Blue Chip A to Z

You might find it difficult to keep your computer in top shape, especially if you are constantly downloading files, installing new software, playing games, and just trying to stay organized with all of your files. It’s alright though, because there are a few tips which could really help you in the long run…

1. Stay Organized.

Look at your desktop. Is it a cluttered mess? Are there files, folders, and shortcuts strewn everywhere? Time to clean it up. Try organizing all of your files conveniently into sub-folders. For example, do you have a lot of .mp3 files? Create a folder titled “My Music”, and you now have a place to store them all (If you are using windows, there is already a “My Music” folder within “My Documents”). You can do the same for just about anything. Pictures can be grouped into a picture folder, work-related items can be shuffled into a “Work” folder, and just about anything else can be organized via a corresponding folder. Take the time to go look at all of your files, and ask yourself, “do I really need to keep this?”. Most of the time, you’re hoarding images/mp3s/documents/shortcuts that you simply do not need. Go ahead and trash them – you’ll be cleaning up, as well as freeing hard drive space.

2. Keep your registry clean.

Your registry WILL get messy after all of that installing and uninstalling. Find yourself a cheap or free registry cleaner, such as CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com), and run it at least once every week. This will fix many problems with your computer, some small, some large. You may notice a significant performance increase after running a registry cleaner for the first time, or you may not – it depends on your system, and what you’ve been doing.

It would also help greatly for you to defragment your hard drive at least once a month. This will allocate more space by removing junk files, and tidying up files. Doing this is simple – navigate to “My Computer”, and look for “C:/”. Right click “C:/”, choose properties, click the tools tab, and choose defragment.

3. Protect yourself from spyware and viruses.

A large problem many people face is spyware, ad-ware, and viruses. With these problems being so common, you’ll want a trustworthy and notable virus scanner, and firewall. Find something that works for you. There are many packages, most known as “Internet Protection Packages”, that come with a firewall and virus scanner bundled into one. You can also find some amazing virus scanners on the web that are free, just make sure to do your research, and try to pick one that has a lot of notoriety, and good feedback.

It would also help if you found an anti-spyware program. Probably the most used one today is “Spybot Search & Destroy”. It’s free, can be downloaded quickly, and is easy to set-up. Even if you aren’t the most computer savvy person, you’ll have no problem using this piece of software.

Following these three, simple tips, you should have no problem keeping your computer running in tip top shape. It’s really not as complicated as it seems, and you’ll be glad you’ve taken these steps when you notice your computer is not only well protected from threats, but running smoother, and faster.