Since 2006, I have been recommending PC-Cillin as an anti-virus.  What make me feel confident about this anti-virus is that it works.  It is great protection for those who do not feel comfortable troubleshooting virus issues as well it is very friendly on your computer’s memory.   Other anti-viruses such as AVG and Norton have had issues with memory drains, I have yet to see the same slowness with TrenMicro’s software.

The version that I am selling is Trend Micro PC-Cillin with 3 user licenses (good for 3 machines).

ON SPECIAL!!!!!

$19.99

OK so we got the hardware in parts 1 and 2 out of the way of why your laptop is running like a Rube Goldberg version of a computer rather than the fast and efficient machine you had purchased. But if your hardware is not the issue of its slowness then your machine has other issues that have to be addressed which are software related.

Temporary Files

Temporary files can often slow down a laptop They are files which were are created primarily for backup. Many programs will save a temporary version of a file every few minutes while the original file is open. Then if you have not saved the file and the program unexpectedly crashes or the computer is turned off, there will be a temporary file that was recently saved. Temp files are typically deleted automatically when the program is closed normally, but if the program quits unexpectedly, the temp files are not deleted.

However, some temp files are left behind even when a program is quit correctly. This may be due to programming errors that cause temporary files to not be correctly disposed of when an application is quit. These files can accumulate on your hard drive without you even noticing.

Web Browsers can create “Temporary Internet Files” or “Cache” to store user data, including Cookies, images from visited Web pages, and the user’s browsing history.

It is suggested that ever few months you should clear out your temporary files.

How to clear out your temporary files

1. Click on Start and then Run.

2. In the text box in the Run window, type %Temp% and click OK. A folder full of files and other folders will appear. This is your Temporary Files folder.

   All of the folders and files you see in this Temp folder are no longer being used by Windows XP and can safely be deleted.

3. Click Edit and then Select All from the menu.

   Note: If you’re prompted that there are hidden files in this folder, just click on OK to bypass the message. Then click Tools -> View -> Select Show Hidden Files. Click on OK.

4. Now that all of the files and folders are selected, hit your Delete key on your keyboard.

5. Confirm that you want to delete the files by clicking Yes on the Confirm Multiple File Delete window that opens.

Defragging / Defragmentation

The best way to describe what defragmentation means is to imagine your hard drive is a book. With a book you can easily go through the book because of the way iti is organized,; eg. The pages are organized in numeric order, page 2 comes after page 1. Now imagine someone decided to rip those pages right out of the book and toss them up in the air so they would fall out of sequence in your room. It would take you alot longer to find the second page if it wasn’t in order and you had to find it someone on the floor. Over time, as you add, delete and move files your hard drive begins to fill up and data begins to be moved around all over your drive making files that should be together appear at different points of the drive…page 2 no longer follows page 1. Defragging organizes the drive and puts files that are fragmented back with files that they are related to.

How to Defrag your Hard Drive

1. Open My Computer and right-click on the C: drive (or whatever drive is your main drive). Select Properties, then click on the Tools tab and select Defragment Now.

2. Walk away from your computer and let the defrag begin.

You don’t have to defrag that often. I usually recommend once every few months.