something up as you could loosen or prise off the laptop keys.Toshiba Satellite PRO L10 laptop battery

Be very careful with drinks around a laptop because, whereas coffee stains on a book are a nuisance, a spill on a laptop could be fatal to it. Similarly, eating whilst using your laptop may leave crumbs among and under the keyboard, which will cause problems with stuck keys in the future. Dropping a laptop is obviously not good for it, and neither is banging it down hard on a desk, or throwing it casually in a bag with lots of other items. HP Pavilion DV4000 Series laptop battery

Generally, laptops need a bit of tender loving care, but if you find that you need laptop hardware to replace a keyboard that has ceased to function, or laptop repairs to a screen that is damaged and unreadable, here at exceldigital(UK) we can supply you with laptop parts that are compatible with all the major makes and brands, which means that any accidents that may occur can be fixed easily.

As the computer repair center for Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties, Concise maintains a client list that resembles the “who’s who” in the Michigan small business community.  They are good, and they are growing out of their digs in Bloomfield Hills.

One of the reasons that Concise is so well respected in their industry is because they take the time to explain and teach at the same time.  Let’s face it, the information highway has its own language today.  Computer techies have always had a vernacular that tended to exclude the rest of the non-techie world.  Making things worse for us non-techies today, is the next layer of computer- speak: abbreviations of all the words that we had no clue about from the beginning.

The staff at Concise will now lead the pc tech support field by offering a series of articles with those definitions of words from the computer tech support world.  This is the first offering in what Concise hopes will be a long series of definitions from the computer tech speaker.

HONEYPOT

Wikipedia defines a HONEYPOT in computer speak, as a trap set to detect, deflect, or in some manner counteract unauthorized attempts to obtain use of information systems.

A HONEYPOT consists of a computer, data, or a network site that appears to be part of a network. But, the Honeypot is actually an isolated and unprotected deadend which appears to a hacker as valuable information.

Simply put, a HONEYPOT is a seductive decoy.  It lures the attacker into a harmless area of your system where it could be isolated, detected, and hopefully discovered by cyber police.

Another use of the Honeypot is to isolate spam.  Spammers abuse vulnerable resources such as open mail relays.  Some system administrators have created honeypot programs that masquerade as these decoy resources to discover spammer activity. There are several capabilities that honeypots provide to the administrators and the existence of such seductive bait systems makes abuse more difficult or risky for the spammer. Honeypots can be a powerful countermeasure to abuse from those who rely on very high volume abuse (e.g., spammers).  These honeypots can reveal the apparent IP address of the abuse and provide bulk spam capture (which enables operators to determine spammer’s URLs and response mechanisms).

HONEYNETS

Two or more honeypots on a network form a HONEYNET. Typically, a HONEYNET is used for monitoring a larger and/or more diverse network in which one honeypot may not be sufficient. Honeynets and honeypots are usually implemented as parts of a larger computer trouble shooting system. A HONEYFARM is a centralized collection of honeypots and analysis tools.

The next visit from a Concise Computer Consulting technician should go smoother.  And, when the topic turns to setting up a Honeyfarm for your small business’s computer system, you will immediately understand that you are not about to purchase a bunch of bee hives.

Concise Computer Consulting services the small and medium sized business community as well as residential homeowners.  Concise offers every kind of on site computer service:  laptop repair service, online pc repair, pc tech support and computer trouble shooting. Concise also offers Remote access configuration, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Web site design, Server Administration, and Preventive maintenance in the metropolitan Detroit area.  In addition, Concise diagnoses, installs, and manages both wired and wireless Local Area Networks, and even resells computers, laptops, and servers for Dell and IBM.

When you are experiencing computer problems, the time and money lost in productivity grows by the minute. Give us a call if you are having technology troubles and let us get you back up and running …often within hours.

Jeff Atto of Concise Computer Consulting, LLC, located at 2150 Franklin Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI.  Please contact us for any question about your home computer or laptop.  248-745-8255

My email address is info@concisePC.com and our website is http://www.concisePC.com

This Article was submitted by Right Now Marketing Group, LLC.

First we can upgrade our laptop devices or computers to make it work in case of higher performance showing or if it happens that we are intended to increase our memory or the amount of random access memory or we can have a need to increase our speed of the laptop devices by increasing the frequency determining the speed and performance by using high definition processors and there makes anew difference in the laptop computer devices.

To upgrade the laptop devices we have to increase the random access memory or increase the hard disk or change the processor from the old one to a new one so that we can make our computer faster and this makes a great difference in performance of the laptops. To upgrade our memory we should first read the manual of the laptop computer given at the time of the purchasing and here the matter of upgrading process can be started and here we have some knowledge of upgrading the device from the manual. If there is no manual given then a pdf file will be given in the hard drives.

The change in hard drives will not solve the problem and here we have to first see the windows system information up to how much maximum memory we can use and we have to check the drive amount installed there. The installation of hard drives depends upon the ports build in the hardware. If and only we can know there is a provision to increase the laptop memory then and then we can upgrade the memory size to gain the best performance. At first the slid covering the battery of the laptop should be opened and the battery should be removed so that there creates no problem in power accumulating creating a massacre in the operation of upgrading and gives a fine performance.

The performance of the laptop is defined on a basis of operation of the laptop computers depending upon the configuration it achieves and there it distinguishes between two laptops of Dell and Compaq companies. The things which should be reminded in case of upgrading is that the Dell is every time going to give a higher performance than any compaqs due to their operation values and higher performance delivering. So the up gradation mostly depend upon the up gradation of the memory and upgrading the memory of the disk space from 80giga byte to a 160 gigabyte will increase the amount of disk space that gives a good performance to any laptop computers but if the random access memory is increased in case of two computers, a Dell one and a Compaq one then it makes a great difference in Dell as it is having a high quality delivering and there makes a huge difference.

Sometimes we see in case of watching or looking windows system configuration that shows a Dell laptop or a Toshiba one can have up to 5 to 6 slots whereas there are a maximum 3 slots in case of Compaq laptops. So we can here increase the laptops dynamic memory a maximum up to 3 gigabyte for Compaq laptops and 8 gigabyte for Dell or Toshiba laptops. So there remain a lot of matters that makes an important fact in determining the up gradation necessary or we should have some knowledge so that we can feel the importance of grading the laptop computers.

once we upgrade our laptop, we also want the power can last longer, maybe it’s time to have a spare battery of high capacity laptop battery, Exceldigital, Ltd is a great laptop battery company

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Most people own more than one laptop unit and of different brands. Owning a universal external laptop battery seems to be the most convenient way to have when you travel as it allows you to use it with any laptop computer unit when your power supply is running out.

It is true that taking care of your laptop battery is a priority as your mobile computer will be useless with a defective battery on it. There is a need to ensure that it works properly in order not to hamper your convenient usage of your notebook. Proper care of your laptop requires its storage in moderate temperature which is neither too cold not too hot. Your laptop battery will be short of power once it is cold and it will not discharge fast when it is hot. You need to frequently charge your battery to ensure it to be fully functioning well.

Going for a universal battery for laptops allows it to work on different models, brand, and units. There are varieties of choices available in most computer shops and online stores. But do know what type of universal battery to buy for your laptop?

One issue with laptop batteries is the danger of explosion. It may rarely happen but it does happen and anyone could be at risk when using poor quality battery for their laptops. Take note that lithium ion laptop batteries, which are commonly used in the market could explode owing to its cobalt oxide content.

Consideration may be directed also by choosing a laptop that is smaller in size such as ultra portable or light weight laptops. They have smaller LCD and it uses less power. It has a hard drive that runs only about 4200 rpm which uses less power than those than run at 5400 rpm. This makes your laptop battery drain less quickly.

Universal batteries for laptop use are available in different types according to the size of your laptop. A friend bought a nickel metal laptop battery which is suitable for her small size notebook. I want to buy one myself however I was advised it is not suitable for my laptop which is 16 inches. The most suitable one is the ED369 battery which is best for laptops that are 13 inches or more in size and when one uses a lot of external devices that requires more battery power. This battery provides 2 to 3 hours of power supply in normal conditions. Simply plug it into the AC adapter of the laptop and it is ready to use.

When buying a battery for your laptop always consider the size of your computer and the average consumption of power. You can choose from variable output voltage. Voltage of 16 and 19 v DC are enough to supply most laptops.

As the computer repair center for Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties, Concise maintains a client list that resembles the “who’s who” in the Michigan small business community.  They are good, and they are growing out of their digs in Bloomfield Hills.

One of the reasons that Concise is so well respected in their industry is because they take the time to explain and teach at the same time.  Let’s face it, the information highway has its own language today.  Computer techies have always had a vernacular that tended to exclude the rest of the non-techie world.  Making things worse for us non-techies today, is the next layer of computer- speak: abbreviations of all the words that we had no clue about from the beginning.

The staff at Concise will now lead the pc tech support field by offering a series of articles with those definitions of words from the computer tech support world.  This is the first offering in what Concise hopes will be a long series of definitions from the computer tech speaker.

HONEYPOT

Wikipedia defines a HONEYPOT in computer speak, as a trap set to detect, deflect, or in some manner counteract unauthorized attempts to obtain use of information systems.

A HONEYPOT consists of a computer, data, or a network site that appears to be part of a network. But, the Honeypot is actually an isolated and unprotected deadend which appears to a hacker as valuable information.

Simply put, a HONEYPOT is a seductive decoy.  It lures the attacker into a harmless area of your system where it could be isolated, detected, and hopefully discovered by cyber police.

Another use of the Honeypot is to isolate spam.  Spammers abuse vulnerable resources such as open mail relays.  Some system administrators have created honeypot programs that masquerade as these decoy resources to discover spammer activity. There are several capabilities that honeypots provide to the administrators and the existence of such seductive bait systems makes abuse more difficult or risky for the spammer. Honeypots can be a powerful countermeasure to abuse from those who rely on very high volume abuse (e.g., spammers).  These honeypots can reveal the apparent IP address of the abuse and provide bulk spam capture (which enables operators to determine spammer’s URLs and response mechanisms).

HONEYNETS

Two or more honeypots on a network form a HONEYNET. Typically, a HONEYNET is used for monitoring a larger and/or more diverse network in which one honeypot may not be sufficient. Honeynets and honeypots are usually implemented as parts of a larger computer trouble shooting system. A HONEYFARM is a centralized collection of honeypots and analysis tools.

The next visit from a Concise Computer Consulting technician should go smoother.  And, when the topic turns to setting up a Honeyfarm for your small business’s computer system, you will immediately understand that you are not about to purchase a bunch of bee hives.

Concise Computer Consulting services the small and medium sized business community as well as residential homeowners.  Concise offers every kind of on site computer service:  laptop repair service, online pc repair, pc tech support and computer trouble shooting. Concise also offers Remote access configuration, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Web site design, Server Administration, and Preventive maintenance in the metropolitan Detroit area.  In addition, Concise diagnoses, installs, and manages both wired and wireless Local Area Networks, and even resells computers, laptops, and servers for Dell and IBM.

When you are experiencing computer problems, the time and money lost in productivity grows by the minute. Give us a call if you are having technology troubles and let us get you back up and running …often within hours.

Jeff Atto of Concise Computer Consulting, LLC, located at 2150 Franklin Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI.  Please contact us for any question about your home computer or laptop.  248-745-8255

My email address is info@concisePC.com and our website is http://www.concisePC.com

This press release was submitted by Right Now Marketing Group, LLC.

Laptops are getting faster, more portable and cheaper as the back-to-school season rolls in. A new range of lightweight laptops from PC makers priced between US$400 to $600 are as portable as netbooks but offer much better performance.

These laptops come with screen sizes ranging from 11.6 inches to 13.3 inches and can offer long battery life, sometimes in excess of six hours. Performance-wise, these laptops are not slouches — they can play back high-definition videos and are capable of handling casual gaming.

However, these laptops are not capable of handling intense gaming or demanding applications, given the limited processing power and graphics capabilities. These laptops also don’t come with optical drives, so there could be an additional cost involved in buying a DVD or Blu-ray drive.

Dell Inspiron M101z(dell laptop battery)

Dell recently introduced the Inspiron M101z, which the company claims offers “long battery life.” The laptop weighs about 3.44 pounds (1.56 kilograms), and Dell tests indicate the battery life to be about six hours and 30 minutes with a six-cell battery.

The laptop is priced from US$449. It runs on power-efficient Athlon II Neo single- and dual-core processors from Advanced Micro Devices. It will decode and play back HD video with the help of AMD’s ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics.

The system supports up to 8GB of memory and 320GB of hard-drive storage. It also has a 1.3-megapixel webcam and an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) port to display HD video on external devices. Wireless connectivity options for the laptop include Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi.

Toshiba T235( toshiba laptop battery)

Toshiba in mid-June launched the Satellite T200 series of laptops with screen sizes ranging from 11.6 inches to 13.3 inches, and with prices starting at $549. The processor options include Intel’s Pentium or AMD’s Neo dual-core processors. The laptops support up to 320GB of hard-drive storage and 4GB of memory.

A model that stood out in the new series was the T235D-S1340, which has a base price of $549. It comes with an Athlon II Neo dual-core K325 processor and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics. It has 3GB of memory and 320GB of storage. It also includes an HDMI port and a webcam. No further information was immediately available on the laptop’s battery life.

The most expensive laptop in the T200 line is the $629 T235-S1350, which comes with Intel’s Pentium U5400 dual-core processor running at 1.2GHz.

Hewlett-Packard’s Pavilion DM1z

For those who prefer HP, the Pavilion DM1z laptop is a lightweight budget laptop that includes an 11.6-inch screen. Priced starting at $449, the laptop weighs about 3.24 pounds (1.47 kilograms) and can run for around five hours on a single six-cell battery charge. It also includes a webcam and a 5-in-1 media card reader, and supports up to 5GB of memory and 500GB of storage.

A recommended configuration from HP is priced at $524.99. The configuration includes an AMD Turion II Neo dual-core processor K625 running at 1.5GHz and AMD’s ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics. It comes with 3GB of RAM and 320GB of storage.

Acer’s Aspire One laptops (aspire one laptop battery)

Acer in late June announced two new Aspire One laptops with low-power AMD chips. The AO521 is just under an inch thick, comes with a 10.1-inch screen and weighs about 2.75 pounds, making it more like a netbook. The AO521 is priced starting at US$349.99. The AO721 netbook has an 11.6-inch screen, is slightly heavier and is priced beginning at $429.99. The laptops include integrated ATI Radeon HD graphics to display high-definition multimedia content, and come preloaded with the Windows 7 OS.

How long does a Dell laptop battery last? When should I consider replacing mine?

All rechargeable batteries wear out with time and usage. As time and cumulative use increase, the performance will degrade. For the typical user, noticeable reduction in run time generally will be observed after 18 to 24 months. For a power user, reduction in run time generally may be experienced prior to 18 months. We recommend buying a new Dell laptop battery when the run time does not meet your needs.

How long am I able to use my Dell laptop on a fully charged battery?

Many factors affect the amount of time that a portable computer battery can deliver power before it must be recharged. These factors include the configuration (processor, memory, etc.), types of applications being run and display brightness.
Dell uses industry standard benchmarks for battery run time claims. For more information on battery run times and benchmarks, the white paper, “Understanding Battery Life in Portable Computers” is available.

How do I charge my Dell laptop battery?

The battery charges in the laptop when the laptop is connected to an AC power source via the AC adapter.

How long does it take for a Dell laptop battery to fully recharge?

The charge time varies depending on the system. If the system supports ExpressCharge, the battery typically will have greater than 80% charge after about an hour of charging, and fully charge in about 2 hours with the system off.

Should I totally discharge, then recharge my Dell laptop battery occasionally to make it last longer?

No, discharging and charging does not increase the life of a Lithium Ion technology battery.

Can a Dell laptop battery be “overcharged”?

No, the battery is designed to stop using the charger when it reaches full charge.

Does Dell sell external battery chargers?

Dell offers a Datamation battery charger for large institution customers. The charger has 16 charge bays to charge batteries for Latitude D500/D505/D510/D520/D600/D610 laptop systems. The product can be found at www.exceldigital.org.uk.

Is it easy to install a battery?

Yes, very easy. First, make sure all open files are saved. Next, either attach the AC adapter directly to the laptop or set the system to “hibernate” mode or shut off. Release the latch on the current battery, and simply install the replacement battery.

Will Dell laptops accept non-Dell batteries?

Dell has a rigorous qualification process by which all Dell batteries are validated to ensure proper function, performance and safety. Some non-Dell batteries are available in the market with claims of compatibility with Dell systems. Dell cannot verify these claims, nor the safety of using them in a Dell system. Dell strongly encourages our customers to use only Dell laptop batteries advertised as appropriate for their laptop model. Only Dell laptop batteries come with a 1-year warranty, are engineered for optimal safety and performance for Dell systems, and are supported by Dell technical support for the length of the warranty period.

What is a modular bay battery?

In some laptop systems Dell offers a battery that can be used in the optical drive media bay (DVD/CD drive bay). This enables the use of two batteries, potentially extending the available run time.

If I install a modular bay battery, are my primary and modular bay batteries working at the same time to power my laptop computer? No, the modular bay battery is used first, then the system automatically switches to the primary battery. This is a deliberate design to allow the most amount of run time to remain in the primary battery in case the modular bay battery is removed and replaced with an optical drive.
What does Dell recommend for battery storage for a long period of time? When storing for more than 4 days these guidelines can better preserve the life of your battery: Do not store batteries for long periods plugged into or attached to any power source. This includes AC adapters and laptop security carts plugged into an outlet.
Laptop batteries, including those stored in laptop systems, should maintain an Operational Storage Temperature of 0° to 35°C (32° to 95°F).
Batteries may be stored in the laptop or outside of the laptop.
Charge batteries before storing. The recommended charging time should not exceed 1 hour. Typically, this should charge the battery to between 80% and 100%. (Some discharge will take place over time. Stored batteries are expected to discharge 10-15% over a four month period, for your information.)

With all of the resources available to you, you may well ask yourself, “Why do I need a computer expert to maintain my computer?” The short answer is, you don’t. Just like you don’t need a technician to fix your car, repair your furnace, or do any other maintenance or repairs. If you have the knowledge and the time, you can easily repair and maintain your own computer.

But be warned, there are several potential “gotchas” involved in maintaining your own computer. If you decide to repair your own automobile, a company won’t sell you a carburetor what will break your car. Unfortunately, that’s not true of computer maintenance. There are many programs out there that either don’t do what they purport to do, perform unnecessary functions, or are just plain dangerous to install. It’s up to you, the computer maintenance technician, to determine what programs you can safely use in what manner.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the programs out there and what the do-it-yourselfer needs to watch out for.

Registry Cleaners Websites such as Finally Fast.com and Double My Speed.com have been promoting themselves heavily of late. These (and other) sites offer products to download and install that purport to improve your computer’s performance. These programs are mostly registry cleaners. The Windows registry is simply a database that the operating system uses to store everything it needs to know to run as per your specifications. In addition, it’s available to any other program to write their information in there as well. Since Windows 95, the registry has been the recommended repository for user preferences, settings, and any other variables a program has to remember.

Over time the Windows registry will become cluttered with unneeded information, most frequently caused by uninstallation programs not removing all of the data they should. The concept of a registry cleaner is that it will detect and remove these orphan settings, frequently improving computer performance.

The problem with registry cleaners is that they will often incorrectly detect a setting as unneeded and delete it, causing problems with either installed programs or the Windows operating system itself. Registry cleaners are good, but you should never blindly take their advice as to what to delete. You should always review each entry to verify that it can be deleted safely.

And keep in mind there are freeware applications that do an excellent job of cleaning your Windows registry. Ccleaner is the one recommended by The Computer Psychic. (Go to Google and search for ccleaner.)

Anti-Malware Applications Malware (spyware and virus) cleanup and prevention is one of the most important aspects of computer maintenance. If you catch a virus on your system, you leave yourself open to all sorts of mischief – including having files deleted, getting your address book scammed and spam e-mails being sent in your name, and even having your credit card and banking information stolen! Spyware can be just as bad – it typically “watches” what you do on your computer, down to even logging keystrokes, and thus stealing your passwords. In addition to these problems, spyware and viruses are often poorly written, causing performance problems in your system.

There are dozens of applications on the market that claim to remove malware from your system. And many of them do a good job. But here’s the rub – many programs that present themselves as anti-virus or anti-spyware are, themselves, viruses and spyware! The Computer Psychic has seen all too many systems where the owner has – with the best of intentions – installed an anti-malware app into their system, only to see the floodgates opened; they find themselves with more popup ads and performance problems than they’ve ever seen before.

So how do you make sure you don’t install one of these #$%& programs? First of all, if you get a pop-up message telling you that your computer is infected with viruses and click here to download a virus cleaner, don’t do it! Without exception, these programs are scams. Downloading one of these apps will introduce your system to more viruses than you thought existed. In fact, when you see this window, you’ll be presented with an OK and Cancel button. Don’t click either one! If you click Cancel, it will still install a virus. Instead, click on the little X in the upper right-hand corner to close the window.

Secondly, if you use a search engine looking for anti-malware programs, be careful what links you follow. Malware creators will name their applications very similar to – or even exactly the same as – legitimate programs, hoping to confuse you into downloading theirs instead of the good one. For example, if you wanted to download Spybot Search and Destroy (an excellent anti-spyware program) and searched for it in Yahoo, the very first result you’ll find purports itself to be Spybot. Clicking their link takes you to a page that says it’s Spybot Search and Destroy, but is actually an application that acts as a gateway to allow viruses into your system.

So, again, you need to take the time to learn what is and what isn’t safe to install. The Computer Psychic has a very easy recommendation. Microsoft has a vested interest in keeping your computer malware-free. If they do a good job of preventing viruses from getting into your system, then that’s one less thing that Apple can beat them up over. Towards that end, in September of 2009, Microsoft released an excellent free anti-malware program named Microsoft Security Essentials (www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials). In the past, The Computer Psychic has recommended against all-in-one solutions, arguing that no one application can catch everything. But Microsoft Security Essentials is just that good. It does as good a job as – or better than – any other application, or combination of apps, in blocking any type of spyware or virus.

Startup Monitors While not as popular as the other system maintenance programs, proper use of a startup monitor can dramatically speed up your computer. A startup monitor will tell you just what programs, drivers and processes load when you start your computer.

When you boot up your computer, the operating system will also auto-start many other components – possibly a fax application, printer elements, video or mouse drivers, to name a few. These are good – they are essential for the proper operation of your computer. However, many applications add themselves to the auto-run settings for their own convenience – not yours.

For example, programs such as Adobe Reader and Microsoft Office will tell the operating system to pre-load some of their components as Windows starts up. This allows their software to open more quickly when needed. The downside of this is, even if you aren’t actively using their software, your computer is using memory running those components. Better to not pre-load those components; let the software take a second or two longer to load, and speed up your entire system.

Another popular use for the startup is for auto-update programs. These apps will periodically check the internet looking for updates. If one is found, the program will present you with a window telling you an update is available. Not only do these apps consume computer resources, they can be an annoyance.

In order to easily prevent unwanted software from running automatically, The Computer Psychic recommends a Microsoft application called AutoRuns (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx). Using Autoruns you can decide just what apps you want to run when starting your computer. Once again, though, don’t blindly turn of all apps. Make sure you know what you’re disabling.

Summary

As you can see, using the tools recommended in this article makes it quite possible for anyone to maintain their computer’s health. But as with anything technical, make sure you know what you’re doing before just tinkering away.