How to keep your computer safe, reliable, and fast!

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This guide is 100% written by me.

Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware.

Ok, so we've all seen those guides where they tell you to buy those big expensive home protection packages. I will be the first one to tell you. Spending upwards of $50 for protection is not needed!

Anti-Virus

Avira AntiVir Personal - FREE Antivirus
This has to be one of the best free anti-viruses out there. I didn't go with AVG Free or Avast because they take up too much processor speed. And AVG''s Anti-Spyware is week.[*]AntiVir protection against viruses, worms and Trojans[*]AntiDialer protection against expensive dialers[*]AntiRootkit protection against hidden rootkits[*]Faster Scanning up to 20% faster[*]New User Interface[*]AntiPhishing protection against phishing
Download Avira Free

Notice it does not have Anti-Spyware. So for this we will use...

Anti-Spyware

Spybot - Search & Destroy
All of the info is on the following link
The home of Spybot-S&D!
I don't have much to add. Except that TeaTimer uses quite a bit of memery and CPU. "A realtime protection software utilized by spybot search and destroy. Helps guard against known ad goblins" So I would not recommend terminating it.[*]Removal of adware and spyware[*]Removal of dialers[*]Removal of keyloggers[*]Removal of trojans and other baddies[*]Removal of usage tracks
More features here
Download Spybot-S&D here

Driver updates

Updating your drivers is a must. By doing so, it can increase performance on just about every aspect of your computer. But the problem is how? I don't want to spend hours lurking around the internet looking for each and every driver. Another thing you may not know is if you are using a pirated windows. It may not always detect all of the drivers and have the correct drivers. So what can you do?

DriverMax
Wow! This is a life saver for not so tech literate people. Also if you are planning on upgrading your video card or anything else. It gives you must-have info about what you are planning on purchasing.[*]Download driver updates[*]Back up your drivers[*]Get detailed reports about each computer component and driver[*]Check for driver updates[*]Get detailed hardware information before purchasing[*]Share your computer's hardware and driver information with your friends
Download DriverMax!
Note. Before you can download updated drivers. You must first upload all of your current drivers. So it's sort of a give and receive deal. It does this automatically.

Optimization
So are you tired of going into your temp folder every so often and deleting everything? And thinking those are the only temp files? Well here is a fix for you!

CCleaner
"CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast"[*]Cleans all major browsers from temp files, cookies, and more![*]Registery Cleaner[*]Uninstaller[*]Cleans third-party applications
More features here
Download CCleaner here!

OR

Innovative System Optimizer
Works better than CCleaner. But it only has a 30 day free trial. Then you have to buy it. Has more features and is pretty much over all better than CCleaner. Both work though!

Features and download here!

Everything listed here is either freeware or has a long trial. Enjoy!

These are widely used programs. With huge feedback. If you still want a virus scan please say so!