Tag Archives: windows xp

Windows XP protection after April 2014

Here are some simple things to protect your Windows XP computer.

Antivirus

This goes for any computer PC or Mac you have make sure you have only one installed working antivirus program. Open the antivirus program you have now and check the version number is the latest. All antivirus program companies release yearly program version upgrades make sure its the latest one. You can check the current version by visiting their website. If you have Symantec antivirus you can visit their website for an online scan for program updates http://updatecenter.norton.com/ . Second check to make sure its last definitions update was today. If you don’t want to pay for one then you can install a free one. You first have to uninstall your current one through ‘add or remove programs’ in control panel. You can then install Avast free edition at http://www.avast.com/en-us/get/GzaZRqbd . There are no perfect antivirus programs that we can recommend but having a single functioning one is better than nothing. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 you can also install Microsoft Security Essentials . For Windows 8 there is a built in one called Windows Defender.

Web Browser

Do not use Internet Explorer instead install Firefox or Chrome and make one of them the default. Uninstall Java through ‘add or remove programs’ in control panel there maybe several of them. Install the latest Adobe Flash for Firefox just make sure to uncheck the optional offer they try to sneak in there. Chrome updates Flash on its own.

Switch to a Limited Account

Open ‘User Accounts’ in control panel and create a new account with ‘Computer Administrator’ rights and a password. You can give it any name like ‘AdminOne’ just so you know that this account is only for use when you want to install programs or make changes to your computer. Then change your current account to a ‘Limited’ account by selecting ‘Change the account type’.

Clean up disk errors

Whenever a program crashes or you experience a power outage, your computer may create errors on its hard disk (sometimes referred to as a hard drive). Over time, the errors can result in a slow PC. Fortunately, the Windows operating system includes several PC tools, including a Check Disk program, to identify and clean any errors on your computer and to help keep it running smoothly.

Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps. If you aren’t logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.

Run Check Disk:

Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP users

  1. Click the Start button Start icon, and then click Computer / My Computer.
  2. Right-click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and then click Properties. (for most of us, this is the C: drive, unless you have multiple drives on your computer)
  3. Click the Tools tab, and then, under Error-checking, click Check now.
  • Select Automatically fix file system errors. Otherwise, the disk check will simply report problems but not fix them. This typically will run for 30 minutes. You should run this once a week.
  • To perform a thorough disk check, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. This scan attempts to find and repair physical errors on the hard disk itself, and it can take much longer to complete typically over an hour and a half. You should run this once every month.
  • To check for both file errors and physical errors, select both Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. During this scan look for bad sectors section and if you notice that there is anything over zero then this is an early warning sign that your hard drive is failing.

4.  Click Start.

Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this may take several minutes. For best results, don’t use your computer for any other tasks while it’s checking for errors.

Note: If you select Automatically fix file system errors for a disk that is in use, you’ll be prompted to reschedule the disk check for the next time you restart your computer. Click Yes / Schedule Disk Check. The next time you restart your computer, it will automatically run through a disk check before displaying your login screen. After the disk check finishes, Windows will automatically bring you to your login screen.

Image of the Check Local Disk (C:) dialog boxDisk Check results screen