Essential Computer Maintenance Tools for Non-Techie People

Let’s face it; around 80 percent of computer users are non-techies, or at least contain only minimal skills when it comes to computer maintenance. They may be the kings of web development, content writing, Photoshop, photography, and other computer whizzes, but when it comes to computer maintenance; it’s a whole new ballgame.

For the non-techie, there are numerous computer maintenance tools that can be found online, many being open-source – meaning they're free – or are sold at affordable prices. The level of experience for using these tools range from beginner or basic computer skills needed, to intermediate or familiarity with some computer jargon.

Here are some examples:

CCleaner – gives your PC a tune-up by removing unnecessary files and registry information, freeing up valuable disk space and making your machine run faster.

JkDefragGUI – JkDefrag reorganizes files on your PC to improve performance.

Double Killer – helps you find and easily remove duplicate files which are using unnecessary disk space.

Deep Burner – makes it easy to backup information to a CD or DVD.

7-Zip Portable – 7 Zip lets you create and extract from most of the popular archive file formats.

PC Decrapifier – uninstalls many of the common trial ware and annoyances found on PC’s when you bring them home from the store. A list of software that it can detect and remove is provided after it is downloaded and installed. PC Decrapifier displays a list of software it detects and then lets you choose what you want removed.

Process Explorer – a task manager on steroids. Find out what files, registry keys, and other objects applications have open, even which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns each application.

ProduKey – a small utility that displays the Product ID and the CD-Key of MS-Office, Windows, Exchange Server, and SQL Server installed on your computer. This utility can be useful if you lost the product key of your Windows/Office, and you want to reinstall it on your computer.

WirelessKeyView – retrieves the type and value of previously used wireless network keys and passwords stored in your computer, and then lets you easily save all the information to a text file.

Unknown Devices – helps you determine what those unknown devices in Device Manager really are if Windows can’t figure it out by itself.

Recuva – recovers files which have been deleted from your computer, including files emptied from the recycle bin as well as files deleted from memory cards or MP3 players.

PhotoRec – recovers files which have been deleted or damaged from memory cards. It works by ignoring the file system and going after the underlying data, so it will still work even if your media’s file system has been severely damaged or re-formatted.

ClamWin – scans your PC for viruses and helps remove them. It does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware.

Rootkit Revealer – an advanced rootkit detection utility that outputs a list of Registry and file system API discrepancies that may indicate the presence of a user-mode or kernel-mode rootkit.