Helpful information for your computer system

A Top source for info. on the Internet

    Bookmark Tell A Friend



This is from a good dependable online friend and my thoughts were to pass it on to more friends.

I'm just sending along some helpful information that may or may not benefit your computer systems. I'm really surprised at how many of you don't have your systems secured with a firewall yet, especially after so much that goes online. I wanted to forward along some information I've come across that should help you better tweak your system's performance and secure your connections from malicious situations.

(1) Take the time to update your "Windows" operating system by using the feature called "Windows Update" located either in your start menu or else in your program menu near the top of it. This will connect you to the microsoft website and enable you to download and install all current security patches and whatnot for your system. This is very important, as each week new security breaches are discovered in windows operations..too bad bill gates didn't figure it out BEFORE he sent out the systems, but oh well.

(2) Take the time to clean out your system, make at least a weekly habit of going into your Start menu, Control Panel, Internet or Internet Options, clean files, delete files, clear history files under the General Tab.

(3) Go to your Start, My Computer, C Drive, Properties, run your Disk Cleanup feature. Also run your Disk Defragmentor at least once a month for peak performances of your Windows system.

Now here are some valuable links to information that may or may not pertain to you:

http://scan.sygate.com, has the most comprehensive scanning available on the internet to test your windows systems operations. Here you can run a quick scan, stealth scan, trojan scan, TCP and UDP scans to find out exactly what the hackers online can see from your computer and where it's weaknesses are. If you are not running a firewall, this will show you exactly where the hackers are attaching to your system when you are online.

At http://www.sygate.com, you can obtain a free firewall for your system, the links to download the Personal Firewall on it the site.

Personally I really like my Norton Internet Security system for home use particularly because I'm using a dial up, if I had DSL or Cable as many of you do, I wouldn't use it, I would take the time to invest in a solid system from Black ICE or a professional system from Agate, you need something that can be set on at all times, and run without your assistance if you have "always on" connections. For dial up, Norton is wonderful and now over at http://www.symantec.com, you can upgrade any Norton product to the 2003 versions, which have even more intense features than the current ones.

If you are running Windows 2000, Windows XP home or Pro editions:This site is great! Created by an internet computer guru, he explains in great detail how to tweak your system..and from experience, I can tell you, it changed greatly the way my system was operating, much faster responses for everything,including internet speed and loading abilities.
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm, make sure you also check out his link to "more items about how to speed up your system can be found here" Trust me, it's worth the time to read and follow the instructions, the difference is noticeable right away.This site will teach you how to disable programs or put them into "manual mode" to stop them from eating up your CPU and move your system faster for you.

On a further note here, some of you talked to me about spyware/adware programs. Many of the "FREE" programs you find online contain these things. Depending on what type of spyware or adware program it is, it can overtake your system, control your browser, allow hackers in,spy on everything you are doing online and report it to it's controllers for "marketing purposes" as they call it. Several types of online messengers can do this to you, as well as several types of music downloaders like audiogalaxy.com satellites, kazaa, and many others.

Before you EVER downlaod a program off the net, especially a FREE one, make sure you do your homework and read the reviews of that program. Example for kazaa, type into your search "kazaa reviews", look through the sites, cnet.com is a good one to use, and learn about the program and what it may contain that you don't know about. The last time I downloaded a music downloader the site itself stated that it didn't contain any spyware, well, I had 4 spyware programs on my system and my system crashed and had to be entirely reprogrammed because of it. It overtook my Norton and my firewall, I couldn't access my favorites list, and it kept sending me to sites I never typed in. Pop-ups were insane. If you or your children want to download music, the best one I have found is WinMX, the reviews rave about the fact that it does not contain spyware/or adware, but I can't guarantee anyone that you may or may not get virus's or trojans from using it, as there is a risk in downloading online, and you should always "Save to disk" and run anti- virus that is up to date on anything you download before you Open it or Execute it. And another note, you should always use a firewall when downloading music, I've had attempted hacks down while downloading from other WinMX users, this is a normal thing online though. We will never get rid of those hackers, but we can stop them from destroying our investments.

On a final note; I came across this site while trying to determine certain features in my startup menu in my Services folder: http://www.lafn.org/webconnect/mentor/startup/PENINDEX.HTM, this was a good site to determine what the program was, and why I needed it running on my system at all. This is a good reference site while trying to tweak your system.

Remember to remove programs from your Add/Remove Programs list in your Control Panel that you do not need and never use, why take up the space if you never run it. And why allow it to eat up your CPU during startup or access the internet if your not using it whatsoever.

Take care guys, happy tweaking and computering.
======================================
by:Dee's Helpful Info. http://www.homebizandmore.biz

Dee's Helpful Info.Newsletter mailto:donna@sosbbs.com

Print This Page