Use CCleaner to clean your computer

Install CCleaner(FREE!) – your computer can always use a good spring cleaning every now and then

DOWNLOAD HERE

Alright, so first thing’s first. I don’t want you all to have go be using a sluggish computer bogged down with junk galore. Who wants to browse the internet slowly on a slow computer?

One program that I’ve added to my list of essentials over the years is CCleaner. CCleaner (originally named crapcleaner) cleans out general junk and unneeded files from your computer. Now you may ask “What kind of junk are we talking about here? Is this going to screw anything up on my computer?”. The answer is no. You can actually pick and choose what you would like “cleaned”, so you can feel comfortable with what you’re clearing out

A common problem that will be solved with most computers on initial use is spyware-cleaning. Spyware tends to reside in  nooks and crannies in your system: Temp folders, cookies, and history. Not only will some spyware be cleaned, but space will be cleared up on your harddrive. I’ve seen some instances in which CCleaner cleaned about 4+ gigs of junk from a computer (notice- these are extreme cases).

–All you have to do to clean up your computer is click the “Run Cleaner” button.  (close any open web browsers so that your temp internet files, cookies, and history can be cleaned)

Registry Cleaning with CCleaner

CCleaner can also clear out faulty registry keys from your windows registry. To do this:

1.Click on the “Registry” button on the left side of the program

2. Click “Scan for Issues”

3. Click “Fix selected issues”

4. If you wish to back up your registry, answer “yes” to the popup, and save it wherever you need. (I usually never bother with this)

5. Click “fix all issues”

Voila! Your registry is cleaned

Enjoy your spick and span computer!

P.S. – this program isn’t a cureall for all computer problems. You should use this in combination with a good antivirus/antispyware program, which I’ll post on later