- Clean your computer of dust and particles at least once a year, and more if you have pets or live near a construction zone. Simply open up your case and use a combination of a compressed air can and a vacuum to remove the filth. Vacuums with a long brush attachment work well.
- Use a reputable anti-virus program like Norton, or a free one like AVG. Rotate the brands every year or so to ensure better coverage for all existing malware.
- Use at least 2 or 3 anti-malware/spyware programs and run the scans at least once a week, rotating between the different programs each time. Malwarebytes and Ad-aware are currently good free choices. These products' effectiveness is subject to change every year.
- Run Windows Updates as soon as they come out by observing your task bar and clicking on the yellow shield with a little exclamation mark in it.
- If your internet connection fails, unplug the power to your modem (and router if you have one) with your computer shut down, then replug your modem (wait 30 seconds), then router, and then turn your computer back on. If this doesn't work, call your local provider.
- Uninstall all program you have not used in the last year; disable all startup programs that are not critical to be active; run a good disk defragmentation program if you handle and transfer a significant amount of files every day.
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