*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

So you got the dreaded Ati2dvag Blue Screen Of Death?

See the Ati2dvag error fix below!

More often then not the ati2dvag blue screen error (like the one above) will occur when you are either opening or playing a video game. Although that is the most common time and place it will happen, it also plagues some computers randomly.  This can be frustrating because when it happens you lose all unsaved data that was not saved to the hard drive, whether it’s a video game or just a word or excel document.  The Ati2dvag blue screen can be quite the hassle but that is why you are here and today we are going to try and solve your Ati2dvag problem.

The Ati2vag blue screen error is most commonly created by incompatibility with your video card drivers. Sometimes the easiest fix to the Ati2vag blue screen problem can be as easy as updating your video card drivers. You can find drivers to fix the Ati2dvag error at the manufactures site of the video card. Sometimes finding the correct driver can truly be a task, that is why I wrote a whole article on how to update your drivers.  Click the link below to see how to do this, hopefully this will be the answer to your Ati2dvag blue screen problems!

How To Update Your Drivers

Alright, if you want to brave the driver game, let’s get started.  I am going to give you the simple run down on how to fix the Ati2dvag blue screen error by downloading the new driver, for more specific details click the link above. The first thing you want to do to fix the Ati2dvag blue screen problem is get rid of your old drivers. Get rid of the old driver easily by heading on over to Control Panel, then System, click on Hardware, then Device Manager and then select uninstall the device driver in Display Adaptors.

Your computer should now go back to it’s default video drivers and you should not get the ati2dvag blue screen error. If you restart your computer and it runs fine without getting any ati2dvag blue screen errors or any BSOD occurrences then move on to the installation of the new ATI driver.

Close down all your programs when downloading and installing your new drivers.  Make sure your antivirus is not doing any scans or anything. Following these steps should fix the ati2dvag blue screen problem.  If not, you may have a problem with your Registry.  If this is the case, then you should probably download a piece of software that can scan and detect any problems with your Registry.  This is a good idea anyway, you can really increase your computers performance and fix your ati2dvag blue screen problems. Check out the link below!

Increase your computer performance and get rid of the Ati2dvag Blue Screen Error!

Ati2dvag Blue Screen

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

Windows XP and Windows Vista both come with built in tools that will help you uninstall your unwanted programs. I’m going to start with these steps for the beginning part of my tutorial. If you have already attempted this step and the program you want to remove is not on the list in Windows then please scroll past the first couple of steps, don’t worry I have a solution for you to!

You will want to check your program list every month to make sure they are all programs you have installed. This checkup will ensure you are using less room on your hard drive and your computer will run faster and smoother. This type of routine maintenance will ensure that your computer is running at its optimal performance!

A lot of the time uninstalling programs from Windows is pretty easy. Simply follow the steps outlined below and you will see how easy it really is!

How To Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs In Windows XP

I am going to start off with a video I made that demonstrates exactly how to uninstall a program when using Windows XP add/remove tool. If the video does not load for you or you have a slow connection please proceed below where I have step by step instructions along with screen shots to illustrate what I am saying! Enjoy!

Here is the step by step tutorial for how to uninstall programs on Windows XP with screen shots!

1. Go to your start button and click control panel.

2. Click on add/remove programs.

3. You now have a list on programs that are selectable. Simply highlight the program you wish to uninstall and click the change/remove option. In this tutorial I have chosen to uninstall SmartFTP Client.

4. At this point you should get an option to remove the program.

A couple things to remember. It may take a few moments for the program to uninstall to please be patient. You can go through this list and uninstall any of the programs that you do not want anymore, however if you don’t know what it is you should leave it alone.

I followed your steps but the program I want to remove is not listed? WHAT DO I DO!!!

Please if you are having this problem scroll to the bottom of this post, thank you!

How To Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs In Windows Vista

First I will present to you the video that will show you exactly how to uninstall programs in Windows Vista.

1. Go to your Start button and click Control Panel.

2. Then click Uninstall Programs.

3. You will now see a list of programs, simply select the program to uninstall and click Uninstall.

Now lets address you folks that are having problems uninstalling programs or the programs are not showing up on the list to uninstall. I personally do not like using Windows built in uninstaller simply because it does not do the full job and a lot of programs on my computer slowing it down can not be found. The answer to this is….

Perfect Uninstaller

Perfect uninstaller is how I manage all my programs. If I want something uninstalled, its going to be uninstalled by perfect uninstaller. This program will work with Windows XP and Windows Vista so it does not matter which operating system you are running. Check out this list of pesky programs that may not show up for you but perfect uninstaller will get rid of!

Perfect Uninstaller will help you to…..

• Uninstall Windows Media Player
  
• Uninstall Almightysearch
  
• Uninstall Norton Anti Virus
  
• Uninstall Mcafee Anti Virus
  
• Uninstall Dogpile
  
• Uninstall Windows Messenger
  
• Uninstall Limewire
  
• Uninstall Flash
  
• Uninstall Google Toolbar
• Uninstall Realplayer
  
• Uninstall ITunes
  
• Uninstall Microsoft Outlook
  
• Uninstall Roxio
• Uninstall Yahoo Toolbar
  
• Uninstall Direct X
  
• Uninstall Earthlink Toolbar
  
• Uninstall Mirar Toolbar
  
• Uninstall speedupmypc 3
• Uninstall Quicktime
  
• Uninstall WGA

And many many more!

What Perfect Uninstaller can do for you ?

• Uninstall / remove any unwanted application in your PC
• Forcibly remove unwanted programs that cannot be uninstalled completely from “Windows Add or Remove Programs” control panel applet.
• Clear registry entries and drivers that the applications left over
• Show detailed information of a certain application installed in your computer
• Completely remove Adobe Reader, McAfee, Aol Toolbar, AVG Anti-Virus, Norton 2006/2007 and much more difficult to completely uninstall applications! Start your free trial now!

I have been using this software for a few years now and it always does the trick for me!  If you are having difficulty uninstalling or removing programs from Windows XP or Windows Vista this is the perfect software for you!

I hope this free guide helped you, please check out these other great free guides at COMPUTERHT.COM!

• How To Make Your Computer Run Faster.
• How To Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer.
• How To Clean And Repair Your Windows Registry.
• How To Prevent Getting A Virus, Worm And Trojan Horse On Your Computer.
• Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer
• Computer How To Home

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

Alright, I think I can safely assume you are here because when you hit the power button on your computer you have time to get up do the dishes, have dinner and watch a little T.V. then if your lucky after that is over its ready to start working. Or when you click your internet or favorite game, you get the dreaded hour glass of death. First of all if this is you, you have reached the right place. There are many things you can do to help speed up your computer and today you are going to learn those things. This tutorial will help you speed up your computer and allow you to download faster with incredibly quicker boot up times. What you have under the hood does not win the race, its how you drive. Most of these methods are free, some do cost a little bit. None of the methods cost a lot, it’s a very small price to pay to get your computer to speed up a bit.

You do not have to be computer savvy or have a degree in computer science to figure this out. The videos and screen shots I provide allows even the most novice of computer users to complete these tasks. When you are finished you can start bragging to your friends how your computer is by far the quickest.

Alright, ready to find out how to speed up your computer?!?! Good then lets do it!

***IMPORTANT***

On all of the pictures below you may click them to view a larger image. If it doesn’t show up when you click the picture, try clicking view original size.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#1 Use your Defrag Tool

W
hen you add a file or a new program to a new computer, the hard drive is relatively empty so new data is saved to the hard drive in one whole block. When you need to use that information, the computer can quickly access it because it is all in one place.

As you use your computer adding files and applications, the hard drive begins to fill up. Deleting files or removing programs creates small empty gaps among the other data that the computer will reuse. After awhile, the computer is no longer saving information in large blocks. Instead, it stores information in the many little empty nooks and crannies of your hard drive. The result is that one program or file is broken up, or fragmented, into little pieces and stored in many different areas of the hard disk. The computer ingeniously keeps track of the addresses of each piece of data and puts it all together when it is needed. Yet, obviously, the more broken up the information is, the longer it takes to access the data and the slower the computer becomes. To speed up a computer we need to defrag it, read below to find out step by step how to do this! Check out the screenshots or scroll down to the video!

1.From the start menu point to “all programs”

2.Point to “System Tools”

3.Click on “Disk Defragmenter”

4. The disk defragmenter will display the hard drives on your computer. Just select and click Defragment.

If you have multiple hard drives here, defrag each drive.

Here is the video showing you how to run the defrag tool.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/defrag-computer-how-to.swf" width="480" height="360" wmode="transparent" /]

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#2 Use Registry Fix

E
very Microsoft Windows operating system has a registry. Your system registry holds a wealth of information about your computer, which is why we constantly hear from users that after using their PC for a short length of time, it no longer works the way it used to. This is due in part to invalid entries that exist in your system registry, that might exist because of software you are no longer using or software that was not properly removed. By removing these invalid entries, you can significantly increase the performance of your PC.

There are a lot of similar products out there, but this one worked the best for me. Its consistent and always finds the correct problem. I have actually used a program claiming to be similar to this one that says it finds and repairs errors but actually does nothing, just a scam.

You get a Free Scan so you can try it out to see how many errors your computer has. Go ahead and click below to get your free scan to see how many errors your computer might have.

To repair all your errors Registry Fix will charge you for a full version of their program. Believe me though if you want a quick step up in computer performance this is a must. The registry must be cleaned to help speed up your computer.

Click Here Now For Your Free Scan With Registry Fix

Want to learn more about windows registry and what you can do to help it?

Click here for a whole section dedicated to windows registry.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#3 Free Up Disk Space

I
f you want to make a computer run faster you have to free up disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer quite a bit by doing this. Windows comes with a disk cleanup tool that helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete without messing anything up, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files. This is a necessary step when looking to speed up your computer.

Use Disk Cleanup to….

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files.
• Remove optional Windows components that you don’t use.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

To use Disk Cleanup

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.

Disk Cleanup calculates the amount of space you will be able to free.

2. In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. (If you have multiple hard drives you will have to select which one to scan.)

Choose the files that you want to delete.

3. Clear the check boxes for files that you don’t want to delete, and then click OK.

4. When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click OK.

Here is a video that demonstrates exactly how you can achieve a disk clean up!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/disk-cleanup-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

Look below for more info on freeing up disk space.

File Categories in Disk Cleanup Utility

There are a few different types of file categories that Disk Cleanup targets when it performs the initial disk analysis. Depending on the your system, you may or may not have all the categories listed in my example. An excellent example of this would be Backup Files from a Previous Operating System. If a clean install of XP was performed then this category will not exist. It pays to click on each of the categories and note that the [View Files] button can change depending on the category selected. Here is a rundown of each category.

Downloaded Program Files

These are ActiveX controls and Java applets downloaded from Web sites that are temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program Files folder. It’s not program files or zip files that you have downloaded from other locations.

Temporary Internet Files

This refers to Internet Explorer’s cache of Web pages that are stored on the hard drive for quicker viewing. None of your personal web settings are affected by selecting this category, nor does it delete any cookie files.

Recycle Bin

The main thing to be aware of in this category is that it only refers to the Recycle Bin for the selected hard drive or partition. This is important since XP uses an individual Recycle Bin for each drive and partition, not just one as is the case in some Windows versions.

Temporary Remote Desktop Files

These files are the result of using the Remote Desktop utility. If you repeatedly use Remote Desktop with the same computer or group of computers, leaving these files intact will maintain the speed of future connections. Deleting them will necessitate downloading the remote systems icons and wallpaper the next time a connection is established.

Setup Log Files

These are really pretty useless unless you have a specific reason to go back and see what occurred during XP setup.

Backup Files For Previous Operating System

I mentioned this category earlier as one you may not have, but if you did upgrade from a previous Windows version and selected the option to be able to uninstall XP, it may well exist. It takes some major hard drive space to copy all the files necessary to back up a previous system’s core files, drivers, etc. This entry can range anywhere from a few hundred megabytes up to a gigabyte, so unless you are still considering dumping XP this is a good category to select.

Offline Files

Users with slower dialup connections and those using laptops frequently make websites they use often available offline. Depending on how many levels deep you save the sites, they can eat up gigabytes of hard drive space very quickly. Worse than taking up space, the sites often contain outdated information. A good candidate for deletion.

Compress Old Files

Unlike the other categories, Compress Old Files doesn’t delete any files from the drive. It compresses files that Windows hasn’t accessed for a specified period of time. The files are still available, but there will be a slight increase in access times because the files will be decompressed the next time they are accessed. Note that when Compress Old Files is highlighted an Options button appears. Clicking it will allow you to set the number of days to wait before an unaccessed file is compressed.

There may be other categories that appear in your Disk Cleanup window, but in all cases, highlighting the item will display an explanation of the category in the Description area.

Post Disk Cleanup Procedures
Using Disk Cleanup will almost certainly rid your system of a substantial amount of unneeded files. You could stop here and not suffer any ill consequences, but there are a lot of gaps and empty spaces on the hard drive where the files were removed. This would be an excellent time to run Disk Defragmenter to organize the hard drive into contiguous sections. The hard drive heads will spend less time seeking all the pieces of a file and you’ll see another performance boost.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#4 Find And Repair Disk Errors

Detect and Repair Disk Errors:

I
n addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should try to run this utility weekly to help prevent data loss. It will also aid in your attempt to increase your computers speed!

To run the Error Checking utility:

Important: Be sure to close all files before running the Error-Checking utility. It can also make a computer run faster!

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.

2. In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.

3. In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.

4. Click the Check Now button.

5. In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.

In most circumstances, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

6. If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the Automatically fix file system errors check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

Here is a video displaying the exact steps you need to take to run disk check!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/disk-error-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#5 Get Rid Of Spyware

D
efinition of Spyware

Spyware is software with malicious intent – by design; it does something bad to your computer. Usually, it gets installed without your knowledge. It sometimes takes advantage of the fact that most people click “I Agree” to software licenses without reading them.

Facts about spyware.

1.Use up your computer’s system resources, memory, & Internet bandwidth, making your computer and/or Internet connection slow.

2.Delete, modify, or disable files, folders, programs, and essential Windows components and services.

3.Use worms, trojans, and “back doors” to open your computer to further invasions and these programs may also install software to enable your PC to be a “Host” or commonly known now as a “bot”. Bots are everyday normal PC’s that send, collect and analyze information all over the world.

4.Use your computer to send spam – yes, really! It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s spam is sent by “zombie” home computers infected with “spam trojans” which were installed by spyware or worms.

5.Conflict with other programs, causing your computer to crash or freeze up.

6.Hide the presence of other parasites, and protect them when you try to remove them.

7.Install “keyloggers” which record your keystrokes, that is, they record everything you type.

8.Steal your passwords, credit card information, & other personal data to be used for identity theft.

9.Monitor your web surfing habits and record the web pages you visit.

10.Relay any of this collected data back to its makers & sell it to other companies or bad guys.

11.Collect your e-mail address & make you the target of spam (junk e-mail).

12.Pester you with pop-up ads, even if you have pop-ups disabled in your web browser.

13.Hijack your web browser and change your home page, add favorites/bookmarks, or redirect you to other sites without your permission (more on browser hijacking later).

Pretty scary stuff huh? Having spyware on your computer is a serious threat to you and your family. Many have become the victims of idenity theft and other various crimes through spyware. There is a solution though, see the next section on how you get spyware on your computer and how to get it off.

Here are some ways you may have obtained spyware on your computer.

1.It may hide inside of another program’s installer: Many free programs, especially file/music sharing programs like Kazaa, but also screensavers, games, etc. install some form of spyware. They may or may not tell you that they’re doing this; if they do tell you, they will do so in the license agreement. They of course count on the fact that no one actually reads those license agreements! You should read to the end of all EULAs (End User Licensing Agreements).

2.It may be installed by a “drive-by download”: installed behind your back when you visit a web site or click a link, especially advertising links or those that say you won something. In these cases, you don’t even have to do anything other than visit a web site or click a link!
An e-mail or web site may make you think that you need to download something: For example, an e-mail may say that someone sent you an electronic greeting card but that you need to download a special viewer to see it, or a web site may say that you need to download a special “media player” to view their site.

3.It may pretend to be something essential, helpful, or desirable: Spyware may masquerade as some type of security warning, a “free virus scan,” or even a spyware removal program to get you to click on it.

4.A web site may keep pestering you to download something until you say yes: Normally, your web browser should ask you for permission if a web site you visit tries to install anything. Unfortunately, when you say No, your “No” is only good until you go to the next web page, where you’ll be asked again. After being asked several times, some people will just give in and say yes. (Don’t!)

And now the answer. SPYWARE CEASE.

Spyware Cease is one of the oldest and most established spyware blockers on the market. I have used and trusted Spyware Cease for years now. I have used many other spyware blockers, but nothing compares to Spyware Cease.

Be careful of fake spyware blockers out there. There are a lot that sound legit but will actually add spyware to your computer. Be very cautious when selecting a spyware blocker. Over 8.5 million people can’t be wrong with Spyware Cease!

Click Below Now For Your Free Scan Of Spyware Cease

If you would like additional information on Spyware please click here to read more.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#6 Disable all unneeded startup applications

U
sing MSCONFIG will allow you to shut down all programs that are starting up when you boot up your computer. A lot of programs take it upon themselves to think that they need to be running in the background even when they are not being used. Some we want to stay running such as our anti viruses, but a lot of them we really don’t need. A great example is MSN Messenger. When you download and use this messenger, it will automatically load up when you boot your computer, you don’t need that.. I will teach you now how to turn off unwanted applications at start up time to speed up a computer.

1. Go to your start button, click it and go to “Run”. It should be directly right of “all programs”.

2. A box should appear labeled “Open:” Type MSCONFIG in the box and hit enter or select OK.

3. You should now see the System Configuration Utility. Click the “startup” tab all the way to the right.

4. You will now be taken to a list of all the “startup” items.

Here is the video version of the exact steps to take! Remember to keep reading below about which programs you can and cannot turn off.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/msconfig-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

In Windows XP, all of Windows’ essential programs are loaded through something called “Windows Services.” This means that most of the startup items you see in XP are completely optional and can be turned off. However, a good rule of thumb is to disable only those programs that you recognize and don’t need to have running all the time. When in doubt, leave it on. There is a great resource on what applications you can turn off and what you should leave on. Check out the website below, it has over 13000 different applications. If its on your computer its probably on this site. Just use the search function, with all those applications your specific application will be very hard to find without it.

Click Here!

5. Click the Ok button. You will get a message that asks you to restart your computer before any changes go into effect. Click restart and your computer will automatically reboot and your changes should have taken effect. You should now have a much faster boot up time and your computer should move faster without all those programs running in the background.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#7 Add RAM

U
p to a point, adding RAM (random access memory) will normally cause your computer to feel faster on certain types of programs. RAM is important because of an operating system component called the virtual memory manager (VMM).

When you run a program such as a word processor or an Internet browser, the microprocessor in your computer pulls the executable file off the hard disk and loads it into RAM. In the case of a big program like Microsoft Word or Excel, the EXE consumes about 5 megabytes. The microprocessor also pulls in a number of shared DLLs (dynamic link libraries) — shared pieces of code used by multiple applications. The DLLs might total 20 or 30 megabytes. Then the microprocessor loads in the data files you want to look at, which might total several megabytes if you are looking at several documents or browsing a page with a lot of graphics. So a normal application needs between 10 and 30 megabytes of RAM space to run. On my machine, at any given time I might have the following applications running:

* A word processor
* A spreadsheet
* A DOS prompt
* An e-mail program
* A drawing program
* Three or four browser windows
* A fax program
* A Telnet session

Besides all of those applications, the operating system itself is taking up a good bit of space. Those programs together might need 100 to 150 megabytes of RAM, but my computer only has 64 megabytes of RAM installed.

For some of you that is a lot of technical jargon and may not mean a whole lot. I will put it a little bit easier to understand.

Basically every program you open up, is using RAM. If you have 128MB of RAM on your computer but your using 200MB your gonna run very slow. Upgrading RAM is a fairly inexpensive way to speed up a computer.

To check your RAM…
1. Go to start and click, then right click my computer and select properties.

2.Select the General Tab and you will get a screen that looks like this.

This screen will tell you how much RAM you have.

Tip) To view how much RAM you are using right now hit Control ALT Delete to bring up task manager and click the processes tab. This will tell you how many processes you are using and how much memory each is using.

This video will show you how to check your RAM and how to check you processes to see how much RAM you are using!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/find-ram-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#8 Get an External Hard Drive

A
dding an External Hard Drive to your computer will allow you to clear out a lot of the things you don’t need to be storing on your normal hard drive.

A great example would be your music or pictures. All those songs and pictures are sitting on your computer making it go slower. You will see a decline in your computers performance as soon as you use over half of your hard drive space.

Moving all your songs or pictures to your external hard drive will free up a lot of space on your main hard drive. You can even move applications such as photoshop or games.

An external hard drive is also handy because it is portable. You can unplug it from your computer and take it to a friends house and plug it in there, sharing photos and pictures very easily.

Most external hard drives connect using USB, so its very easy and practical and doesn’t require any installation or technical knowledge. I have listed some very dependable and affordable hard drives that you can purchase from Amazon below.

I will now show you how to check how big your hard drive is and how much you have used of it.

1. Click your start button and click my computer.

2. Right click your hard drive and select properties.

3. Select the General Tab. This page will give you a pie chart of your hard drive. It will show you how much you have used and how much you still have available. If you are anywhere over half you may want to consider an external hard drive. This will do wonders for your computer. This is one of the best ways to make a computer run faster.

Below is a video that will show you the exact steps to take in order to view your hard drive space.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/windows-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

As you can see I am actually in need of a new external hard drive myself. I will be picking one up tomorrow! This is a very important technique to speed up computer.

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#9 Optimize Windows

H
ere are a couple of ways you can make Windows and your computer speed up!

Windows XP can look nice, but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To
optimize:

1.Click the start button, and select the control panel.

2.Switch your control panel to classic view.

3.It will now look like this, go ahead and double click system.

4.Click on the advanced tab up top, then select settings in the performance section.

5.Leave only the following ticked:

• Show shadows under menus
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Show translucent selection rectangle
• Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
• Use visual styles on windows and buttons

Below is a video that demonstrates how to customize windows to make your computer run faster!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/windows-computer-how-to.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

You can also set your desktop background to none. It uses some memory that can slow your computer down. Turn off the background to speed up your computer.

I think most people know how to do this, but just in case here are the steps. I am not going to include screen shots with this one.

1. Right click your desktop anywhere and select properties.

2. Select the Desktop tab up top and you will see a list of backgrounds. Just scroll all the way to the top and select none. Hit apply and your golden, your background should just be all black now.

Now that we optimized Windows you should see a little increase in performance. These are some pretty easy steps to make a computer run faster!

How To Speed Up My Computer

Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer

#10 Get An Anti-Virus

T

his one seems a little obvious but believe it or not some people are still running around on the internet unprotected. This is probably the most known thing to do to protect and speed up your computer but I thought I would put it on here anyway.

An anti-virus will not only scan and remove viruses from your computer, but it will also block them from ever coming on board. If you have a good anti-virus you shouldn’t have to worry about any pesky or potentially serious viruses infecting your computer. I have included a link to my favorite anti-virus program called microantivirus. I truly believe its better than the corporate money grabbing anti-viruses out there like Norton and Mcafee. Having a great anti-virus program is no secret, but is a way on how to speed up my computer.

Click here now to get your hands on Microantivirus and keep your computer safe, the right way.

I hope I was able to answer your question to how to speed up my computer! Click below to go back to the home page and visit computer how to’s other tutorials and guides!

Computer How To Home

Check out these other great Computer How To Guides!

• How To Make Your Computer Run Faster.
• How To Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer.
• How To Clean And Repair Your Windows Registry.
• How To Prevent Getting A Virus, Worm And Trojan Horse On Your Computer.
• How To Completely Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs On Your Computer
• Computer How To Home

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

See how to detect remove and block spyware and malware from your computer below!

I
n this topic we will be discussing how to detect, remove and block spyware and malware from your computer. Many people computers are loaded with this stuff but they have no idea its there or how to get rid of it. Lets start off by giving you some easy to understand definitions of Spyware and Malware.

Definition- Spyware- any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet (where it is sometimes called a spybot or tracking software), spyware is programming that is put in someone’s computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program.

Definition- Malware- Malware (for “malicious software”) is any program or file that is harmful to a computer user. Thus, malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and also spyware, programming that gathers information about a computer user without permission.

The reason I included Malware in this topic is you will often hear the word Malware thrown around but most people do not know what it is.

Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer:

Spyware Programs

S

pyware programs range from annoying to the very harmful, including keyboard loggers and screen capture applications that can steal passwords and other sensitive information. The key loggers actually record every keystroke you enter on your computer, including passwords and emails. The programs are sometimes bundled in with shareware or freeware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. Often times they will claim to be a useful tool to protect you against spyware but will actually be spyware itself. You have to be careful.

Many of the programs are marketed as legitimate tools for keeping tabs on children and spouses online. One program called Activity Logger, for example, connects to the Internet on its own, records the URLs of sites visited and the keystrokes from e-mail and chat applications. It will also capture screenshots that can be made into a slide show. Spyware programs range from annoying to the dangerous, including keyboard loggers and screen capture applications that can steal passwords and other sensitive information.

You are going to need to know how to detect, remove and block spyware and other malware from your computer.

Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer:

You need some anti-spyware software to help you detect, remove and block spyware and other malware from your computer.

A
nti-spyware software works in a lot like your anti-virus does. It scans your computer’s hard drive and looks for files associated with known spyware and adware programs. After the scan, the software usually displays or quarantines potential problems and allows users to decide what should be removed. As mention earlier, definitions vary and your tolerance to certain advertising-related cookies may be high.

Like anti-virus software, anti-spyware software relies on databases of known rogue programs that must be updated. Regardless of which anti-spyware package you decide to use, make sure you understand how and when it updates so you are protected against the newest pests. Also check any type of spyware or adware removal programs with the spyware databases.

Finding the right anti-spyware software can be a daunting task in your quest to a spyware free computer. Not to worry, I have done all the work for you! I researched a ton of the software packages and even come to find out that some of them will actually install spyware on your computer. Through all my research and findings I give Spyware Cease my highest recommedation. I used a lot of these programs but none of them gave me the flexability and the protection that Spyware Cease did. Click below to check out their site and to download a free scan of your computer.

Click here now to see how Spyware Cease can protect your computer and your privacy!

Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer:

Here are some things you can do to help you detect, remove and block spyware and other malware from your computer.

Save yourself with System Restore

N
o matter how aware or alert you are, you may wake up one day and find your PC overrun with pop-up ads or your browser hijacked by a piece of spyware. Windows System Restore, found in Windows XP, offers a quick and easy way to remove such a spyware infection–if you catch it early enough.

Whenever you install a new piece of software or make a major change to your system, you can create a restore point in Windows, which records your system configuration before the change. This works like a system-wide undo, letting you fix any problems that a new piece of software or hardware or something else has caused. System Restore shouldn’t affect any of your data, only your system configuration, and in any case, the changes you make are completely reversible. You can turn on System Restore so that it automatically creates restore points daily and before you install software. Or if you know you’re about to install a new program or make a change, you can manually create a restore point

To access System Restore, follow these simple steps. I have included screenshots and a video for you to follow!

1. Click Start and go to All Programs

2. Click on Accessories

3. Then click on System Tools

4. Then click System Restore

Here is a video that shows you how to open your system restore.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/open-restore.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

5. Here is your system restore, you can do a couple of things from this screen. You can either create a brand new system restore as your computer is right now. So when you hit your redo button it will take your computer back to how things are right now. Or you can restore your computer back to a prior date.

If you are trying to create a new restore point follow screen 6. If you want to actually restore your computer from a prior restore point click step 7.

6. Select the create system restore button and click next. You will get the screen below. Just name your system restore whatever you want and hit next and it will create that restore point. Probably best to name it a date or something like “before I messed with my registry”.

Here is a video that shows you the same step.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/create-restore-point1.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

7. If your trying to restore your computer to a previous spot, here is where you will do it. First select”restore my computer to an earlier time.” Next screen just select a date or select the name of the restore point you created and click next.

8. Once your all done you will get a wrap up screen that looks like this. Just click next and you will restore your computer to a previous time. This will completely restart you computer.

Here is the video that demonstrates how to restore your computer to an earlier time.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/actual-restore.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

If you have System Restore turned on, you’ll be presented with a calendar showing available restore points. If not, you can choose to create one before you install a new app.

If you’ve been using System Restore and suspect you’ve accidentally downloaded spyware, just select the most recent available restore point that you believe predates the introduction of the spyware. Remember, this will undo all changes made to your system, including any software updates, though it won’t delete documents you’ve created since the restore point. So be conservative; you can always try again with an earlier restore point.

Once you’ve successfully banished the spyware and restored your system to good working order, you may want to delete your saved restore points so that you don’t inadvertently use System Restore and reinstall the spyware on your system. To do this, right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, click the System Restore tab, click the check box next to “Turn off System Restore on all drives.” Click OK, then repeat the process, unchecking the box to turn System Restore back on.

If you’re about to download software that might be suspicious and you don’t have System Restore turned on (it can be a bit of a system hog), just create a restore point before you install. Follow the same instructions as above then click on create restore point.

Service Pack 2 Helps Protect You From Spyware

If you haven’t yet installed Microsoft’s Service Pack 2 update for Windows XP, here’s another reason to do so: SP2 gives you detailed control of add-ons to Internet Explorer, helping you take back control of your browser and thwart a wide array of spyware attacks.

On the sly or by masquerading as a useful utility such as a toolbar, spyware can infiltrate Internet Explorer, hijacking your browser, bombarding you with ads, and tracking your every move online. Even legitimate add-ons can be infuriatingly difficult to remove once installed on your system.

To manage add-ons, first make sure you have Service Pack 2 installed. Then launch Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options, and click the Programs tab.

Click the Manage Add-ons button; you’ll probably be presented with disturbingly long list of add-ons. Go one by one through the list, click anything suspicious, and select the Disable radio button.

Be aggressive in disabling add-ons, especially Browser Helper Objects and Browser Extensions. It’s a simple matter to reenable them if you realize later that you need them.

Of course, you may want to consider abandoning Internet Explorer altogether and switching to an alternative browser such as Mozilla’s Firefox. That will limit your vulnerability to many spyware and virus threats. Click below to get the Firefox web browser, it will keep you a lot more safe when browsing the internet than Internet Explorer can.

It’s a sad fact, but the more suspicious and paranoid you are, the more likely you are to avoid a spyware infection. With a few wrong clicks, you can be completely forfeiting your privacy online. However, with just a little self-restraint, you can avoid most online threats.

Before you install anything, ask yourself this simple question: do I trust the makers of this software to have access to everything on my PC? Has someone I know and trust recommended this software, or did I just happen upon it through a banner ad? If you don’t have a good reason to trust the software publisher, take a pass. It’s not worth the risk.

If you’re still entertaining the idea of installing something, read the license agreement and the company’s privacy policy very carefully. Often, a company will divulge the spyware/adware aspects of its software in the fine print, assuming (quite rightly) that most people won’t bother reading.

Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer:

Here is a little history, legal and statistical information on spyware!

T

he Anti-Spyware Coalition, a group of companies that include EarthLink, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard, have recently published a document that defines spyware as such: “Spyware impairs users control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy or system security; use of their system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or collection, use and distribution of their personal or otherwise sensitive information”

The first spyware distribution was in 1999, and is attributed to a popular freeware program called “Elf Bowling.” Many users found to their dismay that this “harmless game,” was sending information to the creators, Nsoft. This spawned the first anti-spyware program in the year 2000.

You don’t know how the stuff was loaded on your computer, but it is causing all kinds of problems. The computer is running slower, certain programs are not working, and on occasion, you see the dreaded “blue screen of death.” (crash). Don’t worry, you are not alone According to an October 2004 study by America Online and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 80% of surveyed users’ computers had some form of spyware, with an average of 93 spyware components per computer. 89% of surveyed users with spyware reported that they did not know of its presence, and 95% reported that they had not given permission for it to be installed.

Our lawmakers are doing their best to stem the tide of spyware/malware. For example, in Washington State, USA, it is illegal for anyone other than the owner/operator of a computer to install software that alters web browser settings, monitors keystrokes, or disables computer security software.

There is hope. In 2005, NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer brought suit against Intermix Media, Inc. Intermix’s spyware program spread by drive-by download (loaded without permission), and installed itself in such a way it was very difficult to remove. Intermix settled for $7.5 million dollars.

Spyware is here to stay. Your best bet is to be informed – know the tricks used by spyware to load itself. Use a firewall or spyware blocker program. Most important, understand exactly what that new program will install on your innocent computer.

Computer How To Home

Check out these other great Computer How To Guides!

• How To Make Your Computer Run Faster.
• How To Clean And Repair Your Windows Registry.
• How To Prevent Getting A Virus, Worm And Trojan Horse On Your Computer.
• Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer
• How To Completely Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs On Your Computer
• Computer How To Home

Check out my Top Ten Ways On How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

Computer How To has just posted a new topic on how to make your computer run faster. This article will show you exact steps on how you can get your PC up and running like new. It doesn’t matter how old it is or how much you have abused it, computer how to will show you some simple but effective techniques that will get your computer running like a champ in no time! I will have step by step instructions, pictures and videos to demonstrate my steps on how to make your computer run faster. So what are you waiting for, click the title of this post to see how you can make your computer run faster now!

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

How To Make A Computer Run Faster

My Top 10 Ways Below

Ok, so I am assuming you are here because when you start your computer you turn it on then go catch a movie or go workout or do whatever it is that you do, then if your lucky after that is over its ready to start working. Or when you click your internet or favorite game, you get the dreaded hour glass of death. First of all if this is you, you have reached the right place. There are many things you can do to make your computer run faster and today you are going to learn those things. What you have under the hood does not win the race, its how you drive. Some of these methods are free, some do cost a little bit. I know most people are more than willing to put in a little money to make their computer run faster.

You do not have to be an internet genius to understand the things I am going to talk about. I will make these methods as user friendly as possible so anyone and everyone can take advantage of this lens. When we are done you will have the fastest computer on the block!

Alright, ready to find out how to make your computer run faster?!?! Good then lets do it!

***IMPORTANT***

On all of the pictures below you may click them to view a larger image. If it doesn’t show up when you click the picture, try clicking view original size.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#1 Use Your Defrag Tool

W
hen you add a file or a new program to a new computer, the hard drive is relatively empty so new data is saved to the hard drive in one whole block. When you need to use that information, the computer can quickly access it because it is all in one place.

As you use your computer adding files and applications, the hard drive begins to fill up. Deleting files or removing programs creates small empty gaps among the other data that the computer will reuse. After awhile, the computer is no longer saving information in large blocks. Instead, it stores information in the many little empty nooks and crannies of your hard drive. The result is that one program or file is broken up, or fragmented, into little pieces and stored in many different areas of the hard disk. The computer ingeniously keeps track of the addresses of each piece of data and puts it all together when it is needed. Yet, obviously, the more broken up the information is, the longer it takes to access the data and the slower the computer becomes. To make your computer run faster we need to defrag it, read below to find out step by step how to do this! Check out the screenshots or scroll down to the video!

1.From the start menu point to “all programs”

2.Point to “System Tools”

3.Click on “Disk Defragmenter”

4. The disk defragmenter will display the hard drives on your computer. Just select and click Defragment.

If you have multiple hard drives here, defrag each drive.

Here is the video showing you how to run the defrag tool.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#2 Use Registry Fix

E
very Microsoft Windows operating system has a registry. Your system registry holds a wealth of information about your computer, which is why we constantly hear from users that after using their PC for a short length of time, it no longer works the way it used to. This is due in part to invalid entries that exist in your system registry, that might exist because of software you are no longer using or software that was not properly removed. By removing these invalid entries, you can significantly increase the performance of your PC.

There are a lot of similar products out there, but this one worked the best for me. Its consistent and always finds the correct problem. I have actually used a program claiming to be similar to this one that says it finds and repairs errors but actually does nothing, just a scam.

You get a Free Scan so you can try it out to see how many errors your computer has. Go ahead and click below to get your free scan to see how many errors your computer might have.

To repair all your errors Registry Fix will charge you for a full version of their program. Believe me though if you want a quick step up in computer performance this is a must. The registry must be cleaned to make a computer run faster.

Click Here Now For Your Free Scan With Registry Fix

Want to learn more about windows registry and what you can do to help it?

Click here for a whole section dedicated to windows registry.

Top 10 Ways To Make A Computer Run Faster

#3 Free Up Disk Space

I
f you want to make a computer run faster you have to free up disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer quite a bit by doing this. Windows comes with a disk cleanup tool that helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete without messing anything up, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files. This is a necessary step when looking to make a computer run faster.

Use Disk Cleanup to….

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files.
• Remove optional Windows components that you don’t use.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

To use Disk Cleanup

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.

Disk Cleanup calculates the amount of space you will be able to free.

2. In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. (If you have multiple hard drives you will have to select which one to scan.)

Choose the files that you want to delete.

3. Clear the check boxes for files that you don’t want to delete, and then click OK.

4. When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click OK.

Here is a video that demonstrates exactly how you can achieve a disk clean up!

Look below for more info on freeing up disk space.

File Categories in Disk Cleanup Utility

There are a few different types of file categories that Disk Cleanup targets when it performs the initial disk analysis. Depending on the your system, you may or may not have all the categories listed in my example. An excellent example of this would be Backup Files from a Previous Operating System. If a clean install of XP was performed then this category will not exist. It pays to click on each of the categories and note that the [View Files] button can change depending on the category selected. Here is a rundown of each category.

Downloaded Program Files

These are ActiveX controls and Java applets downloaded from Web sites that are temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program Files folder. It’s not program files or zip files that you have downloaded from other locations.

Temporary Internet Files

This refers to Internet Explorer’s cache of Web pages that are stored on the hard drive for quicker viewing. None of your personal web settings are affected by selecting this category, nor does it delete any cookie files.

Recycle Bin

The main thing to be aware of in this category is that it only refers to the Recycle Bin for the selected hard drive or partition. This is important since XP uses an individual Recycle Bin for each drive and partition, not just one as is the case in some Windows versions.

Temporary Remote Desktop Files

These files are the result of using the Remote Desktop utility. If you repeatedly use Remote Desktop with the same computer or group of computers, leaving these files intact will maintain the speed of future connections. Deleting them will necessitate downloading the remote systems icons and wallpaper the next time a connection is established.

Setup Log Files

These are really pretty useless unless you have a specific reason to go back and see what occurred during XP setup.

Backup Files For Previous Operating System

I mentioned this category earlier as one you may not have, but if you did upgrade from a previous Windows version and selected the option to be able to uninstall XP, it may well exist. It takes some major hard drive space to copy all the files necessary to back up a previous system’s core files, drivers, etc. This entry can range anywhere from a few hundred megabytes up to a gigabyte, so unless you are still considering dumping XP this is a good category to select.

Offline Files

Users with slower dialup connections and those using laptops frequently make websites they use often available offline. Depending on how many levels deep you save the sites, they can eat up gigabytes of hard drive space very quickly. Worse than taking up space, the sites often contain outdated information. A good candidate for deletion.

Compress Old Files

Unlike the other categories, Compress Old Files doesn’t delete any files from the drive. It compresses files that Windows hasn’t accessed for a specified period of time. The files are still available, but there will be a slight increase in access times because the files will be decompressed the next time they are accessed. Note that when Compress Old Files is highlighted an Options button appears. Clicking it will allow you to set the number of days to wait before an unaccessed file is compressed.

There may be other categories that appear in your Disk Cleanup window, but in all cases, highlighting the item will display an explanation of the category in the Description area.

Post Disk Cleanup Procedures
Using Disk Cleanup will almost certainly rid your system of a substantial amount of unneeded files. You could stop here and not suffer any ill consequences, but there are a lot of gaps and empty spaces on the hard drive where the files were removed. This would be an excellent time to run Disk Defragmenter to organize the hard drive into contiguous sections. The hard drive heads will spend less time seeking all the pieces of a file and you’ll see another performance boost.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#4 Find And Repair Disk Errors

Detect and Repair Disk Errors:

I
n addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should try to run this utility weekly to help prevent data loss. It will also aid in your attempt to make a computer run faster!

To run the Error Checking utility:

Important: Be sure to close all files before running the Error-Checking utility. It can also make a computer run faster!

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.

2. In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.

3. In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.

4. Click the Check Now button.

5. In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.

In most circumstances, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

6. If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the Automatically fix file system errors check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

Here is a video displaying the exact steps you need to take to run disk check!

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#5 Get Rid Of Spyware

D
efinition of Spyware

Spyware is software with malicious intent – by design; it does something bad to your computer. Usually, it gets installed without your knowledge. It sometimes takes advantage of the fact that most people click “I Agree” to software licenses without reading them.

Facts about spyware.

1.Use up your computer’s system resources, memory, & Internet bandwidth, making your computer and/or Internet connection slow.

2.Delete, modify, or disable files, folders, programs, and essential Windows components and services.

3.Use worms, trojans, and “back doors” to open your computer to further invasions and these programs may also install software to enable your PC to be a “Host” or commonly known now as a “bot”. Bots are everyday normal PC’s that send, collect and analyze information all over the world.

4.Use your computer to send spam – yes, really! It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s spam is sent by “zombie” home computers infected with “spam trojans” which were installed by spyware or worms.

5.Conflict with other programs, causing your computer to crash or freeze up.

6.Hide the presence of other parasites, and protect them when you try to remove them.

7.Install “keyloggers” which record your keystrokes, that is, they record everything you type.

8.Steal your passwords, credit card information, & other personal data to be used for identity theft.

9.Monitor your web surfing habits and record the web pages you visit.

10.Relay any of this collected data back to its makers & sell it to other companies or bad guys.

11.Collect your e-mail address & make you the target of spam (junk e-mail).

12.Pester you with pop-up ads, even if you have pop-ups disabled in your web browser.

13.Hijack your web browser and change your home page, add favorites/bookmarks, or redirect you to other sites without your permission (more on browser hijacking later).

Pretty scary stuff huh? Having spyware on your computer is a serious threat to you and your family. Many have become the victims of idenity theft and other various crimes through spyware. There is a solution though, see the next section on how you get spyware on your computer and how to get it off.

Here are some ways you may have obtained spyware on your computer.

1.It may hide inside of another program’s installer: Many free programs, especially file/music sharing programs like Kazaa, but also screensavers, games, etc. install some form of spyware. They may or may not tell you that they’re doing this; if they do tell you, they will do so in the license agreement. They of course count on the fact that no one actually reads those license agreements! You should read to the end of all EULAs (End User Licensing Agreements).

2.It may be installed by a “drive-by download”: installed behind your back when you visit a web site or click a link, especially advertising links or those that say you won something. In these cases, you don’t even have to do anything other than visit a web site or click a link!
An e-mail or web site may make you think that you need to download something: For example, an e-mail may say that someone sent you an electronic greeting card but that you need to download a special viewer to see it, or a web site may say that you need to download a special “media player” to view their site.

3.It may pretend to be something essential, helpful, or desirable: Spyware may masquerade as some type of security warning, a “free virus scan,” or even a spyware removal program to get you to click on it.

4.A web site may keep pestering you to download something until you say yes: Normally, your web browser should ask you for permission if a web site you visit tries to install anything. Unfortunately, when you say No, your “No” is only good until you go to the next web page, where you’ll be asked again. After being asked several times, some people will just give in and say yes. (Don’t!)

And now the answer. SPYWARE CEASE.

Spyware Cease is one of the oldest and most established spyware blockers on the market. I have used and trusted Spyware Cease for years now. I have used many other spyware blockers, but nothing compares to Spyware Cease.

Be careful of fake spyware blockers out there. There are a lot that sound legit but will actually add spyware to your computer. Be very cautious when selecting a spyware blocker. Over 8.5 million people can’t be wrong with Spyware Cease!

Click Below Now For Your Free Scan With Spyware Cease

If you would like additional information on Spyware please click here to read more.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#6 Disable all unneeded startup applications

U
sing MSCONFIG will allow you to shut down all programs that are starting up when you boot up your computer. A lot of programs take it upon themselves to think that they need to be running in the background even when they are not being used. Some we want to stay running such as our anti viruses, but a lot of them we really don’t need. A great example is MSN Messenger. When you download and use this messenger, it will automatically load up when you boot your computer, you don’t need that.. I will teach you now how to turn off unwanted applications at start up time to make a computer run faster.

1. Go to your start button, click it and go to “Run”. It should be directly right of “all programs”.

2. A box should appear labeled “Open:” Type MSCONFIG in the box and hit enter or select OK.

3. You should now see the System Configuration Utility. Click the “startup” tab all the way to the right.

4. You will now be taken to a list of all the “startup” items.

Here is the video version of the exact steps to take! Remember to keep reading below about which programs you can and cannot turn off.

In Windows XP, all of Windows’ essential programs are loaded through something called “Windows Services.” This means that most of the startup items you see in XP are completely optional and can be turned off. However, a good rule of thumb is to disable only those programs that you recognize and don’t need to have running all the time. When in doubt, leave it on. There is a great resource on what applications you can turn off and what you should leave on. Check out the website below, it has over 13000 different applications. If its on your computer its probably on this site. Just use the search function, with all those applications your specific application will be very hard to find without it.

Click Here!

5. Click the Ok button. You will get a message that asks you to restart your computer before any changes go into effect. Click restart and your computer will automatically reboot and your changes should have taken effect. You should now have a much faster boot up time and your computer should move faster without all those programs running in the background.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#7 Add RAM

U
p to a point, adding RAM (random access memory) will normally cause your computer to feel faster on certain types of programs. RAM is important because of an operating system component called the virtual memory manager (VMM).

When you run a program such as a word processor or an Internet browser, the microprocessor in your computer pulls the executable file off the hard disk and loads it into RAM. In the case of a big program like Microsoft Word or Excel, the EXE consumes about 5 megabytes. The microprocessor also pulls in a number of shared DLLs (dynamic link libraries) — shared pieces of code used by multiple applications. The DLLs might total 20 or 30 megabytes. Then the microprocessor loads in the data files you want to look at, which might total several megabytes if you are looking at several documents or browsing a page with a lot of graphics. So a normal application needs between 10 and 30 megabytes of RAM space to run. On my machine, at any given time I might have the following applications running:

* A word processor
* A spreadsheet
* A DOS prompt
* An e-mail program
* A drawing program
* Three or four browser windows
* A fax program
* A Telnet session

Besides all of those applications, the operating system itself is taking up a good bit of space. Those programs together might need 100 to 150 megabytes of RAM, but my computer only has 64 megabytes of RAM installed.

For some of you that is a lot of technical jargon and may not mean a whole lot. I will put it a little bit easier to understand.

Basically every program you open up, is using RAM. If you have 128MB of RAM on your computer but your using 200MB your gonna run very slow. Upgrading RAM is a fairly inexpensive way to make a computer run faster.

To check your RAM…
1. Go to start and click, then right click my computer and select properties.

2.Select the General Tab and you will get a screen that looks like this.

This screen will tell you how much RAM you have.

Tip) To view how much RAM you are using right now hit Control ALT Delete to bring up task manager and click the processes tab. This will tell you how many processes you are using and how much memory each is using.

This video will show you how to check your RAM and how to check you processes to see how much RAM you are using!

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#8 Get an External Hard Drive

A
dding an External Hard Drive to your computer will allow you to clear out a lot of the things you don’t need to be storing on your normal hard drive.

A great example would be your music or pictures. All those songs and pictures are sitting on your computer making it go slower. You will see a decline in your computers performance as soon as you use over half of your hard drive space.

Moving all your songs or pictures to your external hard drive will free up a lot of space on your main hard drive. You can even move applications such as photoshop or games.

An external hard drive is also handy because it is portable. You can unplug it from your computer and take it to a friends house and plug it in there, sharing photos and pictures very easily.

Most external hard drives connect using USB, so its very easy and practical and doesn’t require any installation or technical knowledge. I have listed some very dependable and affordable hard drives that you can purchase from Amazon below.

I will now show you how to check how big your hard drive is and how much you have used of it.

1. Click your start button and click my computer.

2. Right click your hard drive and select properties.

3. Select the General Tab. This page will give you a pie chart of your hard drive. It will show you how much you have used and how much you still have available. If you are anywhere over half you may want to consider an external hard drive. This will do wonders for your computer. This is one of the best ways to make a computer run faster.

Below is a video that will show you the exact steps to take in order to view your hard drive space.

As you can see I am actually in need of a new external hard drive myself. I will be picking one up tomorrow! This is a very important technique to make a computer run faster.

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#9 Optimize Windows

H
ere are a couple of ways you can make Windows and your computer run faster!

Windows XP can look nice, but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To
optimize:

1.Click the start button, and select the control panel.

2.Switch your control panel to classic view.

3.It will now look like this, go ahead and double click system.

4.Click on the advanced tab up top, then select settings in the performance section.

5.Leave only the following ticked:

• Show shadows under menus
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Show translucent selection rectangle
• Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
• Use visual styles on windows and buttons

Below is a video that demonstrates how to customize windows to make your computer run faster!

You can also set your desktop background to none. It uses some memory that can slow your computer down. Turn off the background to make your computer run faster.

I think most people know how to do this, but just in case here are the steps. I am not going to include screen shots with this one.

1. Right click your desktop anywhere and select properties.

2. Select the Desktop tab up top and you will see a list of backgrounds. Just scroll all the way to the top and select none. Hit apply and your golden, your background should just be all black now.

Now that we optimized Windows you should see a little increase in performance. These are some pretty easy steps to make a computer run faster!

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

#10 Get An Anti-Virus

T

his one seems a little obvious but believe it or not some people are still running around on the internet unprotected. This is probably the most known thing to do to protect and speed up your computer but I thought I would put it on here anyway.

An anti-virus will not only scan and remove viruses from your computer, but it will also block them from ever coming on board. If you have a good anti-virus you shouldn’t have to worry about any pesky or potentially serious viruses infecting your computer. I have included a link to my favorite anti-virus program called microantivirus. I truly believe its better than the corporate money grabbing anti-viruses out there like Norton and Mcafee. Having a great anti-virus program is no secret, but is a way to make your computer run faster.

Click here now to get your hands on Microantivirus and keep your computer safe, the right way.

Computer How To Home

Check out these other great Computer How To Guides!

• How To Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer.
• How To Clean And Repair Your Windows Registry.
• How To Prevent Getting A Virus, Worm And Trojan Horse On Your Computer.
• Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer
• How To Completely Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs On Your Computer
• Computer How To Home

How To Make Your Computer Run Faster

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

How to prevent getting a virus, worm, and Trojan Horse on your computer:

Here is a good explanation of the difference between these three pests, read below!

I
know most of the people who start off reading this really have no idea what the difference is between a virus, worm and Trojan Horse. Most people really don’t care as long as they do not have to deal with any of these malicious applications. Fair enough, however being knowledgeable of these types of nuisances can help you in your quest to prevent them. So please read on to help you better understand how to tell the difference between a virus, worm and Trojan Horse.

Computer Virus

A computer virus is a program or piece of code that is actually loaded on your computer without your permission or knowing and runs against your wishes. Some viruses are only made to be a nuisance, while others are simply out there to destroy. Some viruses can literally damage all your hardware, software and files on your computer. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus is on your computer but it has no power to do anything unless you open or execute that specific file. A virus cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going. People continue the spread of a computer virus, mostly unknowingly, by sharing infecting files or sending e-mails with viruses as attachments in the email.

Worm

A worm is a program or algorithm that can duplicate itself. A worm has the capability to travel without any help from a person from PC to PC and have ability to duplicate itself on your system, so rather than your computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or thousands of copies of itself, creating a massive problem for you and people you are sending infected files to. Its like a true infestation.

Trojan Horse

A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that “working” as a benign application (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or can cause serious damage by deleting files and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to create a back door on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised. Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.

Therefore is very important to protect your PC with a good anti-virus software installed on your system with the latest fixes for new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

I perosnally use this program, click here! I personally quit using the mainstream anti-virus programs when I found out all the baggage you get with them. Just like any other mainstream corporate company, they are more concerned with selling you more crap then protecting your computer. Not to mention Mcafee and Norton will also make your computer run much slower. They install tons of uncecessary software to your computer to assist them in their never ending quest for money grabbing. Please check out this anti-virus below, it will work MUCH better for you!

Click here to get your hands on the best all around anti virus program out there today! Remember this will also aid you in the blocking of spyware!

Additionally, you want to make sure your program has the ability to scan e-mail and files as they are downloaded from the Internet. This will help prevent malicious programs from even reaching your computer. Do not worry the anti-virus I recommend above will do all you need it to!

Now lets talk about how to get a virus, worm or trojan horse. This will enable you to prevent ever getting them in the first place!

How to prevent getting a virus, worm, and Trojan Horse on your computer:

Here are some do’s and dont’s when it comes to getting a virus, worm or trojan horse.

H
ere is some great information that can assist you in your quest to prevent horrible computer virses from getting to your computer. If you follow these directions you will definitely increase you chances of staying virus free!. Enjoy!

Get a good anti-virus.

First and foremost and probably the most obvious is to get a good anti-virus. You saw above the one that I recommended above ALL others. I recommend clicking here to read about this anti-virus if you would like the best protection. In addition to getting the good anti-virus remember to always keep it updated. This is very important to stay protected against all the latest viruses, worms and torjan horses.

Keep your operating system updated.

Keeping your operating system updated with the latest patches and updates is crucial in keeping your computer safe from viruses, worms and trojan horses. The writers of these viruses often exploit bugs and security holes in your operating system or software.

How to prevent getting a virus, worm, and Trojan Horse on your computer:

Here are some signs you can look for that may help you determine whether you have a virus, worm or trojan horse!

H

ere is a great list of things to look for if you suspect you computer has a virus. Keep in mind just because you may have some of these symptoms does not mean you for sure have a virus. Its possible to have these symptoms without a computer virus. Read this list, if any apply you will want to get an anti virus like described above immediately to clear them out!

Remember if you computer is suffering from any of these symptoms do not panic, it could be caused from other things. It is a good idea however to download and run an anti virus. If you are unsure which anti virus to choose simply click here for the one I use.

Check out below for some high risk behavior you should be avoiding or being very careful of!

How to prevent getting a virus, worm, and Trojan Horse on your computer:

Here are some great examples of high risk behavior you should either avoid or be very careful while doing!

B
asically if you are on the internet and are not protected you are always at risk, no matter what. But there are things you can do on the internet to incredibly increase you chances of infecting your computer with a virus. Here is a list of things that you need to either be very careful while doing, or just avoid all together!

• Sharing computer programs and system disks, or downloading files and software through file-sharing software such as BitTorrent, eDonkey, and KaZaA.
• Clicking on links in an instant message from your friends. Its possible if their computer has a virus it could send you an automated message to click on something that looks to be sent from your friend.
• Downloading any free applications from public domain or billboard.
• Using your personal disk space with public computers or other computers that are used by more than one person
• Opening any kind of email attachment from either friend or stranger without first scanning it with your anti virus.

So remember to be careful when you are running around the internet. Any time you browse the net without an anti virus you are sending your computer on a suicide mission!

Computer How To Home

Check out these other great Computer How To Guides!

• How To Make Your Computer Run Faster.
• How To Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer.
• How To Clean And Repair Your Windows Registry.
• Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer
• How To Completely Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs On Your Computer
• Computer How To Home

*******Important Message*******

Before you read any of my guides, I wanted to let you in on a very well kept secret. There is a company that does consumer reviews and testing on popular name brand electronics. They give away these products in return for feedback and reviews on the products. Right now they are looking for a a group of people that will test and provide feedback for the new iPhone 5. In return you get to keep the iPhone 5. These never last long, I just the new iPhone 5 today! Check it out below.

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

Technical and not so technical definition of the windows registry, read below.

I
n the Microsoft Windows operating systems beginning with Windows 95, the registry is a single place for keeping such information as what hardware is attached, what system options have been selected, how computer memory is set up, and what application programs are to be present when the operating system is started. The registry is somewhat similar to and a replacement for the simpler INI (initialization) and configuration files used in earlier Windows (DOS-based) systems. INI files are still supported, however, for compatibility with the 16-bit applications written for earlier systems. In general, the user updates the registry indirectly using Control Panel tools. When you install or uninstall application programs, they also update the registry. In a network environment, registry information can be kept on a server so that system policies for individuals and workgroups can be managed centrally.

In short your windows registry is pretty much the heart and brain of your computer. It is extremely important that you keep this clean. If your registry is dirty or not working correctly it can dramatically reduce the speed and performance of your computer. You need to know how to clean and repair your windows registry. The best way is to get a registry cleaner, which can easily clean and repair your registry without having to do anything manually. This is your best choice if you are not real computer savvy. The registry cleaners are very easy to use and work well. The one I personally use is Registry Fix, you get a free scan so you can see just how many errors your computer has.

If you want to effectively clean and repair your windows registry, click here for your free registry fix scan!

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

Before you manually edit windows registry you should get a program to fix it first.

A
lot of people make the mistake of manually going into their registry and trying to fix it. I know it saves a few bucks but you could destroy your whole computer, and its not worth it. I have been using a program called registry fix for a couple of years now and it does wonders for me. Let me ask you a couple of questions.

• Is your system running a lot slower than when you got the computer?

• Do you get a ton of DLL errors?

• Have you ever got the blue screen of death?

• Get a ton of error messages that mean absolutely nothing to you? Especially when you start the computer up?

If any of these questions apply to you, the best thing you can do is get a registry fixer. I have tried probably between 20 and 30 of these programs, and the one I use performs the best. It is called Registry Fix. I have actually downloaded these programs before and they pull up a bunch of broken files that it says its going to fix but it actually does nothing. It actually had a preset that showed different problems and then ran a fix on them, and it was all fake… I was pretty irritated by that. Registry Fix really will find your errors and it will really fix them, I have tested it over and over.

If you are plagued with any of the things above you need to download and use Registry Fix now. You get a free scan go ahead and click the link below!

The best way to clean and repair your windows registry is to give Registry Fix a try now! Click here for your free scan!

Now if you think your ready to go ahead and start manually tweaking your registry click below for exact instructions on how to do so.

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

Things to do before you even think about messing around with your registry.

F
irst thing you need to do is set a restore point. Its really not that difficult just check out below and I will give you step by step instructions on how to create a restore point using s

1. Click Start and go to All Programs

2. Click on Accessories

3. Then click on System Tools

4. Then click System Restore

Here is a video that shows you how to open your system restore.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/open-restore.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

5. Here is your system restore, you can do a couple of things from this screen. You can either create a brand new system restore as your computer is right now. So when you hit your redo button it will take your computer back to how things are right now. Or you can restore your computer back to a prior date.

If you are trying to create a new restore point follow screen 6. If you want to actually restore your computer from a prior restore point click step 7.

6. Select the create system restore button and click next. You will get the screen below. Just name your system restore whatever you want and hit next and it will create that restore point. Probably best to name it a date or something like “before I messed with my registry”.

Here is a video that shows you the same step.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/create-restore-point1.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

7. If your trying to restore your computer to a previous spot, here is where you will do it. First select”restore my computer to an earlier time.” Next screen just select a date or select the name of the restore point you created and click next.

8. Once your all done you will get a wrap up screen that looks like this. Just click next and you will restore your computer to a previous time. This will completely restart you computer.

Here is the video that demonstrates how to restore your computer to an earlier time.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/actual-restore.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

Setting a restore point is basically creating an undo button for your computer. This is also handy to set if your downloading any unfamiliar files. If you get a virus or screw up your computer by messing with the registry, you just have to hit your undo button (system restore). This is a must do before you clean or repair your windows registry.

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

How to manually configure your windows registry.

Do it yourself!

B

efore we get too far into this article let me tell you this first. Be very careful when messing with your registry. If you erase or mess with the wrong file you can really screw your computer up. If you have found EXACT instructions on how to fix your exact problem here are the directions on how to access your registry. Please before you do so create a restore point with the directions above, even if you think you know what your doing. Alright follow these directions below to see how to clean and repair your windows registry.

1. Click the start button and select run…

2. To bring up your windows registry editor type in “regedit” and click OK.

Here is the video that shows you the same thing.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/open registry.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

Now that you know how to access windows registry lets take a look at what you can do!

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

How to search your windows registry.

T
here is a lot of information and files in the registry. Finding your exact file can be tedious, if you do not use the search function. Honestly I really only recommend using this feature if you know what your doing and you know exactly what you are looking for. Below on this page I am going to show you a site that will show you how you can edit pretty much everything manually using your registry editor. Below are your exact instructions on how to search windows registry. If your trying to clean or repair your windows registry search function can be very helpful!

1. Once you have windows registry open go to the menu buttons and click edit then click find

2. In the “Find What” field, type in what you’re looking for and, in the “Look At” section, check off whether you want to search the Keys, Value Names, or Value Data, or any combination of these. If it finds an instance, you may want to check to see if there are any further references. Under the File menu, select Find Next, or just hit the F3 key.

Here is the video that shows you how to use the search function on windows registry.

.[kml_flashembed movie="http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/search-registry.swf" width="400" height="300" wmode="transparent" /]

Check out below how to edit windows registry.

How to clean and repair your windows registry:

Now I will tech you how to edit windows registry.

I
know I have beat this to death, but please do not do this unless you know what you are doing. This could really screw up your computer if you do not do it right. Anyway follow these very straightforward and easy steps to edit windows registry.

To edit a registry value, first navigate the tree until the value is displayed. Usually, you will know where you are going. If not, use the Find tool (described above).

Removing entries:

1. Navigate to the key or value that you wish to delete, make sure the key or value is selected.

2. Right-click on the name of the key or value, then select Delete. Or, press the Delete key.

Adding to the Registry

1. Navigate to the parent key where you wish to add a value. Right click on the key name, and open the “New” submenu. Choose the type of data you wish to add.

2. Enter the name of the value.

3. Edit the value by double clicking on its name.

It may be necessary to reboot to make the change take effect.

Here is a video that demonstrates how to add, delete, and modify windows registry. Check it out.

http://computerht.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/mod-entries.swf

That’s pretty much all there is to it. Just remember to be very careful when messing around with your registry.

Check out these other great Computer How To Guides!

• How To Make Your Computer Run Faster.
• How To Detect, Remove And Block Spyware And Malware From Your Computer.
• How To Prevent Getting A Virus, Worm And Trojan Horse On Your Computer.
• Top Ten Ways On How To Speed Up Your Computer
• How To Completely Uninstall And Remove Unwanted Programs On Your Computer
• Computer How To Home