Saturday, July 13, 2024

How to do a Tune-up/Clean-up with Virus Scans for your PC!

General PC Tune-up/Virus Scan Procedures:

Uninstall/Install Software:

  1. Uninstall Obvious Bloatware:
    • “Free Trial” software
    • Obvious junk programs & toolbars (One Search, Driver Support, One Bar, etc)
      1. Use the PNW Computers “Browser Hi-jack” blog article as a reference to find and remove software malicious Adware Programs.
      2. Computers that are heavily infected should be checked with ‘TDSKiller’ to rule out the presence of a Rootkit BEFORE any cleaning procedures begin. Unless cleaning is needed to run the utility.
  2. Install/Update Essential Programs:
    1. Security Clean-up Software List (Ninite.com can be used for installing most apps):
      1. Chrome, Firefox, Edge - Update
      2. Java, .Net & Silverlight Runtimes - Update/Install
      3. Malwarebytes Antimalware
      4. Malwarebytes ADWCleaner
      5. BleachBit

Security Scanning & Virus/Malware Removal:

  1. Virus and Malware Scanning:
    Run FULL (not a quick/fast) Virus Scan with Local AV as well as Malwarebytes and ADWCleaner

  2. Web Browser Clean-up:
    • Check all Installed Web Browsers’ Extensions/Add-ons for anything unwanted/needed.
    • Check the general browser settings (Start Page, Default Search Engine, Etc.) for any tampering or modifications and reset to defaults if needed.
    • ADWCleaner is an excellent tool for finding and removing browser hijack apps.

Performance Tune-Up:

  1. Junk File Clean-up - Bleach Bit

  2. Paging File Optimization

    1. Set the PC's paging file to either 1.5 the amount of RAM or set to 4096MB.
      1. Settings > System > About > Advanced System Settings
        1. Select the “Advanced” tab at the top
        2. In the “Performance” section click on “Settings”
        3. Click on the “Advanced” tab
        4. Under “Virtual Memory” click on “Change”
        5. Set the paging file accordingly

  3. Optimize System Performance Options

    1. Right-click ‘My Computer’ > Properties > Advanced System Settings> Click ‘Advanced’ tab > Click ‘Settings’ under the “Performance” area.
    2. Un-check all of the PC's visual effects performance options except for:
      1. "Use visual styles on windows and buttons"
      2. “Smooth Scroll List Boxes”
      3. “Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts”
      4. “Show Translucent Selection Rectangle”
      5. "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop"
      6. Start-up Program Entries can also be managed using the Task Manager.
      7. Disable all unnecessary start-up items
        1. Typically leave start-up programs related to:
          1. OneDrive/MS Office
          2. iCloud Drive
          3. Printers
          4. WIFI Software
          5. Audio/Video Software
          6. Specialty apps such as Garmin, Fitbit, etc

Windows Updates:

  1. Access Windows Updates through System Settings
  2. If the Microsoft Update feature is not/has not been enabled, enable Microsoft Updates in the Windows Updates “Advanced Options”. You can also enable the “Notify me when a restart is required” option too as well.
  3. After the Microsoft Update feature has been enabled, Windows Updates will now check for both Windows and Microsoft Updates.
  4. Allow the computer to check for new updates.
  5. Once checking for updates is finished, download and install all available updates.
    1. You may need to do this process more than a few times to make sure the system is fully updated.
  6. Some Windows Updates may fail. Do not hyper-fixate on failed updates, as they will likely resolve on their own after a few update/restart cycles.
  7. Verify Installation of all currently available Windows Updates AND Upgrades
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