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Things You Can Do To Make Your Computer Happy! 1. Update your virus definitions! I am regularly dumbfounded to find people who have never updated their virus definitions. Between 10 and 15 new viruses are released to the Internet every day! At any given time there are approximately 250 active viruses being passed from computer to computer on the Internet. Most viruses are easy to detect and eliminate before they do any damage, but only if you have an antivirus program using the latest virus definitions. The virus definitions list on your computer is the only means your antivirus program has available to it to recognize all known viruses. If you don't have the most recent virus definitions your antivirus program will not be able to identify any viruses released since your virus definitions list was created, putting your computer and files in danger. Fortunately, updating your virus definitions is easy. How? That depends on the antivirus program you use. Norton antivirus has a "live update" button built into it; click on the button, and Norton automatically downloads and installs the latest virus definitions from the Internet. Mcafee VirusScan has a similar update utility. If you are uncertain how to update your virus definitions, go to your antivirus software manufacturer’s website and look for their "download," "update," or "technical support" section. 2. Run Windows’ update! Windows is appropriately named because it is full of holes. Microsoft left numerous, unintentional “doors” into the Windows operating system (all versions) that could possibly make your computer defenseless to external attack. Specifically, a devious hacker could remotely 'walk through' one of these open doors on your Windows PC and take full control of your computer without you even being aware they are “there”. When security experts discover a security hole in Windows (or any of the Office applications) the folks at Microsoft will generally release a software “patch” to fix it. Without the patch, and Microsoft has released many, many patches, your computer will remain open to outside attack. Fortunately, like updating your virus definitions, downloading these patches couldn't be simpler. Included with Windows 98 and Internet Explorer version 4.0 and later is a feature called "Windows update". Windows update is an easy-to-use tool that makes sure that your computer is running the latest patches and drivers. Depending on what version you are running you can launch Windows Update by going to Start, Settings, Windows Update (or Automatic Updates). You can also launch Windows Update by going to the tools menu and click Windows Update in Internet Explorer. (Sometimes it is in the upper pane of the Start Menu as an option as well.) Then, in the left-hand pane click on the "Product Updates" link (or the Scan for Updates button in the right hand pane). Windows will tell you to wait while your computer downloads a list of updates for your operating system. Click the “Review and Install Updates” button. When Microsoft releases a crucial update or patch to fix a security hole in Windows, they call it a "critical update". Select everything in the "critical updates" section (with a check mark) and then click on the "download" arrow in the top right hand corner of the page. Follow the on-screen prompts. Expect to see a LOT of critical updates the first time you run Windows update. If you have Microsoft Office installed you will need to patch it as well. There is a “Office Update” link on the Windows Update page or just go to: http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates/ and follow the onscreen prompts and instructions. 3. Run Disk Clean Up Left to it self, Windows will turn a neat and tidy hard disk into a massive, cluttered mess in no time. Windows uses your hard disk to store vital information along with all sorts of temporary files as it processes data. Most of the time it does not toss these temp files when they are no longer needed. If your hard disk becomes too full, your computer will not have any room to work and will slow to a crawl and or crash. Prevent this slowdown by doing a little housecleaning. Microsoft has included a disk cleanup utility that does a pretty fair job. Go to the Start menu; choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Disk Cleanup. Choose the drive you want to scan from the drop-down menu. You will see a screen that displays exactly which files are no longer needed and approximately how much room you will gain by deleting them. Click on what you want to delete, and Windows will remove those items when you click on OK. You can safely delete files in the Recycle Bin, Temporary files, Cached Web pages, and downloaded program files temporarily stored on your hard disk. 4. Run “Disk Defragmenter”. A disk defragmenter simply speeds up your once speedy but now sluggish computer by rearranging files on the hard disk. Most files are too big to store in a single location on a hard disk. Pieces of the file will be stored in multiple locations that may or may not be adjacent to each other. When they are not adjacent they are referred to as fragments. Your computer accumulates more and more fragmented files as you create and delete files over time. This fragmentation is 'visible' to the user only as a general slow down in how fast the computer responds to requests. There is nothing you can do to prevent fragmentation, but a “defrag” can cure it. Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that rearranges your fragmented files and the free space on your hard drive so that files are stored in contiguous units and free space is consolidated in one contiguous block. To run the Windows’ built-in disk defragmenter utility, go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter. Or, in Windows 2000, right-click your C drive icon, Properties, Tools, Defragment Now. Be sure to exit all other programs first, especially screen savers, as they will interfere with the defragmenting process. These four maintenance tasks will go a long way in keeping your PC fit and healthy. .

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