Cleaning up your software

How do you know what programs should be on your computer or not?  I generally do a quick scan and see what looks like it should be there and what should not be there

What should be installed?

• Programs you have paid for
• Operating system and printer applications/driver
• Downloaded programs from the internet/disks

What shouldn’t be there? Spyware programs! You can easily tell a spyware program by 2 things.

• the word “search” is in the name of the program
• the program is very small in size (under 1 mb usually)

If you want to delete those little buggers, you can. Just a reminder that sometimes a removal of those spyware will take you to an internet site and require a download of a tool to uninstall it. Generally that is the safest way to go, follow the spyware instructions. Back in the day it was hard to remove the spyware, but today it’s a big easier.

Sometimes the computer will require a reboot after removing. Make sure you watch for that window or option in a window because you may want to wait to reboot until you are done.

TIP…many “coupon” saving websites will download a tool, so if you’re a coupon maniac, you may want to remember that those coupons you are cyber clipping is maybe adding spyware. Most people hate it when I remove that coupon tool, but it’s really best for your computer.

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