Just as regular maintenance keeps your car in top condition and extends it useful life, so too, can a few preventive measures protect the performance of your PC and keep it rolling along for many years.

     Chances are good that your PC is connected to the internet.  Most likely, the connection is broadband and is up 24×7.   That means its exposed and vulnerable to attack.  Not all hacks shut your PC down, or even damage data.  Most simply use your PC to launch other attacks (zombies), or store their data.  If you want the best performance out of your PC, you need to keep it clean of other people's stuff.

     THE BEST WAY to keep your PC clean and sterile is to keep it patched.  Chances are, your PC has a Microsoft OS.  That means Windows.  It doesn't matter which one. XP, 2000, ME, VISTA all are widely used, and that means they have vulnerabilities.  Microsoft designs these operating systems to provide and take advantage of, distributed services.  Any service, accessed, or provided does so by means of an open port or ports.  This, de facto is a vulnerability, a potential exploit.

     The bad news is that new exploits are found by hackers almost continuously.  The good news is that Microsoft is continuously fixing them and providing patches over the internet.  So all you have to do is download the patch and install it.  You can get the latest patches at:  http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. 

     The website will check your PC's registry, identify the current OS and patch level and offer the patches that will bring you up to date.  All you need to do is download and install them.

     You also have the option to set your PC to automatically update.  Simply open your computers control panel, locate the Automatic Updates icon, launch it, and select the options that best fit your needs.  You can pick a time that's convenient for you and your PC will automatically connect to Microsoft, download and install the latest patches on the schedule you specify.  Since some patches require a reboot this will save you time later on.  If you run third party software that you think might be adversely impacted with a patch you can schedule them for automatic download and pick and choose the ones you want to install.  Either way its an easy way to keep your PC immunized and protected.

    Current updates are no guarantee you'll never get a virus.  Anti-virus software is a must.   But keep that PC patched and you've gone a long way toward trouble free and reliable computing.

"This computer is so slow!' What does that mean? It's like calling your car mechanic and saying "my car is slow". Well, what kind of car is it? How old is it? How fast are you expecting it to go? Do you know how to press the gas pedal and shift gears?  

We will create a more comprehensive analysis checklist in other articles, but for now lets start by looking at the symptoms in more detail. What exactly is slow?

               Everything about my computer is slow

               Only certain applications are slow, such as games, videos, or my internet browser 

               My computer is slow at start-up

               Windows shuts down slowly, or will not shut down without turning off the power

There are many possible causes for a slow computer, and on this site we plan to cover every possible computer performance problem and discuss the options you have for solving each one. Just like a car mechanic, we we will help you diagnose your problems and figure out if you need a tune-up, repairs, complete rebuild, upgrades, or if your computer is just ready for the junk yard.