Support, Utilities & Maintenance
We are not responsible for incorrect use of any of the following utilities. Please read all information and instructions before using any utilities or downloads.
Keep a current Antivirus program installed with current definitions that are up-to-date. It is your responsibility to have anti-virus software installed and current definition updates installed.
Here are three good Antivirus programs: Trend Micro Titanium, Symantec Norton, and McAfee VirusScan. Although there are free ones out there, we do not recommend using them as a replacement for paid virus protection. Virus subscription updates should be purchased once a year as new viruses are found every day.
*If you think that there might be updates that you did not receive, you can always check by clicking on the Live Update button when you are in the AV program. Although AV programs check on their own, it is better to be safe than sorry.
You should also run or check to see that a full system virus scan is done. (We recommend checking for updates and a running a virus scan once a week. Do this without other programs running.)
Make sure you have installed the newest Adobe Reader X, updates for Flash, JavaScript. A lot of people disregard the reminders that pop up on the screen. It only takes a minute or so to install the updates that automatically download for you and then prompt you to update. There are a lot of virus/spyware problems resulting from unpatched/out of date programs.
About once a month, you should run the Scan Disk, Disk Defragmenter, and Windows Update on your computer. Scan Disk checks for errors on your hard drive, Defragmenter defragments files, and Windows Update finds patches and fixes for Windows. Be careful to only download the critical updates unless you feel you need the other updates.
To run Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter:
- Double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop.
- Right-click on the icon for C Drive, which is your hard drive. It is usually a silver box with Local Disk C by it. When you right-click on the icon, a menu will appear.
- Click where it says Properties at the bottom of the menu. A window will come up that says C: Properties. There are several tabs at the top of the window.
- Click the tab that says Tools.
- Choose the option that says Error-checking by clicking the Check Now button.
- Click Start at the bottom of the window to begin Scan Disk.
- If it finds any errors, click Fix Errors.
- When it is finished, a small window will appear that says Disk scan complete. Click OK.
- You should be back at the C: Properties window. If you are not, use the above instructions to get to it.
- Choose the option that says Defragmentation by clicking the Defragment Now button. Disk Defragmenter will open.
- Click the button that says Defragment at the bottom of the window.
- When Disk Defragmenter is done, a box will say “Disk Defragmentation Complete. Close Disk Defragmenter?” Click Yes.
- Close any other windows that may be open.
To run Windows Update:
- Click the Start button.
- Click the option above Programs called Windows Update. Windows Update will connect to the Internet and you will be at the Windows Update web page.
- Click where it says “Scan for updates.” It should say “Windows Update is scanning for updates”. Once it is finished, it will display the updates that are available.
- Select the updates to install by clicking Add. If there are any Critical Updates, you should install them.
- Click Review and Install Updates once you have selected the updates to install.
- Click Install Now.
- Click Accept to accept any licensing agreements.
- Click OK when the installation and download is complete.
- Close any windows that are open.
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