The Potential Troubles 

Caught up in work people may not realize that the computer is very hot. Keep in mind that a PC is made of wires and electrical components. Yes, there is a built in fan but excessive heat will force it to work harder. In the worst case scenario, it might get burned. 

Check the BIOS Settings 

The BIOS may help you find this out. Check your manual to learn how to access yours. Most of the time though, you just boot the PC and press F5 or F8. You will enter the BIOS setup screen. Look for the CPU temperature on one of them. It may be in one of the menus there. Analyze the settings there. 

Note: there are other options you can change, including the system clock and many more. Don’t alter any unless you know exactly what you are doing. 

Check the Motherboard 

Look in your motherboard manual. A lot of models provide users with ways to adjust the fan settings. If you want to raise it, look it up in the manual. Use the manual as a guide when you open the motherboard. 

As with the BIOS, be careful. Tinker only the fan. Don’t pull any of the jumpers or switches. Done properly, you can modify the fan and lower the CPU temperature. 

Get Heat Monitor Software 

These applications may cost some money, but they’ll save you the trouble of opening up your PC just to get the temperature. It’s a good idea to read customer reviews. Reading several will let you get an idea of the general view. If most reviews pick product A, it should be worth a purchase. 

Aside from reviews, check the fan controllers (the more the better). These controller cards can be bought in most computer stores. When you install a heat monitoring software, choose one that is easy on the system resources. 

Since it will be monitoring the CPU temperature, it has to be active at all times. If it takes up a lot of RAM, it’ll slow things down. 

Why CPU Overheating Happens

It’s usually a combination of hot weather and a clogged environment. Running your computer in an air conditioned room should keep it from overheating. Using it for hours without benefit of a fan or air con will damage it. 

The built in fans will not be enough during those hot summer days. Always turn on the air condition or fan during the hottest times of the day. 

Overclocking is another culprit. Forcing your CPU to run at even greater speeds will force components to work harder and faster. It can lead to overheating. If done incorrectly, it might even damage the motherboard. 

Monitoring your CPU temperature is as important as watching out for viruses. Using any of the abovementioned methods, you’ll be able to steer clear of heating problems. 

About the Author:
Peter Garant. Please check out these links for more information about cpu temperature.
http://www.tech-faq.com/monitor-cpu-temperature.shtml
http://www.zimbio.com/Cpufan/articles/TredLNx0nQT/Maintaining+Tally+CPU+Temperature

So let’s take a look at something you cannot run from, and that’s the fact that any good tool will cost you some type of money. Almost all the tools I’ve found that have been free are not worth your time, and nobody would pay for them. Obviously the programmers and people who made the tools, and update them on a regular basis needs to get paid as well, so you usually ahve to pay a small fee to use their tools. No big deal.

But which ones are better? I mean, there are literally hundreds of tools out there that solve this urgent problem. If your computer is slow right now you might have an infection so it’s urgent that you get rid of your spyware as soon as possible.

Anyway, a marketing trick you cannot hide from is the fact that they will allow you to download a free trial and perform a system scan for free. That’s nice you think, right? Well, what really happens is that in order to remove any potentially found spyware you must order the product. I think that’s a little sneaky, because you can be installing a lot of spyware programs in hopes of finding one that is really free… And before that ever happens you have 20 spyware programs installed.

To avoid this happening to you in the same way it did to me I have gone over a couple of the best spyware programs that I’ve found. You will want a few things in your spyware software. Ease of use and good instructions. It sucks to get some hard to understand software with a bunch of options, I like to keep it simple and only have the ability to click a button or two in order to get my spyware removed, right?

Many of the more expensive tools I found, that many recommend had too much going on. It wasn’t just click scan and select the files to remove, then click delete. Plus they were expensive so many of them I didn’t like at all…

About the Author:
Christopher Stigson. To discover what I think is the best spyware program check out http://www.BestSpywareProgram.net right now and read my comparison of the top 3 spyware programs that were easy to follow and had simple options!

Definition 

Technically, these aren’t viruses. These are actually programs / software. However their actions and purpose are the same as viruses. For average computer users, the definition isn’t as important as knowing how to spot and eliminate them. 

What the Viruses Can Do 

Their activities are often called payloads or attacks. These are classified into different types. Remote attacks go after FTP or HTTP servers. They can interrupt downloading of files. These viruses can also interfere with server requests and other processes. These Trojan viruses can also hack into proxy servers. 

Payloads aren’t limited to networks. Once active they can destroy files on hard disks. Others will attack the boot system. Once this happens the PC won’t be able to boot up. Others are able to get personal information and passwords. These are relayed to various sites via HTTP. 

The Way the Virus Works 

It’s impossible to give a standard process. These are created by different programmers. They do share common characteristics though. The most important is that they operate in secret. Most of the time, users won’t know it has been activated. Only when the Trojan viruses are doing their damage will it be apparent.

How the Viruses Get in a PC 

One way is by downloading. A user downloads a game or other software. He or she is unaware that the virus is included in the software. When the game is run, the virus is installed with it. 

Another way is through email. The virus is attached to the email. The user unknowingly opens it, infecting the computer. Often, the attachment is passed on to other users. The scenario repeats itself, and that’s how it spreads.

Not to be discounted are pirate software. These come in DVD / CD or downloaded from the Web. Both sources are filled with Trojan viruses and other malware. 

Protecting Yourself 

1.  Get an antivirus application. Install it and download the updates regularly. Run a virus scan whenever you download software. Never turn it off when you are online. Run a full virus scan at least every week. An anti spyware program will also help. Use it in conjunction with your antivirus software. 

2.  Always back up your documents. It should be done weekly at the very least. If your system is infected, run the virus scanner first. Don’t back them up until your computer has been cleared. 

3.  Never open an email attachment without scanning it. Don’t just rely on the email service scanner. Run one yourself. 

4.  Needless to say, you should never use pirated software. 

5.  Never install Active X or Java applets from suspicious looking websites. 

Always read up on the latest news about Trojan viruses. You can never be too careful when it comes to your files. Take all the necessary precautionary steps as suggested. This will keep your data safe. 

About the Author:
Peter Garant. Please check out these links for more information about Trojan virus and other viruses. http://www.zimbio.com/troajn-virus/articles/zpwoijH3cvL/Trojan+Viruses+A+Report and http://www.tech-faq.com/trojan-horse-virus.shtml

1. Free Disk Space. 

For starters, every computer comes with a hard drive of specified size. Most of them now are over 100 GB in size. That should be enough, right? Not necessarily. Your hard drive should never go over 50% of used space. Why? It will take the system longer to access files and folders when there is more to search thru. Plus, the operating system (Windows) needs a set amount of space for things like temp files, recycle bins, etc. So make sure you remove any unnecessary files off your hard drive. Use such media as CD/DVD, external hard drive, USB flash drives as well as others to transfer your data. 

2. Defrag the Hard Drive. 

Here is a vital step in keeping up the speed of your machine. Tell me, how long would it take you to move four cars to the center of a 400×400 yard parking lot if they were parked in the four opposite corners? Don’t answer that. If the parking lot represents your hard drive and the cars represent fragments of data on the hard drive, can you see what will happen to the drive over time? Fragments of data and software applications will be written to various corners of the disk. The PC will begin to start lagging. Running a disk defrag takes all the fragments of data and moves them. They get placed side by side with other fragments of the same file or application.

What this does is simple. Instead of searching the whole hard drive for the next fragment of a file, now it only needs to move to the next fragment. What is the bottom line? Run a defrag of your hard drive regularly. Once a month should be sufficient. 

3. Clear Temp Files. 

These are folders located throughout your system designed to hold temporary information which can be deleted later. Your operating system uses temp files, as well as applications such as Internet Explorer. On top of that, each profile on your PC will also hold temp files specifically for that user. As time passes, your computer becomes cluttered with useless information that it can download again if needed. Clearing the temp files once per month will clear up some much needed disk space. This will help reclaim some of the disk space you will need over the years. 

4. Remove Unused Programs. 

I don’t know about you, but the programs in my start menu need a second column in order for me to see them all. This will tend to happen as you install more software programs on your PC. Once in a while, it is good practice to look at the list of installed applications on your computer and uninstall the ones you don’t use anymore. This helps with reclaiming disk space as well as speeding up the machine. If it’s a new machine, you should not need to do this. However, when your PC is 1-2 years old, it’s something you may want to think about. 

5. Use A Good Registry Cleaner. 

This is a step that scares so many of us. While it’s true the registry is extremely important, keeping it clean and running smoothly can help you in the long run. Now, it’s not something you need to do everyday like updating virus definitions, but once every three months will suffice. Take the time to do some research on this, find a top quality cleaner, and read the instruction manual. They are not that difficult to use, and they all have some sort of default scan that won’t touch the vital parts of your registry. 

These are just a few of the most useful items to optimize your computer for the long haul. I’ve done them all myself and wouldn’t recommend anything that didn’t work for me. Use any or all of these tools to protect your initial investment for a long lasting computer experience. Your PC will love you for it. 

About the Author:
Article by James Ferrara, an IT Specialist for a reputable bank in Northern New Jersey. He hosts a blog website dedicated to computer tips and tricks. If you need a good registry cleaner or other tools, visit Jim’s website at http://personal-computer-online.com. Copyright (c) 2009 James Ferrara