Tips to Keep Your Computer Running Faster and Safer

If you're computer is using the NTFS filing protocol instead of the FAT32, you should be able to get more speed from your computer by disabling the Windows Indexing feature. This will allow your system to run faster but the downside is that when you're searching for specific files it might take a bit longer to find them.

In order to disable the Windows Indexing feature on your computer go to My Computer and right click on the drive you would like to reset. This is usually the C drive. Now click on the Properties and uncheck "allow indexing service." It will take a little while for Windows to finish this task, depending on the speed of your processor. Some systems have more than one hard drive if this is the case perform the same steps for each of your drives.

Once you have done this to your drive/drives it's a good idea to go ahead and empty your Recycle Bin and perform a Defragmentation on your drives.

Internet Safety Protecting Yourself

Never give your username or password to anyone who e-mails you and asks for it. This may sound funny but so many people do it. The receive an email from what they think is a reliable source only to later find out it was all a "phishing scam" In a common phishing scam, you get an email that looks official like from your bank or your credit card company. Usually the header will read something like "We need to verify your account information." Or it might say "Please logon to your account and verify your setting"

You would be surprised how many people fall for this. Once you click on the link in the email you will usually end up at an official looking site. Then you will be asked to fill in your information to update your account and Walla they have your info and you can expect to have some serious problems within 24 hours.

If you believe that a company or business that you do on-line business with really does require your information, then simply contact them. This way, you will know where you are sending your information, and what it will be used for.

Another way you can protect your self is by installing an internet security program from a trusted name. There are many on the market these days and are relatively inexpensive. The one I recommend is Trend Micro Internet Security Pro. It works well and is not as cumbersome as Norton's Internet Security which tends to slow your computers performance.

Computers are an expensive investment and keeping them running efficiently is crucial. If you are comfortable handling a small computer repair yourself, give it a try. If you're not comfortable, take the machine to a local computer repair shop and allow the experts to do their job. In either case staying on top of current events within the computer industry is key in today's fast moving computerized world I hope you have found these tips useful.