In today’s article, we’ve posted links to the tools you need and a simple “5-Point Maintenance Plan” that you can follow to keep your PC running like new (or better). The average user can perform these tasks in 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size (hard drive) and speed (RAM and processor) of the computer.

What You Will Need To Get Started – Tools

All of the tools you will need for this routine maintenance are posted and available for you on the JumpstartMyPC.com Tools page. We add new items to this area from time-to-time and keep all of the links updated with the most recent versions of each application. Simply locate an application that you would like to use and click on the Software link out to the right. You’ll be directed to an external site and the download will begin.

JumpstartMyPC.com Tools Page

5-Point Maintenance Plan

There are 5 main areas that you will need to focus on each time you perform maintenance on your PC.

• Defrag – A defrag of your hard drive makes it easier on your PC to locate files and extends the life of your hard drive.
  Program: Auslogics Disk Defrag (available on the tools page)
  Article: Defragmentation: A Simple Task for a Huge Result

• Update – Microsoft releases regular updates for your operating system. There might be a security or bug fix waiting for you.
  Program: Windows (already installed on your system)
  Article: Warning Lights on Your PC Shouldn’t be Ignored

• Scan – Malware, Spyware and other unwanted malicious programs are installed without your knowledge.
  Program: Spybot Search and Destroy (tools page)

• Clean – As you surf the internet, your browser collects files in a temporary folder. These files are not deleted until you tell your computer to do so.
  Program: CCleaner (tools page)

• Registry Cleaning – The registry stores configuration settings and options for Windows. Unfortunately, it never cleans out old files.
  Program: Abexo Registry Cleaner (tools page) NOT FOR WINDOWS 7 USERS
  Article: Your Registry is Probably in Need of a Cleaning

If you have any questions, concerns or programs you would like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email, Facebook or Twitter.

“The truth is that the security team at Facebook works hard to counter threats on their site — it’s just that policing 350 million users can’t be an easy job for anyone…” said Graham Cluley (Sophos) in a recent CNET article.  That is where Norton Safe Web steps in.  The new tool works much like Web of Trust (WOT) and has already been available as an online service for some time.  The folks over at Norton have just integrated it into Facebook for the specific purpose of testing your feed for links to unsafe/malicious content.  There are some limitations to this new application, but it is a step in the right direction for Facebook users and their computers.

Using Norton Safe Web

“Installing” the app and testing your feed takes only minutes and a few clicks of a mouse button.  First, you’ll need to click on the application page link : http://apps.facebook.com/nortonsafeweb.  You’ll be asked to let Norton Safe Web access your profile and feed information (ironic isn’t it).  On the first screen, simply click Allow.  When prompted about “additional permissions,” you’ll need to grant permissions to Norton by clicking on the text that reads “grant us permission to access your News Feed and Wall.”  Finally, you can click on Allow Access to finish out the installation process.

Once installed, Norton Safe Web will automatically run a scan of your feed for the last 24 hours and return the scan results for you to review.

Scanning .....

Results

There are several items in the results that stand out.  Of course, the green check marks (Safe) and red X’s (Warning) are important and represent the safety of a link within your feed, but that is not all you get.

• Untested – Those question marks (gray circles) indicate that the site has not been reviewed by anyone yet.  This doesn’t mean that the link is dangerous, simply that there is no information either way.  All of the results from the Norton Safe Web program are taken from user feedback about the site in question.
• Full URL – Often, Facebook users and programs will post a shortened URL on FB.  These shortened URLs point to real sites and unfortunately that is how most of these malicious links make their way around the internet.  The Safe Web results show you the full URL, in case you are interested in where the link will take you.
• Norton Safe Web Report – If you see a Warning message or simply want to know more information about a link in question, you can click on “See Norton Safe Web Report” to visit the Norton web site and see feedback from users who have posted reviews of the site.  The report will have information on computer threats, identity threats, e-commerce safety and annoyance factors.

How to Use Norton Safe Web

The idea of Norton Safe Web (NSW) is great, but the implementation is a little lacking.  I don’t think this is Norton’s fault in any way, but simple a restriction of the Facebook design.  The problem is that you can only test and see results when you take the time to visit the application.  These scans of your feed will not take place automatically and results will not show when you simply visit your Facebook page.  Instead, users will have to remember to test their links before clicking on them.

In order to get the most out of this tool and actually remember to use it, I recommend the following steps.

1. Click on the Add Bookmark option within the application (shown in the Results image above).
2. Then, edit your bookmarks (under your image on left0hand side) by clicking More and then Edit
3. Click and drag the Norton Safe Web line up as far as you can take it, then let go
4. Click Less and make sure that you can see the bookmark for NSW without expanding your bookmarks

Each day (or session), before clicking on any links that have been shared with you, simply click on the bookmark and Norton will run a complete scan of all of the links in your feed.  The test takes a few seconds and won’t really slow down your Facebook experience.

Pre-Scanning Integration

One tool from the Norton Safe Web application that was integrated very well is the Pre-Scanning feature.  As someone who shares links and sites in your feed, you can do your part to reduce dangerous site visits by checking your links as you post them.  The feature is available under the “Attach:” dropdown box (shown below).

Pre-Scan Feature

When you click on Safe Web Link Post you’ll be prompted for the URL you want to share and Norton will do the rest.  Your link, your message and a Seal of Approval are all posted in the format shown here:

Pre-Scanned Link via Norton Safe Web

Verdict

All-in-all, I think Norton has really helped Facebook and it’s users with this FREE step in the right direction.  As I mentioned above, the integration could have been a little better and helped all of us who will forget about testing links before clicking on them, but I still feel that the strict rules of Facebook are to blame for that.  Add this application to your Facebook bookmarks today and help rid Facebook of the dangerous links and malicious sites.

In the beginning, digital sharing was done via email.  Attachments were sent and frustrations elevated when emails were not received or “kicked back” because the attachments were too large.  Sharing methods have evolved and changed over time and we are now inundated with hundreds of ways to share information with one another.  Facebook and Twitter are by far the most popular, but many others have great feature sets and large followings.  Only one service pulls them all together seamlessly, ShareThis.  That little green button (the trademark of ShareThis) has made it’s way onto 130,000+ sites and reaches over 400 million users per month.

What makes ShareThis different?

ShareThis is different because it allows you to share information via other share sites/methods.  When you see something you like, you can click on the ShareThis icon and send a link via email, text, Facebook, Twitter and/or 40+ more social services.  The ShareThis button is already a part of many of the sites you visit every day and you can add it to your browser, so everything you see on the web can be shared in an instant.

The Most Popular ShareThis Options

Not only is ShareThis easy to get to, it is easy to use.  Set up an address book within your ShareThis account and sending a link is as easy as typing a name.  You can import your existing address book from Gmail, Hotmail or AOL email services.  By creating an account and sharing links, you can also view a history of what you have shared called My Shares.  It’s a great tool, in case you forget the name of that site that you shared a few days (or even weeks) before.

Recent Changes

Today, ShareThis introduced some new features and updated some existing components, like the ShareThis button.  The Live ShareThis Stream has been introduced, combining the content your friends are sharing with what people are saying about it, and you can now connect to ShareThis account using your Facebook,  Twitter, Google or Yahoo! account.  Take a look at the video below and/or read this article (by Nick Bertrand of ShareThis) to get a better idea of what ShareThis has to offer.

ShareThis and JumpstartMyPC.com

Regular readers of the JumpstartMyPC.com blog will notice a few changes to the layout of our articles.  We’ve been changing the sidebar (over there on the right) and we’ve recently added the ability to “Buzz this” (a Google Buzz implementation).  Today, we updated our ShareThis button, which is posted below every article we write.  We have provided the ShareThis button since our very first blog post and notify many of our readers about the latest articles by sending emails through the ShareThis tool daily.

Try ShareThis today.  Set up an account and add some of your friends and family to your Contact List.  ShareThis is FREE and has proven itself as a trusted and valuable sharing tool for all.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

¹ – Taken from the article Google Buzz Puts Sharing at the Center of the Web on ShareThis.com