This is my personal list of programs that I use to keep my computer running fast and furious. They all have free versions for your home computer.
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[accordion Title=”AVG Free”]Every computer needs an antivirus program. There are just too many viruses and malware out there trying to take control of it. AVG is free, easy to use, and doesn’t act like a virus like some antivirus programs. Set it to scan the entire computer once a week. Just don’t install the toolbar, unless of course, you want it.[/accordion]
[accordion Title=”Revo Uninstaller”]You can uninstall a software program by going through Windows Add or Remove Programs or by using the uninstaller that came with the program. However, this will leave small bits and pieces in your registry. They say that this will cause no harm, but those bits and pieces will add up after a while. Revo Uninstaller has an advanced option that removes ALL OF IT: the software program and all the little bits and pieces. There is a warning about using the advanced setting, but then there is a warning about entering the Windows folder, too. Go ahead. Dare to remove the program, the whole program, and nothing but the program. Your computer ran fine before the program was installed, it will run fine with it all removed, too.[/accordion]
[accordion Title=”Autoruns”]This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.[/accordion]
[accordion Title=”WinDirStat”]WinDirStat is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for various versions of Microsoft Windows.[/accordion][/accordions]