Sometimes it seems that no-matter what protection you have for you computer, it’s not enough. Everyday, new ways to exploit vulnerabilities are discovered and there’s always someone looking to cash in on the deal. This site isn’t really about how to deal with exploits, patching your system or the best way to secure your system, although we will touch on that in some articles, we want to keep the focus on how to recover from an attack and how to maintain your computer yourself.
So, your computer's messed up, what do you do?
I always start with a quick cleanup of the start-up programs then delete all the temporary files and finish up the cleanup with registry scrubbing. After these are all done, about 75% of the problems I’ve encountered have been squashed. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. Other times, it’s a lot more involved and you have to think like a detective to track down the true root causes of the problem.
I want to be perfectly clear here. I'm not going to tell you everything there is to know about computers and how to fix them. You'd just find that boring. After all, I learned everything I know through years of field work and getting my hands dirty. When I first started messing with computers I couldn't tell you how many times I messed up my own machines. It's through fixing them that I know what I know. This site is designed as a, "This is what I do first when fixing computers". Your mileage may vary.
We’ll start off with the quick cleanup routine. Like I mentioned, it fixes 75% of the problems I encounter. Also in terms of general maintenance, performing the quick cleanup regularly will keep your computer running quickly. Often, faster then when you first bought it.
