new laptop maintenance advice

[XtCPiLLs]

I just bought a new laptop and I'd like someone's advice about keeping it upgraded / fully protected.

The OS that came with is Windows7, which I'm impressed by, and it also came with Norton Anti-Virus (free 60 day trial, which I'll purchase when trial is up)..

Um.. I have MacFree Scan, which seems to want to scan quite often so I let it.. and Norton scans without asking, which is a plus.

the laptop is a Compaq Presario CQ62-219WM Notebook PC... I'd like to know what programs I should have with it, how often to scan, basically a computer 'experts' advice as to how I can keep it upgraded and protected, like i said above..

hope that makes sense, thanks

 

[KSoD]

Re: new laptop

Drop both norton and McAfee and get Microsoft Security Essentials. It is rated very high and only 1 of 12 programs to get certified.

Other than that what do you like to do with the PC? We cant really offer advice on programs when we dont know what you do. You can check the Recommended Software for Certain tasks thread for some information there.

Some programs like CCleaner are decent to use for keeping your temp files clear and checking your Registry. Using a browser like Firefox, Chrome, Opera or Safari is also a good option. They can be good and are very customizable. Ie isnt a bad choice either as it offers a good amount of protection.

Check the Read First Thread and the Tutorial Thread for some information about various things. The Tutorials section links to various tutorials that have been written up. but it can offer some input as to the Admin Account in Win7 and why you get prompted for various things in Win7. There is another one about Taking Ownership of files that you may need to know at some point as well. the Win7 FAQ thread has a lot of information in it. Also searching for topics on Win7 can provide input on various things as well that are not answered in that topic.

If you could provide some more information about specific things you looking for we can be of better help. As far as keeping the system upgraded, Windows Update will be your best tool for that.

 

[Yami]

Do not use McAfee - it's pretty much the worst anti-virus out there. Use either Microsoft Security Essentials (it's a lot better than it sounds - link is in my signature) or AVG; both are free and are at least as good as most of the paid options. Norton Anti-Virus is a lot better than McAfee, but since it's paid I wouldn't recommend it over either MSE or AVG.

You can set up most anti-virus programs to scan either daily, weekly, etc., at a specific time. Once a week should be plenty.

There are a few other programs I can recommend, and the links for them are also in my signature - Spybot Search & Destroy, CCleaner and Defraggler. Run them all roughly once a month, in that order, and that will always keep your system in perfect shape.
Defraggler is a defragmenter, better and more functional than the in-built defragmenter.
CCleaner is a system cleaner and registry cleaner, it gets rid of unnecessary files which slow down your system and can cause it to be buggy. The Registry and system cleaners are separate parts so you need to run them both separately.
Spybot is an on-demand virus and malware scanner. It often picks up stuff that your main anti-virus doesn't.