5 Free Ways to Clean Up Your Computer
Whether it’s a virus, spyware, grayware, or other creepy-crawly in your computer thats making it act slow and sluggish, these 5 free programs are easy to download and install to fix the malady.
http://www.trendmicro.com/spyware-scan/
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware
A free online tool that will find and remove spyware. There is also a reporting tool to let you know what was found and let you decide how it removes the infection.
Symptoms of spyware infections:
Slow PC performance when opening programs or saving files
Unwanted pop-up windows
Browser homepage hijacked
Repeated change in your browser’s home page
Random error messages
New and unexpected toolbars in your browser
Updated: March 2006
Required: Microsoft(TM) Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
Supported Operating Systems: Microsoft(TM) Windows(TM) XP/2000
Note: This product is currently available in English only.
http://www.trendmicro.com/hc_intro/default.asp
Trend Micro HouseCall
Free web based virus scan that deals with viruses, worms, trojans, and spyware. It gives the user a detailed report that will show you the security threats and how to deal with them.
Trend Micro’s HouseCall requires the following minimum system components:
Hardware:
133MHz Intel(TM) Pentium(TM) processor or equivalent
64MB of RAM
At least 30MB of available disk space
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 98SE/NT4.0,SP6a/2000,SP2/XP,SP1/2003 and Windows MCE 2005
Linux Distributions that supports libc6
Solaris 2.6 and above
Software:
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 or later
Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5, 1.0.6, 1.0.7, 1.5
Mozilla 1.7.12
Display: Monitor that supports 800 x 600 resolution at 256 colors or higher
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http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
AVG Free for Windows
A free anti-virus that has been rated higher than McAfee at security. There are several auto-loading updates that will keep this fresh and dealing with the latest virus warnings.
Some of the highlights of AVG Free for Windows include:
Rapid virus database updates for the lifetime of the product
Easy of use
No system slow down
Automatic update functionality
The AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run
The AVG E-mail Scanner, which protects your e-mail
The AVG On-Demand Scanner, which allows you to perform scheduled and manual tests
The AVG Virus Vault for safe isolation and handling of infected files
AVG Free for Windows is NOT authorized or intended for:
Business or commercial use (including testing and evaluation)
Non-profit Organizations
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html
Spybot Search and Destroy
This free program checks for adware and system infections and will put new results formed into a tree so that you can instantly view information. It has an immunize feature that will block infections before they reach your computer. It is a must have for anyone that researches, chats, or downloads iffy programs on the web.
http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
Ad-Aware Personal SE
This free program scans drives, memory and the registry and goes after malware and grayware. It will log information it finds and provides good computer security by removing any keyloggers and other programs that put you at risk when you are online.
Features
Languages: Catalan, English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish,
French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian,
Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
File size: 2,7 MB
Delivery: Internet download only (no CD)
Requirements
Processor: P166
RAM: Operating system + 24 MB
Browser: Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
Operating system platforms: Windows 98/98se/Me/NT4
Workstation/NT4 Server/2000 Pro/2000 Server/XP
Home/XP Pro/ XP 64-Bit Edition/Terminal Services
