AdWare : How to Protect Yourself

What is Adware?

Adware is basically an advertising infection used for marketing purposes. This includes tracking cookies to track your activity on the internet and pop-up advertisements which appear even when your not online. Numerous tool bars on your internet browser can also be a sign of adware.
If you are experiencing infections like these (hopefully not as bad), I would recommend using the AdwareAlert program. They offer a free scan and the software is very effective when it comes to removing adware issues like the ones shown above. AdwareAlert is easy to use and costs only $29.95 to remove all of the issues. Download AdwareAlert Here.

Best Regards,
Matt

Your PC’s “New Years Resolution”

This year your PC has been through a lot. Checking emails, writing documents, creating power points, and maybe even playing some games. Why not give your PC a nice gift, with a new years “clean up”. In this article we will go over some techniques and programs you can use to make your computer run faster this new year and free up some space on your hard drive.

1. Remove Spyware: I have said this a thousand times and I’ll say it again. You need to remove spyware from your PC because according to Wired News, “Spyware is the biggest threat to personal computing.” I couldn’t agree more. CNN also said, “…there is a 90% chance your PC is infected with Spyware.” In extremely simple terms, Spyware is one of the most popular reasons your PC runs slow, even if you do have the most advanced antivirus software. Remove these infections using AntiSpywareBot which can be downloaded for a free scan here. To remove all of the issues detected, you need to pay $19.95, but it is totally worth it. I use this software personally and it’s worth every penny.
2. Clean up Your Registry: Registry Issues is the other leading cause of slow PC performance. All Windows PC’s have a registry which consist of vital configuration information. Many times these registry key’s become corrupted. Every time you install a program, or edit something in your control panel, it effects your registry. If you download AntiSpywareBot, and decide to purchase, get RegClean as well. Its only $10 more and it’s an effective program. I still swear by RegCure, but RegClean is an acceptable 2nd Place.
3. Defragment your Hard Drive: More than likely you PC has fragmented files on your Hard Drive, which slow down the loading of files on your computer. I recommend a defragmentation of your Hard Drive. Run a defragmentation using the AusLogics Disk Defrag program. It’s 1oo% free and you can download it at Download.com by clicking here.
4. Clean Up Unnecessary Files: Remove temporary files, cookies, your website history, and fix minor registry issues using CCleaner. This program is also free via Download.com and you can get it here.
5. Update your Anti Virus: Hopefully you have antivirus, but if it is outdated, it’s useless. I highly recommend you update your antivirus if it is not updated. Then run a complete scan of your PC. If you do not have an antivirus, get the free one I use personally, Avast!. It easy to use, better than paid programs, and offers free automatic updates. Download it here.

Tips:

1. If you use your computer within every 15 hours, do not shut it down. Specifically at night. If you are using it the next morning or afternoon, leave it on, or set it to sleep (standby). When you turn on your PC after it being shut down, you’re performing a “cold boot”. A cold boot can eventually wear away at your PC’s inside components because of the surge of electricity to them. Leaving your PC running at night, or on standby, prevents this from happening.
2. The biggest threat to the hardware of your computer is heat. Hardware are the physical components inside your computer. If your PC is laced with dust inside, its like having a layer of insulation inside your PC. This can eventually fry the components on the inside of your computer. To prevent this kind of damage, don’t leave your tower on the floor, keep it in a raised, dust free location.

With these tips and programs, your PC should be running like new in no time. Have a great New Years.

-Matt

Review: ParetoLogic Privacy Controls

ParetoLogic has established itself over the years as a reliable and popular software development company and their Privacy Controls program definitely precedes their reputation. I downloaded the program, which was pretty quick, then installed it and ran a scan. I blinked once and the scan was done. In literally two second, this program found 463 infections. But what does this program actually do? Privacy Controls scans your PC for records that could be dangerous if shared. This program deletes these files which includes your website history, passwords, tracking cookies, IDs, credit card and bank account numbers. Privacy Controls deletes P2P (peer to peer) file sharing records which can be lurking inside your PC. It’ s scans records for Limewire, Morpheus, Bit Torrent, Kazaa, and more. Temporary files, Microsoft Office files, Email trash, and Multimedia history files are also removed. This flexible program is available on all Windows operating systems including Vista. Use the link below to download the program and run a free scan.

To remove the issues, you need to register the product for $29.95. Privacy Controls comes with a 60 day money back guarantee, and I highly recommended you at least give it a try with a free scan of your PC.

Download Privacy Controls for a Free Scan Here.

Best Regards,
Matt

Why Firefox is Better.

Mozilla Firefox, in my opinion, is the best internet browser available. Compared to Internet Explorer, Firefox is king. Why you ask? Because Firefox automatically includes a Google search box, a tool bar on the main browser with your favorite links, fast cache clearing, and more a simplistic user interface. Editing and controlling the settings is easier too. You can even add customized plugins. I have a tool bar called ForcastFox at the bottom of my browser which displays the forecast for my town and its powered by the trustworthy AccuWeather. Firefox also has a handy spell checker when you are typing online, and it has tabbed browsing, so you can view more than one website in a single window. Can you do that with Internet Explorer? Didn’t think so.

5 Tips For Speeding Up Your PC

Is your computer running slow? You are not alone. In this article you will discover the extremely simple tips to clean up your PC and keep it running like new. Be sure to check out the recommended programs at the end of this article, they are very useful.

1. Clean Up Your Hard Drive: There are tons of unnecessary files stored inside your PC that you dont even know about, including hundreds of temporary files and unnecessary setup information. You can delete these files by going to your disk cleanup tool within Windows. Just go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup. If you have never done this before, it will take a while to load, but it will remove many unnecessary files. This tool will also compress older files to free up space on your hard drive.

2. Defragment Your Hard Drive: Often times bytes of data that comprise a file become scatted on your hard drive, which increases the loading times. Defragging your PC will be very beneficial to increasing the performance of your PC. To load the defragmenter tool on windows, go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter.

3. Scan for Spyware: There is over a 90% chance that you have spyware on your PC. The most effective tool to remove spyware is AntiSpywareBot which is about $20. There are a variety of less effective and free anti spyware programs including SpyBot and Ad-Aware. These programs remove tracking cookies, advertisements, unwanted programs, and more. An anti spyware program is absolutely essential to increasing the performance of your PC.

4. Clean Your Registry: Issues within the Windows registry are the most common reason for error messages and the freezing of your PC. Remove these issues using a registry cleaner. Do not attempt you edit the windows registry yourself. For a free registry cleaner try TweakNow Registry Cleaner. For the most effective registry cleaning program, I recommend RegCure which costs about $30.

5. Scan for Viruses: Computer infections can absolutely reek havoc on your computer and having an up-to-date antivirus program is the key to a safe and speedy PC. I highly recommend Avast antivirus. It is 100% free, I use it personally, and it is extremely easy to use.

Now that you have done all of this work on your PC, check to make sure you didn’t miss anything. I would recommend going to PCPitStop and running a free scan to see what specific tweaks you can do to improve your PC. Just sign up at PCPitStop and run a scan of your computer.

Recommended Downloads:

CCleaner (free): Great hard drive cleaning tool.

AntiSpywareBot ($19.95): Most effective tool to remove spyware and speed up your PC.

SpyBot (free): Good spyware removal tool.

Ad-Aware (free): Another good spyware removal tool.

TweakNow Registry Cleaner (free): Decent registry cleaning software.

RegCure ($29.95): Best Registry Cleaning Tool

Avast! AntiVirus (free): Great Antivirus Program.

With these tools your PC should be running like new in no time.

Best Regards,
Matt