Is your computer secured? Is your security software up-to-date? Are your applications patched? Is your firewall properly configured and turned on? When was the last time you scanned for malware?  Are you the computer’s greatest security risk?

This is the last of a 5 part series, which covers both Windows and Macs.

This post is part 3 of a 5 part series. It addresses deleting unneeded items and organizing your hard drive files, for Windows and Macs.

Part 1 covers physical cleaning.
Part 2 covers uninstalling applications or stopping unneeded ones from auto loading at boot time.

Computers collect temporary files [...]

I outlined a five-part computer cleaning process in my post Spring cleaning for your computer. I only covered cleaning the physical machine there. This post will cover part 2: Uninstall applications or stop unneeded ones from auto loading at boot time.

Uninstalling applications

If you are like me you install lots of applications. [...]

We perform routine maintenance on many of our machines, cars, furnaces, or air conditioners, and neglect our computers. What do I mean by a computer cleaning? It is a five-part process:

Clean the physical machine. Uninstall applications or stop unneeded ones from auto loading at boot time. Delete unneeded items and organize your hard drive(s) [...]