Part Two

In my previous post I’ve used Auslogics Antivirus as an example to show you some basic ways to configure your antivirus software for maximum performance. Today I’m going to tell you how to fine-tune Auslogics Antivirus, so that it becomes even faster and lighter on system resources.

1. Tune-up Real-time Protection

All antiviruses offer real-time protection. This means that everything that happens on your computer is monitored and analysed by your antivirus. But keep in mind that your computer performs thousands of operations every second and there is nothing suspicious about most of them. Basically, there is no need for your antivirus to scan everything all the time. So why not disable functions that are not needed.

First of all let’s configure real-time protection so that it doesn’t scan everything. To do that:

1. Open Auslogics Antivirus
2. Click on the Antivirus tab and then go to the Shield tab
3. 
4. Click on the Custom Level button. This will open the Real Time Protection Settings window.
5. 
6. Select the Scan Programs radio button. This way the antivirus will stop monitoring safe files, like text documents.
7. Now select Do not scan files greater than… Specify 10240 in the field that will appear. This way your antivirus won’t monitor files larger than 10MB. Viruses are small files, so it doesn’t make any sense to check large files, e.g movies or songs, for infections.

Some people also disable network shares and http traffic scans, but I don’t recommend it, because most infections come from the Internet and local networks.

2. Schedule Scans

Pretty much all antiviruses have an option to schedule scans. Most of the time this option is already enabled. By default scans are scheduled for midnight, which isn’t very useful, because most people’s computers are switched off. If that’s the case with your antivirus settings, then you miss out on daily antivirus scans and jeopardise your computer security.

The solution is simple – re-schedule daily scans:

1. Open the main window and go to Antivirus
2. Go to the Virus Scan tab and double-click Deep System Scan
3. 
4. Go to Scheduler and specify the time when you want to run daily system scans. I usually have a break between 3pm and 4pm, so I scheduled scans for that time slot.
5. 
6. Now go to Overview and enable the Minimize to tray option. This way the antivirus won’t annoy you while performing scans.

3. Use Game and Laptop Modes

Auslogics Antivirus has a unique feature called Game Mode. So, if you’re a gamer, enable this option. Here’s how:

1. Open Auslogics Antivirus main window
2. Go to the Game/Laptop Mode tab and select Automatic Game Mode is enabled
3. 
4. Don’t forget to tick the Enter game mode when in full screen checkbox

Now Auslogics Antivirus will be gentle on system resources whenever you start playing a game or watching a movie.

If you are a laptop user and your laptop runs on battery quite often, make sure Laptop Mode is enabled. You can check that by opening the Game/Laptop Mode tab.

Now your antivirus software is configured for best performance without jeopardising PC protection. Its real-time protection only checks files that could be infected, so that it doesn’t waste system resources, and scheduled daily scans will ensure that your computer stays healthy. And anyway, now you know where all the settings are, so you can keep tweaking and optimizing your antivirus.

If you still don’t have any antivirus software installed, you can download Auslogics Antivirus here. Other good antiviruses can be found here.

Part One

This day and age it’s absolutely crucial to have good antivirus software installed on your computer to protect your operating system and your personal data. Developers offer us dozens of solutions, all of which have extensive functionality and loads of features and options. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But there are a couple of drawbacks -  most antiviruses are pretty heavy on system resources when using default settings and not very easy to configure to fit your particular needs. As a result, a lot of people get so frustrated, that they either disable or uninstall their security software. Then they catch numerous infections and have to deal with the consequences.

Luckily, there is a better solution. Most antiviruses allow you to configure them to your liking. In this post I’m going to describe the best ways to configure and optimize Auslogics Antivirus, but you can use my advice to configure pretty much any antivirus software.

1. Choose Advanced User Interface Mode

First of all you’ll need to switch the user interface to Advanced mode. That way all customization options will become available. To choose Advanced mode:

1. Find Auslogics Antivirus tray icon (red triangle) and right-click on it
2. Go to Basic Setting
3. Find and select Advanced Mode
4. 
5. Click Apply and click OK

2. Disable Unneeded Components

Like a lot of other programs, Auslogics Antivirus protects your computer from nearly all possible security threats.  It monitors all system components and all ways malware uses to get installed onto your PC. This boosts your protection levels, but also slows down your computer. The solution is to decide which antivirus components you need and disable the rest.

For example, if you only use web based email from known providers (like Gmail), you can safely disable email scans, because all attachments get scanned anyway. Most anti-viruses use a special service to scan emails, so disabling those scans will help you free up RAM.

Here’s how you can disable email scans in Auslogics Antivirus:

1. Open Auslogics Antivirus
2. Go to the Shield tab and click on the Custom Level button
3. 
4. Then uncheck the relevant checkboxes
5. 
6. Click OK

If you don’t use any IM programs, then it will make sense to disable antiphishing protection for Yahoo and Live messengers. Just go to the main program window and uncheck the relevant checkboxes. You can also disable antiphishing for browsers that you’ve got installed, but never use (I almost never use IE).

However, if you use IM programs a lot, it’s best to ensure that they are well protected – it’s way too easy to get infected through such programs. And what’s worse, you will never suspect a thing. You might get infected through a file sent to you by a friend or a relative, if their computer is already infected.

To ensure that your IMs are protected:

1. Open Auslogics Antivirus and click on the Shield tab
2. Click on the Custom Level button
3. Check the Scan Files sent/received over IM checkbox

If you are really concerned about your chat privacy, you might want to enable encryption. To do that, click on the Encryption tab on the left hand side and make sure encryption is enabled.

Anyway, back to optimizing your antivirus.

3. Exclude Safe Folders

I’m sure that you have folders with photos, music, and movies saved on your hard drive. Most of them will have either a lot of files, or pretty large files (or both).  If your antivirus software scans these folders every time it performs a routine scan, it must be taking ages to complete.

Well, let me tell you that it’s highly unlikely to get a virus into one of those folders. And even if you do, you are bound to notice it immediately. So why not add them to the exclusions list and speed up scans? Just be sensible and don’t exclude too many folders.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Open the program and click on the Antivirus tab on the left hand side
   
2. Then click on the Exclusions tab
3. Make sure that exclusions are enabled
4. Click on the “+” sign
5. 
6. Select Do not scan files or folders and click Next
7. Select files and folders you don’t want to be scanned and click Next
   
8. 
9. Now select when not to scan those files and folders – on the right hand side select On-demand, On-access, or Both
10. Click Next

I have more tips to share with you, but I think that’s enough for one post. Look out for Part 2.

TBC

Image by mtellin

Netbooks are great, especially if you are on the move, or you’re a student, or just want to be able to browse the Internet  and be able to do some work from anywhere. And you don’t want to be carrying a big heavy laptop with you. That’s the case with me – I travel a lot and got really tired of dragging my laptop during the day and my shoulder aching in the evening!

Some people say that netbook are only for browsing the web and running lightweight applications. Of course, that’s partly true, but you can always enhance your netbook experience with a little optimization.

1. First of all, if you’re getting (or already have) a netbook with a 3-cell battery, get a second one or a 6-cell one instead. A 3-cell battery won’t last long enough, which doesn’t really go with the “on the go” idea. This is not really an optimization tip, but will save you a lot of trouble nevertheless.

2. Some netbooks are running Vista. If that’s the case with you, I’d recommend downgrading to XP. Vista is not the OS for netbooks.

3. Upgrade RAM, if your netbook has the capacity. Some of them can be upgraded to 2GB, which is not bad at all and matches some larger laptops specs.

4. Uninstall try-and-buy applications that come pre-installed on some netbooks. Most likely you will never need them and they are only demos anyway.

5. Configure your startup list. The more programs are loading on startup, the longer your netbook takes to boot. Go to Start - Run - type in msconfig – hit Enter and review your startup list.

6. Disable unnecessary services. You don’t want them to waste system resources! One way to do it is to click Start - Run - type in msconfig and hit Enter. Then go to the Services tab and disable what you don’t need. A good list of Windows services can be found here. Be careful and don’t disable any vital services. And backup first!

The easier way to disable services is to download Auslogics BoostSpeed and run Service Manager. It gives you detailed description of each service and advises you which ones are safe to disable and which ones are not.

7. Use the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup tool (Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup) to get rid of junk files. You can’t afford to waste disk space, especially if your netbook has an SSD.

8. Download free Auslogics Registry Cleaner and Auslogics Disk Defrag. Both are lightweight and will help you keep your Registry and disks in top form.

9. If you are like me and Firefox is your web browser, use small toolbar icons. Right-click on the toolbar – click Customize - a new window will open – check the Use Small Icons checkbox.

10. Another tip for Firefox users -  press F11 when you need more space. All toolbars and the status bar will disappear. You won’t have any problems if you want to access tabs – just put your cursor on top of the screen and your tabs will reappear. I found this quite handy when browsing through photos or looking at maps.

Cleaning the Windows Registry in an essential part of computer maintenance because having a clean Registry means having a fast and stable computer. A great way to get rid of Registry junk is to run Auslogics Registry Cleaner – a totally free Registry maintenance tool.

What is the Registry?

Windows Registry is a database that stores Microsoft Windows settings and options. It contains all the information for all hardware, operating system software, other software, and user settings – for example, all user profiles, the applications installed, the type of documents they create and so on.

Why Clean the Registry?

The Registry is one of the most vital and the most vulnerable to errors part of a computer. Programs access the Registry thousands of times per second and new registry entries are created whenever new software or hardware is installed. Most programs delete their entries when they are uninstalled, but some applications leave a lot of their registry keys behind. That’s how invalid entries mount up and the Registry becomes cluttered with unused and corrupted keys and references. As a result the system needs more time to access the Registry and find the entries it needs, which causes dramatic computer slow-downs.

Among other things that can lead to Registry problems are poorly written applications, incorrect program uninstalls, and bloated browser cache. All this can cause system errors, crashes, and failures. That’s why it’s extremely important to keep the Registry in top form by regularly cleaning all the junk and fixing all the errors that accumulate over time.

How to Clean the Registry?

Cleaning the Registry is now as simple as opening a Word document. All you have to do is launch Auslogics Registry Cleaner, select the categories to scan, scan the Registry for errors, and fix them. Of course you could do it the hard way and delete what you think is not needed manually, but that is really dangerous, because you can delete files that are needed by the system to boot and work properly.

Backup First!

Always backup your Registry before cleaning it. That way you will never have to worry about software accidentally deleting a valid entry. Use the Restore changes radio button in Auslogics Registry Cleaner to undo any changes made by the program. Also you can backup your Registry manually. Read this article to learn how to do it on an XP system.

Clean the Registry regularly – for example once a month – and your computer will run fast and stable.