HOME PC MAINTENANCE
Users often call to ask if the college's network is the cause of their home PC's slow response. Inefficient operation of a computer's hard drive is often the cause. This is called fragmentation. As programs files on your computer are installed and removed the drive can become disorganized. To correct this situation so that your computer runs more efficiently, you can defragment the hard drive .For more information on defragmenting the hard drive, see Defrag
If defragmenting the hard drive doesn't speed up your PC the cause may be a security issue. The cause may lie in a relatively new type of software called adware or spyware. Adware is software that pops up advertisements on your computer as you surf the Web. Spyware is a bit more dangerous — it's deceptive software that can track the sites you visit and send that information to other people on the Internet. Often the terms adware and spyware are used interchangeably.
These deceptive software programs are often installed when you visit a Web site and are asked to download a new program, or when you install free applications from the Internet. Sometimes they are even installed when you open an attachment that's included in an e-mail. Luckily there are a few steps that can be performed to help remove this type of software from your computer and to help prevent it from being installed in the future.
The first step is to download one of several tools available on the Internet to identify and remove any known spyware that has been placed on your computer. Two of the most common tools are:
| • | Spybot Search and Destroy |
| • | Ad-Aware |
Ad-Aware is used by Desktop services to perform this function on college PCs. Follow the instructions on one of the Web sites above to download and install and run the tool of your choice. You can even run more than one, if you like. Running each tool may take a fair amount of time, but it may not work if you don't let it scan your entire system.
These deceptive software programs frequently display pop-up windows that appear when you're on the Internet. Windows XP is preparing a program update which will prevent this from happening. Until then, there are other applications that you can install that can help to stop pop-up windows. The MSN and Google toolbars are two of the most popular. Desktop Services had sent out a college-wide notice recently with the link to install the Google toolbar.
| • | MSN toolbar |
| • | Google toolbar |
After you download and install one of these free toolbars they will display on your Web browser. Not only will they help block pop-up windows, but they'll also include other features such as the ability to easily search the Web directly from the toolbar. Each of these toolbars gives you the option to allow pop-ups on certain Web sites if you would like, but block them all by default. You should only enable pop-ups on sites that you really trust.
After you've completed these two steps above, your computer performance should improve if you removed any deceptive software that was identified and blocked pop-up windows. You should plan on periodically running the scanner that was installed in Step 1 to remove any new deceptive software that manages to get past these defenses. You should also update your scanner tool periodically to ensure it can identify the latest spyware.
Desktop services has recently installed Ad-Aware and installed an icon on your PC desktop. Removing files made her computer run much more efficiently. Additionally, with the installation of the MSN toolbar, she is now able to surf the Web free from continuous pop-up ads and without as much concern that someone else is tracking her Web surfing habits.
To learn more about spyware see Introduction to Spyware and Spyware and Deceptive Software.
Getting rid of spyware and controlling pop-up ads are just two steps toward keeping your computer running more safely and smoothly. You can continue to improve your computer's security by keeping your software up-to-date, running a current version of antivirus software, and using a firewall.