Hard Drive- PC Maintenance Tips for 2011

Hard Drive Maintenance

Happy New Year to All.

Maintenance on hard drives is good to do at least once a month. Now is a good time to take the hard drive to some cleaning, disk checking and defragmenting along with a full scan at the end of the evening since a full virus scan can take hours. PC Virus Doctors would also recommend an additional scan with a good antispyware.

MAKE SURE ALL YOUR DATA IS BACKED UP!!!!!

Please read the above again. If you have an old drive and have not performed any of the maintenance or only the malware scans then one can just expect data loss...again...don't be surprised if your data even "disappears".

That being said here is a bulleted list of maintenance and scans for the hard drive. PC Virus Doctors recommends running this maintenance in the order given:

1. Dump all the temp files from Windows, Internet Explorer and other browsers
2. Run a quick virus scan and antispyware scan. (Previous recent posts have what is needed)
3. Run a check disk (google for the term if you don't know how, more on this with next blog)
4. Defragment
5. Run a deep- full scan with an up-to-date antivirus
6. Run a full or deep scan with an up-to-date antispyware

If you have any trouble you can call PC Virus Doctors' Dallas Computer Support at (214) 723-4335

Add an Extra Free Firewall to Windows- Comodo

Comodo Firewall can be used with Windows Firewall with XP and other operating systems adding additional security. The firewall also will check for and update itself with user prompts.

The firewall can be set for different security levels and can be integrated with an antivirus. If unknown executables start Comodo will warn users and tell which application is starting and whether it is a known "safe application" or "unknown application". Users may select to allow or block the executable.

Comodo Firewall runs in the task bar where internet traffic can be blocked with the icon in the taks bar and to select "Block All" in case of suspected malware that may be downloading through hacked or rogue sites.

Dallas Computer Service recommends Comodo Firewall in addition to Windows Firewall for additional security.

Free Rootkit Removers

PC Virus Doctors' Dallas Computer Support has a free rootkit remover download list available directly from vendor sites or authorized through redistribution. The antirootkits may prove valuable if indeed the rootkits can be identified and eradicated will be another story.

Check out these free removal tools from Panda, McAfee, Sophos, Kaspersky, AVG, Lavasoft, GMER Rootkit Detector and Remover and others> Free Rootkit Removers.

Dallas Computer Support Defines Rogue Anti-viruses

Rogue Anti-viruses are a huge problem and Dallas Computer Support recognize these fake programs present difficulty in removing. Many of these fake malware removers trick desktop users into downloading the software by presenting social engineering. Often time users will be web surfing and presented with popups that say the computer is infected and needs to install the software offered to get rid of the problems that the popup message reports.

Shortly the software will automatically install at this point regardless if the users follows the prompt to download, at this stage one must repair the computer. If users see this message it is safest to just power down regardless if information may be lost, PC users can try to click the back buttom, often to no avail. It is sometimes impossible to close the page that displays the popup message fakely reporting malware found on the machine.

If desktop users get these fake anti-viruses there may still be hope repairing your computer by attempting PC Virus Doctors' Dallas Computer Support email supported virus removal.

Dallas Computer Support- Windows Update

PC Virus Doctors' Dallas PC Support has too many laptops and desktops coming in the shop for repair that are deficient of Windows operating system updates, regardless if the operating system is XP, Vista or Windows 7 and any variant within those operating systems such as "Home Edition" or "Professional Edition".

These updates are for security issues along with compatability issues regarding software and hardware developments. Users should set their desktops and laptops to automatically update and install the latest Windows Updates as they become available.

Click here to get> Windows Operating System Updates.

Neglecting this common PC user error saves technicians time and will save users money without wasting any one's time with update concerns.

Speaking of updating, please update your antivirus and antispyware programs to make sure the antivirus signatures and antimalware signatures are up-to-date.

Visit our Dallas PC Repair website for assistance.