No matter how hard you try, it is almost impossible to keep your computer clean of laggy crap software if you are using the Internet. Even visiting only trusted websites can land you with problems. Scammers and desperate marketers will stop at nothing to get something installed on your computer for the $0.50 commission. So, instead of throwing your box out the window and hoping for a new one this holiday season, I have a few suggestions that will help your computer run faster and more efficiently.

All the software I suggest is free to use, but I must also warn that it is from third party companies. I use them with great success on my computer, but if something goes wrong, I can’t provide any support. I didn’t create the software, and only know how to use it. Feel free to ask questions, but if it involves a specific piece of software, I suggest going to the vendors forums and asking for help there. I will try and provide links when available.

The first step is going to be downloading a few small pieces of software that can scan your computer. provide us with some important information, and help remove things that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

First, download Adaware Free at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php. Once it downloads install it on your computer, and move on to the next step. We will be using this software in just a second, but first we need to get all the tools ready to go.

Once Adaware is set up, download Spybot Search and Destroy at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html. Install this also, and let it run the basic scans. It will sanitize your computer, which may take a few moments. Once that is set up, we have one more tool to download, and then we will be ready to get down to business.

Last, download Hijackthis at http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php#hijackthis. This program will help us find any problems the other programs don’t find. You don’t need to install this program, just download it somewhere you can find it later.

Now that we have these tools, we are ready to get to work cleaning up our computer. The first step is to restart the computer and load Windows in safe mode. Sometimes ad programs will trick the scanning software by running another program that hides it. When we restart Windows in safe mode, none of these programs are loaded, and our scanning software will have a much easier time finding everything.

To restart your computer in safe mode, hit F8 while the computer is booting up, but before the Windows splash screen. Select start in safe mode from the list of choices. You will see a lot of text that doesn’t make sense. Just wait a moment, and Windows will eventually load. Your screen may look like it is running Windows 98 or something like that, but that is normal. Windows doesn’t load any video drivers in safe mode.

Once Safe Mode has loaded, open Adaware and let it scan the entire computer. Depending on how many files you have, this may take awhile. Be patient, and let the entire scan finish. Once the scan is finished, delete all the “Critical Objects” and close Adaware.

Next, move on to Spybot Search and Destroy. Let this scan all your files and remove anything that comes up. Once this is finished, we can restart the computer and boot it up normally.

Once your computer is back up, open Firefox or Explorer (one of the more recent versions) and go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/. Use this free online virus scan and let it scan your computer completely. The online virus scan can sometimes find things that a program on your computer can’t.

After that, you computer should be running much better. If it still isn’t up to your standards take the Hijackthis program, and run it. Copy and paste all the information is gives you, and post it on The CricketSoda forums under our Software support section, which can be found at http://cricketsoda.com/connect/viewforum.php?f=12. One of our fine technically inclined people will take a look, and let you know which entries need to be deleted.

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