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Archive for the ‘Anti-Virus’ Category

How to Make a Slow PC Fast – Do Registry Cleaners Really Help to Restore Speed?

05 Sep

Are you annoyed with the way your system behaves lately? Are you tired of your computer/PC's slow performance and don't have patience to wait so long till your system loads. Is your computer taking years to open Internet Explorer or MS Word or even any simple application? And you might be wondering if registry cleaners really help to speed up your computer performance. Read more.

Slow PC - Top 5 Reasons

What are the top 5 reasons for a computer/PC to run slow?

1. Not enough disk free space

2. Corrupted/bad files

3. Disk Fragmentation

4. Spyware/Adware/Malware running background process

and last but not the least and most importantly

5. Windows Registry

Slow PC - What is a Windows Registry?

It is a database for Microsoft Windows OS which stores settings and options. It contains the OS software, information & settings for hardware, software that are not related to OS besides the various user settings. It also provides runtime information.

How and why the registry gets affected?

This happens when applications just don't write the correct information or some blatant wrong information into the registry.

While using registry REGMON you can see that even simple application tasks have to query thousands of values. And as the Registry grows there are more keys it has to go through. Some calls go directly to their values while others have to go through a long route of the database looking for their values. This makes your PC to run slow over time.

Does cleaning up registry always restore computer speed?

Cleaning up your registry would sometime restore your speed. However there are times even running a Registry Cleaning tool and defragmenting the registry and clearing up all those issues may not restore the system speed back to what it was before.

So aside from "maybe" cleaning, repairing where poorly written applications have messed up the Registry. It's better to stay away from them as most tools are as likely to create other issues in the Registry. Some promise of giving back up of registry in case you are not satisfied. But the real situation is 'it is the case all the time'.

So why should you spend hundreds of dollar on a registry cleaning tool that might mess up your system further?

So, what is the safest way to restore computer speed?

Usually anyone would suggest a format and re-install to restore speed. However why do you need to have a hassle of reformatting and backing up all your data to restore speed?

Here's a one stop cure for all your computer problems. 'Reimage'. Reimage is a combination of AntiVirus, AntiSpyware, Registry Cleaner and Full PC Repair. It is also a Registry Cleaner which by the way doesn't mess up your registry because Reimage replaces all those corrupted system files with the correct files from a repository (which has over 25 million components). And it is the only product that can correct the damage as opposed to a simple registry cleaning tool that removes the incorrect entries but don't correct damage.

Click here to visit and learn more about Reimage.

Author: Janet S
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Can’t Access Your Display Properties?

05 Sep

The display properties lets you control everything you see (as the name suggests) in your Windows operating system. It lets you customize your wallpaper, screensaver, resolution and screen colors for the most part. However, sometimes malware tends to hijack the functionality of your computer by disabling this feature. This can be fixed using free software like 'Disk Heal' or it can be fixed manually using the windows registry. Below I've explained how to gain access to your display properties manually using the registry. (Make sure you backup the registry just in case as the registry is an integral part of your windows operating system, any mishaps can then be reverted to the previous settings)

  • Open the registry

Navigate to Start > Run > 'regedit'

  • Search for 'nodispcpl'

Go to Edit > Find or press Ctrl + F and search for the above term.

  • Delete the entry

If the restriction exists you should see an entry with that name, you can delete it by right clicking the entry and selecting 'delete' or selecting 'modify' and changing the value to '0'.

  • Repeat Step 2

The entry maybe made in two locations of the registry at times, thus this step, if it's found again repeat the above step.

Once you've completed the above steps, navigate to Desktop > right click > Properties, if the restriction still exists the malware is still active and is recreating the registry entry, you'll need to use a good antivirus program and get rid of the malware first before you'll have access to your display properties again.

Luqmaan Ameen is the main writer behind http://www.computer-realm.net which focuses on computer tips and several other aspects of Computers and the Internet in general. The site also has a couple of useful free software available for download.

Author: Luqmaan Ameen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Are Your Folder Options Gone?

05 Sep

The Folder Options, which can be accessed from My Computer > Tools >Folder Options in your Windows operating system is used to customize preferences of files, folders and how they are viewed in the default windows file explorer. It has the preference of hiding files and folder with the 'hidden' or 'system' attribute thus malware developer look to exploit this aspect by denying you access to these settings. This is done as viruses are usually assigned 'hidden' or 'system' attributes, and if the Folder Options cannot be accessed the viruses cannot be found in the windows explorer.

There are a few methods to get your options back if you happen to find they have 'disappeared' from your My Computer tools menu. There is software like 'Disk Heal' available or you could perform it manually using the registry, below I've explained how to retrieve it back using the registry (make sure you backup the registry just in case before modifying it).

  • Open the Windows Registry

You can do this by opening Start > Run and typing 'regedit'.

  • Look for the entry that hides the folder options

Go to Edit > Find or press Ctrl + F and search for 'nofolderoptions'.

  • Get rid of the entry

If the restriction exists, the entry should be found, you can get rid of the entry by right clicking it and clicking 'delete' or clicking 'modify' or setting the value to '0'.

  • Repeat the second step

Sometimes, two instances of this entry maybe present, therefore search for the term again, it may or may not be found, if it's found repeat the above step.

Once this is done you will have to restart the computer, once you restart, check if it has returned by navigating to My Computer > Tools > Folder Options. If it hasn't the malware causing the restriction is still active and has recreated the entry, you'll need to get a good antivirus program like Kaspersky to clean the access and repeat the above process before you have access to your Folder options again.

Luqmaan Ameen is the main writer behind http://www.computer-realm.net which focuses on computer tips and several other aspects of Computers and the Internet in general. The site also has a couple of useful free software available for download.

Author: Luqmaan Ameen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Registry Error System Scan – Eliminate Windows System Errors and Problems With Registry Scan

05 Sep

Registry Error System Scan - Around 80% to 90 % of the world's computers are windows based and there's a part of its operating system that's referred to as a registry. Now, with long term use, this registry starts to amass a few errors thus causing your system's performance to degrade a little. This is when you'll start needing a registry error system scan because if you don't, your computer's performance would continuously degrade and might even lead to bigger issues in the long run. There are various ways by which you can scan your computer to find out if there is a problem with the registry but if you want to detect the problem early on, here are some quick detection tips that would save you a lot of time and get your computer's performance back on track.

First, you have got to understand just what a registry is. Basically, it's a database of all the important elements of the software that is currently installed in your computer's system. Whenever you install new software, application or program to your computer your registry subsequently makes changes. However, as we have mentioned above, over time your registry can accumulate hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of invalid entries that causes all sorts of errors. These errors can also occur whenever you move around files in your computer or whenever your computer gets infected with viruses and various spy ware types. This is why one needs a regular registry error system scan.

Once you notice that your computer is acting a little sluggish or slower than usual then you should definitely check your registry for errors. The first thing you have to do before checking your registry would be to find out what's causing the error. Run your antivirus to check for rogue files. If the scan comes up clean but your computer is still sluggish then you can move on to doing a registry scan. There are various free registry scanning tools that you can run on your computer wherever you may be. This would help reveal the errors in your registry as well as eliminate all the unused, invalid and bad information that's been saved there. Remember, it is not advisable to perform a registry error system scan manually.

Where can you find these free scanning tools? They are readily available online and a simple search would bring you hundreds of options. Now, before you click on the first website you see, there are a few things to remember. Not all of these websites would actually help. In fact, some might do your computer more harm than good. When you allow them to scan your computer, you are also giving them access to your system and as such, you need to choose one that's both trustworthy and reliable. I suggest looking through various reviews by other people who have tried their services before. From there, you'll be able to get a good idea on which services to try and which ones to stay away from. So, there you have it. 4 quick tips when it comes to registry error system scan.

Find out how you can remove Windows error and boost performance by doing a registry error system scan with registry cleaners. Do a free registry scan now.

Author's review website on clickbank products: http://www.clickbankproductreview.com
Disclaimer: The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Author: George Tho
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Adware, Spyware and Computer Viruses Explained

05 Sep

The computer virus is almost as old as the personal computer. What started off as a joke between software engineers has evolved into an uncontrollable beast. In the mid 1990's computer viruses ran wild and held even big organizations like Yahoo in it's claws. The thrill and challenge for software engineers to "beat" antivirus software drove them to create some pretty nasty software.

Fortunately the law intervened and along with anti-virus software the threat posed by computer viruses was soon under control. However, today's computer threats span much further than mere viruses. The 2 big culprits are Adware and Spyware and in many ways they are more dangerous that computer viruses.

While most people use the term computer virus to loosely define all software threats, it's not entire correct. Malware is probably a more accurate definition. Maware basically comes from MALicious SoftWARE - software that was created with the main purpose of destroying, harming or stealing.

Virusses, adware and spyware can all be defined as malicious software. Their sole intention is to either get some sort of data from your computer or to attack some aspect of your computer's operating system.

Malicious threats can be classified into 3 main areas: viruses, adware and spyware. They are all different yet most people confuse them to be the same thing.

- The Common Computer Virus
Everybody is well aware of computer viruses. While most people still use the term virus loosely for every kind of malicious infection. The fact of the matter is that computer viruses aren't as big a threat anymore. Most Anti-virus software today will give you plenty of protection. There are still a lot of viruses out there - especially on email attachments and dodgy websites, but for the most part the creators of these viruses moved on to something more important - making money. This is where adware and spyware applications comes in.

- Adware
Adware started out as legitimate software installations that often came with purchased applications. The adware software was designed as a way to communicate with the users and to gather data to help improve the software or fix bugs. Unfortunately this "good intention" became twisted and adware today is just completely abusing this concept.

Without you knowing it, you probably agreed to have that adware installed on your computer. The agreement is usually hidden in some dense Terms and Conditions document that no one ever reads. Most free software these days come with the hidden agenda of Adware and by deploying advertising on your computer they can make a lot of money.

Adware has become quite sophisticated and can gather a lot of your personal information that they can use to advertise to you. Virtually all pop-ups are adware. It can be extremely annoying, slow your computer down and getting rid of them can be a real nightmare - even with adware remover software.

- Spyware
Spyware is sneaky. It's clever and operates under stealth. It can install itself on your computer without your knowledge or your consent. While Adware is mainly designed to advertise to you, Spyware wants to steal from you.

For more tips on adware spyware removal, visit the Adware Geek's website for the latest in staying safe online and keeping your PC free from adware and spyware.

Author: Deon Du Plessis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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