Updating your anti-virus program.
Viruses and spyware can be the cause to 80 - 90 % of computer issues and slowness. You need to make sure that you always have the most recent update available with any anti-virus software even if you think it does it automatically. To do this open your anti-virus program and check for any dates, times, or any update area that would make your program check for an update. Once this is done, do a full system scan to make sure that no viruses are detected. If you find that you have a virus that can not be removed or feel you may still be infected or just want another opinion on if your computer is virus free, you can run this free online virus and spyware/malware scanner.

Trend-Housecalls
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

(**Windows ME & XP users may have to turn off "system restore" to remove certain viruses and spyware)

If you do not have any anti-virus.
If you do not have any anti-virus. If you currently do not have any anti-virus or the one you use is out of date, we strongly encourage you to download AVG. The AVG anti-virus program has a free version that is excellent atdetecting and removing viruses on a source code level (rather thandefinitions) and has automatic updating. AVG also has a full version that may be purchased and has more features and has no waiting on the update downloads. To download either version visit their website at http://www.avg.com or just the free version here:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5

Critical Updates.
You need to make sure that you have all of the critical updates and security patches that Microsoft offers. To do this you will need to be connected to the internet and open Internet Explorer. Click on "Tools" at the top and then click "Windows Update" and you will be directed to the update page where you can download the "Critical Updates". You can also get to these updates here:

http://www.microsoft.com

Spyware.
Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies.

There are many spyware programs that claim to remove spyware but only two of them have proven to be reliable. The first program would be Adaware. You will need to download/install/update before you start a full scan to remove the spyware from the computer. This has a free version that can be obtained here:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

The second spyware removal program that can be used to clean spyware that Adaware cant detect is called Spybot Search and Destroy. You will need to download/install/update this program before you start a full system scan to remove spyware from the computer.(**NOTE** During installation of this program you will come to a screen for creating desktop icons. Please remove checkmarks from "Create a Quick Launch icon" and "Internet Explorer Permanent Protection".) This is a free program but does except Paypal donations and can be downloaded here:

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Resources and Informational links.

http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked/

http://www.intranetjournal.com/spyware/removal.html

Easy File Manager.
We have put together a site that has these files available for you to convienently download without the hassle of searching for them. Once you log in you need to locate the file you wish to download and simply click the name of the file and save the file to your desktop for you to install from when the download is finished.

http://filemanager.cwo.com

Loggin name "helpfiles" (all lower case,no spaces)
Password "helpfiles!"(all lower case,no spaces)

Free AVG = avgfree7_5.exe
Ad-Aware = adaware.exe
Spybot = spybot14.exe