Let’s face it–today we can’t live without our computer! We depend on it to help us keep in touch with friends, family, and business associates. If you’ve ever experienced trouble with your computer running too slowly, freezing on you, overheating, shutting down, or just dying while you’re in the midst of an important project, you can appreciate the importance of doing everything you can to keep your computer running efficiently.

Here are a few tips to help do just that.

First, never use the internet without anti-virus software installed. This is such an important rule since there are all kinds of things that can attach your computer if you don’t have the proper protection. Never use the internet or check your email without anti-virus software installed. Always make sure it’s kept up to date. Every day, thousands of computers are infected with viruses and worms without warning. Repair shops can charge hundreds of dollars to fix an infected system. An anti-virus solution will typically run less than $50.00 per year.

Have a respected company set up the proper firewalls on your computer to protect it from unwanted intruders.

Make sure you keep your Windows system up-to-date so your computer can work efficiently. You must ensure that your system can handle any needed upgrades.

Keep your Windows registry clean with a registry cleaner. Your registry contains references to settings and values for the operating system, the programs, user profiles, document types, property sheet settings, system hardware, and ports. This is where things are stored. Most of what goes into or comes out of your computer is noted in the Windows registry.

When you delete software or applications that are installed on your computer, you need to go to your control panel to the Add or Remove Programs option in Windows to detect and use Uninstaller scripts. It’s important to use the Add or Remove Programs option to prevent the corruption of  other parts of the system if they happen to be sharing any of the same files.

Conduct regular disk clean ups. Go to your start button and look for disk clean up. Click on to the files you would like to clean up or remove, and then let the program run until it’s done.

For all of your computer system needs call or contact Alpha Engineering Associates at 410-295-9500.