One of the regular jobs I have to do is clean people's computers. This is usually because the computer is running slow or in the worst situation, has a virus of some type infecting the running of the programs. All the computers I look after get a clean up on a regular schedule, but even then an attack can still get past the anti-virus program and firewall. I thought it might be a good idea to take you through the procedure that I use so you can do it yourself on your own computer.



Firstly, there is no reason for you to buy anti-virus programs or cleaners. There are several free download programs on the internet that are just as good as the expensive programs that are usually given as trial versions on new computers. These trial systems are fine but they kind of bully people into taking out a subscription with them because people don’t realize they can scrap the trial applications and get the free ones. I will give you the names of the free downloads as I go through the routine.


Someone recently asked me what the difference is between adware, malware, spyware, scare ware and viruses. I answered in that they are all intruders that you did not ask to be installed on your computer. They just have different actions and severity. I actually think the scare ware infections give the user the most concern. They are the infections that pop up telling you that your computer is being attacked by viruses and that to get rid of them you must press the button. DON’T PRESS THE BUTTON. Instead, try to close the windows using the exit X in the right hand top corner. If this does not work, shut the computer down until you can get it cleaned. Once again I stress DO NOT PRESS THE BUTTON.


Adware are adverts that are usually downloaded with free downloads. It is usually sponsorship that the developers of the program use to recover some of the development costs of the program. Spyware is information stealing software similarly downloaded with other programs that sends browsing information and possibly personal and financial information back to a website. Malware is any software that is there to either disrupt the operation of the system or steal information, so therefore spyware is a form of malware.


Viruses are a little more complicated in that the main reason for a virus is to do as much damage as possible. These are usually built by sick-minded individuals who live in an underground sub culture that includes hackers. They spend all their spare time building programs that will break through firewalls and encryption programs. They really do need to find a hobby and get out more.


Okay, to the clean up.


The first thing to do is a disc clean up. If you are using Windows then you already have this in your programs. I will list the clicks so you know where to find it.


Start


All programs


Accessories


System tools


Disk Cleanup


This will bring up a small window that will state it is calculating the space available. Another window will appear with a list of file groups that it has determined are surplus to requirements. Next to each one is a check box from which you can select or ignore that particular file group. Usually the file groups can be cleaned out without any detriment to the running of the computer. So go ahead and check all the boxes that have file sizes lager than zero. Then click the OK button. It will then pop up with a question ‘Are you sure you want to perform these actions?’ Click Yes and it will then bring up a small window similar to the first one with a filler bar. The program will automatically close when it has finished the clean up, and it may take quite a while to finish if this is the first time it has been run. Cup of coffee time.


The next operation I run is called Malwarebytes’ Anti-malware. This is one of the free downloads so just Google Malwarebytes and it will give you the website to find the download. Once you have downloaded the program, start it and click on the update page. It is always a good idea to run the updates every time you use this program, and don’t just update it once. Keep running the update until you see the small pop up saying you have the latest version. Once you have the latest update you can click on the Scanner page and run the scan. Here you have two choices. Quick Scan and Full Scan. Unless you have more than one drive in your computer, the quick scan is the one to use. The full scan allows you to choose what drives to scan and takes a bit longer to run. At the end of this operation it will bring up a window with the scan log. This shows what it has examined and whether there are any adware, malware or threats found. Just close this window as it will log this for future reference. If you have any threats then it will take you through the procedure to remove them. A word of warning here. Any time you have a program tell you that it has found threats, there is a rare possibility that it has listed something that it thinks is dangerous but is actually harmless and useful. This is a risk we have to take if we want a clean computer. So if you have a program that won’t run properly after running any of these cleaning programs, then that is probably the reason for it. Just don’t come blaming me ‘cause I told you so.


There is another antimalware program I use, but I tend not to install it on computers as it can tend to slow other operations down. It is called Superantispyware and again it is a free download. The version I use is a portable version that I have installed on a flash drive. If I have a computer that has a serious problem such as a scare ware virus, then I will plug in the flash drive and run it from there. The other good thing about this portable program is it is running off a drive that is not infected and it will usually get rid of the infection with no problem. Again, there is a risk of it removing something harmless, but it can usually be fixed. I have had a scare ware infection that has stuck itself to the System32 files on the computer. When this happened several programs would not work because the cleaner ripped out a few system32 files with the infection. But again, it was easily fixed by Googling the problem on the internet.


The next procedure is the actual ant-virus program. I very rarely find anything wrong here, but it is always a good thing to run it on a regular basis. Again free downloads are available, and the ones I recommend are AVG antivirus and Avast antivirus. Another word of warning. These are perfectly good programs but do not use both on the same computer. They will fight each other and you will end up with a very frozen computer system. I know because I once did it and it took me hours to free it up. Do the same as you did with the anti-malware program and run the update first, followed with a quick scan. If it finds anything, then it will either kill it or place it in the quarantine section until it updates with a removal tool. The difference between an anti-malware program and an anti-virus program is that the anti-malware program usually only runs when you ask it to, where as the anti-virus program is running in the background all the time, scanning everything that comes in or goes out.


The next procedure is one that often gets forgotten. This is a registry cleaner, and the one I use is called RegscrubXP. This is also a free download and only takes a minute or two to run. Just open the program and click the button at the top that says ‘RegscrubXP find problems’. This will scan the registry of the computer and find any redundant registry files. Once all the boxes along the top of the page are filled in, it will give you the buttons along the bottom. Press ‘Select all problems’ and then the button ‘Fix selected problems’. Once the entire list has disappeared then you can click the exit button. Sometimes it will stop and tell you that a certain file cannot be removed. This is because the file is being used by another program. You can add this file to the exceptions folder and in the future the program will skip over this file.


The last operation is the defragmentation or defrag. There is one already on the computer and you can find it in the system tools folder where you found the clean disk program at the beginning. I use another program for this job that I have found to be quicker than the Windows version, and yes you’ve guessed it. It’s a free download. By now you should have realized that I’m a tightwad. The one I use is by Auslogics, so just Google Auslogics defrag and download from their website.


The reason for defragging a computer can be shown in this analogy. Imagine your computer’s hard drive is a library, but instead of books it stores files. Each time these files are used they are taken off the library shelves, used and then put back on the shelves. But the problem is that they are not put back on the shelf in the right place. They are just dumped on the nearest shelf and then a load more files are taken off the shelves and used. Eventually the librarian takes more and more time to find these files and so it slows the system down. Defragging is the procedure of picking up all the files and putting them back in the right place on the shelf.


All these procedures will take a longer time if you have not done them for a while. If you do it on a regular basis then it will take less time and your computer should run more efficiently.


If you wondered after reading where these adware come from, whether the free downloads that I have been telling you to use have them, then all I can tell you is that I have never had any problem with these programs. Also, the mere fact that you are going to run these programs should clean any adware out.


These are the procedures that I personally use and if you know of any reason why you should not use them, then so be it. You use them at your own risk.