How to fix computer freezing problem

Have you been noticing random freezes while working on your pc lately? Computer freezes or lock-ups could occur due to a number of reasons.

The most common ones are:-

System infected with Spyware/Adware or Viruses/Worms
If your system is infected with any of these and particularly one of deadlier ones, your system will eventually get a performance hit. You will notice slow-downs, sluggishness to a fairly good extent and even freezing. Freezing particularly when a malicious program tries to phone home or downloads something off the internet.

Since malware will invariably corrupt some of your files, usually important system files that are needed for certain processes, you may notice some programs randomly crashing or not starting at all.

How to fix: Install a comprehensive system protection suite updated to its latest version. Scan your system for spyware, viruses, trojans  etc. using one or more specialized programs.

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Corrupt or Bad RAM chip installed in machine
A bad computer memory chip can also cause freezing. Make sure the memory installed inside is working properly. Run a good memory testing utility on it. Memtest is one of the best I have come across. You can also try installing memory cards one at a time to isolate the faulty one.

Improper Hardware or OS tweaks
Freezing may occur if you have tweaks settings of your computer hardware like processor, FSB, RAM way more than they can handle. Improperly overclocked machine is not only unstable but also can wreck havoc on components.

Conflicting Audio-Video codecs or Device drivers
If you upgrade your audio video codecs, make sure you read install issues or conflicts in the documentation. Some of them can conflict with other programs or drivers and make system unstable and locking up at random intervals.

Running lots of programs on low resource system
If your system is low on resources like little memory or processing power, it is not a wise idea to work with multiple programs simultaneously. You will end up wasting time. Memory intensive programs ultimately will take up all the resources and make other programs close to ‘not responding state.’ Better upgrade.

Unwanted startup programs, services and scheduled scans running in background
You may overlook it, a scheduled virus scan running in background can make a system extremely non-responsive. Same goes for all the unnecessary programs that keep sitting in the system tray and hog on resources.

How to fix: Goto Start -> Run, type msconfig hit Return to open the System Configuration utility dialog box. Here, on the Services and Startup clear the check boxes of the services and processes you do not want to load at system startup. Restart to make changes.

Technorati Tags: computer freezing, memtest, spyware, adware, malware, viruses, worms, random lockups, bad memory, corrupt RAM, msconfig utility

Finding computer memory type & increasing PC performance

We all know a RAM (computer memory) is one of the best ways to increase pc performance. You hook up new memory chip, start the pc and difference is visible. People are mostly confused about what type RAM to get to make computer run faster and better.

A motherboard is made to accept only a particular type of memory. You put in a different type and chances are it’ll not even boot. Mostly a different type chip wouldn’t even fit.

How would you find what memory works in your motherboard?
It is pretty easy. The best way is to pull an existing chip and read off the label. There will be part number and all other numbers mentioned over it (most of them have). They will give you a clear indication. You can then search that part number on google or any other search engine.

Second way is knowing make and model of your computer and then searching for its’ specification on the manufacturer’s website or other sites. And, if you are lucky, you will find out its memory type.

Third method is using some software diagnostic utility to find out information about computer’s hardware. For memory cpuz is sufficient. It detects almost all the required information under its Mainboard and SPD tabs.

So go upgrade your computer and save on time!

Technorati Tags: compute memory, pc performance, cpuz, mainboard, computer model

Free Software to secure pc

Now I am going to list few essential software that can help you make your computer more secure online provided they are properly configured. Proper configuration is important otherwise the software may just be useless.

Firewall:- Zone Alarm is recommended. Free version is decently powered to protect your internet connected machine from malicious online threats and attacks. Download here.

Antivirus: I am not a big fan of AVAST antivirus. I find AVG better. It comes with a resident shield that protects your machine in real time plus there is a built-in email scanner which is good enough to ward off email threats. Download AVG antivirus free edition here.

Antispyware: Anti-spyware software has become a must have these days. I prefer AVG antispyware as a scanner. Download here. A single antispyware solution is not enough. You must have atleast two or three of them. The other two are:-

Ad-Aware free & Spybot Search & Destroy.

Now by installing and updating the above security solutions, you have made your computer good enough secure. If you want to go a step ahead, download these additional security utilities as well…

Ccleaner:- To optimize system, removing junk files, cleaning traces thereby increasing privacy. Download CCleaner.

System Security Suite Utility:- It is a little nifty utility that also helps you remove internet tracks and junk files from your computer easily. It allows you to delete Cookies, clear Internet Explorer Cache, delete index.dat Files, clear Typed URLs, Windows Temp Folder and much more. Download system security suite freeware here.

Other free pc security software that you must take a look at is listed on pcsecurityworld.com. I recommend you download Xp-antispy and Spysites from there.

Securing your internet browser:- Your browser is more secure if you keep it updated to its latest version, be it internet explorer, mozilla firefox or Opera. There are some good security extensions for firefox as well as addons for internet explorer. I will walk you through securing browser later in a detailed article. Till the next post, happy securing your pc!

Security Programs checklist for normal home user

If the installed operating system is Windows.  Make sure you have the following:

• Updated and patched copy of windows, updated to its latest service pack with all the critical & other security updates installed.
• Separate password protected accounts for each user. Guest account functionality turned off it not specifically required.
•  A decent antivirus software installed with updated virus definitions. Without an updated virus database, it is almost useless.
• A decent firewall working in background.
• A good-quality antispyware software installed.  It also must be updated to its latest.
• A properly configured internet browser with all the necessary patches and security fixes.

and last A computer security conscious YOU!