Errors Antivirus Programs Can’t Always Fix

We’ve all had it happen.  Our computer runs really slow but when we run the Antivirus Program it comes back clean and the computer continues to grind away until it does stop completely.  At this point most users find they have to call on a friend, brother, or repair shop to get their computer up and running again.  Sometimes these people come, seem to run a few tests, take it away for a few days and return it back to you working as fast as it was when it first came out of the shop.  As we know there can be many reasons for a computer to run slow and grind to a halt which cannot be fixed, however, a few years ago my voluntary work boss – my Pastor – was frustrated with his computer because all these windows kept popping up.  Even when he deleted the program he had downloaded still the browser windows would re-activate and no matter what he tried he couldn’t fix the problem.  By this time I had begun University so he asked me what I could do.  First thing was to research the problem and find a possible solution.  Since then I fell in love with the solution I discovered and have used it many times since.

Nowadays it is recognised that when visiting some website there are short pieces of code and small programs called spyware, adware and malware which download onto a user’s computer without their knowledge.  Some of these small programs are designed to find out the type of sites you visit and searches that you undertake in order to send adverts to your browser that reflect what you have been looking at.  Some of the programs however come under the heading “Spyware” or “Malware” and are designed to steal information from your computer and send it back to the person who inserted it into the website.  Whatever the reason for them, these programs can all be very damaging to your computer and cause it to slow down and eventually crash.  The only program that I found to remove these programs and clean up your computer – including the ones that you have clicked on to download a free scan and now won’t be deleted unless you part with money – is SuperAntiSpyware.  Even better – it has a free version which you can run on a regular basis.  The Pro version has real time protection and scheduling in with it, but the free version does just as good a job though you need to run it manually.  In the same way as most of these programs it is free to non-commercial users, but I can highly recommend it for commercial users to purchase as it will save the tech department and computer users some rather big headaches!!!!

Taking Control of Your Computer

These days when you buy a computer it tends to come with several programs installed.  Most popular programs include Norton AntiSpyware, MacAfee Security, Microsoft Works or a trial version of Microsoft Office, Links to various help manuals and more.  While a lot of the software needed to run your computer is free you find that after a while the 60 day trial version of Microsoft Office is up, but you have used it to create documents.  So your choice is to pay around £99 for the Home and Student version or lose your documents.  DON’T!!!!!

There is a free office suite called Openoffice which you can download for nothing and it should be able to allow you read those documents that you set up in Microsoft Office.

Norton is considered one of the top programs for fighting viruses and keeping your computer clean.  However, you have to renew your licence on an annual basis and again, if money is tight, there is usually at least one free program which will do as good a job as Norton.  There are a couple of free antivirus programs I like to use and recommend.  The first is Avast, which tends to work really well with slightly older computers, and the second is AVG.  Both Avast and AVG have free options though they state you must be a non-commercial user to use these.  So next time your license is up for your antivirus, consider downloading one of the freebies.

Next time I’ll share how I get rid of spyware adware and malware using a tool which I have used free for years!!!