Free Mac Antivirus and Pt 2 of our PC Cleanup

It has been another week of Mac Troubles and I once again urge Mac Users to check their system for updates and to keep updated at least weekly at the moment. If you don't have an antivirus installed, you may download a good FREE antivirus from here Mac Antivirus . But please get protected!.

Time for part 2 of your guide to cleaning out your PC and hopefully making it a lot faster for you.

If everything went well your programs list is missing all the extra programs that aren't required any more. Next step is to have a look in your documents folder and delete any thing that's not needed, the same with your pictures folder and your music folder. Make sure you have deleted all your old emails from your email account if they are stored on your computer (In Outlook Express, Or Outlook) and also make sure your deleted emails are deleted, and not just all sitting in the deleted folder.

Your downloads folder is also another place that is neglected, it may accumulate months of downloads that aren't needed any more. They may be programs that you downloaded, and have run the program and now the download is not required anymore or it may just be outdated. To find your downloads folder, for Vista or Win 7 just type downloads in the search box. In windows XP if you go into Computer from your start list, then select your C drive, then select Users, then your User account Name, you should then see a downloads folder, so for instance If my user name was Smith, it would go - Computer - C drive - Users - Smith -Downloads. Some systems also have another downloads folder just in the C drive, So that would be Computer - C drive - Downloads. 

The next step is to Download a Program called CCleaner from here CCleaner . This is a great and very popular little program that cleans up your PC of all the random "left over" bits and pieces. Install the Program. Follow the prompts but make sure when you get to the box that has "Install Google Chrome, and Make Google Chrome my default browser" untick those two check boxes, then follow to the last screen , and uncheck "view release notes" then click finish.
CCleaner should then open up for you, you can pretty much leave all the default boxes checked on the left side of the screen that are checked. Maybe just have a close look at the Internet explorer section, or the section on which ever web browser you are running, and select what you would like CCleaner to clean up. There may be things like your History, Autocomplete Form History or saved passwords that you may want to keep for your convenience. You can check all the rest in that section if you wish to.

Click on the analyze button on the lower left of the screen and allow the program to go through and find all the files it wants to clean, It will present you a report of what it finds , and a total amount of the file size it will delete, you may then press on "Run Cleaner" on the lower right of the screen. Close out of it when finished.

 I also like to go into the Windows Disc Cleaner and run it as well. These programs often pick up things that the other doesn't. So go to your start button, go up the list and click on accessories, then system tools, and then disc cleanup. Select OK in the next check box for C drive. The cleanup will scan your drive and present you with a results window, in this window is a button for "cleaning system files" click on this and disc cleaner will scan once again. Once more you will be presented with the results window, here I normally go through and tick all of the check boxes. It might not be a bad idea here to go through and check for any that are related to your Internet favourites or history etc, in case you wish to keep them. Then run Disc Cleanup.

So we are getting close to the end, next week I will give you an optional next step and then the final piece of the cleanup routine, for those of you on later systems, your computer may have already run the last piece automatically. But you should notice a speed up in your machines even after the steps we have completed already.

Macs under Attack & A faster PC, Part 1

For My Mac followers or even all you Windows people with Mac friends, Macs are under attack!, there has been at least 2 major security attacks on the Mac OS 10 software this week with up near 1 million machines infected by now. It is crucial that you make sure all your Apple Software is Up to Date. Do not click on any links that present them selves offering to fix your PC for infections, and watch out for "copycat" web pages, always double check the address bar.
The golden Rule is - "If you didn't search for it or request it, don't click on it" in other words if something pops up and makes you an offer! leave it alone.
Mac Users if you are not running an Antivirus Program, it is time to start running some!

Today I am going to give a "newbie lesson" in how to tidy up your PC and hopefully make it run a little bit faster and smoother for you. This is directed at a Microsoft system, My Stats show that I have a very small number of Mac users viewing. I know some of these users and they are more advanced users, but if you are a Mac user and would like me to show you anything please feel free to contact me with your request and I will only be to happy to show you what you would like to know.

The first place we will start is to think about any programs that are installed that you never use.
From your Desktop (normal screen) Press on the "start button" on the bottom left of the screen.

In the lists that present them selves - in the right hand column, look for "control panel" and select it

This will open up a screen that will vary depending on what system you are on, but if you look up in the top right you will see  "View by:" select either small or large icons, it doesn't matter, and you will be given a much clearer way of seeing all the options.

You are looking for "Add and Remove Programs" or "Programs and Features" depending again on which version of Windows you are on. Select your relevant option.

This will take a little while, but it will propagate a list of all the programs installed in your computer.
Once the list is complete, it will be presented down the screen in alphabetical order. Make your way down the list and try and spot any programs that you don't use or may have never used!.  There may be a lot of programs that were installed with cameras or phones that you have previously owned, but don't use any more. There may be games that you never play, there may be trial software that came with the computer when you purchased it. The main point to stress here is - that if you are unsure about a program and what it does, Leave it Alone.

If you have found some that you feel you can safely get rid of, you have the option to either single click to highlight the program and then at the top of the list there are options to "repair or uninstall/change" : click on "uninstall/change". Or you can simply double click on the program that you wish to uninstall, and you will be presented with further options.

The steps and options to remove or delete a program vary from program to program, so I can't cover that here, but the most important thing is to take your time and Read everything presented to you. Don't be guilty of doing the old "Next, Next, Finish" and then thinking "Oh Oh what did I do?"

Some programs will ask you to restart your PC to complete the removal, if you have the option to do it later, select that, and do 1 restart at the end when you have finished removing all of your unused programs, this just saves you a lot of time.
As Usual if you are unsure about something either ask an informed opinion, or  "Google it!" but don't remove anything until you are sure of what you are removing. 

Whats housekeeping got to do with a Slow PC

This Technology environment that we live in, that surrounds us, moves so fast!, I often wonder why is that?, do you really need a faster computer?, a flatter television?, more mega pixels? chances are you are not using all the ones you have now.  If you are a reader of this blog I would assume most of this stuff doesn't really matter to you too much, or if you are just starting out getting into tech, be warned, you will never keep up so don't try, you will go broke trying.

Most of us love a new computer, we take it out of the box, turn it on (after we work out where the start button is), Man!! its started already, that was so fast! this new computer is awesome!.

There is a little bit of  new computer awesome involved, don't get me wrong, but the biggest reason your new computer is so fast is because it is a "clean" install of the operating system (windows, mac).

Picture this, 

You are sitting on your lounge, the house is an absolute mess, the benches are cluttered, the hallway is clogged, nothing has been put back in its right place. I then say to you, I want you to grab your car keys, grab the DVD from last week, grab the kids medical prescription and duck down the shops with them, its a sunny day so you will need your sunglasses and a hat. Ready Set Go... 

After ten minutes of searching, kicking stuff out the way, and cursing, you make it to the garage to find you cant even get your car out, cause the wet gear from camping is still set up behind it (even though its been dry for a day).

Take two... the house is immaculate, every thing is in its place, put away and set up properly 

Go... Done, 1 minute, your in the car ready to go.

That is EXACTLY what it is like in your computer, and why a new one is so fast. The analogy continues, if you tidy everything up, throw out what you don't need or use, and make sure everything has a place and is put back there, your computer will be much faster. Never quite the same as the out of the box speed, with all its latest brand new hardware, but massively faster. 

Two options are available to you before you need to rush out and buy a new PC, you can give your system a clean out and tidy up, and it will be a lot faster, or the other option you have is to reinstall your system from scratch.

 You are able to, in most cases, depending on how you purchased or set up your computer to reinstall the system all over and start again. If you have a back up of your data, and all your discs and passwords handy then this is a very viable option. 

I am not saying this is quick, and sometimes it is not easy, but it is still cheaper than purchasing a new machine. I rang our local computer shop and they charge between $80 and $120 to do the job providing you have the disks.

You may feel it is time to step up to the next operating system. If you are still on XP you may want to start considering what your next move may be, we have 2 years before Microsoft stops supporting it all together. You don't want to be on it after its not supported, because there is no more security updates. Windows 7 is a very successful and popular Operating System, which you can move too, or you may want to hold out another 12 months and move straight to windows8. Your choice!. Maybe do a good clean out of your machine, stretch it out and buy a new machine with windows8.

I will give you advice on how to do a clean up of your PC next time.

A quick update on the story last week about Leonie Smith our Cyber God Mother, this week she released her book "Keeping Kids Safe Online" it is $15.47 for a hard copy, The same price you would pay to buy them a fast food meal if you were out, and not think twice about. You can preview the book  "HERE"

In other news, Facebook has purchased Instagram, not sure of their plans yet, but there is plenty of advice going around online if you want to download all your pics and close your account. Contact me if you would like me to do a tutorial on this.

Stay Safe Online :)

Unseen Dangers and your Cyber Godmother

I have had a change of plans for this weeks blog, as is the randomness that is social media I came across a lady who is more passionate about Cyber Safety and security than I am, especially when it comes to children. We immediately started playing twitter tennis about safety issues that concerned us in our Society, Parents views, and technology in general.


The one point that we both have noticed, is that people, and importantly parents tend to not want to know about the dangers or how to reduce them, the majority have a "It won't happen to my child, they are safe in our own home" attitude, or an, if I ignore it, it doesn't exist mentality.


In the middle of writing this, I just listened to a news report of three, 14 year old girls posting film on you tube of themselves offering to perform explicit sexual acts. Now all kids do silly things and that is part of being a teenager, but most silly things we did as teenagers are not able to be accessed or found out about many years later on.


Kids are not educated about the permanent nature of the Internet, most people do believe that if you delete something it is gone. When you delete something it usually only means it is not accessible from that particular location you are accessing it from. Deleting does not destroy!. The file, image etc still exists, it exists on a database, on a web page, on someones hard drive, in Cyber Space!. We need to make not only our children understand this, but our friends and our families as well.


If you wanted your children to play a musical instrument, what did you do?, if you wanted your children to excel at a sport what would you do? Sure most of these things are taught at school but only at a basic level. My guess is you paid a tutor or a coach to teach and train your children the skills that you were unable to teach them. Why won't people consider paying for, or for that matter, even going to free tutorials on Cyber Security. I actually notice peoples eyes glaze over as I start to tell them about issues they need to look out for.


We are the start of generations to come that must pass on the knowledge and wisdom that will protect out children and their children in the ever changing connected world that we live in. One place I would like you to start thinking about is "checking in" and the dangers it presents, people are able to form a profile of  where you are, when you are there, who you are with or not with, and when you are NOT at your home, or NOT with your kids.


The lady I was lucky to meet is Leonie Smith, and she has a large online presence as the "The Cyber Safety Lady" http://thecybersafetylady.com.au/ Leonie is extremely dedicated and passionate about this subject, and as one would expect has every avenue of social media covered with her presence! including a You Tube channel which contains how to tutorials on setting up and controlling user accounts and controlling privacy settings.

Leonie also hosts free community Cyber Safety workshops and is available for a small fee to host private online tutorials for groups of parents. Definitely worth checking out Leonie's web page, even if you do not have children, because remember, the problem is!, if we don't have the knowledge! we are unable able to pass it on. You can also follow Leonie on twitter at _LeonieGSmith


Have a Happy and Safe Easter and be Safe Online