WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |Spring clean your computer -- inside and out

Spring clean your computer -- inside and out

NATIONAL (NBC) - Computers get real gunky.  Yours may not be that bad, but at least every year, it does need a dusting. 

Start with the fan.  Compressed air from a can works, as does a vacuum. 

And don't forget the keyboard.  Blow out all food crumbs. 

Aerosol cleaning products applied to a clean rag removes the grime. 

But the real PC spring cleaning challenge is inside.

First, get rid of all of the Adware and Spyware. 

Over a year, all sorts of needless software can add up, installed by websites to snoop on your privacy, deliver you unwanted ads, and generally clog and clutter your computer.

There are lots of programs that remove this.  One we've had luck with is called NoAdware.
 
One more thing needs to be cleaned on Windows machines. 

The more software and hardware you install and uninstall, the more full your registry gets. 

A lot of software doesn't clean up after itself, and leaves behind old and obsolete registry entries.

This can slow down your machine. 

A utility program like Error Nuker will scan the windows registry to identify errors and ways to optimize the performance of your computer.

Do a search for registry cleaners or adware removal to find all sorts of tools that will do this for you.  Most offer free trial versions. 

Posted by Logan Smith