Need help with new laptop

[zlodnick]

First of all, Im not really computer literate. I just bought an Acer laptop 6 months ago. I bought Windows 8.1 and the shop installed it for me

Slow but sure Im getting the hang of it. Then a friend told me I needed virus protection and suggested AVG. Took awhile but I downloaded AVG and it seemed I was all set. I run a scan every 2 weeks and occasionally they send a message saying a threat was detected and they got rid of it.

I try to be careful and on the advice of some TV members, I dont look at porn and I dont open anything that looks suspicious or if from someone I dont know.

So far so good. But, I was reading a thread here about defraging and "cleaning up" a computer. I did a google search about malware and about defraging, ( the stuff about defraging was like reading Chinese to me), and Im not sure what to do if anything.

I could use some advice. Do I need to take further steps to protect my computer? As usual, there is conflicting information out there. What happens when one gets a virus and will I have problems for sure, sooner or later?

If I need to take further steps, it will probably not be something I can do myself. Are there places I could go where they handle this kind of thing?

Sincerely,

Zlodnick

[Pakaty]

You don't need to worry about defragging if you have a solid state drive. If you have a regular spinning drive Windows 8 should be doing that automatically on a weekly basis.

From this site: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/improve-performance-optimizing-hard-drive# By default, Optimize Drives, previously called Disk Defragmenter, runs automatically on a weekly schedule. But you can also optimize drives on your PC manually.

Regarding malware, this is probably the most used malware scanner. https://www.malwarebytes.org/

You may want to consider this program. Its not for malware or defragging. Its popular for cleaning unnecessary files off you computer. https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

You can read about it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCleaner

Be careful when installing programs like CCleaner and Malwarebytes, they like to add unwanted programs during installation. Just pay attention and and uncheck the boxes that ask if you want the extra programs. Its the price we pay for free software. You don't have to pay for these programs, the free versions are fine.

[zlodnick]

Thanks Pakaty,

Is it alright for me to use malwarebytes? I have AVG and Ive heard you should not use more than 1 antivirus.

As far as cleaning unnessary files, do I have any files at all? All I do is watch youtube, facebook,read newspapers and look up stuff.

Well, you gave me enough homework to keep me busy this weekend.

Thanks, Zlodnick

[Pakaty]

Thanks Pakaty,

Is it alright for me to use malwarebytes? I have AVG and Ive heard you should not use more than 1 antivirus.

As far as cleaning unnessary files, do I have any files at all? All I do is watch youtube, facebook,read newspapers and look up stuff.

Well, you gave me enough homework to keep me busy this weekend.

Thanks, Zlodnick

You can use Malwarebytes. It is not an antivirus program. You are correct that you can't use more than one antivirus program at the same time. If you wanted to try another antivirus program you would need to uninstall AVG first. Just download the program you want to try before you uninstall AVG.

Your web browser alone can accumulate a lot old unneeded files.

[DogNo1]

From your description of what you do, you will have a lot of cached video, etc. on your machine. I recommend installing CCleaner and running it every week or so. It's good to keep your machine clean by running Malwarebytes and CCleaner periodically.