I cant begin to count the number of times that I have gone to my mother-in-laws house only to find myself cleaning up their PC. Every few months its the same old thing. The pc is loaded with spyware and is running unbearably slow. Finally I decided to take it home and solve the problem for good. Here is what I did:

1. I purchased Registry Mechanic from PC Tools. I was able to download the application immediately after purchasing. I followed the VERY simple installation instructions.

2. I downloaded Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition (free) and installed it. Again, a very simple installation just following the instructions.

3. I purchased and downloaded McAfees Internet Security Suite. I installed the entire suite accepting the defaults for everything. It was also a very simple installation when following the instructions.

4. I ran Ad Aware and Registry Mechanic making all recommended changes.

5. I ran Windows built-in defrag tool and restarted.

After performing these 5 simple steps it was like a new computer. There is one additional step that I performed to protect their PC. I created a new account giving it administrator access and then changed their existing account to have limited access. This will limit what can be installed on the PC. This might not be practical for some, thats up to you.

You can find the software listed above by just doing a Google search. Each site has very nice installation instructions and makes the online purchase very simple.

Aaron Davis

Aaron Davis is a freelance web/application developer. He has been a web/application developer for more than 12 years. His specialty is .NET development with C# and SQL Server. Many of those years have been spent with major corporations such as:

A.G. Edwards Enterprise Rent-A-Car U.S. Bank Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

Aaron has also spent a significant part of his career working as a consultant with various consulting firms as well as working as an independent consultant.

Prior to entering the software development field, Aaron served in the United States Marine Corps as both a Field Radio Operator and a Small Systems Computer Specialist.