- Wash your hands before computer use to minimize sticking keys and mouse tracking problems.
- Power off your computer, monitor and all peripherals. Wipe the computer case, keyboard, mouse, printer and peripherals with a water-dampened (not wet) cloth. Gently wipe the monitor screen with a soft, water-dampened cloth, such as that used for eyeglass cleaning. Avoid pressure on an LCD screen to prevent pixel damage. Clean your work space of dust. Move objects that impede the flow of air around your computer.
- Dirty CD/DVD media cause read/write problems and can become jammed in the media drive. Wipe the surface of the media with a soft, water-dampened cloth. Move from the center of the disc across to the edge (do not wipe in circles). Do not use a cleaning solution.
- Create folders to store and find your documents. To create folders in Windows, right-click on the Desktop and select "New > Folder" from the contextual menu. To create folders on a Mac, click on "Finder > File > New Folder" or press "Shift+Command+F."
- Unused files and applications take up valuable hard drive space. Check a file's created, modified and last accessed date to identify files to remove. Right-click on the file and select "Properties" from the Windows contextual menu. Click on the Mac Finder's "File > Get Info" option or press "Command+I."
- Avoid the frustration of losing irreplaceable documents and photos when your hard drive fails or your laptop goes missing. Back up important files onto a CD, DVD, portable hard drive, flash drive or online service.
- Set your computer to download operating system and security updates automatically. Find Windows settings under "Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Windows Update"). Find Mac settings under "Apple Menu > Software Update."
- Antivirus and network security applications, such as Symantec (symantec.com) and McAfee (mcafee.com), protect your PC or Mac from malicious threats that can damage files and infect others.
- Spybot S&D for Windows (safer-networking.org) detects and removes space-wasting spyware Internet trackers. Yasu for the Mac (jimmitchelldesign.com/projects/yasu/) clears log files and system caches.
- Clear the browser's cache as needed to ensure the displayed page is the most current version. Clear the history and delete cookies as needed to ensure privacy and free up space. Find your browser's maintenance features under the "Tools" or "Safety" menu options.
