PC Memoirs

Every PC should have a good Registry cleaning program. It’s just as important for the Windows system as antivirus or antispyware programs. If you don’t use registry repair software, you are running the risk of experiencing error messages, Windows crashes and slow PC performance. A healthy registry is important to keep the system running without problems and as efficiently as possible.

Besides using this software, there is not much an average PC user can do to prevent damage to the registry, as it can get damaged for many different reasons. It usually has to do with references left behind after removal of programs, incorrect uninstallations of programs, missing/corrupt drivers or virus/spyware intrusions. The result is often an increased size of the registry which slows the system down as Windows needs more time to load and search data.

Therefore, you should install and use registry repair software. Here is my selection of top 10 registry cleaning programs:

1. Ccleaner
2. Registry Mechanic
3. Eusing Registry Cleaner
4. Abexo
5. RegCure
6. Registry Patrol
7. Registry Booster
8. CleanMyPC
9. Amust Registry Cleaner
10. Registry Fix

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With the increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and millions of people taking part in the new Internet phenomenon every day, it’s probably a good idea to learn about the dangers involved and things you can do to protect yourself from them. I’m sure many of you have heard about the negative sides of social networking, one of which is exposing your identity online. By joining the network, potentially thousands or millions of people can access, view and steal your (private) information. Some dangers include: virus and spyware attacks, hacking, stealing information, cyber-stalking and assuming false identities with intent to gain something from you.

I have found some interesting tips that may help you protect yourself and your family from harm:

1. Be careful with links you click – they could lead you to fraudulent web sites or sites which contain illegal material or malicious software.

2. Be sure that the message you receive is really from the person it says it’s from – maybe someone else sent you a message, pretending to be one of your contacts with the intent to gain access to your PC, online accounts or to find out where you live.

3. Don’t allow social networking services to scan your email address book – you don’t want to give away any of the email addresses of your contacts.

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If you are a laptop owner and you use your laptop outside of your home, you probably expect it to work as long as possible on one battery charge. I know that battery life was one of the main criteria when I was looking to buy my first laptop few years ago. You don’t want to drag your AC adapter everywhere and sometimes you won’t find a power point to plug it in. I’ve been lucky, because my LG laptop has a decent battery and it holds its charge for over one hour even after 3 years of use.

Some people are not that lucky and their laptop batteries empty their juice in a very short time, and the laptop doesn’t even have to be very old. The worst case I saw is in one of my friend’s HP laptops, which is only a year old. The battery held its charge for 1 minute! Yes, just ONE minute! Needless to say, he had to replace it as this malfunction is not covered by warranty.

If you want to make sure your battery is used as efficiently and as long as possible on one charge, please take a look at some of these tips:

1. Turn off devices and programs that you don’t use all the time, for example your wireless card, bluetooth connection and remove all icons from the taskbar that you don’t use regularly.

2. Stay out of extreme temperatures. Do not use your laptop when it’s very hot or cold.

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Have you ever seen Windows error messages that display 3, 4 or 5 digit error codes, such as error #1056, or error #690 and so on? Do you know what they mean?

Usually the error message comes with a “More Information” link, which leads you to a Help page explaining why the error occurred. Once you find out what the code represents, you can also find out what you can do to get rid of it. But this link doesn’t always offer the solution to the problem.

Sometimes the error has to do with network connections or with an application that you tried to run or with a service that isn’t enabled. The reasons can be many, but what you need is a solution to such a problem.

Did you know that there are Web sites that list all Windows Error Codes, where you can see common errors and the corresponding solutions? I found several which might be helpful:

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If you are not happy with your broadband connection and think it should be faster, then you should try a few things to improve the speed or find out why it’s not performing better.

First, you should know what kind of connection you have and what speeds you can expect. You can find this through your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the company that gives you Internet connection. Most common connections today are DSL, Cable and Wireless. For example, if you have a 20Mbps connection, you should be able to download with speeds of up to 2MB/sec (over 2000kb per sec). Or if you have a 1.5Mbps connection, then you can download only up to 150kb/sec. Cable speeds vary and can be affected by all sorts of factors (your home’s location for example).

1. Test your actual speed at speedtest.net. This service will show your current speed accurately. In my last test I was able to achieve a speed of around 8Mbps. My ISP claims that it supports speeds of up to 24Mbps, so I should probably do something about this.

2. Next, test your modem. If you are not happy with the speed, maybe the modem is slow. To be sure, try to find a spare one (borrow one from a neighbor or a friend) and see if that one offers faster speeds.

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