My XP software recommendations

First of all, you need some basic tools to keep your computer from getting real slow, stopping viruses, spyware, etc. You HAVE to do this, otherwise it's just a matter of time before your data is lost, computer crashes, or just goes so slow you cannot use it.

Definitions: 

Yeah, yeah, don't teach me, just give the answer. Well, sorry Charlie, you have to get "learned" first or I'm wasting my time on you. So read this stuff. 

Viruses usually are a program that does something very bad to your computer, making it so it does not boot, or deleting files, or so that certain programs will not run.

You also need to protect from spyware. This is usually some type of software that "spys" on you, and sends information back somewhere. This can range from just a little demographic data, to tracking the sites you visit, to looking up all your address information, to searching your computer for passwords and personal account information.

There are also browser "hijackers". The browser is the program that lets you browse or surf the Internet, like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari. These programs "hijack" you and instead of going to the web site you want, they take you somewhere else.

There's a term "malware" to try to encompass anything bad for you. I'm making these definitions so you can pick the programs you want to use.

What you need:

Antivirus:

You need an antivirus program. While viruses are much less popular than they used to be (because they do not make any money for the author), their effect can be devastating.

I recommend "AVG Free"... there is a free version, look carefully, you do not have to pay for a full featured version. There's extra cost ones, and they incorporate more functions. Don't, just get the free one.

I use the McAfee one at work, because there is a version that can actually stop people surfing unless the system determines the AV program is installed.

Norton used to be good, but it's bloatware now. In terms of AV databases being up to date, McAfee and Norton are still tops though.

Spyware:

This is probably one of the major areas of concern. Your personal information can be stolen, or sold. This makes money for the author, so it's real popular.

There's several good ones, I have used Spybot Search & Destroy. It has 2 "resident" parts that can watch for programs trying to run code when not expected and also to stop changes in your startup code and many other tricks. Be sure to set it up to run automatically, and to update itself. Run both resident softwares. The other resident package protects your browser from hijackers.

Hijackers:

Spybot does a good job, I also recommend Ad-Aware. The free version will not run on a schedule, you have to pay. I have success manually running this once a week. Windows Defender is free, and resident, and catches SOME hijackers of Internet Explorer - no other browsers. It's a free download from Microsoft. I recommend using it unless your computer is slow and you have to "ration" the number of resident softwares. 

Disk and Registry cleanup:

There is some regular maintenance you need to do. One thing is getting rid of temporary files that you do not need. This reduces fragmentation, speeds up defragmentation runs, and saves disk space.

You also need to "clean" the windows registry. A simple explanation of the registry is that it is information to all programs on how to run and where files are. Basically it can accumulate errors or "dead ends" which may not stop programs from running, but seriously slow down their execution.

I find CCLEANER to be very effective. Just remember not to get rid of the "uninstaller or "windows hotfix" information when you use it. If you do, you lose the ability to uninstall windows patches and upgrades. Microsoft makes mistakes sometimes, or worse still, sneaks in a software in Windows Update you do not want, you want to reserve the right to take that crap out.

Disk defragmentation:

Since day 1, DOS (and windows) does something remarkably unintelligent when using disk space, it uses the first available chunk of free space on the hard drive. If the file does not fit in it, it is broken into pieces (fragmented) and another piece or more is put in another location. So when your disk is heavily fragmented, reading and writing files is slower.

I have found a wonderful free disk defragmenter for XP. Ultradefrag. It not only is fast, it also does a "boot time" defrag of the system files. This includes the boot files and the Windows swap file. This is a trick, because once XP is booted, these files are in use and cannot be defragmented. Ultradefrag does this at boot time BEFORE the disk is "mounted" for exclusive access of these files. I run this once a week, it makes a noticeable difference in booting and system operation.

Firewall:

The Windows firewall is ok, it does not suck real bad, but it still sucks!

I recommend the free version of ZoneAlarm. Do not get the firewall from McAfee, it is pure crap, and so is the Norton one. Trend micro's "free" software sucks also.

What does Greg do:

On my computers, I purchase 2 softwares on a regular basis, the "Pro" version of ZoneAlarm, and a top quality disk defragger, PerfectDisk. I have spybot running every night, and always have an antivirus program. I defrag the disk weekly, and use ccleaner on a regular basis to keep the registry working well, and eliminate old temporary files, and to also inspect what programs start automatically with windows.