Registry

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Free Windows Pc Error Scan

Posted by admin on 25 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Computer, Registry, Registry Cleaner, Windows

PC fix utilities can help troubled PC users maintain their computer system free of junk files, unneeded cyber trash and parasites. The companies behind these programs are usually very specialized software development companies who invested in extensive research and who are committed to providing you with a better PC user experience.

If you spend a lot of time online, or want to improve your computer’s performance, then the products listed below are great resources. I have personally downloaded, installed and examined all programs that are reviewed in order to provide quality feedback and a real, unbiased opinion.

I have found RegCure & Registry Smart to be superior to their competitors, doing a great job in optimizing your system and sorting out your registry entries. As a full version user you get access to the all software updates from the owners, thus ensuring you have the most up-to-date version and most importantly, that your computer runs as well as the software developer’s PCs themselves!

I personally recommend these products to non-technical everyday users as they easily help you get more of your PC. All programs offer a Free Trial, so it makes sense to download all three, and then decide for yourself which one is best for your needs. I am here to help you to choose the right solution by comparing what these software utilities have to offer.

Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with RegCure PC Optimizer (Download 2 Mins)

32.exe Worm

Posted by admin on 25 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Internet Explorer, Malware, Registry, Registry Cleaner, Trojan, Windows

Not to be mistaken for a critical System 32 file, the 32.exe file is actually a worm which has become notorious for its widespread infection via email. The file preys on our instinct not to touch important looking files, and it also comes with a generator function that will place a random set of characters before the 32.exe. This is to dissuade people from searching the file by name and finding a fix for the problem.

It is deemed low risk and it doesn’t severely compromise the integrity of a system, but it has the capacity to spread rapidly due to its email formula.

It’s worth noting that the actual virus doesn’t come from an email attachment. It is spread by forcing people to click on innocuous looking links in email bodies. The virus then downloads on to the computer directly.

It becomes ingrained in the Windows Registry and this enables the worm to ensure that it is run every time the user restarts Windows. For that reason alone, it can be very difficult to delete without prior knowledge of what you’re looking for.

The 32.exe virus is officially referred to as a Win32.Bofra.E. It copies itself to the System directory but you will need to look closely to find it as there’s no easy way of telling what the prefix to the file will be.

The best way to avoid a 32.exe infection is to ensure that you have a sufficient anti-Virus protection suite in place. The idea of the virus is that while some protection apps may scan attachments for corrupt files, very few of them are capable of checking links in the email itself, until they’ve been clicked, of course. And at that time, it’s too late for many.

You should ensure that you have protection against phishing, which is known to have been contrived through the use of certain32.exe files. It’s also important to block out spyware and malware since these are both damaging not just in the sense that they clog your system, but they open the door for more harmful viruses too.

You will need to run a comprehensive scan of your hard drive to search out the 32.exe virus. It can be located quicker by simply scanning the System directory. But it’s a good habit to use scanning software on the entire hard drive. Pair this with a registry cleaner and you’ll be able to weed out the corrupted files.

Please note that it is necessary to use a registry cleaner, even if the disk-cleanup seems to do the trick at first.

The nature of the Win32.Bofra.E is that it is designed to re-spawn when you boot from scratch. If you don’t remove the registry entries that trigger the virus in to life, you will be simply removing it temporarily until the next start up.

You will only contract the virus if you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer when you open the email link. This is because the worm capitalizes on a security loophole whereby it’s possible to plant malicious content in an IFrame. The same technique isn’t such an issue if you’re using Mozilla Firefox or one of many independent browsers.

Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with RegCure PC Optimizer (Download 2 Mins)

Fix My Slow Running Computer

Posted by admin on 21 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Browser, Computer, Configuration, Drivers, Error, Internet Explorer, Operating System, Registry, Registry Cleaner, Registry Fix, Software, Uncategorized, Update, Windows

Is your computer a constant source of frustration?
Is it so slow that you can hardly complete a task?
Are programs taking forever to respond?
Too many crashes, freezes or slowdowns?

If so, it’s time to make a change, optimize your system and improve
the performance of your PC
!

The following fail-proof methods for improving PC performance will
definitely bring results you’ll be pleased with.

These 6 methods are sure to result in much better computer performance.
Repeat them regularly as indicated, and you will enjoy a Revitalized PC.

1. Empty the Recycle Bin

Empty the Window’s Recycle Bin. This frees up hard
drive space and improves the PC performance.When a file is deleted, Windows first transfers it to the Recycle
Bin, instead of deleting it completely, to give the users a chance
to restore the files to their original locations on the computer,
in case they change their minds.

For better performance, make sure you empty the Recycle Bin at
least weekly, or even daily. Emptying the Recycle Bin is done
simply by right clicking the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and
choosing “Empty Recycle Bin” from the drop down menu.

2. Remove Unneeded Programs

Though most people are quick to install new programs, few think
about removing programs once they are no longer required, and leave
them unused on the hard disk.Most programs have an uninstaller, and can be removed by going to
the program’s entry, accessed from “All Programs” from the Start
Menu.

For programs that don’t have an uninstaller, from the Start Menu,
go to the Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs. It will
take a few seconds for the PC to assemble a list of all the
programs installed on the computer.

Once this is completed, find the program you want to remove, click
it and select Change/Remove.

Since some programs leave uninstallation traces in the Windows
Registry, it’s important to clean up the Registry after each
uninstallation process.

3. Run Disk Clean Up

For improving PC performance, Window’s Disk Clean Up can be used, a
built-in utility which initiates regular maintenance tasks like
deleting Setup log files, Temporary Internet files and similar.Disk Clean Up is started by double-clicking My Computer, right
clicking the ‘C drive and selecting Properties from the drop down
menu, then clicking Disk Cleanup. It will take the computer a few
moments to carry out the self-analysis.

Upon completion of the audit, Windows will display a list of areas
which contain files for cleanup. By putting a tick at the check box
next to an area, Windows will clean the files there. If you want to
leave some files undeleted, remove the tick from the check box and
click OK.

The computer will start a removal process. This process may take
some time.

4 Defragment disk

When programs are stored on the PC hard disk, fragments of files
are saved in the empty spaces nearby.

The PC then has to find these fragments and piece them together,
which takes time and slows down the performance.

This can be easily solved by running the Windows program Disk
Defragmenter, which assembles all the fragments of the programs and
places them back in the correct order.

Once this has been done, the hard disk can find what it’s looking
for easily, which enables files and programs to load more quickly.

To activate the defragmentation, click Start, All Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, then select Disk Defragment. Once the
program has started up, click Defragment.

This process can take well over an hour to complete, which is why
this usually isn’t carried out very often.

It’s recommended to defragment the hard disk about ever three
months, for best results.

5. Empty the Prefetch Cache

In order to improve the time required for loading programs, Windows
attempts to guess which files will be needed next and then loads
them into a cache, a process known as prefetching. Though this
process indeed works well, with time, the Prefetch Cache may become
clogged with files which are no longer required. This causes
Window’s startup to slow down considerably.

The remedy is to clear Prefetch, by choosing Run from the Start
Menu, and typing “Prefetch” in the text box that appears. This will
result in a window filled with many icons. To select them all press
Alt+A and delete them.

The cache will resume its regular use and refill with files and
links required by Windows. The result will be that the system will
be more responsive and the PC performance will improve.

6. Clean up the Windows Registry

Most PC users don’t understand the significance of cleaning up the
Windows Registry, mainly because Windows does not come with
a Registry clean-up tool
.While this is often neglected, it is probably:

The single most important PC maintenance task.

Whenever a program is installed, changes are made to the Windows
Registry, which is a large internal database that contains all
Windows settings. These settings, which include thousands of
entries, control how everything in the system looks and behaves.

Repeated installing and uninstalling of programs, “Messy” uninstallation
of programs (traces are left behind), Hardware uninstalls which leave

entries in the Registry, Drivers which are no longer required on the system,
Spyware or other malicious programs that appear every time the

computer is restarted, may all cause Registry conflicts and, as
a result - a Slower Computer.

The Registry can be edited manually using Regedit, a Windows
program for editing the Registry; however this requires a
considerable amount of skill and experience to complete successfully.

If you prefer not to do this by yourself, Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with
RegCure PC Optimizer (Download Takes 2 Mins)
Download Now

Computer Loads Slow and Runs Slow

Posted by admin on 21 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Computer, Configuration, Operating System, Registry, Registry Cleaner, Software, Update, Windows

Many people look back with nostalgia at the first day they used
their brand-new computer. It worked like a charm. The boot process
only took about ten seconds. The Start menu and Windows dialogs
appeared instantly. However, after about a year of heavy use,
people often discover that their computer shows serious performance
degradation. The boot process takes longer and longer. All the
Windows dialogs also take longer to appear. The computer emits
prolonged grinding noises as if it were contemplating if it’s worth
its while to carry out the task you requested.

The modern computer is an intricately-constructed system, much like
the human organism. If you consume large amounts of products from
questionable sources, you increase your fat intake, and quickly
become overweight. You can’t run as fast as you used to. The
computer likewise slows down with time. Actually, there is no such
thing as a certified software product for computers. The software
“certificates” really only guarantee that the software product is
authentic and not that it is of high quality. There are no medical
organizations for computers which can certify that programs are
harmless. Even the large and reputable software companies can
produce software that is harmful to your system and that place
“fat” on your computer. So if even the large companies are guilty
of making your computer “fat”, there’s no telling the harm that
could be caused by software downloaded from the Internet from
dubious sources!

Computers, unlike humans, can be saved from their grim fate simply
by formatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system.
Though this is an option, it is far from ideal. Formatting the
disks will cause you to lose all the programs installed on the
computer, as well as preference settings and system integrity. But
what are the alternatives? Something analogous to a private doctor
for your computer, which can administer help without killing the
computer can be found in PC Fix programs aka Registry Cleaners.

If we return to the body fat analogy, what should be considered as
excess fat for the computer system and how does it enter the
system? The computer’s Registry is analogous to our blood system,
upon which all the other system parts (or organs) are dependant.
This unified database stores crucial system information, which all
the Windows applications poll from. There is, however, a
disadvantage in this system. Usually, users log into their systems
with full administrator privileges. These administrator privileges
are imperative in order to configure system and network settings,
as well as installing new software programs. This means that the
applications that are run on the computer also receive full
administrator privileges. So each program you run can actually
change virtually any section of the Windows Registry, such as the
settings of other applications. These privileges are abused by
certain malicious scripts from the Web in order to change the
Homepage or Search page of your Internet browser. As time goes by,
the computer Registry can even be affected by normal applications
from well-known vendors, which leave traces in the Registry, that
can make your computer “overweight”. This is also true when it come
to uninstalling programs, as most software never uninstalls
completely and removes all its components. Since most users are
unaware of this issue, they rarely complain about it, so program
developers don’t have to worry about doing a tidy job with the
un-installation process. They are just oblivious to the issue.

If there are no complaints, then everything must be ok. However,
things are not quite ok. A year of heavy use will make your
Registry considerably overweight. The Registry takes up more space
and the access of the programs to the Registry becomes lengthy and
cumbersome. This is what slows down the performance of the
applications and increases the time it takes for them to start up.
Even more adverse to your system is the fact that some of the bits
and pieces left in the Registry refer to damaged or nonexistent
objects. For example, right-clicking a file in Windows Explorer
will cause a contextual menu to appear. Contextual means that the
menu displays actions which are specific to the type of file you
selected.

When a program is installed, sometimes its handlers are added to
the systems menus of Windows. For example, image viewer programs
will add handlers enabling you to open a file with that
program(”Open with…”), archive programs will enable you to
manipulate files (”Send to..”, “Compress with…”), printer drivers
have their own handlers, etc. If, in the process, Registry entries
will point to non-existing objects, Windows will search for these
entries all the time. Some sections of the Registry indicate to
Windows which programs to run during startup. You may not see them
and so not be able to remove them manually, but Windows will try to
load them every time it starts up.

What is the remedy? Try a Registry Cleaner. The program is easy to
understand and to use. Click the “fix” button and two options will
appear. Begin with cleaning the Registry. The tool will fix the
problems mentioned earlier and more. It will check broken links,
device drivers, fonts, ActiveX components, analyze them and fix or
delete them if necessary. This will ensure your database is
unfragmented, compact, and that all links are correct, which will
improve your system performance.

However, the Registry is not the cause of all evils. A shortcut is
a special file type in Windows. The Desktop and Start menu are
mostly composed of shortcuts. When the Desktop is loading, or when
the Start menu is accessed, Windows will check the shortcuts and
look for the target they are referencing. If a shortcut has a
broken link, or if it’s referencing an object which is no longer on
your system, then Windows will spend time looking for the object,
finding its icon, etc. The Registry Cleaner’s second option is to enable you
to scan and fix broken shortcuts on your system.

The “Clean” section of a Registry Cleaner helps you clean all the junk
files which are left on your disks. Some applications leave
temporary files on the system instead of deleting them. The Registry Cleaner
goes over the directories of temporary files and deletes the files
they contain, or it can search for temporary files on the computer
by scanning the files for certain extensions. Cleaning temporary
Internet files is recommended if you are worried about security,
because it deletes cookies such as autofill data, etc.

The “Optimize” section has some tools which are useful to improve
system performance and enable you to fine-tune hidden settings.
These settings are actually not available through standard Windows
dialog or from the Control Panel. For example, it’s possible to
select if you want the Windows account to boot without your having
to input your password, or if you want Windows to display the login
screen with or without a password prompt. Some more advanced
features are available in the Uninstall and Startup Entries
Editors, which are otherwise not accessible using the standard
Windows configuration applets.

Another tool “Boost Windows” provides continuous monitoring of the
computer memory, eliminates unusable blocks and de-fragments
blocks, in order to enable quicker access. If you enable this tool,
it runs in the background and performs system memory optimization.
This tool also prioritizes the processor to give maximum priority
to the active window. This means that your computer won’t pause a
movie you’re watching in order to perform all kinds of background
tasks. As a rule, processor time is distributed equally between all
the active applications, but in order to enjoy multimedia
applications you will want to give these applications prioritized
access to the processor.

So is your computer too “fat”?
Has it had it’s fill of junk files, irrelevant Registry values or broken shortcuts?

Get a Free Online Diagnostic Scan with RegCure PC Optimizer (Download Takes 2 Mins)

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