You will find many web sites online that will offer you free screensavers for download.

The question is, are those screensavers safe to install on your computer? By downloading and installing these so-called free screensavers can any harm come to your computer?

This is a legitimate concern, which needs to be addressed before anyone even thinks about downloading and installing a free screensaver.

Check out this video and find out how XoftSpySE Anti-Spyware defeats spyware on your Windows computer!

You will soon find that there are quite a few dangerous types of code that can come buried inside a free screensaver. These could contain viruses, Spyware, Adware, and toolbars. There are a few variations of these types of programs, but in the main, they are as a rule undesirable, unless the user specifically wants them.

It is extremely important that you do your inquiries before you download screensavers. Read the Terms of Service and Conditions of Use on the websites, as companies are required by law to enlighten users what they are installing.

Be sure that you read the fine print – not just what you are presented with on the download page. Sometimes they will say they contain no spyware, but they do not refer to anything about Adware.

Here is a quick overview of several types of malicious programs that you might get from a screensaver.

Viruses:

These can seriously harm your computer, often to the point of losing your valuable data for good. If you are frightened of  getting your computer infected with viruses, only download software from trusted sites where programs are verified and tested. One such site is Download.com who also host their own files, which means that viruses can’t be added to the software at a later date.

Spyware:

These types of programs are nasty because they unethically track and record just about everything you do online. The data can then be sold to advertisers or used to change your browser and computer functions to direct you to unwanted websites. Spyware is one of the worst types of bundled software, and can be extremely difficult to remove.

In fact, sometimes they make it so difficult to remove you often have to rummage around the internet to figure out how to get rid of it. You can usually find many complaints about a particular Spyware program from other disgruntled surfers.

Adware: Adware is not quite as bad as Spyware, but it can still be pretty annoying to many computer users. Adware programs will continually display popups and useless adverts while you are surfing the internet. Sometimes you do not even realise that you have Adware unless you start to see an excessive number of popups during your internet browsing.

Toolbars:

Finally we have browser toolbars, which can be useful or dangerous depending on where you got them. Some toolbars are actually quite useful, such as the Google Toolbar, or some that offer an increased browsing experience like the StumbleUpon toolbar.

Having said that, there are other toolbars which are used as a means of displaying constant unwanted ads and are hard to uninstall. Some of these unwanted toolbars come bundled with free screensavers or software, often from some seemingly reputable companies.

The point is, are you ready to put up with a torrent of advertisements just to get a free screensaver – which are not even necessary. When all is said and done, screensavers were designed to prevent CRT monitors suffering from screen burn, but not many people have these now. The fact is, screensavers are totally unnecessary for LCD monitors, so why take the trouble unless you like looking at beautiful pictures.

Check out this video and find out how XoftSpySE Anti-Spyware defeats spyware on your Windows computer!

So, you have heard about what a complete windows registry clean up can do for your personal computer and now you are interested in getting yourself a windows registry checker software application then you’ve already made a wise decision.

Registry cleaners are the ideal way to optimize the way your computer works for you.  Yet, what should you look for in a windows registry checker?  How do you know you are getting a good deal on the registry cleaner you choose?

Free Registry Scanners

Some registry cleaner software applications can be tried out for free before you purchase.  Essentially, a free registry scanner will allow you to download and install the software so you can see what the software is capable of.  When you try out a free registry scanner application, look for ease of understanding and ease of use.

Does the application seem easy to understand?

Are the features easy to access?

What kind of options does the windows registry checker software application offer?

It will pay you to review every aspect of the application before you decide to purchase the licensing agreement.

Don’t consider price as the defining reason for your purchase.  If you are looking for a registry cleaner that will keep your windows registry clean, you don’t necessarily have to break the bank.  There are plenty of registry repair tools that will do a nice job at cleaning the files in your system.  In contrast, don’t think that a free registry clean up is the best either.

While free registry cleaners do work, they may not offer a lot of the features that come with the registry cleaners that you have to pay for.

Advanced Registry Cleaners

Normal registry cleaning programs are made to be as user-friendly as possible, and they contain basic information that can be easily understood by the normal layman.  These registry cleaning programs walk users through the process of cleaning registries, and regularly warn PC users against performing any tasks, such as deleting files, that may be detrimental to normal computer function.

For this reason, a normal registry cleaning program may not be able to a full windows registry clean up – and this is where an advanced registry cleaner comes in.  Though only experts should use advanced registry cleaners, it can still be a good idea to purchase one and then employ the services of a computer technician to run the program to do the windows registry repair job for you.

Registry cleaning programs are sold by a number of software companies and range from free to fairly pricey.  If you are not very experienced with doing a windows registry repair, choose a registry cleaner that offers safety modes, or a less aggressive mode.  This will ensure that you do not damage your system while using your registry cleaner.  More comfortable computer users may prefer a system that allows them to see each entry and make their own decisions regarding removal.

Consider giving a registry cleaner a try as part of your routine computer maintenance to keep your computer running as well as it can.   But if you want the best registry repair software that will keep the windows registry clean then be prepared to pay a fair price for it.

If you are planning to get a registry cleaner, don’t run out and buy one just yet.  It is always better to sample something before you buy, especially if the chance is available to do so.

Here’s the thing about registry cleaner software or any software for that matter:  once you open the box it’s yours—a lot of retailers won’t accept returns on software applications.

Unfortunately, if you don’t like the registry cleaner you purchase you are stuck with a program that you will probably not use very much.  Even worse, you’re out your initial investment in the registry cleaner and you will have to hunt down another application you do like.

Downloading a free demo of a registry cleaner is always a good idea.  Many registry cleaner creators will allow users to use a demo of their product because they want the consumer to see how the program functions.  Plus, giving you a chance to try it out will probably convince you to purchase the registry cleaner application.

Everyone benefits from a free trial:  the vendor gets more clients and you can see if the application really suits your needs.

Downloading a registry cleaner can take several minutes with a dial up modem, but those minutes are more than worth it when you save yourself from the hassles associated with impulsive software purchases.  Taking the extra time to sample the software before purchase can save you considerable time in the future.  In the end, remember these words, if possible, whenever buying software, try before you buy!

Whether you have a high-specification PC or just a basic desktop, after any length of time owning a computer, you will find a registry cleaner comes in very handy.

Over time, the need for a windows registry checker program becomes more pressing, and although it is possible to perform registry cleanup manually, it is a complex task that, if done incorrectly, can damage your computer, interrupting vital functions and deleting important data.  As such, a registry cleaner is a far superior option that will pay for itself in improved performance for your computer.

The registry is best thought of as the computer’s central filing system.  Every program and function on the computer uses the registry when running, and when programs and files are saved or downloaded onto your hard drive, the registry is altered to incorporate these changes.  Over time, it will become cluttered and messy, and possibly even corrupted, if viruses have infected your system.

Top registry cleaners will scan your registry for problems, inform you of the errors in your registry, and clean them up for you.  They will also incorporate a defragmenter to free up space on your hard drive, removing or compressing unused files to optimize your computer’s performance.

It is possible to perform a windows registry clean up manually, but doing so requires specialist knowledge, and if you make an error, it could prove extremely costly.  It is much better to use a top registry cleaner to ensure your computer runs smoothly and make the most of its processing power.

The solution in a case like this is to buy some registry cleaner software. Registry cleaner software is usually fairly cheap – only thirty or forty dollars – and will keep your computer’s system registry organized and clear of unwanted debris created when you install and uninstall programs, download files, and access websites. By keeping your registry clean, your registry cleaner software will keep your computer running smoothly and efficiently as well as protect you from spyware and those annoying error messages we’re all so used to.

The best way to find software like this is very often simply by looking for it online. Registry cleaner software is often, in fact, sold by software companies who run most of their business directly from the web. By getting online you can compare prices and features and simply order the program you want, either by requesting a CD in the mail or downloading a free trial and buying an activation code.

Registry repair for your computer is vital if you want to keep it running smoothly. It will have cost you a lot of money and it pays to look after that investment. One best possible things you can do to keep your computer running smoothly is to make sure the Windows registry is clean of clutter and old file references.

If you don’t know what the Windows registry is then it’s a small database that keeps all the settings for your computer and information about installed programs. If the registry gets in a mess then your computer can start to slow down and even crash. You sometimes see error codes on your PC monitor when this happens but not always.

The best way to keep a registry clean is by using an automated piece of software called a registry cleaner. It can clean files referring to all of the old, outdated entries from programs that you uninstalled a long time ago. It can also tidy up the registry, make it more efficient and therefore run a bit faster.

You can repair the registry manually but it’s not advisable if you don’t know what you are doing. If you delete registry entries you could mess up your whole computer and have to reformat and reinstall all your software again.

There are lots of registry cleaners around but many of them are exactly the same under the hood and are no different in operation. Like anything in life, you generally get what you pay for and registry cleaners are no exception to this rule.

A good registry cleaner can repair your registry quickly and safely. It can do in minutes what would take you many hours. Editing the registry yourself could be a false economy if you end up with a non-working computer caused by your mistakes.

A final word of warning abut registry cleaners.

There are many criminals on the internet making fake registry cleaners just so they can scam people out of their money. That is why you should always choose a well-known registry cleaner made by a legitimate software company.

Should you use more than one virus protection at a time?

People ask this question because they hear that some antivirus programs don’t catch all viruses and think that by having more than one virus program running at a time they will get better protection from viruses.

They think that what one antivirus program misses the other one will catch. This could be true because no antivirus program is perfect and each one works in a slightly different way to the others.

The trouble with this idea is that two antivirus programs will take up a lot more of your computer resources and slow your PC down. Some antivirus programs are resource hogs and having two running at the same time will slow your computer down dramatically.

They may also conflict with each other and cause all sorts of problems. If you want to have two antivirus programs installed on your PC, you could do this but it’s best to have only one running at a time to avoid conflicts. You will have to disable one to do this though which might be a bit tricky as some antivirus programs have many processes running at one time.

You could then do a scan with each to see if one anti virus program discovers a virus that the other one misses. If you want more than one virus protection on your computer you will have to experiment a little to find the right setup for your PC.

You must realize that no antivirus program will protect your computer from the threat of viruses completely. The best way to avoid getting a virus on your PC is to be very careful about downloading pirated software, which is one of the main ways Trojans and many other nasty things are spread around the internet.

You might think you are saving money but sometimes the price can be higher than you think once you find your private and financial data has been stolen.

Is your computer performing at the speed it’s suppose to be? Is your computer throwing up odd messages that have no relevance to what you’ve got installed?

Chances are you haven’t been maintaining it the way you should be. Common problems which users ask over and over again why their computer is slow or why does an application have problems locating certainly necessary files.

Common things to do involve de-fragmenting your computer hard drive and also clearing up temporary files which clog up your folders.

It is a good idea to think of your PC as an office. It stores files, programs, pictures. This can be compared to an actual office’s files, machines and decorations. The operating system is the boss. With this image in mind, think of an office you’ve visited that was slow and inefficient.There were probably many different reasons for the inefficiency. This is the same with a computer. There can be many items that slow down your computer. Perhaps the one most commonly overlooked is disorganization and clutter.

Disk Cleanup

An office can accumulate a lot of unnecessary files, machines, and decorations. This is the same with your computer. One of the best ways to keep this clutter under control is to perform a cleaning utility periodically. In Windows this cleaning utility will be called a “disk cleanup.” It removes a variety of unnecessary files depending on the options you have selected.

To perform a disk cleanup on Windows XP you can simply click on “my computer” under the start menu. Than right click on your “c drive” or “hard disk” and choose properties. Than click “disk cleanup” and follow the prompts. When selecting files to clean up, or delete, Windows will give you information to help you decide. When looking over the list of file types, you would simple click on the name of the file type and read the description placed below in the description area. This will let you know if the files can be safely deleted. To select the file group just check the box next to the group name. When finished selecting press “OK” to finish.

Now, performing a disk cleanup is not very time consuming, just a couple minutes, and it may save more time in the end by making your computer run faster. However, a disk cleanup should be run periodically rather than just once in a great while. One way to make this run periodically is to make it a scheduled task. This will allow your computer to run it automatically with intervals and time of day determined by you. Yet, you can always run it yourself periodically without creating a scheduled task.

Add or Remove Programs

The information given above can help you get rid of some unnecessary files, but you may also need to clean out some unnecessary programs as well. This can be done using the “add or remove programs” utility in Windows. This is located in the control panel and lists all of your currently installed programs along with an option to uninstall them. It is a good idea to browse through the add or remove programs utility every once in a while just to make sure that all programs are of usefulness.

If there are programs listed that are no longer used, you can simply highlight the program and click the uninstall button. Windows will than begin the process to uninstall the program. In most cases, to finish uninstalling a program, it is wise to restart your computer. This will dump and files that are held temporarily.

The add or remove programs utility is very useful, but not all of the programs are listed up front. Programs that come pre-installed on your computer and the Windows operating system can also be uninstalled. For instance, Outlook Express is a default e-mail program that comes with the Windows XP operating system. If you do not use this e-mail program you can uninstall it. Click “add or remove windows components” found in the add or remove programs utility and simply follow the instructions.

Defragment

Many offices contain a large number of files and programs that are valuable and cannot be thrown away. In fact, they may contain files that are not even used, but still have to be retained for some reason. Although these files must remain in the office, they need to be organized. This is why we create file folders that hold groups of files that are related. Than we store them in cabinets that are arranged in alphabetic order.

In a computer, the files that are saved are placed on the hard drive. However, they are placed according to the time that they were saved. So, if you open a word document and save the file as “file A” and than open another document and save it as “file B”, you have a “file A” placed next to “file B.” This is fine, but if you open “file A” later on and save it again, than the added information is saved next to “file B.”

When files are broken up this way it is referred to as a fragmented file. This means that the computer must find the first part of the file and then find the second part of the file to open that one word document. This can make your computer run slower. However, Windows has created a utility that is meant to rearrange files so that they are no longer fragmented but sit right next to each other.

You can run the disk defragmenter by selecting “all programs” under the start button. Next, select “accessories” and “system tools” and you will see “disk defragmenter.” In fact, this is also an alternative way to select the disk cleanup mentioned earlier. Before starting the defragmenter you can analyze your hard drive to see if Windows recommends performing the defragmenter. It will either say that you should or should not defragment at this time.

If you need to defragment your computer, simply hit the defragment button. It may take your computer a while to finish this task depending on the speed of your computer and the amount of defragmented files. It could take from about 15-30 minutes or more. However, you can still use the computer while the disk defragmenter is working.

De-fragmenting your hard drive is an often neglected part of computer maintenance. If you ask most people how to de-fragment a hard drive they won’t know what you’re talking about.

De-fragmenting your hard drive is very important if you want your computer performance not to suffer as you add more and more data to your hard drive. Windows has a handy feature that easy let’s you evaluate your hard drive as to whether it needs to be de-fragmented or not, and de-fragment your hard drive as needed.

Although the interface between different versions of windows changes they all have the same basic premise. You simply need to go to the start menu, accessories, system tools then disk defragmenter. Once in the interface you can choose to analyze the hard drives connected to your computer. The analysis will tell you whether you need to de-fragment your hard drives or not. If you do you simply need to select the hard drive from the list and hit de-fragment.

Disk de-fragmenting does one important task. It moves all the files that are scattered across your hard drive to one chunk of the hard drive making it easier to read and write from, therefore increasing the performance of your computer. Over time most computers scatter data across the whole length of the hard drive making accessing this data more time consuming.

Depending on the size of the hard drive your de-fragmenting this usually takes a long time. As a simple guide an 80gb hard drive will take about an hour. This also depends on the speed of your processor and the amount of RAM you have. De-fragmenting your hard drive will take up nearly all of the resources of your computer so you won’t be able to perform any operations while it is running.

The solution to this would be to run the de-fragmentation at a time when you are not using the computer.

Computer security, in basic terms means keeping your computer and the data that’s in it safe and secure. More of our personal data is stored in or accessed from our computer, now more than ever before. Yet most people lack even the basic understanding of how to keep their computers safe and secure. By following just a few simple rules you can dramatically improve the overall security of your computer.

The first thing to understand is what exactly it means to be connected to the internet. Your computer connected to the internet is similar to your house in many ways. There are many ways into your house. Windows, doors, etc. The more windows and doors you have, the more ways someone has into your house. An open door doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be robbed, but it does improve the chances. Complicating matters, the ones that you think are locked, may not be because the lock is faulty or even the door itself may have an as of yet undiscovered flaw that would allow an intruder easy access to your home.

Your computer has many windows and doors, not all of which are locked. New flaws are being found everyday, often with the fix not coming until days after. Just like you wouldn’t leave your front door unlocked, you shouldn’t leave your computer wide open either. The first two things we will discuss to help with this task are installation of a quality firewall and regularly updating your installed software.

Updating your software is becoming easier these days, especially your Operating System. We don’t have the time here to go into detail about the many ways to update the many software packages you may have or use, but generally speaking the software manufacturer will provide you a way to do this automatically via the internet. A good example of this is the Microsoft Windows Update feature. Be sure to get the updates for everything installed on your computer, nothing is too trivial.

There are two basic types of firewalls and both perform the same functions. One is hardware the other is software. A hardware firewall is probably included in your router if you are using one, while you may or may not have a software firewall installed. To continue our house analogy, a firewall is like building a wall and gate around your home and giving the guard at the gate instructions on who to let in and out. While this does give a great deal of protection, it is not all that is required. Someone may know a way around or under your wall, or even be able to coerce the guard into letting them in.

You yourself may unwittingly allow someone in. This could happen by simply opening an email or even simply surfing the net. Spyware, viruses, trojans and the like are ever more adept in their methods of fooling you and your guards. Emails may come from a trusted friend containing a dangerous virus without them even knowing it. This is where the next layer of protection comes in, anti-virus software.

Anti-virus software is a large category these days. Often these packages come as “suites” including a firewall and Spyware scanner. While most of these programs are very effective in their promised tasks, it is not wise to be lulled into a false sense of security by them. They are simply one layer in what should be a multi tiered protection plan for you and your computer. One last important note about anti virus software is to be sure that it updates on a regular basis. New threats come out daily so check its updates manually to be sure they have happened.

Back to our house analogy, we now have all of our windows, doors and other entry ways locked and fully updated. We have a wall around our house with a guard at the gate and we have software scanning everything that comes in past the gate. Sounds pretty good, but there’s one last security hole we need to address, you.

A large percentage of infections are caused by the computer user themselves. The internet is an ever changing place that requires it’s users to be educated about its use. I’m not suggesting that you need to be a computer expert to simply read your email. I am however suggesting that you take some time to educate yourself on some of the dangers that pop up everyday, and the precautions to take in order to avoid them.

In summary, your computer is a powerful machine connected to one of the greatest things ever invented, the internet. This vast resource can be a dangerous place if you are not properly prepared and informed. Regular software updates, a good firewall, anti virus software and a little education are the basics in computer security. Having and understanding these basics will make your computer safer, more secure and more enjoyable.

We live in a fast paced world and we’re always looking for the fastest way to get things done. We barely have time to wait for our burger at the local fast food restaurant, our coffee to brew, our microwave popcorn to pop, so who has time to wait around for a slow computer?

Barring adding more RAM to your computer, there are 6 steps you can take to speed up your computer’s performance. Most of these steps will allow you to speed up your computer, free of charge since they are applications already installed on your computer.

One of the first steps you should take is to empty the Recycle Bin. It’s easy to do. Just point your cursor to the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, right-click, and choose “Empty Recycle Bin.”

Next, open up your Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options. Click on “Delete Cookies,” then on “Delete Files.” In the window that appears, check “Delete all offline content” and click OK. Once that’s done, click OK to close the Internet Options window, and close your Internet Explorer.

Those two are steps are the quickest, and simplest ones so that’s why we got them out of the way first. Next, we’ll be conducting a Disk Cleanup. To do this, click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup. The disk cleanup function will now begin calculating how much space you will be able to free up. Once it finishes, it’ll give you a list of files to delete. It should already have some files checked, but you can go through the list and check off all the files you want to delete, then click OK.

Now it’s time to do a disk defragmentation. This can be a long process so you should probably set this up during a time when you’ve got other things going on. For example, set it up, then go watch your favorite TV show, or go mow the lawn, or go workout. You get the idea. To begin go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Click Analyze. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the “You do not need to defragment this volume” call-out, but more than likely, you’ll have to click on “Defragment.” If so, click on it, go do something else and come back in an hour or two.

Once that’s done, it’s time to run a spyware scan. Most people don’t realize how easy it is to get infected with spyware, so running periodic scans is highly recommended. You can use any anti-spyware program you choose. Just be aware that no one program gets rid of everything. To play it safe, you should run at least three different programs. You might be surprised by what they find. You may have had spyware running on your computer and not even know it. Once the scans are complete, and all that spyware is taken care of, it’s time for the last step.

This last step is to run an anti-virus scan. Hopefully you have an anti-virus program installed on your computer. If not, I highly recommend you get one as soon as possible. Once the anti-virus program is set, go ahead and run it. This could take anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple hours depending on how many files you have on your hard drive so once again, set it, and then go do something else. Come back in about an hour.

Once all the steps are complete. Restart your computer and you’ll be surprised at how completely nimble it now feels. It’s a good idea to follow these 6 steps at least once per week (some steps you can even set up to be done automatically). By doing this, you will keep your computer performing almost like it did when you first bought it.