Tips for keeping my computer healthy

[Kickflapper]

I like keeping my computer at peek performance, I have PAID for a quality-low footprint Anti Virus and VPN. Besides updates, scans, and backups, is there anything else I should be doing or using on the regular

[Beef Boss]

2 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

I like keeping my computer at peek performance, I have PAID for a quality-low footprint Anti Virus and VPN. Besides updates, scans, and backups, is there anything else I should be doing or using on the regular

Keep away from shady websites and download things from official websites. Even with anti virus software nothing is 100 percent perfect. Also check the speed of things, make sure nothing is over heating or getting hotter than it used to.

[Princess Luna]

Yes don't install stuff like iobit's advanced system care and other programs that promises maintenance for the PC they usually do unnecessary stuff that might end up just decreasing the performance in the end. Always run windows update, always run your browser update, java update etc all updates there are since the easiest way to get a virus is by using outdated stuff  where exploits have been found out.

[Lurick]

Use CCleaner every now and again to clean up everything and keep things in good shape in terms of storage. Keep windows and other programs updated.

[Kickflapper]

gosh my yahoo email has been running lil weird also. lol 

[Kickflapper]

2 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Use CCleaner every now and again to clean up everything and keep things in good shape in terms of storage. Keep windows and other programs updated.

I have heard mixed reviews with CCleaner

[Droidbot]

real easy

 

keep all your shit on a hdd

reinstall the OS every 6 months. keeps it at peak and flushes all junk and shit out in one fell swoop. steam also re-recognises your games if you point it to them. fuck ccleaner, iobit, all those maintenance programs. just nuke it and restart.

 

clean fans, rads, etc with compressed air while you're at it. 

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Kickflapper said:

I have heard mixed reviews with CCleaner

I wouldn't advise CCleaner unless you have a specific need for it such as getting rid of Windows.old folder etc... I don't know your specs but if you have a Hard Driver use windows built in defragmentation like once a month, if you're using a SSD for boot and HDD for storage you should also transfer the TEMP, TMP folders to the HDD, also transfer the virtual memory to the HDD, doing so you'll be giving less writing to the SSD which will increase its lifespan while it changes nothing to the HDD.

[Lurick]

3 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

I have heard mixed reviews with CCleaner

What sort of reviews, I'm curious.

Been using it for a few years now on my work and personal computers and never noticed anything suspicious or bad.

[Kickflapper]

4 minutes ago, Lurick said:

What sort of reviews, I'm curious.

Been using it for a few years now on my work and personal computers and never noticed anything suspicious or bad.

"not bad" however it doesn't really do much. I have read and spoke to people that love it, but it's only really valuable if your computer is already screwed with malware, and half installed programs where you should reinstall anyway

[Lurick]

2 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

"not bad" however it doesn't really do much. I have read and spoke to people that love it, but it's only really valuable if your computer is already screwed with malware, and half installed programs where you should reinstall anyway

Yah, I mostly use it to cleanup my browsers whenever I close them and run it once every week-ish to cleanup other random files from windows updates and whatnot.

[Matias_Chambers]

For drivers I use Driver Booster 4 to check for updates its much easier than going through them manually in device manager. 

[Kickflapper]

1 minute ago, Matias_Chambers said:

For drivers I use Driver Booster 4 to check for updates its much easier than going through them manually in device manager. 

paid program?

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, Matias_Chambers said:

For drivers I use Driver Booster 4 to check for updates its much easier than going through them manually in device manager. 

god that sounds so sketchy 

'driver booster 4' sounds like the shit that they put on the 'speed up your pc  1300x' kinda ads

[Matias_Chambers]

Just now, Kickflapper said:

paid program?

There is a paid version, but I just use the free version. It does come with popups every time you want to check for updates. I don't mind it though. 

[Matias_Chambers]

Just now, Droidbot said:

god that sounds so sketchy 

'driver booster 4' sounds like the shit that they put on the 'speed up your pc  1300x' kinda ads

I know most programs advertise shit like that, but it keeps my drivers updated. 

[Ryujin2003]

4 minutes ago, Lurick said:

What sort of reviews, I'm curious.

Been using it for a few years now on my work and personal computers and never noticed anything suspicious or bad.

CCleaner has been known to remove some things it's not supposed to, sometimes breaking functionality, and causing reinstall on some basic software, mostly non Microsoft items.

 

If you've got antivirus, make sure you also have anti malware. I myself use paid Kaspersky and paid Malwarebytes and SpyBot Search and Destroy. Malwarebytes and SpyBot both have legit cleaners, no need for CCleaner.

 

Even with those, you have to be smart. I just cleaned a PC with Norton that had 1500+ malicious programs to include 11 Trojans. I'm not sure I could get that many if I tried.

 

Stay away from torrents. Stay away from "FREE". 21st century, nothing is free on the internet.

 

Don't do click bait. Even if you want to know how your new state laws are upsetting locals, all while showing you a picture of some hot soccer mom getting arrested. Don't do it.

 

Keep everything updated, rotate passwords on everything, to include modem/router.

Keep drivers and BIOS updated.

 

If you MUST do something that is sketchy or possibly illegitimate, you can do it on a virtual machine. That will prevent your real system from being infected.

 

And lastly, be smart. Microsoft won't make you call a 1 800 number to get your PC unlocked or fixed. Never allow anyone to remote into your system unless you know the person.

[Matias_Chambers]

1 minute ago, Droidbot said:

god that sounds so sketchy 

'driver booster 4' sounds like the shit that they put on the 'speed up your pc  1300x' kinda ads

And I'm not going back to manually checking for updates. 

[Matias_Chambers]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

And lastly, be smart. Microsoft won't make you call a 1 800 number to get your PC unlocked or fixed. Never allow anyone to remote into your system unless you know the person.

This ^ It happened to my grandma and she fell for it.

[Ryujin2003]

1 minute ago, Matias_Chambers said:

I know most programs advertise shit like that, but it keeps my drivers updated. 

The only program that alerts me to out of date software is Kaspersky if I run that part of the program. Which I don't. Once a month I check the manufacturers website for updated drivers. It's better because I know I'm not downloading adware or any other Internet STD.

[Matias_Chambers]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

The only program that alerts me to out of date software is Kaspersky if I run that part of the program. Which I don't. Once a month I check the manufacturers website for updated drivers. It's better because I know I'm not downloading adware or any other Internet STD.

Avast does the same. 

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

-snip-

I agree with all of this besides the antivirus bit. 

Ignore anti-virus that runs in the background. It's a total waste of system resources. Run an anti-malware that doesn't do so, and scan when you feel is required. The best AV is common sense, my friend. 

[Ryujin2003]

1 minute ago, Matias_Chambers said:

This ^ It happened to my grandma and she fell for it.

You would be surprised. I see at least x2 PC's a week come into the shop for this. Only one ended up with Crypto-wall in the past 4 months... People don't educate themselves.

[Matias_Chambers]

1 minute ago, Droidbot said:

I agree with all of this besides the antivirus bit. 

Ignore anti-virus that runs in the background. It's a total waste of system resources. Run an anti-malware that doesn't do so, and scan when you feel is required. The best AV is common sense, my friend. 

I used to use AVG and it started detecting Steam games as severe threats. I got rid of it after that. 

[Kickflapper]

1 minute ago, Droidbot said:

I agree with all of this besides the antivirus bit. 

Ignore anti-virus that runs in the background. It's a total waste of system resources. Run an anti-malware that doesn't do so, and scan when you feel is required. The best AV is common sense, my friend. 

CCleaner and driver programs always seem to try to install other shit also. I have had bitdefender for 2 yrs no probs