7 Steps You Can Take for a Healthier PC

Is there anything more annoying than a slow computer? You have to wait an eternity to open any file or access your browser or get anything done! It can crash and shutdown between an important task, leaving you frustrated. All these are signs of a sick computer, and before you throw the whole thing out due to exasperation, you’d better do something about it quickly.

Not sure what that’s supposed to be? Don’t worry. We’ve got your back.

There’s a lot you can and should do to keep your PC healthy. But to make it easier for you, we’ve shortened it down to these 7 essential yet easy steps you can take for a healthier PC. Keep reading to find out what they are!

Step 1: Only Install the Important Stuff

Even though your PC is a machine, it can feel overwhelmed just like us when given too much work to do. And that is exactly what happens when you install 78 different types of software and games and programs on your computer. It can take up space on your hard disk, which then slows your computer down.

Therefore, don’t just install everything you find. Try to install only the important stuff which you definitely need and can’t operate without. If you’ve got two PCs, you can keep one for important work and one for games and other stuff. Otherwise, try to limit the number of software programs you install on your PC for its health and smooth performance.

Step 2: Set up Security Measures

One of the very first things you should do when you get a new PC or start using one is to set up adequate security measures. Most of us frequently use the internet for our work or otherwise. While the internet is super helpful and informative, it is also a very dangerous place.

One wrong click or download could invite dozens of viruses and malware to invade your PC and destroy your data. Moreover, you can’t always tell if your computer has a virus. Some have very obvious signs like visible glitches, but there are some that work silently in the background and continue to affect your PC’s health.

Therefore, you need to install good antivirus software and avoid visiting and downloading files from shady websites to protect your computer.

Step 3: Carry Out Regular Updates

Those constant update notifications on one corner of your screen can be annoying, but they are absolutely necessary to keep your PC healthy. There are updates for your OS system as well as for the different software and programs installed on your computer. Additionally, there are even updates for the hardware drives included in your computer.

These updates usually contain improvements to your software and address any security holes. These also enhance the efficiency of your programs. Altogether, these updates improve the performance of your PC as it allows it to run smoother and safer. So, any time you see a notification for a new update, do it right away.

Step 4: Physical Cleaning

Physical cleaning is one of the most vital yet ignored steps you can take for a healthier PC. If your computer happens to be near a window or you are generally fond of eating your food over your PC, chances are your computer gets dirty quite often.

Now you’re probably thinking how a few crumbs over your keyboard or that layer of dust over your CPU can affect the performance or health of your PC. Well, over time, all that dirt and dust can accumulate and settle inside your PC. This can prevent it from running smoothly, and you’ll see the evidence every time you turn your PC on, and it takes forever to load.

A thorough cleaning of your PC can do wonders for its health. Make sure you properly clean the fan as a dirty fan leads to your PC overheating and even shutting down constantly.

Step 5: Digital Cleaning

Once you’re done with the exterior physical cleaning, it’s time to get down to the digital cleaning. As mentioned earlier, the more stuff you have on your computer, the more disk space it will occupy, and the slower your computer will perform.

Therefore, if you want to keep your PC healthy, do a thorough digital cleaning of your hard disk to free up that memory space and improve your PC’s speed and performance. Delete all the programs and software that you don’t use anymore. Delete all those movies and shows that you’ve already seen. Delete everything that is unnecessarily taking up space.

Step 6: Back Up Your Data

Of course, you will come across some data or files that are too important to delete yet they are taking up space too. So, what you can do is back up that data on an external hard drive and then delete it from your PC.

Moreover, backing up your data is crucial anyway. It’s best to back up all your important data and sensitive information as any security breach will ensure that you still have your data at least.

Step 7: Defragment Your Hard Drive

Your hard drive is an important component of your PC, and over time, as it stores new files and data, it can slow down due to the vast and scattered amount of data. A simple defragment of your hard drive solves this problem. It organizes your data and makes it easy to find the relevant information, thereby improving your PC’s speed and health.

Final Thoughts

Some people think that you have to be a computer wizard to keep your PC healthy and in optimal shape. However, as you can tell by this list of steps, you don’t need any special technical knowledge to maintain a healthy and proper computer. All you have to do is practice a little care, and your computer should feel brand new every day.

More importantly, even if you haven’t been facing any performance issues, we’d still recommend following these steps to prolong the life of your PC and protect your sensitive information and data.