Though we take them for granted, your common desktop PC is quite an intricate and complicated machine. Treat it right, perform regular maintenance and you’ll be rewarded with a faster and safer computer. In fact, many people are surprised to see their PC come back to life after doing the following basic steps.Wait, I know what you’re thinking; these are only for computer experts, right? No, these simple steps are for everyone! You’re probably also wondering, how much is this going to cost? Well, the good news that most of the recommended items are free … it will just cost a little bit of time.

1 - Apply Windows Updates

If you use Windows and you’re on the Internet, it’s MANDATORY that you regularly apply the system fixes and updates that Microsoft releases through their Windows Update service. Not doing this critical step is practically giving an open door to hackers, viruses and spyware. MS has made it super easy to run the updates – if you’re running Internet Explorer, simply go to Tools –> Windows Update.

This will trigger a scan of your PC to see what patches and updates your PC needs. If you run other MS software like Office, the Windows Update service will check for any new updates for that software too. You will be prompted to enable your computer to receive automatic updates, if you have a high-speed connection, this is highly recommended.

2 - Remove Viruses, Adware and Spyware

The next step is to make sure your PC is free and clear of unwanted junk like viruses and spyware. You probably already have an anti-virus program, if not Norton and McAfee make excellent products. While most people have a virus checker, they may not know that they also need a spyware remover. An excellent free adware and spyware remover is Ad-Aware. It’s recommended that you run a system scan at least once a week.

While removing this unwanted junk is mainly a security and privacy concern, it can also provide a substantial performance boost!

3 - Add a Firewall

A firewall is another essential tool. Without a firewall, your PC is ready and able to communicate with just about anyone, friend or foe, that initiates contact with it. A firewall is like a traffic cop that inspects all traffic coming in and going out of your computer. If it’s from a suspicious source, your firewall will simply block the connection.

Windows XP comes with a free firewall. It’s better than not having one. Zone Alarm is another free firewall. Zone Alarm provides much better protection and is recommended over Windows built-in firewall.

4 - Remove unwanted startup items

It seems that almost every program you install assumes that it’s the most important program on your PC. They do things like automatically install short-cuts on your desktop and automatically start with Windows loads. Usually they do these things without asking! Well, anything that starts when Windows loads is using valuable memory. Having too many items auto-starting is sure to slow down your PC. One solution is to buy more memory … but there’s another option that won’t cost you anything but a few minutes of your time.

Try MSCONFIG. MSCONFIG is free utility that allows you to manage the programs that auto-start with Windows. To use the utility, do the following:

Goto Start –> Run
Type in msconfig and click OK.

When the System Configuration Utility loads, click on the Startup tab. Take a moment to look through the list, if there are any unwanted programs in the list, simply deselect them. Note: this will not remove the program from your PC; it’s simply disabling that program from auto-starting when Windows loads.

Of course adding as much memory to your computer as you can, will always increase performance, the above step will help you get the most out the memory you already have.

5 - Run a Registry Cleaner

The Windows registry is one of the most important, yet most neglected components of your PC. The registry is the configuration database used by Windows and the software that’s installed on your PC. Cleaning your registry will result in a faster computer, ignoring the registry can lead to many maladies like .exe errors, .dll errors, system freezes and crashes. The main problem is that as it grows in size, it becomes more and more inefficient. The more you use your PC, the more the registry grows in size. Over time, the average PC many have thousands of outdated entries. Processing all of this unneeded information greatly slows down your PC.

Recommendation, download a top quality registry cleaner like RegCure (direct download link). Run a cleaning at least once a month. Doing this simple step will greatly contribute to your PC’s health and stability.

Conclusion

Well, that wasn’t so bad was it? Again, there’s no one thing or “magic bullet” that will give you a safer and faster computer. It’s really just a matter of several small things like the tips above that will deliver a big reward in the long run.