Posted on 05/28/2009 11:24:21 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
A sucker buys a new PC at the first signs of a slowdown. A savvy power user gives his aged PC a fighting chance for redemption. From tweaking your OS to compressing files to overclocking your videocard or CPU, there are plenty of ways to tune up a computer, and none require a trip to Bob’s House of New PCs. Follow along this step-by-step as we show you 21 of our favorite techniques for making a PC better, stronger, and faster — for free. These essential tweaks and tune-ups range from common-sense caretaking measures to practical adjustments that you'd be foolish to ignore. Combined, they release your PC's untapped potential and breathe new life into your system.
You know to update your antivirus definitions and run Windows Update, but did you know about that massive security hole in Acrobat 8.0 or the potential risks of running that obscure unzipping app you favor? Probably not. That’s where Secunia’s Personal Software Inspector (http://secunia.com) comes in. PSI uses its massive database of security holes to monitor all the apps on your machine and let you know which ones need updating. PSI even provides a link to any available patches and is on constant vigilance for new application security holes as they arise.
(Excerpt) Read more at maximumpc.com ...
ping
marked for later,,,thanks
That would seem to be part of the Windows operating system.
So you might want to be careful how much of that you copied to a backup..I think it was mentioned...a Plan could be to backup your user data and programs and then wipe the disk and reinstall windows and application programs.
If you have a lot of different software programs...you are talking about much work.
You could do this....have two computers...and segregate what you did with each...Have one that you never let access to the Internet ...which is where the bad stuff comes from and the other with access but very little or preferable none, of my important stuff on it.
A KVM switch will allow sharing of the keyboard mouse and monitor....between the two machines...
IOGEAR GCS612A 2-Port PS/2 KVM switch build-in cables and audio support
Belkin makes some and D-Link also.
bookmark
Marker.
Check this out.
There’s a few that aren’t malware related. There’s a de-crap your HD one, there’s the get S.M.A.R.T., revo uninstaller. Looks like over half the things have a “go get this”.
Sorry ... must ... say ... it ...
Use OS X sinnce it creates, reads and edits PDFs natively (PDF is actually part of the display model).
Says something about the Win OSes that handling PDFs becomes such a big deal.
It was okay when Acrobat Reader was decent software. Now Adobe Reader is bloated and tries to reach all over your system, so PC users have a problem. I tried installing it on my Mac, saw no extra value and a lot of downside, and got rid of it quick.
I have some troubles with Foxit, so I went back. Some in-article links don’t open new tabs when clicked, and other problems.
buy a Mac
How to Stop 11 Hidden Security Threats
http://www.pcworld.com/article/187199/how_to_stop_11_hidden_security_threats
Antivirus software and a firewall alone can’t guarantee your safety. Here’s how to foil the latest crop of sneaky attacks and nefarious attempts to steal your data.
Tony Bradley, PCWorld
Jan 24, 2010 6:00 pm
Excerpt:
Do you know how to guard against scareware? How about Trojan horse text messages? Or social network data harvesting? Malicious hackers are a resourceful bunch, and their methods continually evolve to target the ways we use our computers now. New attack techniques allow bad guys to stay one step ahead of security software and to get the better of even cautious and well-informed PC users.
Don’t let that happen to you. Read on for descriptions of 11 of the most recent and most malignant security threats, as well as our complete advice on how to halt them in their tracks.
Shortened URLs
Most tweets, and lots of other electronic messages, include links that have been shortened by services such as Bit.ly, Tr.im, and Goo.gl. The URL aliases are handy, but they pose a risk, too: Since short URLs give no hint of the destination, attackers can exploit them to send you to malicious sites.
...
Love MaxPC!
Their podcasts rule (language warning), esp this author’s (Gordon Mah Ung) Rant of the Week section. They used to do them every week but have been spotty lately
thx.
Much appreciated.
Calling all supergeeks! Need serious assistance!
I recently picked up an old Dell DV051 Dimension 3100
from a guy at work.It was left behind by another office that was evicted and never claimed,so he took it home and just stored it.He couldn’t figure out how to get into it.It was password protected and I wanted to set it up at home to do some hobby stuff,but couldn’t get into it to do anything. I took it to a guy who “supposedly” had a degree in computer science,and knows how to bypass the password,clean the hard drive up and get it back to me ready to use and put my own stuff on it. Well, I got it back,and this is what I got when I fired it up:
NTLDR is missing
Press CNTL+ALT+DEL to restart
AND it also says that drives 1 & 3 are missing....
It was loaded w/Windows XP professional,and now shows that it has Windows 98 on it....
I think the guy switched hard drives on me or something.
What can I do? Should I just go buy a new hard drive for it,install Windows software on it or is this existing hard drive salvageable?
The “ntldr” missing indicates there is probable multiple installs of the operating system, i.e. it might have been set up to boot to 98 or XP. Usually you get prompted on boot up to choose which.
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