Member Advice on General Computing Issues

Advantages: Keeps computer running smoothly.
Disadvantages: Tankes a while to do spyware,antivirus checks but worth it

I will to the best of my ability below try to give a simple and effective way of keeping a computer running efficiently and smoothly with out having to know that much about computers. I can only give advice on windows XP as that is the operating system i use and have for many years. Have dabbled with Vista but found it to be user unfriendly so never changed. All of my knowledge about computers has been built up by actually trying different products,reading ...
...till now i have only ever encountered 1 problem that i needed outside help for so i havent done too bad in the 10 or 11 years i have seriously been into pc's. My theory on keeping your pc fresh is clean everything using cleaning,spyware,antivirus programs. Then rearrange any space made by this cleaning by defragmenting your drive. The list below will give a simple guide of things to do: 1. cleaning out the rubbish: The easiest way of doing this ... Read review

Advantages: Short, To the point, no nonsense, FREE
Disadvantages: Not for learning terminology, just for fixing the problem.

Smeeps Spyware Survival Guide. The idea here is not to give you an indepth understanding for spyware, adware or malware - for this information you should search on google. The idea here is to give you a short sharp method of removing, and preventing, spyware at zero cost. If you're looking for in depth, then this review is not for you, this is a straight to the point, no nonsense guide that can be used as a reference, a reminder or to show to freinds ...
...programs listed, refer to the websites help sections or documents bundled with the software, usually called README. At that, let's get going shall we. ***STEP ONE*** Prevent spyware. The best way to not let spyware affect you, is to not let it get to you in the first place. To do this you need a firewall. A firewall is like a filter in a water jug. It lets the good through (though you may have to define what is good) and keeps the bad out. Download ... Read review

Advantages: Reliable, relatively cheap, good customer service
Disadvantages: A few minor gliches - nothing too worry about

I have been using BT Internet as a service provider since the oldern days - well for about 12 months or so anyway. Overall, I have been very pleased with the service, which is both reliable and reasonably priced. Originally, I signed up for the standard BT Internet package, which entitled me to free internet access all weekend ( until midnight - commencing again at 7am ) and after 6pm during weekdays. However, what I found annoying about this service ...
...6pm, it wasn't possibly to make a connection, which proved to be quite inconvenient at times... ~~ Making The Change I decided to change to BT Anytime about 4 days ago, because even though the service charge is £5 more than the standard offer - it allows a dial-up connection 24 hours a day, so you can access the internet whenever you want. ( so much more convenient ) ~~ First Impressions I've only been using the service for a few days now, but ... Read review

Advantages: You get the computer YOU want, no salesman giving you hassle about EXTENDED WARRANTIES
Disadvantages: can work out slightly more expensive, always the danger that you will break something.

First lets dispel a myth. Building a good specification PC will NOT save you any money. Computer system builders can buy the parts a lot cheaper than you can, simply because they buy in bulk. So why build your own PC? For the joy of it and because in building it you will know each and every part that is put in it. Second, here are some goldens rules. Decide what you want to use your PC for. Find out as much as possible about every component you ...
...on the various hardware websites (www.anandtech.com, www.tomshardware.com, www.hardocp.com). Most of these sites have links to others so you should be able to find what you want to know. Finally see if you can get hold of a book about building/repairing/upgrading PC's. I recommend Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs but it may be too technical for some. Here is a checklist of a what you will need. Case - can be desktop, mini, midi or full ... Read review

Advantages: Its free, easy-to-use and takes up very little hard rive space.
Disadvantages: Isn't a permanent solution to your low RAM.

If you have a computer with low-resources, ie low amount of RAM, I know a great little program that can help solve the problem. I class 32megs of RAM low, thats what I have, and a program caled 'Ram Booster can make a difference on your computer. If you are tired of programs taking ages to open (like browsers) or the graphics on computers games are a bit slow, this free program can make more RAM available to you. When you open a program, some ...
...close it, that RAM is often still alocated. Ram Booster can clear that RAM and make it avaiable to the programs you are running. It sits in your system tray and can be either configured to automatically run when your available RAM drops to a certain limit or can be run at the click of a button. If you like the sound of it you can download it from most popular freeware sites. I got it from softseek.com, just search for 'ram booster' and then you ... Read review