Spyware Removal

12 easy tips to make Windows boot up faster

Here are 12 easy tips to make your Windows computer boot up faster. This will apply to all ‘flavors’ of Windows i.e. Windows Xp, Vista and 7.

1) Remove unwanted applications from your start up: Use msconfig or some utility such as CCleaner.

2) Clean up your desktop: Unwanted clutter can slow boot up.

3) Defragment your disk: Very important if you have a large number of files on your hard disk after months of using your computer.

4) Check for malware: Viruses can eat CPU cycles and RAM and slow your computer down.

5) Update your BIOS: May not be necessary, but if new firmware has been released, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be updating.

6) Set the computer to boot from the Hard Disk in BIOS: This can save a few seconds.

7) Remove removable media & peripherals when booting: Can save another few seconds of time.

Disable unused ports: This can be done in the BIOS.

9) Remove fancy wallpapers, themes or sounds effects: This eat up plenty of RAM and CPU cycles. Use Windows Classic theme for best performance.

10) Upgrade Windows, apply patches and service packs: This should make your computer faster by fixing loopholes and make your OS more secure.

11) Hibernate your computer instead of shutting it down: May increase your power bills but worth the money as it saves plenty of time in the long run.

12) Clean you machine: Use a vaccuum cleaner or a blower to ensure that your computer is dust free.

Do you think someone is spying on your internet activity? Though Norton or McAfee might be able to locate spyware, some may be so well-written as to escape detection. In any case, downloading more software willy-nilly in an attempt to protect your computer is more likely to make things worse. Here are some steps a Microsoft Windows user can take to detect spyware activity; Macintosh OS/X, Linux, and users of other operating systems will have similar but different methods available.

- Press Ctrl-Alt-Del (all 3 keys simultaneously, known as a “three-finger salute”). This should pop up the Task Manager, or whatever Microsoft is calling it lately. One of the tabs should be Processes; click that tab.

1) Look up every process name on the Internet. Don’t trust all the information that you find, but try to get a general consensus from the more reliable sites whether that process name is likely to be malevolent or not.

2) Even if a process name is normal and expected (like svchost.exe), it’s still possible that a “hacker” was able to overwrite the normal system process with a tainted one.

3) If a process looks suspicious, for example u-r-0wn3d.exe, you will need to attempt removal. See Tips for ideas on that process.

- Open a command window, also known as a “DOS box”, by clicking Start | Run | cmd, or Start | Run | command on older systems. Type in the command: netstat -an. This will show you a list of systems you have connected to, and systems connected to you, and all “listening” ports. Learn the port numbers: 80 and 443 are typical for the “web”; 135, 139, and 445 are for Microsoft networks; find out what they all mean. If you see something suspicious, netstat -anbv might show you what process is doing the communication.

A virus is a malicious program that is written with the intent of replicating itself by infecting your computer and passing itself onto other computers. Computer Viruses can be transmitted via email, networks, web sites, floppy disks, or CDROMs. They can open your computer to remote access, delete important files, and steal your passwords or identity. To combat and protect yourself from these threats you need Anti-virus software.

Common Features of Anti-Virus Programs

1. Preventing viruses from infecting your PC.
2. Detecting Viruses on Websites that you visit.
3. Detecting Email borne viruses.
4. Detecting Viruses on removable disks (CDs, floppies, USB devices)
5. Automatically update: All anti-virus products should check for updates to their virus definition databases automatically on a daily basis.