Housekeeping Your PC
Housekeeping Your PC
Course documentation
Material at:sussex.ac.uk/its/training/material/housekeeping
University of Sussex
IT Services
University of Sussex IT Services
Updated: June 08
Created: December 02
Summary of Good Housekeeping
Housekeeping Your PC
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1
SUMMARY OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING .......................................................................... 1
FIRST THINGS FIRST - BACKING UP YOUR DATA......................................... 2
SECURITY ................................................................................................................... 3
SETTING UP SAFE PASSWORDS .................................................................................... 3
ADD A NEW USER TO YOUR COMPUTER ....................................................................... 3
VERSIONS OF WINDOWS AND OFFICE ......................................................................... 4
DEALING WITH VIRUSES AND OTHER NASTIES ........................................................... 5
INSTALLING KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE ...................................................... 5
DEALING WITH SPYWARE ........................................................................................... 6
CONFIGURE WINDOWS FILE NAMES ............................................................................ 6
INSTALLING WINDOWS AND OFFICE UPDATES ............................................................ 7
SETTING UP TO AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD FUTURE UPDATES ................................ 7
EXTRA DOWNLOADS FOR OFFICE ................................................................................ 8
MORE ABOUT UPDATING OFFICE AND WINDOWS ....................................................... 8
INSTALLING EMAIL PROGRAM -MULBERRY ................................................................ 9
SECURE AND AUTHENTICATED MAIL .......................................................................... 9
PERFORMANCE ...................................................................................................... 10
DELETING TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES .................................................................. 10
TEMPORARY (TMP) FILES......................................................................................... 10
FINDING THE TEMPORARY DIRECTORIES (DO NOT DELETE)..................................... 10
EMPTYING THE RECYCLE BIN ................................................................................... 11
DISK CLEANUP.......................................................................................................... 11
DISK DEFRAGMENTER .............................................................................................. 12
CHECKING THE HARD DISK FOR ERRORS .................................................................. 12
REMOVING UNUSED SOFTWARE ............................................................................... 13
MANUALLY DELETING A FILE OR FOLDER ................................................................ 13
THE END.................................................................................................................... 14
FINDING OUT MORE ................................................................................................... 14
Housekeeping Your PC
Introduction
Introduction
A computer, like a car, needs regular maintenance. It is possible to do nothing and let your
computer slowly come to a grinding halt, either by virus attack or neglect.
This document is intended to provide a few suggestions on how to improve security and
performance of your PC at home. It assumes that you are using Microsoft Windows and
have an Internet connection supplied by an ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Summary of Good Housekeeping
This following table summarises the tasks to be completed and gives a guide to the
frequency of each task.
Task
How
Often
How to do it!
1.
Keep virus checking
software up to date
Daily/
Weekly
Update your virus definitions. Done
automatically or by manual updates
2.
Use Disk Cleanup
Weekly/
Monthly
See Disk Cleanup section in this guide
3.
Backup
Weekly/
Monthly
Back up to CD/Zip or other
4.
Defrag
Monthly
Use disk defragmenter
5.
Delete unwanted
Files
Monthly
Manually search through your hard disk to
ensure that files no longer used are deleted.
6.
Empty the Recycle
Bin
Monthly
Be sure to empty the Recycle Bin
7.
Scandisk/ Chkdsk
Monthly
Use Scandisk
8.
Office Update
Automatic
Go to:
9.
Windows Update
Automatic
Go to:
windowsupdate.microsoft.com
10. Use Anti-Spy ware
Monthly
Update spyware definitions and run a deep
scan (thorough) check.
11. Install kaspersky
Annually
Check for new versions of software as released
by IT Services
12. Install Anti-Spy ware
Annually
Check for new versions of software as released
by vendor
13. Install Mulberry
Annually
Check for new versions of software as released
by IT Services
office.microsoft.com/ProductUpdates
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Summary of Good Housekeeping
Housekeeping Your PC
First Things First - Backing up your Data
Before starting any updates of your OS system (Windows) you should backup any
important files (CVs, reports, essays, and dissertations).
Most new PCs are fitted with either a CD-RW drive (CD writer) or Zip disk. These are large
capacity forms of storage and are useful in keeping back-ups of important work.
A good step-by-step guide for backing up files in XP is:
microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx
For Windows 2000:
support.microsoft.com/kb/301420
If you have Windows XP Professional, to use the Backup Utility:
Open Backup. (Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System
Tools, and then click Backup.)
The Backup or Restore Wizard starts by default, unless you disabled it. If the Backup or
Restore Wizard does not start by default, you can still use it to back up files by clicking the
Tools menu, and then clicking Backup Wizard.
Click the Next.
In the Window that asks what do you want to do? Click the circle next to Back up files and
settings. Then click Next.
On some other version of windows:
Double click the My Computer icon
Select the local disk you want to check (C).
On the File menu, click Properties.
Click the Tools tab.
Under Backup, click Backup Now....
Follow on screen instructions
If a backup tool is not installed on your computer, follow the instructions for creating
manual backups, on:
microsoft.com/athome/security/update/howbackup.mspx
For more information also see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/help/guides/saving
sussex.ac.uk/its/help/guides/moving-files
sussex.ac.uk/its/helpdesk/faq.php?faqid=972
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Security
Setting up Safe Passwords
Passwords add a level of security to your computer. When sharing a computer with others,
your customized settings, computer programs, and system resources are more secure
when you assign a password to your logon name or user account name.
Make sure you have a STRONG password set on the Administrator account. Strong
passwords are described in:
microsoft.com/athome/security/privacy/password.mspx
Setting passwords On Windows NT systems:
Click Start->Programs->Administrative Tools->User Manager.
Double-click the Administrator entry and set a strong password.
Do not forget the password.
Setting passwords On Windows 2000 systems:
Right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage
Double-click on Local Users and Groups
Double-click on the Users folder.
Right-click on the Administrator icon and click once on Set Password.
Set a strong password.
Click OK
Setting passwords On Windows XP systems:
Open User Accounts by clicking Start then Control Panel and select User Accounts
Click the user name.
Click Create a password.
In Type a new password and Type the new password again to confirm, type your
password.
You can also enter descriptive or meaningful text in Type a word or phrase to use as a
password hint to help you remember your password.
Click Create Password.
Add a new user to your computer
You must have a computer administrator account to add a new user to the computer.
1. Open User Accounts by clicking Start then Control Panel and select User
Accounts.
2. Under Pick a task, click Create a new account.
3. Type a name for the new user account, and click Next.
4.
Click either Computer administrator or Limited, depending on the type of
account you want to assign to the new user, and then click Create Account.
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Versions of Windows and Office
Housekeeping Your PC
Versions of Windows and Office
Which Version of Windows is installed?
Click on the Start button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen and choose Run from
the menu that pops up. Type winver into the box that appears, and click on the 'OK'
button. A box should then pop up showing you what version of Windows you are running
and which service packs you have installed.
The box below was taken from a machine running Windows XP Professional with Service
Pack 1 installed
And this box is from a machine running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 installed
Which Version of Office is installed?
It is useful to know which version of Office (Word, Excel etc) you have installed when
discussing problems or looking for relevant information. To do this:

Start the Word application

From the Help menu choose About
Microsoft Word.
You will now see a screen which details
the version of Word you are using and
any Service Releases (SR) installed.
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Dealing with Viruses and Other Nasties
This section briefly describes computer viruses. A short description of obtaining and
installing Anti Virus Software is also given.
What is a computer virus?
A computer virus is something that attaches itself, by some means to another, to a
program in a computer. In all cases viruses have been written by someone with malicious
or mischievous intent to create needless disaster or worry.
A combination of anti-virus software and regular updating of Windows and Office will help
to protect your computer.
Anti-Virus software today has to contend with new types of virus (worms and Trojans)
appearing daily. It is important to regularly update your anti-virus software definition list
(not the software itself but the definition list).
Anti-Virus software on IT Services computers has been configured to update its definitions
daily.
Installing Kaspersky Anti-Virus Software
Before installing any Anti-Virus software please ensure that you do not have any Anti-Virus
software already installed. Running two Anti-Virus packages could cause your PC to
become unstable.
IT Services have purchased a site licence for Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Firewall Software.
You will need to install Kaspersky and then check annually for software updates.
You can get a copy of Kaspersky, and step-by-step installation information, from the IT
Services Website at:
sussex.ac.uk/its/facilities/software/kaspersky/
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Dealing with Spyware
Housekeeping Your PC
Dealing with Spyware
Several types of malicious programs not detected by anti-virus software have become
common on the Internet and many computers have become infected with them. These
programs can compromise your privacy and cause your computer to operate poorly.
Ad-aware and SpyBot are two tools that can help you and are available at no cost for
personal use, see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/ws/software/virusspyware
Configure Windows file names
Windows often hides the real names of files from you which makes it easy for virus writers
to fool you. You can configure Windows to give you the information you need about files to
make intelligent choices. It also makes it difficult to do something which should be simple change a file name. You can tell your computer to tell you the truth about most file names
by making the simple change below on Windows XP and 2000 computers.





Double-click My Computer
Click the Tools Menu item and then select Folder Options
Click the View tab
Scroll down to the line "Hide file Extensions for known file types" and uncheck the
box next to it.
Click OK
After following these recommendations for setting up your computer, please review the
Keeping your computer safe web page for guidelines on operating it in a safe manner:
sussex.ac.uk/its/roaming/security
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Installing Windows and Office Updates
This step will fix most known defects in Windows software that lets others take control of
our computers (and our privacy, our identity, our network, etc.). The process is relatively
simple with two caveats:
1) You may have to return to http://update.microsoft.com until no more critical updates
are available.
2) On a dial-up line, the updates will take several hours to download. You can decrease the
amount of time necessary by installing the latest service pack from CD first. We strongly
recommend that you install the latest Service Pack, which has many security
enhancements. For XP, download or order a free CD by selecting the Service Pack link
from:
microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/default.mspx
Once you have installed the latest service pack, you must visit the Microsoft Update Site
at:
update.microsoft.com
To get the updates that have been released since the service pack was issued.
Details of how to find out which version of Windows and which service pack you have
currently installed can be found in this booklet or from the Online Help Desk, FAQ at:
sussex.ac.uk/its/helpdesk/faq.php?faqid=1135
Setting up to automatically download future updates
Once you have caught up with current critical Windows updates, you'll need to install any
new ones that come out. You can do this manually, or, if you have a Windows 2000, XP,
Vista or 2003 computer, you can set it up so that it happens automatically. Your computer
will check for updates, download them, install them at a time specified by you, and reboot
all on its own. If your computer is turned off at your selected installation time, it will
perform the installation the next time it is powered on. To set up the automatic updates,
follow the instructions at Microsoft's Protect Your PC web site, at:
microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/mu.mspx
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Extra downloads for Office
Housekeeping Your PC
Extra downloads for Office
This section describes the method of installing extra downloads for Microsoft Office (Word
Excel, etc).

Using Internet Explorer, navigate to the
following URL:
office.microsoft.com/ProductUpdates

Select the product (e.g. Office 2003)
to browse for the available
downloads

A download may take time, depending on the
speed of your internet connection. For large
downloads, you can download using a
Campus PC and copy the download to a USB
flash drive (memory stick) to use at home

When the installation has completed you may
be asked to shutdown and restart the
Computer.
More about Updating Office and Windows
You can find more information about updating Office and Windows at the following URLs:
woodyswatch.com
microsoft.com/windows
microsoft.com/office
While it’s a good idea to keep up-to-date with Office and Windows it’s sensible to allow a
week or two at the most before applying new patches.
Let others download and try updates before you do. Any problems with new fixes can then
be resolved, before you download them.
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Housekeeping Your PC
Security
Installing Email Program -Mulberry
For information on
how to access your Sussex email from off-campus, see:
sussex.ac.uk/its/email/offcampus
One way to read your email at home is to install Mulberry.
Mulberry can be downloaded from:
sussex.ac.uk/its/ws/mulberry
You will need to run the installation programs to install Mulberry on your PC.
If you use Microsoft Outlook you are more susceptible to attacks from Viruses and other
malicious code, for example, code that emails everyone listed in your Outlook address
book.
Secure and Authenticated Mail
“Secure, authenticated SMTP” has been enabled on the mail server. The advantage of this
to laptop and home users is that you can set up your mail client to use the campus SMTP
server (for all your mail) irrespective of where you are, on campus, or connected through
an ISP.

From the File menu in Mulberry click on
Preferences

Select the accounts tab, choose SMTP (or
whatever you have called the SMTP server
settings) from the pop up accounts menu.

Change the server setting to the new
setting: smtp.sussex.ac.uk.
Note that the secure part won’t work unless you
do this:

Change the method to: Plain text

Click the Save User ID box (and type in
your username).

Choose STARTTLS TLSv1 as the security
option.

Tick the Match User ID and Password
check box.
For more information about off campus email setting, go to:
sussex.ac.uk/its/email/offcampus
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Deleting Temporary Internet Files
Housekeeping Your PC
Performance
You should periodically store (archive or backup) or throw out documents and files just as
you would with a paper based filing system. Your computer will then run more smoothly.
Deleting Temporary Internet Files
You should regularly remove temporary internet files from Internet Explorer.

From the Tools menu, choose Internet
Options

Under the General tab, click the
Delete Files ... button

Click OK
Temporary (TMP) files
Temporary files have the suffix *.tmp. They are created temporarily by Windows
programs and Utilities, such as Word and are normally deleted when Windows is closed
down.
Temporary files should be automatically stored in a TEMP directory. It’s possible with
Windows 2000 and XP that a number of TEMPorary locations have been set-up for each
user.
Finding the TEMPorary directories (Do not delete)
You can use Windows Explorer to locate the temp directories to see where they are
located. At this point you do not want to delete anything.

From the

From the sub menu select Files or
Folders.

In the dialogue box that appears

Type *temp* (include asterisks). The asterisk is
a wild card and will search for files that contain
the characters temp anywhere in the file name
or directory (folder) name.

Click

After a time you will see many files and folders
which contain the characters temp.
(Start) button, select Search
DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING YET
This just gives you an indication of possible locations of
tmp files.

Under the search box type *.tmp

Click

In the right hand pane, you will see a list of tmp
files.
NOW DELETE YOUR FILES

Select each file individually and press the
<<delete>> key.

The files will then be moved to the Recycle Bin.
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Housekeeping Your PC
Performance
Emptying the Recycle Bin
Deletion of files normally results in their appearance in the Recycle Bin.

Double click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop.

Check that all files in the Recycle bin are either backed-up or
no longer required.

From the file menu select Empty Recycle Bin.
The files that are emptied are permanently
deleted.
Disk Cleanup
The disk clean up program attempts to consolidate the removal of all unused and
temporary files described above. This is useful but you should also make regular checks
yourself, even if only to familiarise yourself with the structure of the file system on your
hard disk (the C drive).

From the Start button select programs

Trace through Accessories and then to
system tools.

Here you will find the Disk Cleanup option
and the Disk Defragmenter

Select Disk Cleanup
A dialogue will open asking for the Drive (disk)
you wish to clean up.

Select Drive C:

Click OK
A dialogue box will open offering several tick
boxes.

Each tick box can be selected to indicate
the areas of the disk you wish to delete
unused files from.

Tick the boxes next to:
Temporary
Internet Files
Temporary files
Recycle bin.
A tick box indicates that the files will be removed.

If you are unsure about what the files are,
select the item of interest (so it is
highlighted) and click
This will show the files to be removed. If you are
in any doubt do not delete them.

Click ok to begin removing the files.
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Disk Defragmenter
Housekeeping Your PC
Disk Defragmenter
Files on a disk can become fragmented. This means that files are can be stored in two or
more chunks on different parts of your disk, which can slow down your system, as it takes
longer to read and write files that aren’t stored neatly in one place.
Defrag is a utility that squashes all your files together neatly. Using Disk Defragmenter can
speed up access time to your hard disk.

From the Start button trace through
Programs, Accessories, System
Tools.

Select “Disk Defragmenter”.

Select the drive you want to
defragment (Drive C).

Click
This will show how fragmented your hard disk is.

If you hard disk requires defragmenting
click
Checking the Hard Disk for Errors
Errors can appear on your hard disk and may affect performance. You can use the “check
disk” tool to identify and possibly remove disk errors.

Double click the My Computer icon

Select the local disk you want to check (C).

On the File menu, click Properties.

Click the Tools tab.

Under Error-checking, click Check Now.

Under Check disk options, select the Scan
for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
check box.
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Housekeeping Your PC
Performance
Removing Unused Software
If you share your computer with other people or often install software to try-out, then you
will find that your hard disk (however large) may become full. Computer games are
particularly large, often requiring in excess of a Gigabyte of space. Consider regularly
looking at the software you have installed and deciding if it is still required.
Windows has the Add/Remove Programs Utility. You can use this facility if you decide that
you no longer require BackWeb, for example.

From the Start Menu choose
Settings

Select the Control Panel

Select Add/Remove
Programs
A window will open offering you the
opportunity to remove software
from the list.

Select the software you
wish to remove and click
the Change/Remove
button.

You may need to select
more options and you may
receive a warning, but this
will depend on the software
installed.
You may receive a message that parts of the software (file or folders) could not be
removed. This will be files that you have created yourself and were not installed by the
software (installer). In the case of computer Games this will be ‘game saves’ i.e.
information relating to your current status within a game. You may wish to back-up these
files or remove them manually using Windows Explorer.
Manually Deleting a File or Folder
It is useful to be able to find files or folders on your computer to delete them manually.
This is how to delete using Windows Explorer:

Start Windows Explorer

Select the drive (C:)

In the right hand pane, double click the Program Files (yellow) folder.
Note with Windows XP, the ‘look and feel’ may be different. You may be warned that
the Program Files folder is protected and you may need to click a link to confirm that
you wish to view the contents of the folder.

Select the file, or folder, you want to delete in the right pane and press the
<<Delete>> key on the keyboard. The file is moved to the recycle bin
(almost deleted).
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Finding out more
Housekeeping Your PC
The End
At the start of this document is a table which summarises the tasks described. A rough
guide to the frequency that each task should be performed is also given.
Finding out more
There is lots of information on the ITS web pages:
sussex.ac.uk/its/help
There are plenty of web pages offering information about “using and maintaining your
computer”; here is a sample:
Security Advice
microsoft.com/athome/security/protect
Performance Advice
microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx
For Windows 98
microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows
For Windows XP (Pro)
microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/default.mspx
Performance options in Windows XP
support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417
A glossary of terms related to internet use and hacking is available at:
instaar.colorado.edu/~peckhams/gloss
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