12 Super Easy Maintenance Checks To Help You Avoid Expensive Computer Repair Bills, Sluggish Performance, Lost Data, and Identity Theft

1. Register all software products and sign up to receive product alerts, patches, and automatic updates.

2. Make sure your anti-virus definitions are always up-to-date.

3. Back up your data every day and verify the backups once a month. If your data is extremely important, consider an offsite backup service such as <eSilo.com> that will automatically back up your data daily.

4. Install and run Webroots’ Spy Sweeper or Grisoft’s Counter Spy every week to remove unwanted spyware programs.

5. Never open an e-mail from an unknown source.

6. Never visit or engage in peer-to-peer file sharing sites such as Kazaa.

7. Never download “enhanced” web browsers, screen savers, cute programs, executable files,

or other programs from unknown web sites.

8. Use a quality surge protector to protect against lightning strikes and power surges.

9. Use Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter monthly to free up more space on your hard drive and help your computer work more efficiently. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then choose Disk Cleanup or Disk Defragmenter.

10. Clean out your temporary files directory. In the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options. On the General tab, click the Delete Files button in the Temporary Internet Files section.

11. Set your e-mail to auto-archive older messages and to regularly empty your deleted items folder.

12. Install a firewall to keep hackers and viruses from accessing your computer.