Keep Your PC Running Smoothly—Without Spending a Lot of Money!

Solve everyday PC problems, improve performance and speed, and protect yourself from malicious attacks with the helpful tips in this user-friendly guide. Easy-to-follow "recipes" show you, click-by-click, how to prevent computer catastrophes and recover completely from unavoidable disasters. If you've had a hard time understanding other computer guides, you'll love this book's clear, accessible approach. PC guru Carey Holzman dispels common myths and explains complicated issues in language that anyone can understand, regardless of their computer experience. Don't be held hostage by hackers or overpaid computer technicians. Learn how to maintain and upgrade your own PC and have fun in the process.

Inside, you'll learn to:

* Avoid disasters caused by computer viruses, hackers, and hard disk crashes
* Use Scandisk and Defragment to find and repair hard drive problems before it's too late
* Remove spyware, Trojan horses, unnecessary temp files, and unused programs
* Eliminate pop-ups, spam, email hoaxes, and unwanted Internet solicitations
* Manage cookies, temporary Internet files, and Web browser preferences
* Defend against worms and Denial-of-Service attacks with firewall and anti-virus software
* Understand and optimize DMA, Active Desktop, animations, fonts, and swap files
* Tweak power and hardware settings, screen savers, and start-up routines
* Back up and restore Windows configurations, files, and applications
* Obtain and install Windows, application, and driver upgrades
* Optimize your Internet connection