As mentioned previously, removing files by systematically deleting them in your computer is NOT a good idea.   There are however, a few areas in your computer that you CAN delete files from without any problems at all.   These folders are called "Temporary Folders" or a "Temporary Cache".

The best free Software for cleaning out temporary files in Windows

Windows has a couple of temporary folders built into it; however, many software programs also create their own temporary folders.   Because of this, it is recommended that you use a program that is frequently updated to make sure you are removing all your temp files from you computer.

The software I recommend is CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/).   This program is free and is updated frequently to know where certain programs write temporary files to.

CCleaner also allows you to customize if you would like it to clean any other folders that are not already supported.   It’s as easy and clicking "add folder to clean", and selecting the folder you want cleaned.

Another free program you can use to delete temporary folders is a program called Empty Temp Folders (http://danish-shareware.dk/soft/emptemp/).   This program does NOT update and does NOT know what folders to clean automatically, but rather, is designed to allow you to customize what folders it cleans.

After time you computer starts to collect junk like the attic of an old house theres a lot of things you used once or twice but youve tossed them aside and forgotten about them.

In this particular instance I’m talking about software that you have installed that you no longer use.

Software that you may no longer use could be games, application, utilities, tools, or out of date security products (which by the way is very bad).

How NOT to get rid of software

A lot of people make the mistake of going on a treasure hunt throughout their folders and files deleting stuff that doesnt look like it belongs.

NEVER do this.

The second you do this you are risking breaking other working programs, and even if you do remove files that are no longer needed you probably wont find the file and information that was installed in your computer when the file was first created.

What is a DLL File, and why shouldn’t I delete them?

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library.

You’ve probably seen these files scattered everywhere all over your system and have been wondering what they do. DLL files are usually an extremely important part of Windows, and without them your computer simply would not be able to run.

A lot of software also requires the use of DLLs to operate properly. Not all software has its own DLLs created specifically for its own purposes many of the DLLs that come prepackaged with windows help developers write programs that interface and work properly when ran in a Windows Operating System.

DLLs are unique in that they can be shared by many programs at one time. They contain information that is globally useful, and allow this to be shared amongst many other programs and software operating at the same time in your computer.

So now you may understand why you cant just go around deleting files. If you delete a DLL that you think belongs to one program, you may actually be deleting a file that belongs to several programs which will prevent ALL of them from working properly.

How to get rid of Software Safetly: Add or Remove Programs

Use Add or Remove Programs to remove software completely.

The Add or Remove programs applet is built into windows to allow you to easily see what programs are currently installed, and to give you the ability to remove them automatically.

We hear a lot of people asking us how to delete a program or how to get rid of a program. If you were to go through a computer manually deleting all the files, settings and registry entries that were installed with a program, it would not only take hours, but you couldnt possible find everything and may risk breaking other programs.

The reason why manually removing software would be so painful and slow is that many programs store information in something called the registry. The registry contains settings and other valuable configuration information many programs need to run properly. Even if you could delete all of the files for a program on a computer, all the entries in the registry would impossible to remove completely.

This is where Add or remove Programs comes in. Not only does Add or Remove Programs remove the files and folder associated with a program, but it also removes information that was written to the registry when it was installed.

When you install most programs, they use something called an Installer. An installer is a piece of software that programs written by developers use to install files, folders and write registry information. This installer records all the information written into the registry and stores it into a database. When you uninstall software, this information is read from the database so that it knows exactly what needs to be removed.

How to open the Add or Remove programs applet

Add or Remove programs is basically an application built into Windows that lists all of the programs that are currently installed in your computer. You can use Add or Remove programs to uninstall any one of the items listed in it.

There are two methods of doing this.

Method 1:

Step 1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel to open the control panel.
Step 2. Locate the icon Add or Remove Programs and double click it.

Method 2:

Step 1. Click Start > Run.
Step 2. Type in "control appwiz.cpl" without the quotes.
Step 3. Click OK.

When the Add or Remove Programs applet opens, you can locate the program(s) you want to remove, and uninstall it completely!

…And what you need to know to protect your PC

There’s hundreds of things you need to do to keep your PC secure, but everything you do revolves around 4 critical things:

1)  Install a Firewall

You NEED a firewall.  I recommend using a hardware firewall (more commonly known as a router) to keep your PC secure from Internet attacks.  If you are using a router, and more than one computer connects to the Internet through it, you will also want to have software firewalls installed on all the computers that are part of this network.  You do this because if one of your other computers in the same network becomes compromised, you will still be able to protect your PC from internal intrusions with a software firewall.

For more information on firewalls, what they are, and how to use them, visit the PC Security Secrets Security Firewall Guide

2)  Do Your Windows Updates

With more and more computers connecting to the internet every day, the need for these computers to be up to date with the latest patches is critical.  Windows updates are patches that fix security holes and other problems in Windows that cause instability and vulnerabilities for hackers to attack.

For more information on Windows Update, visit the PC Security Secrets Windows Update Guide

3)  Install and Update Anti-Virus Software

The need for anti-virus software should go without saying – most people know if they do not use anti-virus it’s just a matter of time before their computer is compromised.  Antivirus software should not be used as an “Aftermath” fix, instead, it should be used as a preventative measure, informing you in advance that a file looks like a virus before it’s too late.

For more information on Anti-Virus Software and where you can find totally free antivirus programs, visit the PC Security Secrets Anti-Virus Software Guide

4)  Use up-to-date Anti-Spyware Software

Similar to anti-virus software, anti-spyware software’s purpose is to detect and remove malicious software typically missed by anti-virus software.  There are two types of anti-spyware applications available on the market – real time scanners which are always running and trying to prevent spyware infections, and post infection scanners which are designed to remove spyware from a system when it has been infected.

For more information on Anti-Spyware Software and where you can find totally free, and freeware anti-spyware programs, visit the PC Security Secrets Anti-Spyware Software Guide

…And what you can do to keep your computer safe

Here’s a post you should take to heart; especially if you are reading this on Windows computer in Internet Explorer.

The few years of my life I have been up to my knees wading through 0′s and 1′s in people’s computers looking for suspicious processes, process modules, handles, hooks, hidden API’s, Alternate data Streams and all the other geeky areas I may find bits of code designed to run amuck in your system with intentions unbeknown to many users. I am going to share a few spyware facts, and what you can do to keep clean and secure.

I’m talking about Malware (AKA viruses, spyware, adware, trojans, worms). Just so there isn’t any confusion of what I am ranting about, “malware” is a general term to describe all the aforementioned software – it is malicious software; therefore the term: “MALWARE”.

It has become painfully obvious that we are fighting a losing war against individuals and corporations that are hell bent on gathering information about everyone last one of us. One of the reasons adware and spyware is so prevalent is because adware and spyware are designed to collect information about where we visit, what we click on, and what we search for to construct media campaigns that maximize advertisers spending. Of course, this is only one reason why someone would want to infect your system.

I intend to give you some tips on how to stay clean, but before I do I want to share some troubling information about spyware and malware facts:

1. FACT:  Spyware and Malware can easily be installed on a system without the user’s knowledge with improperly configured security settings. In many cases one infection can propagate many more infections by downloading and installing malicious software quietly in the background.
2. FACT:  There is currently no software (nor will there every be) available that can remove all spyware or malware. The reasons are simple:
       a) New variants and mutations are being released at easily double the speed that software is built to remove them
       b) The complexity of infection in many variants of malware are so intrusive, the software itself would have to infect your system much like a virus to even see the infection, let alone remove it.
   Still don’t believe me?  Check out This article
3. FACT:  A spy Audit survey in 2004 suggests that over 90% of computers are infected with some type of malicious software!  I would even go so far as saying that EVERY online computer has some form of software, code or information on it that 3rd parties could use to it’s advantage.
4. FACT:  Many variants of malware will install a backdoor (also known as trojans), that enable hackers complete control of your system, or turn your computer into a “zombie” carrying out their malicious deeds whenever they want.  Installing back doors have become a very popular in recent years.

So what do you do?

Here are some tips that can help keep your system clean:

1. Never install “FREE” software. There is usually a hook. If you ABSOLUTLEY NEED the software, make sure you read the license agreement when you are installing it – it’s that 40 mile long window of text that everyone clicks “I Agree” to when you first open the file after you download it.  You may find it boring, but when you read a section stating that they track everything you do you’ll be happy you spent the time to read it.  You can also do an online search to see if there are any known issues with the software where it is designed to exploit system security or gather information about you.
2. Use antivirus software. While I maintain that software is not a solution to the impending doom or payload of many types of infections, installing Anti-virus will at least help you in the following ways:
       a) in many cases it will prevent the infection of “Known” malware and tell you about it
       b) If you have been infected by known malware, the least the software can do if it cannot remove it is inform you of the infection.  At least then you can seek out help if you can’t remove the problem yourself.
   if you don’t have anti-virus software, you can find out where to download Totally Free AntiVirus software here.
3. Buy a firewall/router. If you don’t know what that is, go to Staples, Future Shop, Best Buy or somewhere like that and ask for one. It will be the best damn $25 you ever spent. it also allows you to connect multiple computers to the internet. If you want to be cheap about it (not recommended), install a software firewall. You can download a free one called Zone Alarm, or Sygate. I’m not going to post links because I don’t like either of them, but it’s up to you if you want to install them and run into brand new issues from problem prone software.Get more information about Firewalls in the PCsecuritySecrets Firewall GuideIf you are using Windows XP, there’s already a firewall built into it. Make sure it is turned on!  See the link above for information on how to do this.
4. Do your Windows Updates. If you are using Internet explorer, click Tools > Options > Windows Update and follow the directions. If you remember the blaster worm and how bad that was, you may be surprised to know that if everyone had patched their systems by doing updates, the Blaster worm would have been practically non-existent.  See the PCsecuritySecrets Windows Update guide to learn more about Windows Updates and how you can set your computer up to do them automatically.
5. Scan your system weekly (at the least) with anti-spyware software for malware. I recommend these two programs:
       a) Adaware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
       b) Spybot: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/
   **Always run adware first, then spybot – it will increase your chances of successfully removing malware.**
   
   Visit the PCsecuritySecrets Spyware Software Guide for more information on totally free anti spyware programs you can use.
6. Don’t use IE (Internet Explorer). Microsoft should be more proactive in securing their software (which by the way they are becoming very good at), but I must admit, many of the problems IE has are user induced – they just don’t want to learn how to lock it down.  I can’t believe how many computers I work in that have non-existent security setting configured in IE.

In the meantime, make your way over to here: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ and download firefox. It’s not flawless, but it’ll do a much better job at protecting you overall, and hell, it works great too!

Visit the PC security Secrets Cleaup and Informational Guide now to clean up your PC!

First off let me say that a secure pc requires more than just a quality antivirus program. You want to harden your system with other security components such as a router (hardware firewall), perhaps a software firewall, an anti-spyware solution, regular operating system updates and a great system cleaner. But let’s not veer off topic – you’re looking for a quality anti-virus program.

I’m not here to slander any products, but talking from experience two of the largest security companies out there also make some of the worst software. I’m talking about Norton and McAfee.

Both companies spent a fortune every year in advertising and maintaining a polished image, while dropping minimal efforts into the development process of creating better products. Each year Symantec has developed a more bloated, complicated security suite, putting patches upon patch to secure their own security products.

McAfee capitalizes on the pre-built PC market, coming pre-installed in a variety of flavors of PC brands including but not limited to HP, Dell, Gateway and E-Machines. When the subscription runs out users are left to make a decision to buy it or live without an up to date anti-virus product. I won’t even get into how hard it is for a consumer to reach technical support for these companies.

Because of these software giants spending more money on image and advertising than on development, I recommend considering the alternatives – look for software that’s not as heavily targeted and exploited by hackers. Try to find software that offers great customer service and reasonable yearly fees, that is, if they charge yearly fees at all.

If you’re just looking for a quick online virus scan by a different anti-virus company, check out this link for information on where to look:

I’ve also added a list of a few totally free antivirus programs here