Healthy PC: Preventive Care and Home Remedies for Your Computer

Carey Holzman9780072229233, 0-07-222923-3

Keep Your PC Running Smoothly-Without Spending a Lot of Money!Solve everyday PC problems, improve performance and speed, and protect yourself from malicious attacks with the helpful tips in this user-friendly guide. Easy-to-follow “recipes” show you, click-by-click, how to prevent computer catastrophes and recover completely from unavoidable disasters. If you’ve had a hard time understanding other computer guides, you’ll love this book’s clear, accessible approach. PC guru Carey Holzman dispels common myths and explains complicated issues in language that anyone can understand, regardless of their computer experience. Don’t be held hostage by hackers or overpaid computer technicians. Learn how to maintain and upgrade your own PC and have fun in the process.Inside, you’ll learn to: * Avoid disasters caused by computer viruses, hackers, and hard disk crashes * Use Scandisk and Defragment to find and repair hard drive problems before it’s too late * Remove spyware, Trojan horses, unnecessary temp files, and unused programs * Eliminate pop-ups, spam, email hoaxes, and unwanted Internet solicitations * Manage cookies, temporary Internet files, and Web browser preferences * Defend against worms and Denial-of-Service attacks with firewall and anti-virus software * Understand and optimize DMA, Active Desktop, animations, fonts, and swap files * Tweak power and hardware settings, screen savers, and start-up routines * Back up and restore Windows configurations, files, and applications * Obtain and install Windows, application, and driver upgrades * Optimize your Internet connection”

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Team-DDU……Page 3
Contents……Page 6
Acknowledgments……Page 12
Introduction……Page 14
PART I Basic Maintenance……Page 26
CHAPTER 1 Temporary Files, Internet Cache, Scandisk……Page 28
Deleting the Temp Files……Page 29
Enabling Automatic Cleanup in Windows XP……Page 31
Running Scandisk with Windows 98/ME……Page 32
Running Scandisk with Windows XP……Page 33
Reading the Scandisk Report……Page 34
Defragmenting Your Disk……Page 36
Summary……Page 38
CHAPTER 2 Improving PC Performance and Reliability……Page 40
What Is Spyware?……Page 41
What?¡¥s the Problem with a Little Advertising?……Page 42
How Can You Locate and Remove Spyware?……Page 44
What Can a Virus Do?……Page 49
How Does Antivirus Software Work?……Page 50
What Kinds of Viruses Are There?……Page 51
Self-Defense: How Can I Protect Myself?……Page 52
This Old Windows……Page 54
What Kinds of Updates Are There?……Page 55
How Do I Stay Current?……Page 56
How Can I Find Out about New Critical Updates?……Page 58
Summary……Page 61
CHAPTER 3 Optimizing Your Internet Connection……Page 62
What Does 56k Actually Mean?……Page 63
How Can I Determine Which Modem I Have?……Page 65
How Can I Get a Faster Connection?……Page 69
How Fast Is My Modem Connecting?……Page 72
How Can I Check My Internet Connection Configuration?……Page 74
Summary……Page 76
PART II Internet 101……Page 78
CHAPTER 4 Internet Cookies, Temporary Internet Files, and Pop-ups……Page 80
How Do Internet Cookies Work?……Page 81
Taming the Cookie Monster……Page 82
Temporary Internet Files……Page 85
Are Temporary Internet Files Good or Bad?……Page 86
Taking Control of Your Temporary Internet Files……Page 88
Popping the Pop-ups!……Page 89
For Windows XP Users: Getting Rid of Messenger Pop-Ups……Page 94
Summary……Page 97
CHAPTER 5 All About Email: Spam and Hoaxes……Page 98
Email Hoaxes……Page 99
How Can I Tell a Hoax from a Legitimate Message?……Page 100
Why Do I Receive So Many Spam Messages?……Page 102
Why Is It Called Spam?……Page 103
Is There Anything I Can Do About Spam?……Page 104
Summary……Page 111
CHAPTER 6 Firewalls……Page 112
Aren?¡¥t Firewalls Complicated and Expensive?……Page 114
What About Hardware Firewalls?……Page 115
I Was Told Windows XP Includes a Firewall!……Page 117
How Can I Tell If My Computer Is Vulnerable?……Page 119
Disabling UPnP in Windows Me……Page 121
Disabling UPnP in Windows XP……Page 123
Removing Unnecessary Basic Services from Windows XP……Page 125
Summary……Page 127
CHAPTER 7 Basic Windows Performance Tips……Page 128
DMA Mode……Page 129
Enabling DMA Mode in Windows 98/Me……Page 130
Enabling DMA Mode in Windows XP……Page 133
Disabling Active Desktop in Windows 98/Me……Page 135
Disabling Active Desktop in Windows XP……Page 136
Unnecessary Animations……Page 137
Disabling Unnecessary Animations in Windows 98/Me……Page 138
Using Tweak UI with Windows 98/Me……Page 139
Disabling Unnecessary Animations in Windows XP……Page 141
How Many Fonts Are Too Many?……Page 142
How Does Swapping Work?……Page 143
Configuring Your Windows Swap File in Windows 98/Me……Page 145
Summary……Page 148
PART III Optimize Windows Performance……Page 150
CHAPTER 8 More Windows Performance Tips……Page 152
Removing Unnecessary Software……Page 153
Checking System Resources (forWindows 98/Me Users)……Page 154
Disabling Unnecessary Programs from Startup……Page 156
Disabling Unnecessary Services from Windows XP……Page 159
Turning Off Error Reporting and Automatic Restart in Windows XP……Page 162
Using NTFS in Windows XP……Page 164
Summary……Page 167
CHAPTER 9 Safe Computing……Page 168
Leave the PC On or Turn It Off?……Page 169
Using Windows Power Settings for Desktop Computers……Page 170
Using Windows Power Settings for Laptop Computers……Page 172
Do I Need a Screensaver?……Page 173
What?¡¥s a UPS?……Page 174
Back Up Your Important Data!……Page 177
Using a USB Thumb Drive……Page 179
Backing Up Your Data……Page 180
Summary……Page 181
CHAPTER 10 Computer Upgrades……Page 182
Upgrading Your Operating System……Page 183
Do I Need More RAM?……Page 184
Plugging in RAM……Page 186
What?¡¥s the Viewable Area?……Page 187
LCD or Glass?……Page 188
Upgrading Your Hard Disk……Page 189
Upgrade Your Internet Connection……Page 190
Which Computer Should I Get?……Page 191
Summary……Page 192
PART IV Advanced Topics……Page 194
CHAPTER 11 Preventive Maintenance……Page 196
Blow Out Dust and Debris……Page 197
Ensure All Fans Are Operating Properly……Page 198
Verify That the Capacitors on the Motherboard Are Not Leaking……Page 199
Download the Latest Drivers……Page 200
Checking Your Current Drivers……Page 201
Checking for New Drivers……Page 202
Deleting Temp Files in Windows XP Systems……Page 204
Deleting Temp Files in Windows Me Systems……Page 207
Deleting Temp Files in Windows 98 Systems……Page 208
Summary……Page 210
CHAPTER 12 What to Do When Things Go Wrong……Page 212
What Does System Restore Do?……Page 213
Using System Restore (for Windows Me/XP Users)……Page 214
Starting Windows 98/Me Systems in Safe Mode……Page 216
Starting Windows XP Systems in Safe Mode……Page 218
Software to Avoid……Page 220
Summary……Page 221
PART V Appendixes……Page 222
APPENDIX A Free Technical Support……Page 224
PC User Groups……Page 225
Newsgroups……Page 226
APPENDIX B Networking……Page 228
APPENDIX C System Resources……Page 232
APPENDIX D Windows 98/Me Help!……Page 236
APPENDIX E Windows XP Help!……Page 242
APPENDIX F Useful and Safe Freeware……Page 246
Index……Page 250