Community Newsletter: Q&A: 10/22/04 Keeping your Windows machine running lean, clean, and mean

10/22/04 Keeping your Windows machine running lean, clean, and mean

by Lee Koo (ADMIN)  - 10/21/04 2:35 PM

Thank you all for another week of great submissions!

Please everyone give this week’s winner Mark F. a huge round of applause for an excellent and probably a very time consuming write up.

Rhonda and Dad , I hope Mark’s fantastic winning answer and all the awesome honorable mentions and recommendations this week gives you some great guidance to maintaining a smooth running Windows system. If you have any other questions, please join us in this discussion below.

Members, like always if you have more questions, or additional advice, by all means feel free to post below in this thread. The more we discuss the more we learn--it’s all up to you as a community to contribute.

Thanks again everyone!
-Lee Koo
CNET Community


Question:

My kids and I have three computers at home, running Windows
98, Me, and XP. Granted, the XP system runs the smoothest
since it is the newest one, but I would like to get some
recommendations from people on some regular maintenance
routines, hardware, or software that I should use to ensure
their best performance.


Submitted by: Rhonda E. of Durham, North Carolina



Answer:

I am sure there are many ways to keep the hardware of your three computers running smoothly, although I am of the opinion that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Meaning, if your computers' hardware components appear to run smoothly, I wouldn't do too much tinkering to rock the boat. However, there are little things you can do:

1. Keep dust away from the computers and everywhere around them.
2. Keep wires and leads tidy and out of harm's way as much as possible.
3. Make sure each computer case has plenty of ventilation around it, and that it is standing on a firm base.
4. Don't let your computer workspaces get cluttered up.
5. Don't eat or drink anywhere near the computer, printers, scanners, or keyboards. (Difficult I know, and I am the worst offender, but any crumbs in the keyboard or spilt drinks on the case or keyboard can do a lot of damage.)
6. Don't move the computers around when they are switched on. If you have to move them, shut them down first.
There may be other similar steps you can take, but the essence is, keep the computer area clean and clutter-free.

As to software and the operating systems themselves, there is much more you can do. Although you have three computers with different operating systems, (OSs), housekeeping is the same for each. In particular, upkeep Windows 98 and Me is very much the same, but the methods you use are the same for them as for XP. It seems to me that there are five main issues, but other people may have better guidance:

1. Keep the computers virus free and protected by firewalls.
2. Keep the computer OSs up to date.
3. Get rid of any unwanted or temporary files.
4. Keep the files you intend to retain on your computers tidy and easier to
access by the OS.
5. Make sure you and your children understand the "best practices" for
Internet surfing, downloading and sharing files, viewing emails, and
installing applications.



1. Keep the computers virus free and protected by firewalls

If you only do one thing, this is the one you must do. It is regrettable that the Internet is now swamped by idiots and malicious users whose only purpose in life seems to be to make our lives miserable with virus infections and attempted hacking into our personal property. Your computers are your own personal property and you must protect them. You need:

a. A firewall on each computer that is connected to the Internet, either by itself, or through a local network, (i.e., through one of the other computers you have). There are many firewalls around, and they all help prevent hackers from gaining access to your computers and stealing personal data when you are connected to the Internet. The one I use is ZoneAlarm, from www.zonelabs.com. It is free, but it is by no means the only good one around.

b. Anti virus (AV) protection on each computer. Whether or not any of your computers are connected to the Internet, you need anti virus protection on each. Viruses can infect computers through email messages, chat rooms, web sites, downloaded programs and other files, and through infected floppy disks or CD's that your friends or children's friends may pass around. Again, there are plenty of free Anti virus products on the Internet. I use AVG from www.grisoft.com, but there are other good ones around. An AV should be installed on each computer. It's virus definition database needs to be kept up to date regularly, (at least twice a week, although many people will say do it daily), and you should use the AV to scan each computer regularly, e.g. once a week. This is, singularly, the best way to keep computers virus free. But AV's don't catch all malicious “malware”. You also need anti ad-ware protection.

c. Anti Adware protection. Adware can be spread by the same methods. Adware places annoying "pop-ups" on your computer advertising, whatever they are meant to advertise. They also place programs on your computer that record your surfing habits, so they can target the ads you get when you visit web sites. The best anti adware program around is Ad-Aware by www.lavasoftusa.com. Again it is free. Again it needs its definitions updated regularly, and the computers scanned, but perhaps not so often, say once a month.

d. You also need spyware protection. Spyware also spies on your surfing habits, but can steal details from you. I use two anti spyware products, both free, and they compliment each other. They are Spybot Search & Destroy from www.spybot.info/en/index.html Download an install, check for updates and scan regularly, and Spyware Blaster, from www.javacoolsoftware.com/ again, download and install, and update it. You don't perform scans with this program. It immunizes your computer in a different way, but it needs updating regularly.

e. I also have a start-up monitor installed. This warns me if anything on my computer that is installed, (either with or without my knowledge), attempts to set itself to start whenever I start up the computer. I obtained mine from http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml and it is a very useful little program.

2. Keep your OSs up to date.

( Clarification note from Lee Koo, CNET Community : While Mark explanation below will let you know that certain Windows Operating Systems are no longer being supported by Microsoft, I just found out myself that Microsoft recently extend their support to the public for Windows 98, 98SE, and Me. You can read it here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=LifeAn1 and I just wanted to bring this to your attention in case you panic... Thanks!)

This is going to be a problem for you as you have Windows 98 and ME as well as Windows XP. Microsoft support for Windows 98 has ended, and I believe that support for Windows ME has also ended, or will end soon. So that means you will not be able to keep the Windows OS on one or maybe two of your computers up to date. It is important to keep Windows up to date because it is an operating system that seems easy to exploit, and flaws and security issues are often found. It may not be such a problem for older versions of Windows as virus/spyware programmers tend to target the newer versions. But hackers don't care what version of Windows a person uses if they can gain access for their own uses. That being the case, I would seriously consider limiting access to the Internet to the Windows XP only computer. If you have, or can, set up a local network with the three computers, then make sure the Internet access is through the XP computer to the other two. That way, the XP computer hides the other two from all but the serious hacker.
With firewalls, AV's and other anti spyware programs installed on each, you should have pretty good protection.

Windows XP must be updated regularly. It is the favorite OS for malware. You can set the XP system to update automatically, or you can visit Microsoft's update page manually by going to the Start menu, and clicking the Windows update link. There are many critical updates that need to be installed, and if you haven't done this before, be prepared to spend some time downloading the updates. (I mean a "long" time). Each of your computers should have the same Windows Update link, so it would be worth your while to try updating each, in case my information about the availability of updates for 98 and ME is incorrect. Microsoft will only say NO if updates are not available,

I don't mean to be alarmist in all this. But it is a sad fact that many thousands or even millions of computers around the world are not adequately protected, and this just allows malware to propagate and spread.

3. Get rid off any unwanted or temporary files.

Windows is a hoarder. It's worse than a magpie. It stores files all over it's system, and many of these can be temporary files that the OS and other programs only use once and are then meant to be deleted, but are not.

Each Windows OS has a utility called "Disk Cleanup", in Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > System Tools. Using this will empty the main Windows/Temp folders, and you can also use it to delete your Recycle Bin, and your "Temporary Internet Folder", which stores all of the objects that make up the websites you have visited. You don't need these and they can be deleted.

Alternatively, If you do not know how to use Windows Explorer, (note that I do not mean Internet Explorer), then do a Search, (Start Menu/Search), and search for folders called "Temp", or "temp" or "Temporary files", or "temp*", (notice the star), and see what is contained in these folders. If you are satisfied they are old, or not wanted, delete them.

Or in Internet Explorer, click the Tools Menu then click Internet Options, (or go to Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel > Internet Options), and under the General tab you can delete cookies, files, (temporary Internet files), and Internet history, (which keeps a record of the web sites you have visited recently). You could also look at all the programs that are installed on the three computers.

On each, go to Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel, and double click the Add/Remove Programs Icon. In this utility you can see a list of all the programs installed on each computer. If there are any programs that you know you no longer use or need, then highlight the program, and click the Add/Remove button, then follow any other instructions that may appear. If you are not sure whether you still use the programs, I would leave this alone until you can be sure. Beware though that very often only the major parts of the programs are removed, and some leftovers will remain in that program's folder which you will have to manually delete. You may have to reboot, (re-start), your computer after each removal, but the utility should let you know about this.

4. Keep the files you intend to retain on your computers tidy and easier to access by the OS.

One of the major things you can do to improve performance on each computer, (which means it does not have to work so hard, and will run more smoothly), is to "scan" each hard disk for errors, and "de-fragment" each disk at regular intervals. Scandisk scans the hard disk, (where all files/folders are stored), for errors, and will attempt to fix them all for you. Errors can be bad sectors that have become corrupt and need repairing, or marking as "not for use in future", or program/file fragments that no longer belong to anything, and Scandisk can help you keep your hard disks in good working order. Disk fragmentation is an occupational hazard with hard disks. The programs and files or data stored on the disk become fragmented over time, and the OS has to work harder to load the files when needed. The Disk Defragmenter recombines all these fragments into a more compact area, which makes retrieval easier.

Both Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter are available by double clicking "My Computer" on the desktop, then highlighting the hard disk, (usually called the "C" disk), and right clicking that disk and choosing Properties, then Tools. If you have never run Scan Disk or Disk Defragmenter on any of the computers before, you should beware that these processes may take a long time to complete.
Before running either, turn off any Screen Savers, disconnect from the Internet, (unplug the Internet cable or wire), and disable your firewall and AV programs, then reboot after each process is done.

5. Make sure you and your children understand the "best practices" for Internet surfing, downloading and sharing files, viewing emails, and installing applications.

Best practices helps you and your children prevent coming across viruses and spyware in the first place.

a. One of the most important is to carry out a virus scan on "EVERYTHING" that you download from the Internet and intend to install, or intend to install from a CD or floppy disk, or open any attachments from an email. I mean EVERYTHING. Even if you know where the file or groups of files have come from, check it first for viruses. This is easy enough to do. If you have a CD or floppy disk, before copying anything over to your hard disk or before installing anything from them, open up My Computer, highlight the CD or floppy disk drive, and right click, and choose "Scan with AVG", or whatever your AV is. If your AV does not install a right click option, open up the AV program, select Scan, and navigate to the drive to be scanned. Similarly with files received from download or from email attachments. First of all save them to a temporary folder. The desktop is a good place, but only for temporary storage. Highlight the file, and right click to select scan with your AV.

b. If you or your children are using a file sharing program, (one called Kazaa seems to be the most popular), to share files with other people, you must be aware that the program itself may have come bundled with spyware and adware, and that any files you or the children download may not be what you or they expect, but may be infected themselves. You need to research the programs they are using, (e.g. in Google type in Kazaa, and stand well back when the thousands of Kazaa related articles appear), and find out what experts think of them. Do not trust a program just because the web site it came from looks good, or the program itself looks "cool".

c. A lot of web sites attempt to install files and programs onto your computer when you visit them. Use common sense when deciding which web sites to visit, and consider increasing your browsers security beforehand, (Internet Explorer/Tools/Internet Options/Security).
d) Beware of chat rooms. There is the obvious, (sadly), risk of young children being targeted by adults in chat rooms, but there is also the less obvious risk, especially in IRC chat rooms, or with Instant Messengers, of viruses "getting in" through the back door.

And finally...

Understand what you are doing, and keep up the housekeeping regularly. These forums are a great source of information if you have any problems or difficulties, and all of the moderators are keen and experienced in what they do and the advice they give.

As you can see, I have kept this reply to the minimum.........


Submitted by: Mark F.