{"id":1652,"date":"2013-04-16T16:10:28","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T20:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=1652"},"modified":"2020-02-26T10:38:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T15:38:06","slug":"spring-clean-your-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Clean Your PC"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year again: when you put away your winter clothes, realize you haven\u2019t gone to the gym nearly enough to be ready for swimsuit season \u2014 and clean out your computer? Yes, that\u2019s right, now\u2019s the perfect time of year to get your system up and running at its fastest and most efficient again. Here\u2019s how.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Clean<\/a><\/p>\n

Backup files.<\/b><\/strong> You\u2019ve got a lot of important files stored on your system and if it crashed you could lose a lot of data. Back those files up to an external hard drive (or two), and make sure those backup<\/span><\/a><\/span> drives are stored in secure locations \u2014 and even separate locations like your office or parents\u2019 home.<\/p>\n

Clean the system\u2019s registry<\/b>.<\/strong> Your system picks up a lot of temporary files over the course of its life \u2014 particularly through Internet surfing \u2014 and you\u2019ll speed it up by deleting them. There are several tools you can use to clear out old registry entries (in PCs) and empty recycle bins and that can delete temporary Internet files, cookies, and browsing histories<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> CCleaner is a popular free tool that can do this, but robust security platforms like Kaspersky\u2019s PURE 3.0 <\/span><\/a><\/span>contain PC cleanup tools that will do the same thing and are just one part of a comprehensive suite of tools that will keep your system safe going forward.<\/p>\n

Defragment your hard drive<\/b><\/strong>. This is a utility on Windows systems that will increase the speed and efficiency of your system. In Windows 8 you\u2019ll find this by searching \u2018defrag\u2019 under Files, on older Windows systems go to \u2018Program Files,\u2019 \u2018Accessories,\u2019 then select \u2018System Tools.\u2019 Running the Disk Defragmenter takes a while and your system will be unavailable for use while this is happening, so its best to run this if you\u2019re going out for a while or when you go to sleep. The iOS equivalent of defragging the hard drive is to run the system\u2019s built-in Disk Utility app.<\/p>\n

Download the latest version of a potent security suite like PURE 3.0, then run a deep and full system scan to remove any harmful files. Just to be safe, scan any external backup drives too.<\/div>\n

Remove programs you don\u2019t use<\/b>. <\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s likely that the longer you\u2019ve had your system, the more programs will be on it that you don\u2019t use. But those programs still take up disc space and slow your overall system down (especially if they run in the background or while your system boots up). So now\u2019s the time to assess which programs you use and need, and which ones you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In Windows, go to the Control Panel, then select \u2018Add\/Remove Programs.\u2019 Peruse through this list \u2014 select programs you haven\u2019t used in a year or more for removal. On Macs you can open LaunchPad, then drag and drop the icons of your unused and underused programs into the trash.<\/p>\n

Change your passwords<\/b>.<\/strong> This is an important step to make on a regular basis, and as long as you\u2019re bringing the rest of your system up to date you should do this too. Remember to make them long \u2014 18 characters is a good target to shoot for \u2014 and complicated. Don\u2019t use any word found in the dictionary or any names. Mix up letters, numerals and non-alphanumeric symbols. That can be a lot to remember, so you might want to use a password<\/span><\/a> <\/span>manager to help you.<\/p>\n

Install program updates<\/b>.<\/strong> Make sure your operating system and all software programs are updated to the latest versions available, as these updates include the latest security patches. Older versions are more at risk of being exploited by attackers who have found weaknesses in these outdated programs. On Windows systems, navigate to \u2018Go to Start,\u2019 then \u2018Control Panel,\u2019 \u2018All Programs,\u2019 and \u2018Windows Update.\u2019 Here you\u2019ll see what updates are needed. It will tell you what updates need to be installed on your computer. Make sure you click the \u201cCheck for updates\u201d link to see if the computer is up to date. On iOS systems, click on the app store, then the \u2018Updates\u2019 icon at the top of the window.<\/p>\n

Boost your security<\/b>. <\/strong>Download the latest version of a potent security suite like PURE 3.0, then run a deep and full system scan to remove any harmful files. Just to be safe, scan any external backup drives too.<\/p>\n

Actually clean it<\/b>.<\/strong> Your system gets dirty over time from the oils on your fingers, crumbs, dust and so on. Wipe off your monitor with a damp cloth, shake out and\/or spray your keyboard out with compressed air, and scrub the keyboard with a damp, mildly soapy solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year again: when you put away your winter clothes, realize you haven\u2019t gone to the gym nearly enough to be ready for swimsuit season \u2014 and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":1654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/spring-clean-your-pc\/697\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/spring-clean-your-pc\/1652\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/tag\/tips\/","name":"tips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1652"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32731,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions\/32731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}