Almost all households today own either of a PC, laptop or a netbook or all of them. Computers, as they can be broadly categorized as, have become a necessity of the modern day household and life.
With the emergence of internet and multimedia content (audio and visual) as necessities of the present age, one can no longer ignore the need of a computer for any purpose whatsoever. An operating system is the most important piece of software that your computer’s hardware is running and you should always do your best to maximize its performance. Listed here are 4 tips on how you can go about doing that and also ensuring your cyber security.
Automatic Updates
Whatever is the operating system that you are using (Windows, Apple, Linux, etc) it needs to be updated from time to time. Developers release updates for these operating systems at regular intervals. These updates usually deliver patches and fixes for various bugs and security problems that have been identified for your operating system over time. Manu users disable automatic updates for saving on internet bandwidth, but the reality is these updates are very important and not having them might result in grave problems for you later.
Antivirus Software
You should always have a full version of an original antivirus software running on your system for protecting your operating system from various attacks of viruses, Trojans and identity thieves while using the internet. You are advised to use antivirus software even when you are not using the internet and working offline. The antivirus software must be updated regularly to the latest virus definitions as new viruses and other malwares are detected every day and your software must be able to recognize them.
Services and Start-up Programmes
A number of services (which can be defined as functions for operating various features of your operating system) and software are set to start up when your computer is booted. The problem is the more number of services and software you have listed for start-up, the longer it will take for your computer to boot and thus it results in poor functioning of your system. You can type ‘msconfig’ in the ‘Run’ box of your Windows operating system and see a list of these available services and software scheduled for start-up along with a description. You can use this box to enable or disable these thus hugely improving your computer’s performance.
Avoid unwanted Software and Games
Many of us have a tendency of overloading our computers with unwanted software and computer games even if we don’t use them. The mentality behind it is ‘what if I need it’. Identify the purposes that your computer serves and get rid of these extra software and games. Even if they are not used, they use up precious system resources for their storage.
There are many more advanced guides for tweaking your computer for optimal performance. But these are the very basics of the advanced teaks and can be your stepping stone for those.