If you treat your computer right, it will stay
fast and responsive for many years. But if you
neglect proper maintenance, it will turn into a
molasses machine that ends up being a
source of frustration.
In the worst of cases, your computer will lose
much of its lifespan — and this is especially
true for laptops, which are more susceptible
than desktops .
So where do you begin? With the five apps
below. They’re extremely effective at what
they do, require close to zero effort on your
part, and don’t cost a dime. The bang-for-
buck is incredible, so if you aren’t using them
already, you should install them right away.
1. Disk Space Analysis
No matter how tech-savvy you think you are,
you have wasted disk space on your system.
And if you’re the exact opposite of tech-
savvy, then you’ll be surprised by how much
of your disk space is actually being wasted.
We’re talking gigabytes.
Go ahead and install WinDirStat .
Here’s the hard part about disk space
management: the average Windows system
has hundreds of thousands of files and
folders. This makes it difficult to pinpoint
where all of those disk-wasting files are
located.
Cleaning out your Downloads folder is only
the first and most obvious step. Your system
is likely filled with all kinds of forgotten files
that you no longer need, and these files are
likely scattered around your system. Good
luck hunting them down one by one!
If you value your time, you should just use
WinDirStat instead. It scans your drive and
turns it into a browsable hierarchy that makes
it easy to see which folders are using up the
most space on your drive. Afterwards, check
out these tips for saving even more space on
Windows.
2. File Cleaning and
Optimization
As you use your computer, there are certain
files that you’ll want to delete on a regular
basis. This includes browser caches,
temporary installer files, Windows thumbnails,
system log files and crash dumps, etc. Doing
this by hand is simply unfeasible.
Go ahead and install CCleaner .
The file cleaner feature of CCleaner has two
sections: one for Windows and one for third-
party applications. Go through both and check
(or uncheck) the kinds of files you want to
clean, then click Run Cleaner. I just ran it and
it freed up over 1 GB of disk space!
Note that CCleaner also has a registry cleaner
feature, but registry cleaning has no
measurable effect and should be avoided on
modern systems.
Even though the Pro version isn’t necessary
at all. You may want to consider upgrading,
however, if you’re interested in deeper
scanning, real-time system monitoring,
scheduled cleanings, and automatic updates.
Upgrading will cost you $25.
3. Complete App
Uninstallation
Did you know that uninstalling an app in
Windows usually leaves traces of that app
still on your system? It’s rather annoying
because those traces add up over time,
resulting in wasted space and can even
impact system performance.
Go ahead and install Geek Uninstaller.
Geek Uninstaller is simple: when you use it to
uninstall an app, it will scan your system for
any related files that may have been left
behind and remove them. It’s fast and it’s
portable, meaning you can stick it on a USB
drive and run it on any computer as needed.
If Geek Uninstaller is a bit too simple for you,
Revo Uninstaller is a great alternative. The
free version is slightly more powerful with a
couple of extra features that you won’t find in
Geek, but it’s also a bit slower overall.
4. Malware Scanning and
Removal
Malware has always been, and will always be,
a huge problem for computer users . Best
case, it slows your system down to a crawl.
Worst case, your PC becomes controlled by a
hacker , your data gets locked and held for
ransom, or your identity gets stolen .
Go ahead and install Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes is the absolute best anti-
malware app that you can currently get for
free. Its database of infections is updated
every day so it can successfully detect and
remove the latest viruses, worms, spyware,
and more. The free version only does manual
full scans, but that’s more than adequate.
The premium version adds real-time
protection as well as support for anti-
ransomware, anti-exploits, anti-phishing, anti-
rootkits, and more for just $40 per year. Think
of it like a preemptive vaccine, whereas the
free version is more like a post-infection
treatment.
5. In-Depth System
Information
Do you know the exact specs for the CPU,
GPU, RAM, storage, motherboard, and all the
other parts in your computer? If so, will you
remember them a month from now? Or even
a year? I don’t know about you, but I tend to
be very forgetful about those things.
Go ahead and install Speccy .
Speccy will tell you all of the important bits
that you need to know about your computer
at a glance. Some of it can even get pretty in
depth, such as the information panels for
CPU, RAM, and storage. This app is
particularly useful when you want to upgrade
your computer’s performance and want to
compare what you have, against what’s
available on the market.
If you don’t like Speccy for whatever reason,
CPU-Z is a good alternative. It isn’t as in-
depth or advanced as Speccy, but it reports
most of the details you’d ever need and is
therefore good enough 99 percent of the
time.