How to maintain your computer St. John UMC Computer Classroom

Who am I? Gerod Truelove 17 years of experience Bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky in Computer Science Currently works for a local manufacturing facility as their Network Administrator 10 years experience running own small business

How to maintain your computer Prevention Maintain performance Maintain equipment Troubleshooting tips

Prevention One of the best ways to maintain your computer is to prevent problems from occurring. Best prevention strategies 1. Install anti-virus software 2. Install anti-spyware software 3. Install a firewall 4. Keep your operating system updated 5. Keep your applications updated 6. Remove unwanted or unused software 7. Education

Prevention: 1. Anti-virus software What is anti-virus software? Definition: "anti-virus" is protective software designed to defend your computer against malicious software. Malicious software, or "malware" includes: viruses, Trojans, keyloggers, hijackers, dialers, rootkits, and other code that vandalizes or steals your computer contents. How does it work? Most anti-virus software companies uses signatures to match specific patterns of data within files on your computer. Heuristics method Sandbox method

Prevention: 1. Anti-virus software Popular anti-virus software Symantec (Norton) McAfee AVG (Free) Avast (Free) Kaspersky Trend Micro (PC Cillin) You can download these free software packages from

Prevention: 1. Anti-virus software I don’t have anti-virus software. What do I do? Get it as soon as possible. My recommendations… Free version: Avast (don’t forget to register!) Paid version: Trend Micro I have anti-virus installed on my computer. Now what? Keep your anti-virus software updated Signature updates Program updates Setup a weekly full system scan If a virus has been detected, deal with it immediately. Update the software, then perform another full system scan.

Prevention: 1. Anti-virus software Other Lowered performance Multiple computers Questions?

Prevention: 2. Anti-spyware software What is anti-spyware software? Spyware is the name given to a variety of harmful programs that secretly install themselves on a computer without the user's consent. Once installed, this spyware software gathers information about the user, everything from personal data to Internet browsing habits. How does it work? Anti-spyware software works very similar to how anti-virus software works. Anti-spyware software looks for patterns through out your computer and matches those patterns to a database of known threats. If a threat is found, the software notifies the user to take action. NOTE: Anti-spyware software is not a replacement for anti-virus software. They are to be used in conjunction with each other.

Prevention: 2. Anti-spyware software Popular anti-spyware software Symantec (Norton) McAfee Ad-Aware (Free) Spybot – Search and Destroy (Free) SuperAntiSpyware (Free) Spyware Doctor Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Free)* Windows Defender (Free) You can download these free software packages from * Most popular free version

Prevention: 2. Anti-spyware software I don’t have anti-spyware software. What do I do? Get it. My recommendations… Free version: Malwarebytes Anti -Malware Paid version: Malwarebytes Anti -Malware I have anti-spyware software installed on my computer. Now what? Keep your anti-spyware software updated Signature (database) updates Program updates Setup a weekly full system scan If a threat has been detected, deal with it immediately. Update the software, then perform another full system scan.

Prevention: 2. Anti-spyware software Other Most free anti-spyware programs require user interaction to keep it updated. Most free anti-spyware programs do not have a real-time scanning engine however, Spybot – Search and Destroy does. Do not use the same software vendor for both anti-virus and anti-spyware. Use different software vendors to provide a type of layered protection. Questions?

Prevention: 3. Firewall What is a firewall? Definition: A "firewall" is an term to describe a specialized defense system for a computer network. The term comes from construction, where specialized fire-prevention systems involve fire-resistant walls being placed strategically in buildings and cars to slow the spread of a fire. In the case of computers, the term describes hardware or software that prevents unauthorized electronic access to a network computer systems. How does it work? A firewall works by detecting inbound and outbound network traffic and prevents or allows that traffic depending on user settings

Prevention: 3. Firewall Hardware Usually deliveries protection to the most vulnerable position in your network. Most new routers have firewalls built-in.

Prevention: 3. Firewall Software Needed if directly connected to the Internet. Needed on mobile devices. Recommended as a best security practice.

Prevention: 3. Firewall Popular software firewalls Symantec (Norton Personal Firewall) McAfee Personal Firewall ZoneAlarm (Free)* Sygate (Free) AVG Anti-virus plus firewall Trend Micro Internet Security Built in Windows OS You can download these free software packages from * Most popular free version

Prevention: 3. Firewall Is my Windows Firewall turned on (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Security Center  Windows Firewall Link

Prevention: 3. Firewall Other Firewalls prevent networked devices from unauthorized threats, however, it also prevents legitimate devices from communicating as well. Sharing files Sharing printers Playing games Questions?

Prevention: 4. Operating system updates What is an operating system? In simple terms, an operating system is software that controls the allocation and usage of hardware resources such as memory, CPU time, disk space, and input and output devices. The operating system (OS) bridges the gap between the computer hardware and the user. Windows (7, Vista, XP) Mac OS Unix Linux Why do I want to update my operating system? Computer vulnerabilities are discovered daily and it is necessary for software companies to “patch” their software when these vulnerabilities are discovered. Failure to do so could result in problems down the road. Example: Infected icon vulnerability Bug fixes and improvements

Prevention: 4. Operating system updates How do I update my operating system? Most Windows users have automatic updates enabled. This means that when Microsoft releases new updates for your computer, your computer will automatically download and install them. Usually you will then be asked to reboot your computer. Manually install updates by going to the Windows Update website Are my Automatic Updates enabled (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Security Center  Automatic Updates

Prevention: 4. Operating system updates Other Window Updates often can update your hardware drivers Microsoft Updates Questions?

Prevention: 5. Application updates Why do I want to update my application? You need to update your applications for the same reasons why you update your operating system. Example: Infection Adobe PDF vulnerability Bug fixes and improvements At a minimum keep your Internet facing applications updated. Most times, these types of software will download updates automatically and ask you to install them. Adobe Flash Adobe PDF Java

Prevention: 5. Application updates Other Best practice – Keep all software updated Questions?

Prevention: 6. Remove unwanted or unused software If you are not using or planning to use a piece of software on your computer, then remove it. Reduced performance Sluggish startup times Another possible security vulnerability Additional problems Example: Toolbar and BB&T’s website How do I remove programs (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Add or Remove Programs Select the program and Remove

Prevention: 6. Remove unwanted or unused software Questions?

Prevention: 7. Education Education yourself Be weary of P2P (peer-2-peer) file sharing applications. A lot of these services have files that are infected with malware. Limewire, Frostwire, Bearshare, Kaaza Be mindful of pop-up messages that say your computer is infected with hundreds of viruses. Unless this message came from your security software, you are possibility staring at an infection. Questions?

Maintain Performance Maintain the performance of your computer by following these guide lines. 1. Remove unwanted or unused software 2. Delete Internet Cache 3. Check Disk 4. Defragmentation 5. Disk Cleanup 6. Use 3 rd party software tools 7. Tweak the startup routine

Maintain Performance Remove unwanted or unused software For maximum performance, keep your computer running lean Example: Friend who evaluates software How do I remove programs (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Add or Remove Programs Select the program and Remove

Maintain Performance Delete Internet Cache If your Internet browsing experience does not perform like it used to, or if you are experiencing odd behavior from previously viewed websites, then it maybe time for you to delete your Internet cache. How do I delete my Internet cache (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Network and Internet Connections  Internet Options From the General tab, click “Delete…”

Maintain Performance Check Disk Sometimes problems with your hard drive can affect performance of your computer. When trying to maintain or restore the performance of your computer, it is good idea to run a check disk. Do not run a check disk daily Example: Replaced hard drive due to slow performance How do I delete my Internet cache (Windows XP)? Start  Control Panel  Network and Internet Connections  Internet Options From the General tab, click “Delete…”

Maintain Performance Disk Cleanup The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk: Remove temporary Internet files. Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet. Empty the Recycle Bin. Remove Windows temporary files. Remove optional Windows components that you are not using. Remove installed programs that you no longer use. Start  Run  Type “cleanmgr”

Maintain Performance Defragmentation After some time your computer’s hard drive can get fragmented. You can increase the performance by defragmenting your hard drive regularly. Start  Run  Type “dfrg.msc”

Maintain Performance Use 3 rd party software tools CCleaner (Free) Advanced SystemCare (Free)

Maintain Performance Tweak the startup routine Microsoft System Configuration Utility or MSCONFIG for short is used to tweak your startup routine. This is a very powerful utility that will help in troubleshooting and diagnosing problems. You can disable unnecessary programs thus increasing the performance of your computer. Start  Run  Type in “msconfig”

Maintain Equipment Electricity Surge Suppression Computer Network cable Telephone cable Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) Heat Maintain good air flow Keep fans cleans