Increase Computer Speed (Clean Up uC)

Is your PC running slow?
Keeping PC free of clutter can help in performance and can also increase valuable disk space.
Here are a few simple Steps for maintaining the performance of PC.

Run the Windows Live OneCare clean up scan

The clean up scanner itself checks hard disk for any unnecessary files and gives the option to delete them. Run the clean up scan in performing a disk cleanup—or run the complete full service scan to check for other PC issues as well.

Clear Internet browser cache

The clean up scanner handles most frequent types of temporary files, but Internet browser automatically caches, or stores, another type of temporary file while surfing the Internet. Browsers like Internet Explorer save copies of the Web pages visited in order to load these pages faster while visiting those sites next time. Outside of speeding up browsing, still, browser does not require this cache of temporary files in order to operate properly. Since most of the Web sites have large graphics, clearing out browser's cache can save important hard disk space.
To clear cache in internet explorer
1.      Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
2.      Select the General tab, and then click Delete Files in the Temporary Internet files section.
3.      In the Delete Files dialog box that appears, select Delete all offline content, and then click OK.
If it's the first time clearing the cache, or it's been a long while dumped the cache and the file accumulation is large, deleting these files might take several minutes. When the cache is cleared, click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

Remove unused programs

Just because of using a program doesn't mean it isn't consuming resources and affecting PC's performance. Removing unused programs from hard disk is an easy way to maintain system and maximize available hard disk space.
To remove the unwanted programs
1.      Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.      In this View, click Add or Remove Programs, then click Remove a program.
3.      Scroll through the list and look at each program. Windows XP lists how often the program is used and what day it was last started.

4.      Click the unwanted programs, and click Change/Remove, and then follow the prompts to uninstall it.
Then restart the computer after removing a program. After the computer is restarted, repeat this process to remove more programs.

Remove the optional Windows components

Remove optional Windows components from PC to free up space. Many components come normal with Windows, but may not use them frequently. Reinstall these components from Windows CD if it’s not needed later on.
In order to add or remove a Windows component:
1.      Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.      In this View, click Add or Remove Programs, then click Add a program.
3.      On the left hand side of the menu, click Add/Remove Windows Components.
4.      Follow the commands in the Windows Components Wizard.

Modify System Restore data
Windows XP provides the option to restore PC to a previous state by manually saving restore information. System Restore continuously monitors PC for changes, like file changes, application changes, or installations. System Restore takes a "snapshot" of PC at a given point of time and then stores each of these snapshots so that it can turn back any changes to a period before experiencing any problems.
These snapshots of whole system take up memory space. Delete older snapshots which are not required in order to clean up hard disk.

To delete System Restore snapshots except for the latest one:
1.      Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Disk Cleanup.
2.      Wait till the Disk Cleanup calculates free disk space.
3.      Click the More Options tab, in the System Restore area, and then click Clean up.
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Firewall configuration help for additional network security

A firewall helps to keep your computer more secure with additional security mechanism. A firewall restricts information that comes to your computer from other computers and gives you control over the data on your computer.

Additionally, a firewall provides defense against hackers or inappropriate programs, including viruses and worms that try to connect to your computer without any invitation.

Firewall act as a barrier that checks all information, also known as traffic, which comes from the Internet or from a different network. The Firewall is a medium between your network and out side world (Internet). The firewall either turns traffic away or let it pass through to your computer, depending on your firewall settings.

In Microsoft XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may turn off or turn on the WindowsFirewall. By default, Windows Firewall is always turned on for all the network interfaces. This is the configuration which provides network protection on new Windows XP installations and upgrades. This default configuration also helps you to protect your computer from the new network connections as and when they add to the system.

Although Windows Firewall is always turned on by default, but some computer manufacturers and the network administrators may turn the firewall off. You may not have to use Windows Firewall. You may install and run any of the firewall that you want. Firewall can be of software level or hardware level. Network admins favorite is hardware firewall as it provides more security. One can choose firewall according to the requirement. If you decide to install and run any other firewall, turn off the Windows Firewall.

How to configure Windows Firewall settings
Statutory Warning This workaround can make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this but are providing this information to you so that you can implement it at your own discretion. You can use this workaround at your own risk.

To examine and configure your firewall settings, you can follow these steps:

1.) First Click on Start, then click on Run, and type wscui.cpl & then click OK.

2.) In Windows Security Center, click on Windows Firewall.

Windows Firewall will include the following tabs:
● General
● Exceptions
● Advanced

The General tab will have the following settings:
● On (recommended)
● Don't allow exceptions
● Off (not recommended)

When you click on don’t allow exceptions, Windows Firewall will block all requests to connect to your computer, including requests from all programs or services that are listed on the Exceptions tab. The firewall will also block discovery of network devices, file sharing, and printer sharing.

They don’t allow exceptions option is helpful when you have to connect to a public network, such as one that is linked with an airport or with a hotel. This setting will help to protect your computer by blocking all the attempts to connect to your computer.

When you are using Windows Firewall with no exceptions, you can still view the Web pages, send and receive your e-mail, or use an instant messaging program.

The Exceptions tab allows you to add program and port exceptions to permit certain types of inbound traffic. You can also set a scope for every exception.

For home and small office networks, we will recommend that you can set the scope to the local network only, if it is feasible. This configuration enables all computers on the same subnet to connect to program, but drops all the traffic that originates from a remote network.

The Advanced tab let you configure the following:
● Connection-specific rules apply for each network interface.
● The Security Logging configuration.
● Global Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) rules which apply to ICMP traffic. (This traffic is used for the error and status information transmission.)
● Default settings. 

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