Steps taken for a clean PC

Nothing, just be careful what I'm doing and it runs fine

 

Exactly! Everything lie down in the hands of the user behind the screen!

On my wife her Mini laptop, i never have problems with it! She is very careful and works with it every day.
She do not need antivirus or malware soft in years already.

 

But those who do, are n00bs because they didn't take steps to look after it in the first place, so you'll be taking advice from the wrong people

Which one is best:, A or B ?

Q
"How do I fix my kitchen after a gas explosion?"

A
"Don't let the gas leak in the first place"

B
"Call a builder, a painter, some friends....."

 

But it is TRUE what we tell you, no joke!

In have 35 years experience with Personal Computers, i really know what i say!
Can you say the same?

Al you need is maybe a run from CCleaner now and then, and you good to go.

 

@bergy: The two posters above me have given you a solid answer.

I will reiterate. Using 2 programs and some common sense, you can stay safe on the web.

piriform CCleaner and Malwarebytes free.

The rest is common sense. Stay away from dangerous websites. Don't allow toolbars and "extra" junk to install.

And if you download something, do -NOT- use the downloader app provided by that website.

And make sure that you allow Microsoft Silverlight to do regular updates. A while back, Silverlight was used as a target vehicle for RansomWare.

 

I could not agree more with what Michaela is saying!

My wife is really a n00b in computers, but still she can keep it clean and safe?
Now and then i look to her mini and other laptop, but i never could catch her doing something not good.

She just use some common sense, nothing more needed.

 

I like Eset Nod32 antivirus. Had it for years. But most all are fairly good. It's more like pick your poison. Just make sure you keep dat files updated.

 

and last but not least. When you do install software, do not just click NEXT NEXT OK OK OK etc. look at what it is saying, many programs will try to install extra software besides itself. You declining the offers to install that extra software will save you a ton of trouble later.

Unless of course you like your browsers hijacked and other "lets speed up your pc" software installed.

 

Yes true! Many people (Read: most of them), just do fast click-click without reading anything and then end with adware on the system. The makers of the program know this, and use it against you!
Keep in mind that for some installers you must click advanced installation, otherwise they trick you again.
Never take custom if you have the choice!
And again others trick you in that you must decline or skip, with let you think it will not install anything then.

And when you download from some site, please use your eyes and not agree to use their installer!!

How many people read the agreements when they install an app on their smartphone, or if they make an Facebook account?
Exactly... no one.
You should try it once, then you will sometimes not believe what you are installing, and what permission you give them.
That is why i do NOT want an zombiemaker at my home, nor need i facebook.

35 year ago we did not need it, and everything worked well as keep contact with friends and family, so i don't need all bloatware that exists now.

 

Wise words indeed ....

for all those who want to use their computer safely , but without any unnecessary " geekery " , this is sage advice !

I would add one thing :- please use CCleaner and enjoy it's user-friendly benefits but stay away from the registry cleaner !

There is nothing wrong with it ( in fact it's better/safer than most ) , it's simply that you will never see any benefit from
using any registry cleaner or registry defragger.

And on rare occasions they can cause disaster .... so why take the risk ?

 

@Mutoid: I agree with you with regards to registry cleaners / registry defraggers. The average person doesn't understand enough to use these advanced tools properly.The Windows registry is a dynamic database. Windows does its' own cleanup and packing when necessary.

What impacts a computer most is the amount of free space on the primary hard drive. When the combined size of the registry hives and swap file get close to the remaining hard drive space, the user will notice lagging, and possibly poor system performance. Cleaning unused programs and junk is probably the safest way to keep a computer running at peak performance. But you still must be careful.

A trick I've seen used a lot is to put a secondary drive in a system. Save all your data to the secondary drive, and use the primary drive for programs only. Of course, unless you have a laptop with multiple drive bays, this is a moot point for laptops.