A common gift for students heading off to college these days is a shiny new laptop, equipped with all the latest and greatest hardware $1,000 or more can buy. Yet I've noticed here at Brandeis that most of these cutting-edge powerhouses fail to outperform even my old Dell desktop, which was given to me several years ago because it had been struck by lightning. Why is this? The simple answer is that viruses, spyware and bloatware, or unecessary programs, have become an epidemic on Windows computers, causing even the fastest hardware to perform like it was ten years old, not to mention posing a massive security risk. In this article I will provide you with tips to combat this trend by both preventing and removing these threats from your PC. My hope is that after following my instructions your computer will remain safe, clean and fast again, and you will avoid being extorted out of $70 by Library and Technology Services (LTS) because your computer is "unsafe."


Viruses

The best tactic to combat viruses is to prevent them from infiltrating your computer in the first place. But, if one does manage to slip by, removal is fairly straightforward. Brandeis provides a free copy of Norton Antivirus, so take advantage of it and scan your computer frequently. Viruses usually have to be opened by the user in order to infect a PC, so vigilance is the best method of prevention.

The most common virus around campus right now is the AIM virus, which can be easily avoided by not clicking on links in instant messages unless you ask the person about it first. If he or she doesn't respond, don't click it. You should scan all email attachments from friends, avoid those from unknown sources all together and never run a program file that came as an attachment. Do not run program files from file-sharing programs like Limewire either.

When you are on the Web and one of those "Security Warning -Do you trust this company?" messages comes up, the answer is NO, unless you are at a completely 100 percent trusted site like Windows Update or WebCT.


Adware/Spyware

Less malicious than viruses, but far more of a performance problem, adware and spyware are mainly designed to show you unwanted ads and steal personal info. To remove them, I would recommend using the two tools I mentioned last month: Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy, both of which can be downloaded from download.com. The best strategy is to boot into Safe Mode by restarting, pressing F8 before the Windows logo appears and choosing "Safe Mode w/ Networking" from the menu. Install both applications, update them, and scan for and remove any adware found, then restart.

The best way to prevent adware-period-is to use the Firefox Web browser (www.mozilla.org) instead of Internet Explorer, as it stops most of the nasty programs that IE lets through.

Another effective tool against spyware is a firewall, which controls what applications can access the Internet. The best free firewall by far is ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com) so download and install it and your computer will be much safer. However, be aware: the first time you run any program that needs to use the Internet, ZoneAlarm will ask if you want to allow it. Click "Yes" and "Remember This" for trusted apps like AIM and Firefox, but if a program tries to access the Internet while you aren't doing anything, disallow it.


Bloatware

These days retail computers and free programs like AIM and Kazaa come bundled with a ton of crap you'll never use that weighs down performance. Sometimes you can uncheck them during installation, or remove them in the Add/Remove Programs panel, but more often than not you are stuck with them.

There is an effective method of ridding yourself of this garbage but it is advanced and should be done at your own risk. Go to Start>Run and type "msconfig." Click on the last tab, called "Startup." This shows a list of all the programs that start up when your computer does. In my experience, they are all completely optional, and are not needed for your system to function normally. Click "Disable All" and restart. When Windows loads again, check the box in the window and click OK; you should notice a significant performance boost.


If all else fails...

If your computer has been so completely damaged by malware that it is just hopeless, the best idea is to format, meaning reinstall Windows. Make sure all your important data is backed up first. If you are an advanced user, you can insert the system disks that came with your computer and reinstall the system. If you want a completely clean system and would prefer someone else did it for you, LTS will do it for about $70.

Remember, no matter what happens to your computer, it can always be restored to a like-new state by re-formatting. So good luck; I hope my tips keep your PCs running clean for at least this semester.