You need to clean your computer - now more than ever!

 Most people these days are using their computers more than they ever have to surf the web and for work related tasks. It is very important to maintain your computer's performance and security by doing some clean up and updating to protect yourself against hackers that can exploit your operating system, view all of your files and where you have been on the web.
If you browse around the files in your computer before you perform a computer clean up, you will find records of websites that you visited and cookies stored throughout several locations in your PC, which provide websites with information about you.  You will also discover documents both new and old that you have in your files or may have deleted but they are still on your hard drive.

InfoTank can help you perform a thorough clean up by connecting to your computer remotely at a time that is convenient for you.  Please contact us through your normal support channels or by calling our operations hotline at: (404) 491-1740.  We are always happy to help!

There are a number of things that should be done to clean up your computer and protect yourself against hackers that compromise your operating system with spyware so that they can view your information.

Clear your Browsing History
When you browse the Internet, your computer logs all of the websites you have visited. If these files are not deleted, anyone with unauthorized access to your operating system can view your browsing history.

Clean up Cookies
Cookies are files that originate from websites that you have visited. Every time you visit a website it installs a cookie into your PC that remembers your name, your shopping preferences, items of interest, and other information about you. Hackers often use cookies to find out sensitive information about you.

Delete Temporary Internet Files
Temporary Internet Files store a wide variety of information from websites that you visited. The information includes website pictures, links, sound files, and any other type of component from the website. All of these files are stored on your PC every time you visit a website. Temporary Internet Files are also known as a cache which can be viewed by anyone with unauthorized access to your PC's operating system.

Review your Documents
Microsoft Windows contains a feature that stores documents you recently worked on in the Start menu. Anyone who accesses your computer can view the files and if they contain sensitive information, this can present a problem.

Run antivirus, adware and spyware scans regularly
This item should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Any computer that is connected to the internet needs to have some sort of antivirus software. There is a tremendous variety of available solutions. Use whichever you like best. Most antivirus software will monitor the system for threats in real time, so a full daily scan probably isn't necessary, but do make time to run a full scan every month at the least.
 
Clean up your software
Every few months, look through the 'Add or Remove Programs' interface that is found in the control panel. If there's software on there that you don't use any more, remove it. This goes triple for browser toolbars, free games, and other resource-eating bits of fluff. Be a little cautious, though - some system drivers appear in this list, and can cause hardware to stop working if you remove them.

Update everything
Check for updates for your hardware and software. This includes running Windows Updates, checking for updated drivers, and checking for software patches. Updates for your computer are more than just feature updates – there are security updates released frequently in order to keep your computer safe from current threats. The easiest way to find these updates is to go to the manufacturer's website, to their support section, and then look for a 'downloads' section or search for your product's name. If you've been having problems with a piece of hardware or software, be sure to check for patches or updates - if other people have been having similar problems, it's likely the manufacturer has released a fix for it.