PC Diet and fitness plan Revised Apr 2013 Speed up your PC Regain lost storage space Clean out Bugs and viruses Improve your web experience Reduce maintenance costs and downtime This PC Diet and fitness plan has been compiled and written by Compusurf s chief technician Chris Jennings an IT enginner with over 20 years experience
The CompuSurf PC Diet and Fitness Plan 2011 Compiled and written By Chris Jennings [Disclaimer: This pack contains a collection of tried and tested award winning freeware programs that I have found to be the most effective way of cleaning up a slow PC. However please note that you use these programs at your own risk and I will not be responsible for any data loss incurred from using these programs.] The Key to this 3 stage PC diet and fitness plan is about doing things in the correct order and using the right tools. You must be ruthless and lose some baggage that you thought was really useful, the No Pain No Gain theory applies to PC health just as much as does to people health. If you follow this proven method the result will bring new life to your PC with the added knowledge that you are free from Virus and Malware. The programs recommended, although freebies, are none the less extremely powerful and do the job well. It is recommended that you back up Essential data before starting. The 3 stages are 1. Prepare 2. Clean 3. Protect Stage.1 Prepare your PC for cleaning Start by removing all unwanted programs from your PC. Go to the control Panel / Add remove programs applet and uninstall everything you do not need. Be ruthless don t keep things on a just in case I might use them basis. If you are not sure about a particular entry google it to find out what it is. Some programs are loaded as part of others but not necessary for the main program to run. Hp printers for example install programs that check for updates. Remove them. If you think you need an update check yourself don t waste PC resources by having a program running 24/7. Chris s tip: Toolbars are not good for you. They clog up your browser and slow your internet experience. No matter how useful they seem. Weather gadgets, Google toolbars etc,etc Delete them all. Your reward will be a fast slick browser. Once you have finished go back and check again. Make sure you have removed all toolbars, automatic program updaters etc. Only when you are sure what is left is absolutely essential can you go onto the next step of removing all your security software, antivirus etc. That s right Remove your Antivirus program (don t panic we will replace it later with a fresh copy of one I recommend) remove all spyware and registry cleaners. Chris s tip: Registry utilities are not good for you they can often cause more harm than good DO NOT USE THEM. Now is also a good time to clean up your desktop chuck all the rubbish in the Bin and organise those files that litter your desktop into folders within you re My docs folder
Stage 2 The cleaning process To start off we are going to install a brilliant utility from Piriform call CCleaner You will find it in the pack. Dbl click on the exe file and install it using default settings as you go except do not allow the offered toolbar to be installed. CCleaner will do 3 things. Clean the junk files from your PC, remove unwanted start up entries and clean the registry (this is the only registry fixer I recommend) Delete Junk Click on Run Cleaner. You will be amazed how much junk it removes Clean Registry Click on scan for issues Then Fix selected issues you will be offered to save a back up of the registry, do this
Remove Unwanted Start up Entries Click Tools and then Start Up The list you see are all the programs that automatically start when windows starts. Disable everything that is not needed. You can disable everything if you want, but you may find something you need is missing next time you start windows and you will need to return here and re enable it. Do not allow things like skype and msn messenger to run automatically Chris s tip: Do not allow programs to start automatically, Having Programs automatically start slows PC start up time and uses up resources running programs that you are not actually going to use until later, if at all. Start programs manually from the programs menu or a desktop shortcut only when you are actually going to use them. Remove Spyware, Malware and trojans That s ccleaners job done. You can now close this program. Next up is Removing Spyware, we will use Spybot search and destroy for this. Find the exe file in the pack and start to install the program. Do not install the tea timer or Internet explorer helper, the rest can be installed with the default settings. You will need to be connected to the internet for the install as it will download the latest definitions as part of the process. Click on Check for problems Allow the scan to run, this can take an hour or more. Make sure your Screensaver is off and your PC is not set to go into standby after a certain time. For laptops make sure you are plugged into the mains When the scan is complete click the fix selected problems button that will appear
Reset Internet Explorer Internet explorer is not only the built in Internet browser for windows but also effects many functions of the operating system itself. ( You should be running the latest version Ver 8. If you are not then now is the time to update it, go to http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/internetexplorer. ) The browser needs to be reset to remove all the add ons that various programs have added that slow it down. Click on tools Then Internet options Click the Advanced Tab Then Reset
Remove Viruses The next step in the cleaning process is the job for Microsoft Secruity Essentials. This is an excellent free antivirus program provided by Microsoft. As with Spybot you must be connected to the internet as it will download updates during the install process. Also, as part of the install, a very basic scan of system files is performed. This however is not enough so we need to force a full system scan. Dbl click the Green Castle in your System tray Select Full Then click the Scan button The scan may take some time. If anything is found then follow the instructions to remove it. Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus program and a very good one. There are no ads or expiry times and it keeps itself fully up to date Chris s tip: Never have more than one Antivirus Program on your PC. If you want to use another uninstall Microsoft Essentials first Disk Defragmentation The final task in the clean up operation is to defragment your hard disk. Over time the data that makes up your files gets scattered all over your hard disk instead of being kept all in a nice neat order. This means that when you ask your computer to open a file, say a word document, the computer has to find all the different pieces scattered over your hard disk and put them together before it can display the document, this of course slows things down The idea of defragmenting puts all the bits of that word document in one place so its easier and quicker for the computer to open it. Windows has its own defragmenting program but the one I recommend is Auslogics Disk Defrag which is better and faster than windows own.
Find the exe file in the pack and install the program. Once installed run the program Click on the Defrag Button and watch the program sort out your Hard disk. Once complete close the program Reboot your PC and check everything is working as it should. If something is missing when the PC starts use CCleaner and reanable the program in the start up list. Links to download the software supplied in the Pack Ccleaner Spybot http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html MS essentials http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download Disk Defrag http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download/ All software is Freeware for personal use only
Stage 3 Protect your PC That s the clean up process complete. Your PC is now fitter and leaner, The next stage is to keep it that way by following my fitness plan on the next page. Like any Diet or fitness plan keep to the schedule and your PC will reward you with better performance and less time in the workshop Fitness Plan Weekly Tasks Run CCleaner Update and Run Spybot Additional Monthly tasks Uninstall Unwanted Programs Reset Internet Explorer Force full Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials Defragment Hard disk Check Windows is fully up to date (windows Update) Diet Only one Antivirus Program Only one Spyware scanner No Registry Fixers No browser toolbars or add ons Never open emails from unknown senders Never respond to pop ups other than avira antivirus that say you have problems Extra Measures for high secrutiy risk computers Do not store email and website login passwords on your PC Set good Login passwords for the PC itself If you know how, set a Bios password on the PC Change the passwords at least once a month Delete Browser history after every session (can be set automatically in Internet Options) Use an email pre scanner like Mailwasher before downloading emails