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	<title>Must Read Stuff &#187; Windows</title>
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		<title>Top 9 Best Free AntiVirus Softwares</title>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:33:07 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AntiVirus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[1. AVG Anti-Virus Free The Bottom Line AVG Anti-Virus Free is the best free antivirus program available today due mainly to the huge number of premium-level features, full antivirus and antispyware engines, and automatic background updating. Important: AVG Anti-Virus Free provides constant virus protection, also called on-access or resident protection, for free. This means that [...]<br/><br/>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/best-anti-virus.jpg" alt="Best Free AntiVirus Programs For Windows" title="Best Free AntiVirus Programs For Windows" width="588" height="315" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8162" /> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">1. AVG Anti-Virus Free</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/6s1Eq.jpg" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> <b><font color="Green">The Bottom Line</font></b></p>
<p> AVG Anti-Virus Free is the best free antivirus program available today due mainly to the huge number of premium-level features, full antivirus and antispyware engines, and automatic background updating.</p>
<p> <b>Important:</b> AVG Anti-Virus Free provides constant virus protection, also called on-access or resident protection, for free. This means that AVG Anti-Virus Free can completely replace antivirus software from companies like McAfee and Norton that charge for their software and for yearly access to updates.</p>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Pros</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Provides on-access protection from viruses and other malware</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Virus definitions are updated periodically and automatically</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not attempt to install unrelated software</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Easy to install</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Cons</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Can only be used at home &#8211; no business use</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not include a &#8220;Game Mode&#8221; (silent detection)</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <b><font color="Green">Description</font></b>
<ul>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">AVG Anti-Virus Free includes fully functional antivirus and antispyware engines.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes LinkScanner feature to protect you from websites that host malicious software.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000 are all supported operating systems for AVG Anti-Virus Free.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Email scanner is included.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">AVG Anti-Virus Free updates periodically to stay current with new threats.</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif" color="Red">2. avast! Free Antivirus</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/CwwvH.png" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> <b><font color="Green">The Bottom Line</font></b></p>
<p> avast! Free Antivirus from AVAST Software is one of the best free antivirus software programs you can download.</p>
<p> avast! is so great because it&#8217;s a complete tool, protecting you from threats from the Internet, email, your local files, and even from your instant messages!</p>
<p> <b>Important:</b> avast! Free Antivirus provides constant virus protection, also called on-access or resident protection, for free. This means that avast! Free Antivirus can completely replace antivirus software from companies like McAfee and Norton that charge for their software and for yearly access to updates.</p>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Pros</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Provides on-access protection from viruses and other malware</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes a &#8220;heuristics engine&#8221; to detect previously unknown threats</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes a silent mode to hide alerts during gaming and other full-screen activities</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Long history of excellent virus protection</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Works with Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Cons</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Can not be used in commercial environments &#8211; home use only</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Attempts to install unrelated (but safe) software</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Registration is periodically required but it is free</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <b><font color="Green">Description</font></b>
<ul>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">avast! Free Antivirus includes fully functional antivirus, antispyware, and heuristics engines.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes real-time protection of files, email, web surfing, p2p transfers, instant messages, and even suspicious behavior.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000 are all supported operating systems for avast! Free Antivirus.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Yearly registration is required to continue use.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">avast! Free Antivirus regularly updates malware definitions and the program itself to stay current against new threats.</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">3. Microsoft Security Essentials</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/x3JJI.jpg" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> <b><font color="Green">The Bottom Line</font></b></p>
<p> Microsoft Security Essentials is easily one of the best free antivirus program available. I like it because it&#8217;s produced by Microsoft and because it&#8217;s really easy to see if the program is protecting you as it should be.</p>
<p> <b>Important:</b> Microsoft Security Essentials provides constant virus protection, also called on-access or resident protection, for free. This means that Microsoft Security Essentials can completely replace antivirus software from companies like McAfee and Norton that charge for their software and for yearly access to updates.</p>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Pros</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Provides resident protection from viruses, spyware and other malware</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Works with Windows 7, Vista, and XP</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Virus definitions are updated automatically and regularly</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Very easy to install</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not attempt to install unrelated software</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Cons</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not include a silent mode (so you might be bothered during gaming)</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <b><font color="Green">Description</font></b>
<ul>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Microsoft Security Essentials includes fully functional engines to guard against viruses and most other kinds of malware.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes a very easy to use on-demand scanner for manual malware checks.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Windows 7, Vista, and XP are all supported operating systems for Microsoft Security Essentials.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Simple green/red indicator makes it very easy to see if you&#8217;re protected.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Microsoft Security Essentials updates regularly to keep its malware knowledge current.</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">4. Comodo Antivirus</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/pMjBM.png" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> <b><font color="Green">The Bottom Line</font></b></p>
<p> Comodo Antivirus is certainly one of the best free antivirus program available.</p>
<p> This is due mostly to their proprietary Defense+ technology that assumes an unknown file is a potential threat, making this free antivirus program almost 100% effective. Most other antivirus programs assume unknown files are safe and only concern themselves with files that have proven to be a problem.</p>
<p> <b>Important:</b> Comodo Antivirus provides constant virus protection, also called on-access or resident protection, for free. This means that Comodo Antivirus can completely replace antivirus software from companies like McAfee and Norton that charge for their software and for yearly access to updates.</p>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Pros</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Provides on-access protection from viruses and other malware</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Virus definitions are regularly updated, in the background</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Works with Windows 7, Vista, and XP</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">64-bit versions are also available</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Cons</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Can only be used at home &#8211; no business use</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not include a &#8220;Game Mode&#8221; (silent detection)</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <b><font color="Green">Description</font></b>
<ul>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Comodo Antivirus includes a full range of detection engines for viruses, spyware, rootkits, and other malware.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes protection from &#8220;all&#8221; infection sources like email, games, IM, etc.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Windows 7, Vista, and XP are all supported operating systems for Comodo Antivirus.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">64-bit program versions are available for those using 64-bit Windows operating systems.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Comodo Antivirus updates periodically to stay current with new threats.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Includes Defense+ technology that doesn&#8217;t assume anything is safe, yet doesn&#8217;t bother you with needless warnings either.</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">5. Avira AntiVir Personal</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/wmOaY.jpg" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> <b><font color="Green">The Bottom Line</font></b></p>
<p> Avira AntiVir Personal is one of best free antivirus software programs out there for various reasons, the least of which is just because it&#8217;s free.</p>
<p> My favorite feature of Avira AntiVir Personal is the wide range of malware threats that it protects you from. I also like how simple the interface is and the lack of annoying &#8220;extra&#8221; software, like browser toolbars, that many free utilities like to push.</p>
<p> <b>Important:</b> Avira AntiVir Personal provides free on-access or resident protection, meaning it&#8217;s keeping an eye on things all the time. Because of this fact, Avira AntiVir Personal can completely replace any antivirus software that you might be paying for, like popular products from McAfee and Norton. Some of those programs might be offering you other services but as far as malware/virus protection is concerned, AntiVir Personal does the same job&#8230; for free.</p>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Pros</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Protects from many types of malware, not just traditional viruses</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Contains advanced heuristic tools</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Works on Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Does not install browser toolbars or other unrelated software</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Virus definition updates are automatic</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <font color="Green"><b>Cons</b></font>
<ul>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Only home use allowed</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">No 64-bit version</font></li>
<li><font color="DarkSlateGray" size="4" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Configuration wizard might be intimidating</font></li>
</ul>
<p> <b><font color="Green">Description</font></b>
<ul>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Avira AntiVir Personal protects you from viruses, adware, spyware, back-door programs, dialers, fraudulent software, phishing, and more.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">An ability to choose when to start the antivirus program during the boot process is a valuable addition that I haven&#8217;t seen elsewhere.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">AntiVir Personal has an advanced heuristic engine (detects malware that it&#8217;s not already aware of) which is a feature not always seen in free antivirus tools.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and even Windows 2000 are all supported operating systems.</font></li>
<li><font size="4" color="DarkSlateGray" face="Microsoft Sans Serif">Automatic updates keeps Avira AntiVir Personal updated with the latest threat information.</font></li>
</ul>
</blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">6. Panda Cloud Antivirus</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/YgmgC.gif" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> Panda Cloud Antivirus protects you from several kinds of malware threats &#8211; viruses, worms, Trojans, adware, and more &#8211; just like all the other free antivirus programs in this list.</p>
<p> What makes Panda Cloud Antivirus one of the best free antivirus programs is that it does its job from &#8220;the cloud&#8221; meaning the hard antivirus work that typically slows down a computer is done on computers elsewhere on the Internet, freeing up your computer to work like it should and protecting you from malware even better.</p>
<p> Panda Cloud Antivirus supports Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. </p></blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">7. Immunet Protect FREE</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/ffhnA.jpg" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> Immunet Protect FREE is a unique, cloud-based antivirus program, much like Panda Cloud Antivirus. Immunet Protect FREE protects your computer from bots, worms, viruses, Trojans, keyloggers, and spyware.</p>
<p> Immunet Protect FREE works on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. You must also be connected to the Internet at all times.</p>
<p> I think Protect FREE from Immunet is one of the best free antivirus programs for several reasons: you never have to update it, it has completely free telephone based support, and it can be run alongside some of the other best free antivirus tools like AVG Anti-Virus Free, Microsoft Security Essentials, and avast! Free Antivirus, increasing your overall protection! </p></blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">8. digital-defender Antivirus</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/KSEJO.png" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> digital-defender Antivirus isn&#8217;t a popular antivirus program but it should be. It&#8217;s certainly one of the best free antivirus software programs you&#8217;ll find. It&#8217;s a full antivirus and antispyware program and updates on a daily basis.</p>
<p> digital-defender Antivirus supports Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.</p>
<p> The relatively small installation size, daily virus definition updates, and full antispyware features make digital-defender Antivirus one of the better tools in my collection of the best free antivirus programs. </p></blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --> <!-- message -->
<div>
<blockquote> <font face="Microsoft Sans Serif" size="6" color="Red">9. PC Tools AntiVirus Free</font></p>
<p> <img src="http://i.imgur.com/usnm8.jpg" alt="" border="0"></p>
<p> PC Tools AntiVirus Free offers basic protection against viruses and other malware. While not my favorite, AntiVirus Free is still one of the best free antivirus programs you&#8217;ll find.</p>
<p> PC Tools AntiVirus Free works on Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.</p>
<p> The biggest problems I have with PC Tools AntiVirus Free are the reminders throughout the program that there&#8217;s a not-so-free version that you should upgrade to. To be fair, you probably won&#8217;t notice it since the program runs silently in the background to protect you from viruses. I probably find it annoying because most of the features available in the upgrade are included for free in some of the higher rated best free antivirus programs above. </p></blockquote></div>
<p> <!-- / message --></p>
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<h4 class="meta">Related Posts</h4>

<ol style="padding-left:10px;">
		<li><a href="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/top-25-best-ways-to-speed-up-windows-xp/" rel="bookmark">Top 25 Best Ways To Speed Up Windows XP</a><!-- (13.1)--></li>
		<li><a href="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/windows-7-the-good-the-bad-the-unknown/" rel="bookmark">Windows 7: The good, the bad, the unknown</a><!-- (9.1)--></li>
	</ol>

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		<title>Top 25 Best Ways To Speed Up Windows XP</title>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:11:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Windows XP]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Top 25 Best Ways To Speed Up Windows XP Since defragmenting the disk won&#8217;t help you much in improve Windows XP performance, here are some  25 suggestions that can improve the performance of  your PC&#8217;s Windows XP  . To decrease a system&#8217;s boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying [...]<br/><br/>
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<ol style="padding-left:10px;">
		<li><a href="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/windows-7-the-good-the-bad-the-unknown/" rel="bookmark">Windows 7: The good, the bad, the unknown</a><!-- (24.4)--></li>
		<li><a href="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/top-9-best-free-antivirus-softwares/" rel="bookmark">Top 9 Best Free AntiVirus Softwares</a><!-- (6.3)--></li>
	</ol>

</div]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3701" style="border: 2px solid black;" title="Speed Up Your Windows XP" src="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2d8fbt10.jpg" alt="Speed Up Your Windows XP" width="353" height="410" /></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Top 25 Best Ways To Speed Up Windows XP</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Since defragmenting the disk won&#8217;t help you much in improve Windows XP performance, </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>here are some  25 suggestions that can improve the performance of  your PC&#8217;s Windows XP  .</em></p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">To decrease a system&#8217;s boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software &#8212; the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine &#8212; and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you&#8217;re not sure, here&#8217;s how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it&#8217;s important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a &#8220;searchable keyword index.&#8221; As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.&#8212;-The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP&#8217;s built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.&#8212;-Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you&#8217;re a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.&#8212;-Here&#8217;s how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck &#8220;Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching.&#8221; Next, apply changes to &#8220;C: subfolders and files,&#8221; and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as &#8220;Access is denied&#8221;), click the Ignore All button.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Update the PC&#8217;s video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can &#8220;prefetch&#8221; portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That&#8217;s fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here&#8217;s how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button &#8212; it&#8217;s just to the right of the Capacity pie graph &#8212; and delete all temporary files.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to &#8220;DMA if available&#8221; for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support &#8220;cable select,&#8221; the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search &amp; Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here&#8217;s how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don&#8217;t want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here&#8217;s how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer &#8212; only its responsiveness.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Visit Microsoft&#8217;s Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Update the customer&#8217;s anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts &#8212; that is, anything over 500 &#8212; will noticeably tax the system.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP&#8217;s NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called &#8220;D drive.&#8221; You&#8217;ll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won&#8217;t be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won&#8217;t need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Check the system&#8217;s RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC&#8217;s memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer&#8217;s Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you&#8217;ll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it&#8217;s free.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If you&#8217;re sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to &#8220;Launch folder windows in a separate process,&#8221; and enable this option. You&#8217;ll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">At least once a year, open the computer&#8217;s cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you&#8217;re in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">For Faster startup (really effective) &#8211; Open run (start &#8211; run or press windows button + r), type msconfig and press enter key.  Click &#8220;startup&#8221; tab,  here u can see the list of all startup programs. Uncheck most of the options that u think u don&#8217;t require and save the changes, restart and see the diffrence.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">For Faster internet speed (by 20%)  - Open run and type gpedit.msc then computer configuration &#8211; administrative templates &#8211; network &#8211; qos packet scheduler and open &#8220;limit reservable bandwidth&#8221;,  Check enbled and type 0 in the option box below,  click ok. Thats it.</li>
</ol>
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		<description><![CDATA[For most people who are considering moving to Windows 7, Oct. 22 is D-Day. On that date Microsoft&#8217;s newest operating system lands on store shelves, both as a shrinkwrapped upgrade and preinstalled on new PCs. For some folks, though, D-Day has already arrived. Microsoft has issued the final RTM (release to manufacturing) version of Windows [...]<br/><br/>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-444" title="windows7" src="http://www.mustreadstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/windows7-300x300.jpg" alt="windows7" width="300" height="300" />For most people who are considering moving to Windows 7, Oct. 22 is D-Day. On that date Microsoft&#8217;s newest operating system lands on store shelves, both as a shrinkwrapped upgrade and preinstalled on new PCs. For some folks, though, D-Day has already arrived. Microsoft has issued the final RTM (release to manufacturing) version of Windows 7 to large companies that buy Windows via volume licenses, as well as to IT pros who belong to its Technet service. The Windows Vista era is officially drawing to a close — although you could argue that it never really quite started — and the Windows 7 one is under way.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">And that promises to be a good thing, whether you&#8217;re a satisfied Vista user, a disgruntled one, or a Windows XP holdout who has been waiting for something better. Windows 7 feels like an anti-Vista: Unlike that OS, for instance, it doesn&#8217;t try to dazzle you with flashy new visual effects. With the removal of Vista applications such as Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, Win 7 actually does fewer things than Vista did. Even its unprepossessing name is a change from the epic-sounding monikers that began with the unfortunate Windows Millennium Edition.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span id="more-443"></span>But Windows 7&#8242;s lack of glitz is a huge part of its appeal. Unlike the increasingly chaotic and annoying Microsoft OSs that preceded it, Windows 7 is designed to stay out of your way so that you can get stuff done. It smartly addresses Windows annoyances both new (User Account Control) and old (the system tray). And the final version I&#8217;ve been using seems to realize the promise of the rough drafts we started testing last October.</p>
<p>Windows 7 isn&#8217;t without its warts, but I haven&#8217;t been so impressed by a new Microsoft operating system since Windows 2000 debuted close to a decade ago. Here&#8217;s a quick look at some of its best features, a few drawbacks, and areas where reserving judgment makes sense.</p>
<h2><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The Good</span></strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>The OS is less piggish:</strong> One of the many regrettable things about the initial version of Windows Vista was that its signature feature — the splashy Aero environment — was too much of a resource hog to run well on many early-2007 PCs (even those that had been promoted as Vista-capable). The PC World Test Center hasn&#8217;t benchmarked the shipping version of Windows 7 yet — stay tuned — but all signs point to this OS being sprightly enough to perform decently on all current systems, including those allegedly underpowered, pint-size machines known as netbooks.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>The taskbar has been reinvented:</strong> It&#8217;s amazing how little the taskbar and its system tray have changed since Windows 95. In Windows 7, they both undergo sweeping, long-overdue makeovers. For the most part, the results are extremely pleasing. The new taskbar&#8217;s default style does away with text labels and relies solely on program icons, therefore making better use of screen space. Its thumbnail previews — an improvement over Vista&#8217;s — work well even when you have multiple windows open for one application. And the new Jump Lists feature gives you right-click access to context-sensitive menus of options (such as the ability to play shuffled music in Windows Media Player) even before you&#8217;ve launched an application. Even the nub on the right edge of the taskbar, which you can click to reveal the desktop, is a welcome, subtle enhancement. (One taskbar quibble: The border around running apps in the taskbar isn&#8217;t a clear enough cue to distinguish between them and those that aren&#8217;t currently active.)</p>
<p><strong>The system tray —</strong> which is officially called the notification area, although I don&#8217;t know anybody who calls it that — is no longer one of Windows&#8217; most aggravating &#8220;features.&#8221; When you install new applications, any associated system-tray applets are cordoned off in a holding pen, where they can&#8217;t clutter up the tray and can&#8217;t use word balloons to pester you with information that you may or may not care about. You can also choose to have an applet appear in the system tray but in bound-and-gagged form, so it can&#8217;t pop up messages. Microsoft has also dramatically reduced the volume of distracting messages from Windows itself, courtesy of Action Center, which queues up system alerts so that you can check them out at your convenience.</p>
<p><strong>UAC is now tolerable:</strong> Windows Vista introduced User Account Control, which tries to warn you of attempts by viruses and other malware to tamper with your system. But it essentially has two settings: So Annoying You Click Without Thinking, and Off. In Windows 7, you get two intermediate settings that alert you only if a program changes settings, with or without the melodramatic screen-dimming effect. This new version is such a reasonable approach that it&#8217;s even more mysterious how Microsoft could have botched the Vista version so badly.</p>
<p><strong>Libraries collect your files:</strong> For years, Microsoft has tried to train Windows users to store all of their personal files in one place, helpfully providing a folder named My Documents for that purpose. Many of us blithely ignore the suggestion and store stuff willy-nilly around our hard drives. A new feature called Libraries splits the difference by giving you virtual folders for documents, music, photos, and videos that combine the contents of whichever folders you specify into one unified view. The Pictures Library, for instance, can show all your photos even if they&#8217;re stored in a dozen different places. Still, there&#8217;s room for improvement — Libraries would be even more useful if they were integrated with the existing Saved Searches feature, which creates another, separate form of virtualized folder.</p>
<h2><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The Bad</span></strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>HomeGroups are disappointing:</strong> HomeGroups sound like a nifty idea — a way to share folders full of media and documents between PCs across a network, so you can peruse photos stored on a desktop in the den from your laptop in the living room, for instance. But Microsoft&#8217;s implementation is surprisingly half-baked: Rather than letting you specify a password during setup, for instance, it assigns one consisting of ten alphanumeric gibberish characters and tells you to write it down. And HomeGroups work only if all the PCs in question run Windows 7. A version that also worked on XP, Vista, and — dare I say it? — Macs would have been far cooler.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Windows Update can still shut you down:</strong> There&#8217;s no reason to believe that Windows 7 will require less patching than earlier versions of the OS. If you use Windows Update the way Microsoft recommends, however, your computer may still demand that you shut it down so it can update itself, or it may decide to devote an extended amount of time to installing updates when you try to reboot it. In the largely compliant and considerate Win 7, this aggressive approach to updates is a flashback to Windows&#8217; pushy past.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>You can&#8217;t upgrade Windows XP:</strong> If you want to upgrade a PC from XP to 7, you&#8217;ll need to start anew, reinstalling all of your apps and re-creating your settings. (Windows Vista users can opt to install 7 on top of their current OS, although not in every possible scenario.) Microsoft&#8217;s decision not to enable XP-to-7 upgrades is defensible — a fresh install will probably be more reliable than one plunked down on top of XP&#8217;s eight-year-old underpinnings — but it will scare off some XP users who would probably love Windows 7 once they got it up and running.</p>
<h2><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The unknown</span></strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>How bad will compatability issues be? </strong>Windows 7 looks and works differently than Windows Vista does, but below the surface it isn&#8217;t radically different. That should make for fewer headaches with incompatible drivers and software — and indeed, it helped even the earliest Windows 7 preview versions run surprisingly smoothly for prerelease operating systems. But as millions of people install Windows 7 on an endless array of PCs, undoubtedly some of them will encounter problems that Microsoft didn&#8217;t anticipate. (I&#8217;ve run into setup quirks and driver issues with the Windows 7 RTM version myself, but I&#8217;ve been able to work around them — by installing from a USB drive rather than a DVD, for instance.)</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Will hardware companies take to Device Stage?</strong> This new feature gives your printer, camera, and other peripherals information centers of their own, which hardware manufacturers can customize with features such as links to online manuals and troubleshooting tools. But unless companies invest the time to build useful Device Stages, this could be another Microsoft bright idea that doesn&#8217;t go much of anywhere. Also, parts of Device Stage look short on substance (giant photorealistic renderings of your peripherals!) and others look potentially irritating (printer companies hawking ink cartridges right inside your OS!). All in all, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;ll be a tragedy if Device Stage doesn&#8217;t catch on.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Is touch input a boon or a boondoggle?</strong> Windows 7 is the first version of the OS with special support for multitouch input — for example, if it notices that you&#8217;ve opened the Start menu with your finger rather than the mouse pointer, you&#8217;ll see a roomier version of the menu that takes less precision to navigate. Of course, all of that requires a multitouch-capable PC, and only a handful (such as the upscale HP TouchSmart) are on the market. Windows 7&#8242;s arrival might prompt a profusion of interesting new touch-enabled PCs — but even then, what we really need are interesting touch-enabled applications. (Microsoft&#8217;s touch demos have tended to feature such ho-hum uses as fingerpainting in Windows&#8217; own Paint program.)</p>
<h2><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">The bottom line</span></strong></h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Last year Microsoft tried to repair Windows Vista&#8217;s reputation by pretending it was a new OS code-named Mojave and getting focus-group subjects to say nice things about it. If the company had released a Vista back in 2007 that was as pleasant to use as Windows 7 is, the OS might never have had image problems in the first place.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Even when an OS upgrade is as appealing as this one, it makes sense to proceed with caution. Many of the people who grab Windows 7 at the first possible opportunity will be happy they did. But I suspect that some of the folks who wait a bit more — installing the new OS only after other people have discovered unexpected glitches with applications and drivers — will be even happier. And if you&#8217;re using an aging PC, it&#8217;s perfectly sensible to hold off on Windows 7 until you&#8217;re ready to buy a brand-new system that&#8217;s designed to run it well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>My advice for Windows users, then, is this:</strong> Get Windows 7, but on your own schedule. It&#8217;ll be ready when you are — and you&#8217;ll almost certainly consider it an improvement over whatever version of Windows you&#8217;re using now.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><strong> &#8211; By<em> Harry McCracken</em></strong> <img src="http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5576/sourcepcworld.gif" border="0" alt="" /></p>
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