Last time we learned to use the safer NTFS rather than FAT32. To discover what those are, refer to the previous blog entry.
Switching to NTFS is the first step in staying safe in a connected world. The next step is regular removal of cookies and temporary Internet files. Disk Cleanup gets all the general stuff, but only for the person currently using the computer. One word of advice in using this tool, uncheck “compress unused files”. This feature is no longer necessary on today’s larger hard drives. Disk Cleanup often leaves cookies behind and doesn’t always catch the temporary Internet Files. For more thorough removal of temporary files of all types, CCleaner is a must! CCleaner is best used by experienced PC users. It’s a good idea to go through the application lists and uncheck anything you know you’ll want later, such as your recently accessed documents list. If you are the type to use your history list instead of your browser’s favourites, you’ll want to keep that too.
If you’re the “hands on” type, follow these steps to clean out cookies and temporary Internet files:
1. Click Start(Win7 users click the shiny orb in the lower left of your screen), Control Panel, Internet Options, in that order.
2. Click Delete in the middle of the Options window. Check off all options you want to remove, cookies, history and Internet files should be at the top if you are using a current version of IE.
3. Go back to the first screen, click on Settings beside the Delete button.
4. Click “view objects” and delete everything here. These are active-x plugins that can get damaged, or that can be malicious. Some are ok, such as java, windows update, flash, etc. Refreshing this list with new downloads of those plugins keeps you current and covered by security updates.
5. Click “view files” on the settings window and if there are still files present, highlight them all and delete them. Doing this once a month or so, works for most users to help keep your system safe.
