Spring Clean Your Computer

Spring is a great time to clean those floor boards and vents. While you are in the mood to clean you might consider your computer. Here are six steps that should be done at least once a year to keep your computer running smoothly.

Physically Clean the Machine

The first step to take when spring cleaning your computer is to physically clean the machine. Laptops are more condensed and don't acquire as much dust as desktop computers. Spray canned air on the keyboard to remove anything that might be trapped between the keys. Next use an electronics safe cleaner to wipe down the keyboard, screen and cables. It is wise to spray the cleaner on a soft towel and take care not to press too hard. If you have a track ball mouse you'll want to remove the ball and clean the rollers with a Q-tip soaked in rubbing alcohol. If you have an infrared mouse then a quick wipe down will be sufficient.

Desktop computers are notorious for accumulating dust which can cause poor performance. Clean the keyboard, mouse, and screen using the instructions above. Next unplug everything from the computer and move it to a well ventilated place. If you feel comfortable you can remove a panel from your computer before using your canned air to blow the dust out. If you do not feel comfortable removing anything, just spray canned air through any opening to attempt to get the dust out. You can use an electronics safe cleaner to wipe down the outside of your computer and the cables. I am always surprised how much dust comes off of my cables.

Remove Spyware and Malware

I recommend you perform this step more than once a year. The first thing to do is to make sure you have antivirus software and it has up to date definition files. There is no excuse for not having antivirus software as there are free applications available online such as AVG. Run a full virus scan and remove anything that is found.

Viruses are not the only malicious software that can infect your computer and derogate performance. It is also important to scan for and remove spyware and malware. You can also immunize your computer against known software. Two free spyware removal tools are Spyware Search and Destroy and Adaware.

Backup Important Data

This is a great time to backup all of your important files and pictures. In my experience as an IT professional I have been asked to restore data countless times. I always ask is if there is a recent backup of the data. More often than not there is not. I cannot stress enough how important it is to backup your data. It is heart breaking to tell people that all of their family pictures or their almost finished manuscript is gone and cannot be restored.

You do not need fancy backup software. You can purchase an inexpensive external hard drive and copy your data to it periodically. Once a year copy all of the data to an external hard drive and put it in your fireproof safe. It may seem like a waste of a hard drive but you will be very thankful to have it in the case of a disaster.

Check For and Install Software Updates

Having the latest updates for software resolves bugs and makes your computer more secure. First check the operating system's website for any updates. Next go through your software and check with the manufacturer to see if there are available updates. Don't forget your web browser, java, document viewer, and other software that you might not use regularly.

Remove Unused Software

Take a look at the list of software applications that you have installed on your computer. Uninstall any of them that you don't remember installing in the first place. These may have been malware that installed itself. Next remove software that you have not used in the last year. Chances are you will not be using it this year either. The less software you have running, the less software updates you need to check for and install.

Defrag Your Computer

Now that you have removed all of the viruses, spyware, and unused software your hard drive could use a good defragging. When you defrag your hard drive you move data closer together on the physical disk. This allows you to access the software quicker and generally improves performance. On a Windows operating system you can go to Start - Run and type defrag then hit enter. This process takes quite a while especially if you have a large hard drive so I recommend letting it run over night.