Everybody knows that the Registry is a vital Windows component. If it becomes corrupt, you are bound to start getting serious problems with your computer. That’s why it’s so important to keep the Windows Registry healthy and optimized.

1. First of all, make regular backups of the Registry. Just like any other backup it will offer you some comfort, because you will be able to restore the Registry in case something bad happens to it.

2. Keep the Registry clean. You don’t want it to get cluttered with empty keys and missing references, because that can cause problems, such as slow and freezing computer. You can use our free Registry Cleaner to do the job.

Also keep the Registry as compact as possible, so that the disk space taken up by the Registry is optimized too.

3. Another thing worth doing is disassociating the .reg file extension from the Registry editor. This will help protect you from malware. By default .reg files are opened by regedit.exe, so it’s quite easy for malware to mess up the Registry. On the other hand, if .reg files are opened with Notepad by default, you are safe.

In Windows XP:

1. Open Windows Explorer and go to Tools
2. Select the File Types tab and  find the .reg file extension
3. Select it and click Change
4. Select Notepad as the default program to open .reg files and click OK

In Windows Vista:

1. Click Start and select Default Programs
2. Select Associate a file type or protocol with a program
3. 
4. Find the .reg file extension and click Change Program
5. Open Other Programs and select Notepad
6. Click OK and then Close

Remember that keeping the Registry well optimized prolongs your computer’s life and makes it run faster and more stable.