Hi party,
1) The virus removal chaps I use for all software problems tell me that the first thing they do with their customers that come in with Nortons on their computer ,is they remove it & replace it with AVG virus protector (FREE).
I had Notons before & it does conflict with a number of programs , once AVG was installed, it ran like a train, no more conflicts.

2) Most good virus removal specialists charge approx $65 to get rid of all the junk, remove any spyware & viruses, place any necessary updates & fine tune ones machine .
You will find that it will run like an express train when you get it back home.
It is worth it.
I do this twice a year.

3) The other thing that makes a big differece, is using a Modum that has its own Fiewall e.g. Netgear , it reduces virus attacks dramaticaly.
Since I have changed over to this modum , I have not experience one single virus attack .

4) Another idea recomended is to never use auto complete , this helps protect the system from intruders using your stuff.

5) Try & run CCleaner, this is a FREE registry cleaner that unclogs the copies of every thing the system replicates on the hard drive , it wont touch any of your normal stuff, just the copies which one will never use.
It also gets rid of any bank & credit card details one may have used over the net , which can only be a good thing.
I use CCleaner after any finance details have been used over the net.

Get CCleaner registry cleaner from Filehippo.
There is no spyware in this, unlike so many others out there.
It will free up 10's of thousands of relicated files that slow down ones computer over time .
If you have a lot of stuff to come out , one may have to run it several times to get it all out.
Try & use it say 2-3 times a week.

My computer people automaticly place CCleaner on all their customers machines.
It also speeds up ones computer dramtically.

6) It also has another program in it that can check for program "Issiues" that may slow down your system .
Just tell it to fix whatever it brings up & it will automatically repair or delete stuff that has been left over from a previously deleted programs e.g. Notons tail endings , common on most deleted programs.
Remember, it wont delete any actual programs, just stuff left over from programs already deleted.


If it asks if you would like a back up copy , always say no to both programs when prompted because 99.99% of the time you will never need it & you dont need to store another piece of junk that one will never use again & if for some reason one does need something back , one can re-dowload it later on but I have never needed to do that as yet.
This will also speed up your computer.
The program is also very fast & doesnt take up much space.

It's an idea to restart your computer after all this, if your machine has not had its register cleaned for say 6 months, so the system can reset its now clean registry.


7) Another small tip to speed up ones computer when using say the popular
Raceingandsports site , which has a tendency to run slower & slower as one uses the site, is to press/hold Ctrl key and Press the Refresh key then release.
One wiil see at the bottom of the screen all the stuff being removed that has been slowing it down.
Your machine will feel like its now in turbo drive with the increased speed it now has, going page to page.

8) Other must haves that have already been mentioned is Spyware Doctor Search & Destroy, use the immunise program in it to protect you from the known nasties & update this once a week it's FREE. Also Ad-aware FREE (becareful which one you download because there are a number out there with a similiar name that have spyware in them.)
Play it safe & down load both of these from Filehippo.

Cheers.

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Cheers.