a. In Windows 95, 98 and Me, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Active Desktop. Inside that option, uncheck Active Desktop. If there is no check next to it, then it isn?t on. Don?t choose it. Instead, just click the desktop again to get out of the menu.

b. In Windows 2000, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Active Desktop. Inside that option, uncheck Show Web Content. Again, if there is no check next to it, then it is not on. Do not check it.
c. In Windows XP, right-click on the desktop and in the pop-up menu, choose Properties. On the Desktop tab, choose Customize Desktop. Now, on the Web tab, make sure that there are no websites chosen here. If there aren?t any, then Active Desktop is not on. Cancel and go back to the desktop.

7. Install and run a good AntiVirus program (regularly) to keep out viruses and Trojan horses that can take over your system. If you have a virus(s), your system performance can be dramatically decreased. Viruses can do all kinds of nasty things to your computer. They can take over your computer, erase your hard drive, use your computer as a server, give you a bunch of illegal music or programs and tell all of their friends to download it all from you ? leaving you holding the bag and supplying the computer space and bandwidth for their hobby. So, protect yourself with a good AntiVirus program. One of my favorites is AVG. It is not only a really good AntiVirus program, but it is also FREE! If you don?t have any AntiVirus software on your computer, get AVG AntiVirus NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp. If you already have an AntiVirus program, and you want to use AVG instead, do NOT install AVG. First, uninstall your current AntiVirus program, reboot and install AVG. You do NOT want to have two AntiVirus programs installed at the same time. They will work against each other and can cause problems.

8. Get rid of Spyware. A lot of computer users have Spyware and don?t even know they have it, much less how to get rid of it. If your computer has been taking you to websites that you don?t want to go to, or if you get pop-ups when you aren?t even on the Internet, or if your computer has been running extremely slowly lately, for no reason, you probably have Spyware.

On all of the computers that I setup, I install two different AntiSpyware programs: AdAware SE and SpyBot. These two programs are highly recommended by TechTV (G4) and other computer authorities (including my own research on Spyware) and work very well together. They compliment each other and catch Spyware that the other misses, but together, do a very good job.

SpyBot is not only a good program for getting rid of Spyware, but also as a preventative Spyware-catcher. It sits there and looks for known Spyware coming into your system, as well as suspicious-looking content. If you use the Tea-Timer feature, it can be a little annoying, but ANY suspicious-looking program, trying to be installed on your system, is flagged and your permission is asked for it to be installed (now and always). If you don?t have this program installed on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp. Download all updates and run the Immunize option a couple of times (for preventative purposes). Scan with it every day if you can.

AdAware SE has a little better Spyware database in it, but is not setup as a preventative AntiSpyware program. It does do a good job when you keep up on the updates and manually scan your system with AdAware. If you don?t have this program on your computer, get it NOW by downloading HERE... http://www.lapeertechgroup.com/downloads.asp. Download all updates and run the Smart Scan daily (if not, at least weekly).

If, after downloading and installing, updating, and running both of these AntiSpyware program, you still can?t get rid of your Spyware, you may need to enlist the services of a professional. Some Spyware is so intelligent that it looks to see if AntiSpyware programs delete the Spyware part of its programming and, if it?s gone, reinserts it back in place. This can be very frustrating for the user (and in some cases, even for the professional). There are stronger measures that can be taken to get rid of the Spyware, in cases like this, but can be very devastating to the user?s computer, if not handled perfectly. At this point, leave it to the professional. Call a local computer repair company and have them come out to your home or business and get rid of the Spyware for you.

In some cases, when the Spyware has become too entwined into your system, even a computer repair technician can?t get rid of the Spyware. At this point, it is better to just backup only what you need and have the operating system reinstalled. Believe me, when your computer gets to this point, you don?t want to just put a ?band-aid? on it. Just start from scratch with a clean system. It?s the best way to go.

9. Streamline MSCONFIG. One thing that really causes a HUGE performance decrease is to have unnecessary programs running in the background. Some of these programs can be seen in your System Tray (located next to the clock, in the lower-right corner of your screen). These are tiny programs that are robbing you of memory and processing power. Some of them you need, while most you don?t. Some of the programs you DON?T need are printer icons, CD burning icons, shortcuts to programs (such as video settings), AOL, any Instant Messaging Programs, etc. Just because these programs aren?t always running, doesn?t mean that you still can?t print, burn CDs or Instant Message. They can be run when you need them, from a shortcut.

You can use a utility, called MSCONFIG, to turn OFF unnecessary Start Up items.

a. In Windows 98, Me, and XP, click on Start\Run and type msconfig. Click on the Startup tab. This is a list of everything that is running in the background, some of which show up in the System Tray. Now, be careful, some of these you do need. Some items to keep are Ctfmon.exe (XP), Scan Registry (Win98, Me), Task Monitor (Win98, Me), System Tray (Win98, Me), LoadPowerProfile (Win98, Me), Rundll.32, any AntiVirus programs (such as McAfee, Norton, or AVG). Others, you can uncheck, such as NeroCheck, ypager, qttask, AOL, and any other Instant Messaging programs, or printing programs. Remember, if something doesn?t work, because you turned it off, it can always be turned back on. You just have to reboot every time you make a change here. But, as you uncheck the unnecessary programs that run in the background, you will see that Windows loads much faster, that there are less icons in the System Tray, and that your system is much more ?snappy? and quick to respond.

b. In Windows 2000, MSCONFIG wasn?t supplied. You actually have to download and run an MSCONFIG utility. Here is a website that will let you download the MSCONFIG utility. Go HERE to Download... http://www.perfectdrivers.com/howto/msconfig.html. And if you copy it into your C:\Windows(or Winnt)\System32 folder, you can access it the same way as Windows 98 or XP (by the Run command in the Start menu). Or, you can just double-click it and use it that way, too. See above for what to leave checked and unchecked.

After you reboot, you will have a window that says that the configuration utility was edited. Just check not to show that in the future, a check box at the bottom. This just means that there was a change made to the MSCONFIG.

10. Defragment your hard drives. If you have never done this, or it has been a few months since the last time, this step is one of the most important things that will give you more performance. As you use your computer, your drives become fragmented, by creating and deleting files. Just because a file is 10mb in size, doesn?t mean that it is sitting there on the drive (all 10mb) all in one spot on the drive. It fills in from the inside of the drive, outward, as the drive finds room. So your one file can be in pieces, in several spots on the hard drive. Don?t worry, your file allocation table keeps track of where the pieces are, however, it takes longer to access a file that is in pieces (fragmented), than a file that IS all in one spot on the hard drive. This is where defragmenting comes in. When you defragment your hard drive, this process copies all of the pieces to temporary spots on the hard drive, and then fills in all of the files (in their entirety) from the inside, out, so that no files are split into pieces. This dramatically speeds up the seek time, as well as speeds up the use of your files and programs.

NOTE: to efficiently defragment a hard drive, it likes to have 25% free space. It can still do the defragmentation with only 15% free space, but it takes quite a bit longer. If you can, delete any unnecessary files before deframenting your drives.

a. To defragment your hard drives (in any Windows operating system), double-click on My Computer. Right-click on the c-drive and click on Properties. Click on the Tools tab and choose the bottom button, to Defragment Now? Click on the appropriate drive, and then on Defragment. This can take some time. Depending on your processing power, the amount of RAM you have available, the size and speed of your drive, and a few other things, this process can take 20 minutes, or hours. It is best to let this one run over night, as well, but it is well worth it.

Good luck. I hope this article has helped you. If you live in the Lapeer, Genesee, or Tuscola County, Michigan areas, and would like an IT Professional to do a professional TuneUp on your computer(s) in your home or business, please contact Lapeer Tech Group at (810) 793-1093, or visit our website at www.LapeerTechGroup.com. You can email us at info@LapeerTechGroup.com.

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