Keeping Your Computer Safe from Infections

MALWARE SCANNING AND REMOVAL:

ANTI-VIRUS SCANNING

Downloading a Program:

Chances are, the anti-virus program that came with the computer has expired and is no longer updating. If that's true, uninstall all exisiting anti-virus program and then install a new one.

Get AVG-Free at http://free.avg.com/, specifically http://free.avg.com/us-en/download?prd=afg. "Download Now" takes you to a different site, but that's OK.

Be sure to stay on the FREE links. Do not get on the "Trial" versions unless you want to pay. (BTW, I pay. Grisoft licenses are for 2 years and are about the price of one year of other programs.)

Program Installation and First Run:

Double-click the downloaded exectable file. Follow the instructions.

Your Routine:

With the free version, be sure you are getting updates and if not, manually download and install.

With either the free or paid version, check the 4-color icon in the system tray (bottom right corner) to be sure the program is running, and occassionally double-click that icon and check to status to be sure the latest update is only a few days or few hours old.

WINDOWS UPDATE / MICROSOFT UPDATE

Initial Installation:

Use Internet Explorer to visit: http://update.microsoft.com/.

If the page is entitled "Windows Update", you should see a link near the top to "Microsoft Update". Click that link.

It's OK to install the "Active X" components.

Let the updates download and install. Reboot your computer.

Procede to "Your Routine" and repeat until there are no updates.

Your Routine:

Start | Microsoft Update

Scan for updates. In a few minutes, a list of updates appears.

On the left menu, find the "Select by Type" section. Notice that only the "High Priority" updates have been selected. Click the "Software Optional" section. You'll see a list of software updates. Click the checkbox next to each item you want to install. If you do not want to install an item, click the box with the "+" sign, then click the box next to "Don't show this update again."

Repeat the above step for "Hardware, Optional".

Note: Some updates must be downloaded one at a time.

Note: Usually, reboots are required between download sessions in order to install the updates.

Suggestions:

Choose the option to let the updates be downloaded automatically.

Be sure the program runs on Wednesday or Thursday after the second Tuesday of the month (which is when Microsoft releases updates.

Computer Maintenance

HARD DRIVE ERROR CHECKING (SCANDISK):

Installation:

This program comes with Windows.

Your Routine:

Double-click "My Computer". Then right-click on the C-Drive and choose "Properties".

Choose the "Tools" tab.

The first item is "Error Checking". Choose it.

Here are some options you want to choose:

• Automatically fix file system errors
• Scan for and attempt recover of bad sectors
• Click the "Start" button.
• The routine "exclusive use" of the hard drive, so you'll have to reboot before the scandisk starts.

Suggestion:

Run Scan Disk at least once a month, preferably before Degragmentation.

DEFRAGMENTATION:

Installation:

This program comes with Windows.

Your Routine:

Double-click "My Computer". Then right-click on the C-Drive and choose "Properties".

Choose the "Tools" tab.

The last item is defragmentation. Choose "Defragment Now".

Click the "Defragment" button. It's going to Analyze before it defragments, anyway.

Suggestion:

Run Defragmentaion once a month, preferably after Scandisk.

Resolution of Problems

BLUE SCREEN

Identifying the Error

About 3-4 lines down, there's a line with a few words connected by the underline character. Note exactly what that phrase is, for example "INVALID_PAGE_FAULT".

Near the bottom is the "STOP" error. It looks something like:
0x00000000 (0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)
Make a note of all those numbers. Notice they begin with "0x" followed by 8 digits (and leading zeros "pad" the number).

If there is a file name mentioned in the mesasge, note that, too.

There's an example of an error page at Wikipedia

Solving the Problem

Visit http://support.microsoft.com/ and search for the first phrase and the 0x number before the parenthesis.

It's usually the second 0x number inside the parenthesis that defines the error.

Read the information, and you can probably find out what to do.

Specific Issue: INVALID_PAGE_FAULT

Almost every time the "blue screen of death appears" it is associated with a "page fault" error. That means the memory is messed up. But, it's not actually your RAM at fault -- it's the "swap file" on the hard drive -- the "virtual memory". If you have less than 128MB of RAM, you probably cannot disable virtual memory.

Here's my procedure:

1. Click "Start". Click "Control Panel". Locate and double-click "System". Choose the "Advanced" tab. Under "Peformance", click the "Settings" button. Click this "Advanced" tab. Under "Virtual Memory", click the "Change" button. Click the circle for "No paging file." Then click the "Set" button.
2. You don't have to reboot your computer right now. You can wait until after your choose the "scandisk" routine in the next step.
3. Run the scandisk and defrag routines (described in the "Maintenance" section, above).
4. Renable virtual memory -- use the same procedure you used to disable, except choose "System managed size" instead of "No paging file".
5. Reboot your computer.

EXTREME PROBLEMS