7 PUPS AND ADWARE
Why PUPS are not cute
To clarify: puppies are cute. PUPS (‘potentially unwanted programs’ – far too polite a phrase) are vicious, selfish Pc-killers. Some are obvious, such as toolbars and search engines that hitch a lift into the browser when you’re installing free software. Others are silent, hidden destroyers – and if you find and kill them, they regenerate. They are the stuff of nightmares.
They don’t quite qualify as malware because they don’t steal or spy on you. But make no mistake, they’re hideous. They leech processor power, prevent other programs working properly and can be extremely intimidating.
Kill PUPS for good
Adware and PUPS are masters of disguise and regeneration. We’d call them “superheroes” if they weren’t so rubbish.
So even if you think there’s nothing untoward on your PC, regularly check it for hidden villains using Adwcleaner ( www.snipca.com/13532), another of our favourite free programs. Download the portable program file, right-click it and select ‘Run as administrator’. Click Scan and then wait a few seconds while it checks your PC and Registry for dodgy files.
When the message ‘Waiting for action’ appears, click through the tabs (Services, Folders, Files and so on) to see all your PC’S hidden adware. You may be shocked by how much is in there – including stuff you’ve never noticed or heard of. Click Cleaning to get rid of the junk, but make sure you’ve saved any work first – Adwcleaner will automatically close all your running programs and restart your PC. When it restarts, you’ll get a text log of hidden villains and where they were found. Save it for future reference.
Some adware is tricky to avoid even when you’re vigilant, because opt-out buttons can be hidden very cleverly. So it’s worth adding the free tool Unchecky ( http://unchecky.com), which automatically opts you out of any PUPS in software installers. Like us it’s not completely foolproof, but it’s a worthy addition to your anti-adware arsenal.
8 FLASH AND JAVA
Why plug-ins are pointless
Plug-ins are amazingly easy for hackers to attack. That’s why Flash and Java are continually being patched – requiring yet more tedious updates on your part.
What’s more, they’re serious memory hogs. So as well as making your PC unsafe, they’re also making your PC slow. Are they worth it?
Kill your plug-ins
We’re fond of our Ccenhancer plug-in for Ccleaner (see page 55), but other plug-ins can take a running jump.
Video websites including Youtube and Netflix are gradually switching from Flash to the safer HTML5 (which isn’t a plug-in) for video support (find out more at www.snipca.com/17412). If you do want to use Flash, set it as click-to-play in your browser settings.
As for Java, ditch it completely. Its occasional usefulness is far outweighed by malware risks, constant updates and the amount of space and memory it consumes.
9 STARTUP JUNK Why startup programs are destroying your PC
Startup processes are meant to bring your PC to life, not kill it. If too many are set to run automatically when Windows starts, your PC’S speed will suffer.
Even great programs such as Ccleaner add themselves to your PC’S startup list without asking you first. It’s not for your benefit, either. Ccleaner only runs in the background so it can pester you with pop-ups reminding you that your PC needs cleaning - which you know anyway.
Get rid of startup pests
Our favourite tool for removing startup junk is Autoruns ( www.snipca. com/17380), which is free, portable and very easy to use.
Run it as administrator and wait a moment while the list populates, then untick any items you don’t want to run at startup (which is to say, any items you don’t want running in the background the whole time you’ve got your computer switched on).
The list will run to dozens. If it’s too long to read easily, go to the options menu and click Hide Microsoft Entries. Now you’ll only see third-party startup processes. Click Hide Virtustotal Clean Entries to only see items that malware database Virustotal has deemed dodgy.
To speed up your PC and make its processor work less hard, untick any item you don’t need running constantly in the background. Leave your antivirus ticked, but you can safely untick Ccleaner – run it manually when it suits you.
If you’re not sure what a process is or does, right-click it in Autoruns and click ‘Jump to Image’ to see it in Windows Explorer. Right-click the file, select Copy and then paste it into the search box at Pacs Portal (see page 55) for more information and a safety verdict.
If Pacs Portal recommends removing the item completely, uninstall it and follow up with Adwcleaner.
10 OLD SOFTWARE Why old software is killing your PC
Nobody ever gets round to uninstalling all the software they no longer want, and even fewer get round to updating all the software they do want. That may be understandable, but it’s a problem - because old and outdated software is killing your PC. It clogs hard-drive space, runs processes that are long-redundant, hijacks your file associations and just gets in the way. And if you miss vital security patches, it could make your PC dangerous.
Update software automatically
First batch-remove all the programs you no longer need, using Geek Uninstaller ( www.geekuninstaller.com/download; click Download Free). Then run Adwcleaner and Ccleaner to sweep up any leftovers.
Next, get those updates. To do it manually, use Ninite (see page 53). To keep your software updated automatically, use the free Personal Software Inspector (PSI) from security firm Secunia ( www.snipca.com/17415). You have to create a free account before you can download the tool, but as long as you untick the ‘Yes, I would like to receive...’ box you won’t be battered with spam.
Download and run PSI, click ‘Scan now’ and wait while it scans your installed software and calculates your System Score.
Our score was 95 per cent, which doesn’t sound too bad, but that missing five per cent still represents a big un-patched hole that hackers can exploit. You can then update out-of-date tools from the same window. To switch to automatic updates, click Settings at the bottom of the program window, ‘Update handling’ and then tick Update.