Powerful Tools to Help Keep Your Computer in Good Condition

Your desktop or laptop is an expensive investment so you need to treat it right and keep it in good condition. A well maintained and cared for computer means many years of good and fast response. Keeping your computer well maintained and cared for isn’t rocket science at all. In fact, there are various tools that will keep your computer effective and in good condition, often without the need to spend too much.

Computer Protective Case

You put your expensive smartphone in a case, so why wouldn’t you put your more expensive computer in a case? This is probably the most important tool you need to invest in, and there are lots of options available from hard covers, to sleeves and carrying cases that aren’t expensive at all. To protect your computer at all times, consider a hard case, but any sort of protection case is better than an exposed computer.

Store Your Backup Discs Where You Can Find Them

Never ignore the fact that those backup discs that come with your computer purchase are important tools as well. When your computer needs an OS reboot, uninstalling and reinstalling a program can sometimes fix the problem. But how can you do that if you don’t know where you put the backup discs? Label them and put them in a safe place that you’ll remember so you can use them for later. A good way to do this is to put the discs in a CD case or a three-ring binder so they all stay in one place.

File Cleaner and Optimizer

As you use your computer, there are certain files that you will need to delete on a regular basis. This includes browser caches, temporary installer files, Windows thumbnails, system log files, crash dumps, recycle bin, etc. Doing all this manually is hard since you’ll need to search for these files one by one. The file cleaner feature of CCleaner has two sections: one for Windows and one for third-party applications. Go through both and check (or uncheck) the kinds of files you want to clean, then click Run Cleaner. You’ll be surprised you can free up over 1 GB of disk space. We do advice to stay clear of the registry cleaner feature since registry cleaning has no measurable effect and should be avoided on all computers. Even though the Pro version isn’t necessary at all, you may want to consider upgrading if you’re interested in deeper scanning, real-time system monitoring, scheduled cleanings, and automatic updates. Upgrading will cost you $25.

Malware Scanning and Removal

Malware will always be a huge problem for computer users. It can slow down your system to a crawl, or worst, your PC becomes controlled by a hacker, your data gets locked and held for ransom, or your identity gets stolen. Malwarebytes is the absolute anti-malware app that you can currently get for free. Its database of infections is updated daily so it can successfully detect and remove the latest viruses, worms, spyware, and more. The free version only does manual full scans, but that’s more than adequate. The premium version adds real-time protection as well as support for anti-ransomware, anti-exploits, anti-phishing, anti-rootkits, and more for just $40 per year. Think of it as a preemptive vaccine, whereas the free version is more like a post-infection treatment.