Computers Home PC & Laptop Maintenance

[Tom]

This thread is mainly for users of Home Personal Computers (PC) and or Laptop Computers (LC).

Its coming around on the calendar again for my annual level of back-ups and I was wondering if anyone else has a set system of maintenance they stick to concerning their computers.

Are there any specific programs that you run that work best for your needs?

Are there certain things you back up on a frequent basis and others that are backed up less frequently?

Do you have a dedicated back location? A Folder, Drive or Cloud?

How much time do you dedicate to maintaining your software environment?
Do you do any hardware maintenance as well?

Knowing that there are many IT professionals here, this is intended for the non-pro end user and what they use and how they do the tasks.
(The Backyard-Tree Mechanics not the Car Dealership Technicians)

Are there certain web-surfing practices you use to help prevent spyware or virus/worm/trojan infections on your personal machine?

How often do you run protection / prevention scans?
Clear your browser cache?
Clear RAM, temp files, archives, quarantine lists, etc...

Over-all, how dependable is your PC or LC?
Do you have difficulty with games? programs? videos? music? photos?

 

[Tom]

My LC is an old Presario with a mere 2 gb RAM 37.5 GB HD running Win XP3. The thing is a dinosaur but still works (slowly) to run the few programs my PC refuses to run. I use it maybe, 1x 3-5 months or so. I still run some scans and maintenace programs but since I hardly ever turn it on, not on a regular basis.

My PC is my main monster.
Its a HP h-8-1214 AMD FX-6100 six-core @ 3.30 GHz
10 GB RAM 64-bit OS
Running Windows 7 HP1
Bought it in May of 2012
AMD Radeon HD 7400 graphics card VISION
With OB sound using Beats Audio.
2 TB hard drive (enclosed) in 4 sub-drives
Additionally, I have over 15TB of space on external drives
With an additional 8 thumb drives of various sizes
I also still have the original recovery disk I made when I first bought the system.
In addition, I have a windows 7 HP1 image burn on a dedicated thumb drive.
I maintain 4 separate backup clouds dedicated to different aspects on different sites.
I also maintain cloud backups of photos, documents and music.

My PC is solid, runs good with very, very few problems.
Its not a top line pc but its not a bottom barrel either.
It does what I want it to do when I want it to.

My primary browser is Firefox (which I keep updated) with very few addons and themes (Same theme for years now)
My secondary browser is Opera which I keep updated and also has very few addons.
I no longer use IE or any of the IE based replacements.
I use windows firewall (Defender is enabled too)
I use MSE
I use SB S&D
I use CCleaner
I use Superantispyware
I use Auslogic's Defragmenter (Not updated due to the addition of ransom tactics)

Windows firewall is always enabled always on
MSE is always enabled but I run full scans 1x week. It is set to scan all incoming downloads as well.
SB S&D is always on but updated and immunized 1x week with a full scan 1x 2 mos.
I run CCleaner nearly every time I close my browser (roughly 5-15 times a day)
I run a CCleaner registry scan 1x 3 days or so, unless I install/uninstall a program then right after.
I update and run a quick SAS scan 1 x wk and a full scan 1x a month.
I defragment roughly every week unless I have a lot of downloads or moved large numbers of files around.
I run a Defrag/Optimize about 1x a week (The program is set for restrictions on the defrag as recomended by Gizmos Freeware review (techsupportalert)

This is my baseline, keep it running, maintenance for the most part.

I never click on ads.
I close popups before they load if they get past the blockers (I use adblocking software)
I refrain from going to known threat sites like porn, most free download sites and known trackers like major news sites, certain streaming video sites and some music sites.
I watch my browser for weird glitches which indicates something isn't right.
I'm careful what I click.

more to come...

 

[Tom]

Ran a detailed rootkit scan yesterday.
Used Spybot Search and Destroy.
I expanded the window to allow me to view the search strings.
No rootkits were found but I did see a good many programs and folders that I have not used this year.
Saw a lot of file fragments that were left by incomplete uninstalls.

Today, I am using CCleaner to uninstall programs that I have not used in a year. Since I still have the install files in a backup, if I find I need or want that program again, all I have to do is reinstall it.

After uninstalling, I will use windows explorer to locate and delete those program now empty folders.

I will run a registry back up in regedit.

Then I will go to the appdata and remove the folders for those uninstalled programs.
Then I will do a restart.

Finally, I will run Tweaking.com's Windows Repair as a full and complete procedure.
It will reset windows functionality to baseline.
If any shared drivers were removed during my folder purge, it will reset the drivers using baseline Win 7 ones.

Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
Spybot - Search & Destroy Anti-malware & Antivirus Software

CCleaner - Free
CCleaner - Free Download or try CCleaner Professional - Piriform

Watch for piggyback software during install, You gotta uncheck ALL the boxes. Both are free, there are trial versions and paid versions.
Select the free version (Limited scope)
If you like it, you can always upgrade later but I have never needed to.

Tweaking. com's Windows Repair - Free
Tweaking.com - Windows Repair Free/Pro
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