Windows 98 Computer maintenances, as applicable..

There is no such thing as a lazy man's dream that one free or bought software will give you all the computer, INTERNET security, protection you need.. with no real effort, work on your own part too.. no such thing.. 

Here is a whole bunch of things you may have to do with your computer at least once a week, and even once a month.. ( and don't forget to get soon a second computer with a  duplicate hard drive for back up)
 
1: Run scan disk at the dos level once a week.. scandisk.exe
2: Check your windows 98 autoexec.bat and config.system configuration..  run sysedit.exe
3: Defrag your hard drive at least once a month. programs -accessories- sytem tool- disk defragmenter
4: Check your computer for spyware software using Lavasoft Ad-aware, its free ad / spyware removal utility, that scans your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware components and lets you remove them safely. . you can download the 881 KB file here.
5: Clean your registry file..Computer startup workingslowly? Clean your registry with http://www.jv16.org/  JV!6 power tool, jv16 PowerTools is a full set of tools to keep  your computer and your LAN up and running.  Go to registry tool- tools- registry cleaner
6: Delete, uninstall and reinstall your zone alarm internet security software.. for some reasons it can get corrupted as well...
7: Run once a week your anti virus software check on your hard drives.. I use AVG myself..
8: Check your windows startup software.. I use this progam to do this Starter Starter is yet another startup manager, that allows you to view and manage all the programs that are starting automatically whenever Windows boots. Click here for details and download
9: Install additional software such as WinPatrol WinPatrol allows you to get a better understanding of what programs are being added to your computer. It monitors important system areas that are commonly altered by many malicious programs.
10 Insure that you make an emergency  dos a boot up disk go to control panel- add/remove programs/ startup disk..or you can use Tech Launcher Deluxe Windows Utility Program   to do this.  Tech Launcher takes advantage of what's already in your system vs. adding a bunch of programs you don't need or want.  Tech Launcher Deluxe 1.0.9 Download Section 98, 2000 & XP Click here to download   http://www.computergenx.com/TLDL/TLD.exe  
11:  Test your computer.   PC Pitstop runs diagnostics on your PC to identify  things that might help improve performance.   Best of all, the service is free! Our diagnostic tests are safe, passive evaluations of your system. The test will not change any settings on your PC". http://www.pcpitstop.com/
12: Make sure you have a memory manager installed also RAMpage is a small Windows utility that displays the amount of available memory in an icon in the System Tray. It can also free memory; by double clicking the tray icon, or by setting a threshold that activates the program automatically, or by having it run automatically when an application exits. RAMpage is free, and open source. [ Home ] [ Download ] [ User Guide ] [ Help ]
13: Upgrade your Microsfot software at least once a month   http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp
14: See also  the note below about * Windows security
 
You can change your IE address from a variable to a fix IP address- Contact your internet supplier for details on how to do this.. it helps to speed up interent access/
 
WARNING ! Running these utilities below will make changes to the way your system works. Please exercise caution when making changes to your system configuration. If you are unsure what changes are going to be made and what the effect will be, you should ask someone who knows. Back-up you system files to ensure you can undo changes.

The system configuration utility allows you to control which programs are loaded and opened when you START your system up each time. Windows 98® and later editions provide a utility called "msconfig" to allow users a quick interface for changing their system configuration. To run this utility click on "Start", then click on "Run". A "run" dialog box will open: type "msconfig" in the dialog box and click on the "OK" button( fig. 1). This will open the "System Configuration Utility" known as msconfig. You will see ( fig. 2 )six tabs at the top The tab titled "Startup" is where we will begin to find ways to improve your system performance. Click on the Startup tab and the window looks like this( fig. 3 ), although the contents of startup will usually differ slightly from system to system. This interface allows you to make changes to your system configuration that control the startup of programs . We recommend making changes one at a time to see the effects and ensure that the change was not undesired.

Removing some non needed items from your start-up menu will improve the systems resources. Your antivirus program should be loaded.

More Helpful software

Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system administrators! Startup Control Panel is compatible with all modern versions of Windows, including Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP. Download Startup Control Panel 2.7 (66kb) or Standalone EXE Version (38kb)

StartupMonitor is a small utility that runs transparently (it doesn't even use a tray icon) and notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup. It prevents those utterly useless tray applications from registering themselves behind your back, and it acts as a security tool against trojans like BackOrifice or Netbus. StartupMonitor does not require Startup Control Panel, but it complements it nicely. When you choose not to allow a program to register itself, the program's entry becomes disabled in Startup Control Panel, so you can go back and enable it later if necessary. StartupMonitor watches the Start Menu's Startup folders and the Run entries in the registry.  StartupMonitor has been tested on Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP; unfortunately, it does not function correctly under Windows 95 because of some unimplemented routines in the operating system.  StartupMonitor uses the Microsoft Windows Installer engine for its setup routine. Many applications from Microsoft and other third party vendors now use this engine, so there is a good chance that it is already present on your system. If, however, you are unable to open the *.msi package contained in the zip file, you will need to install the runtime, which is available from Microsoft for Windows 9x here and for Windows NT 4.0 here (about 1.5MB). Download StartupMonitor 1.02 (60kb)
 
ZoneAlarm Basic PC Internet security  Protection  Millions of users have selected the free ZoneAlarm as their trusted Internet security solution. The award-winning personal firewall automatically blocks dangerous Internet threats - known and unknown - guarding your PC from hackers and data thieves. ZoneAlarm provides the basic protection individuals need to secure their PC and keep their valuable information private.
 
 
Essentials,  Dealing with unwanted garbage files from your my  hard disk and system registry that slows down my computer as well.  This is a dangerous procedure, you can erase files but you have to do it, you need a program that regularly will help you to do it..

RegSeeker is a perfect companion for your Windows registry !
RegSeeker includes a powerful registry cleaner and can display various informations like your startup entries, several histories (even index.dat files), installed applications and much more ! With RegSeeker you can search for any item inside your registry, export/delete the results, open them in the registry. RegSeeker also includes a tweaks panel to optimize your OS !RegSeeker is FREE for personal use only !  For any usage in any Company or Organization, please contact us (contact@hoverdesk.net) for licensing informations.  http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm

Free anti virus protection software
Download AVG Free Edition   and also Download Free Updates  Get Your AVG For Free !   Here, you can get your free copy of the AVG 6.0 Anti-Virus System - AVG 6.0 Free Edition and you will be able to use it without any limitations for life of the product. http://www.grisoft.com/html/us_downl.htm
 
Windows Internet security:  Dangerous Internet security issues do exist on a Windows computer, Internet sites  still  THEREFORE USE MULTICRACKER.EXE TO PROTECT YOURSELF  Windows MultiEnhancer 5.4   Download it  IE and Outlook Express tweaks Windows MultiEnhancer (MultiCracker) is a set of 3 different registry "cracks" that help you get rid of several annoying Internet Explorer and Outlook Express message boxes. This includes the "Would you like to go online?" dialog, "You have unsent messages, would you like to send them now" and several other similar dialogs. In addition, the program offers a patch to enlarge the Windows file Open/Save dialog and default it to Details View. All changes are backed up automatically and can be undone.
Dealing effectively with pests, spies , and infested software
 
Spyware is a generic term typically describing software whose purpose is to collect demographic and usage information from your computer, usually for advertising purposes. The term is also used to describe software that 'sneaks' onto the system or performs other activities hidden to the user.
 
Spyware apps are usually bundled as a hidden component in mis-labeled "freeware" and shareware applications1 downloaded from the Internet--a spyware module may be active on your computer at this moment without your knowledge. These modules are almost always installed on the system secretively, suggesting that spyware companies know how users feel about such software and figure that the best/only way to ensure its widespread use is to prevent the end-user from discovering it.
 
Danger: They slow down your computer, eat up your memory too, work in the background unnoticed. Spyware modules have been implicated in computer problems including file deletions, system slowdown, Illegal Operation errors, browser crashes, and even the "Blue Screen Of Death". While normal system stability has usually returned when the interfering spyware modules were deleted, one spyware product in particular will disable your Internet access if you try to delete it!
 
Nevertheless, the list of pests, spies , and infested software grows by the day. See here the sample list of list of spy trojans. No doubt, you too next will be shocked! We advice you to have a look at  this sample  infested software list too.

How to find out if your pc has been infested with this malware? Simply do visit  http://wilders.org/spyware.htm and read all about it or at least download  and use the three programs recommneded here now.

Fortunately, there are some freeware programs that will easily detect them, and offer you the possibility to remove them. 
 
I recommend using  three, 3 of the the best OF THEM at this very moment. One of them is the freeware program is called Adaware.  All Ad-aware files can be downloaded from this  downloads page too. Another program to handle spyware, and  very worthwhile, is SpyBlocker. Both Adaware and Spyblocker work flawlessly in conjunction. A perfect freeware almost double check for Ad-aware is Spybot Search & Destroy. This tool comes with lots of very useful extra features. A copy can be downloaded from this downloads page; and do extract the files in a new directory.
 
Sample details, information about these Pests software.. Note Do Remove them all ..
 
Ref http://research.pestpatrol.com/   I do not know about you but I dislike any program that slows down my computer, spies on me as well.. I had just re installed new all of my computer software. I had also gone through the various spyware software checks  including SpyBot , my virus checks  software, and still there was  software they had missed..   Zone alarm showed me this spy  software cause it was trying to access the Internet the program was called "Showbehind".. which I had to manually delete.. Last Updated Friday, February 21, 2003  A total of 315 unique , common, unnecessary computer pests have been  reported, this excludes virus.. sample list of useless programs.
Pest Batch Count reported
GAIN 46,613
Brilliant Digital 6,499
Cydoor 4,731
Hotbar 4,687
Aveo 4,434
Hitbox.com 2,337
Network Essentials 2,121
Ezula 1,885
Advertising.com 1,592
DoubleClick 1,435
 
More Great tips for Interent Explorer, Outlook Express, and great other software. Search sites.
 
Defragmenting - Keeping your Computer Clean.

One thing that a lot of people overlook is keeping their computer clean. Not physically clean (though the monitor likes a good wipe every now and again) but your hard drive clean. Your hard drive is where you store all your information on your computer. This includes Windows and all the programs you have running on your computer. It's helpful to think of your hard drive a football field. Information stored on it is saved in different spots.

For example windows occupies the end zone up to the 20 yard line. Over time as different programs are added and removed programs end up scattered. So a single program can have chunks in 15 places all over the field. When you go to access this from your hard drive it takes longer as it has to gather the information from a range of places. There is a built in program in Windows that will go through your hard drive and put all these programs back together in one physical place on your hard drive, thus allowing faster access time.

This program is called Disk Defragmenter. To run it click on your Start button then Programs then Accessories. Under Accessories click on System Tools then you will see Disk Defragmenter. Run the Defragmenter and click on OK after selecting the drive to defragment. By default it will be Drive C: 95% of peoples main drive. It may want to do a Scan Disk first to get a map of the drive and be warned, very messy drives can take hours to defragment. During this time you can't use your computer so pick a time when you won't need it. While it's defragging click on "Show Details" and you will see it moving bits of data around (you will get bored of watching that quickly.) When it finishes, reboot your computer and you should find things loading a bit faster. It's good to do a defrag ever month or two to keep it in top shape.

This can be a good way of freeing up extra hard drive space and putting off that upgrade.

DISK DEFRAG NOT GOING ANYWHERE?
"Too many time have I seen or hear the problem of the disk defrag getting to 10%, or even 60% and then restarting.  The solution is usually to reboot your system and start in safe mode.  If you have Windows XP this will never be a problem, but for those using 98 or ME then you are going to want to do the following:

In the Registry (yes, this means you are editing the brains of your operating system so if you feel uneasy about this then you should be hiring a professional), navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Applets \ Defrag \ Settings.  Now you will see a list of four important subkeys:  Disable loadqm.exe, Disable loadwc.exe, Disable ScreenSaver, and Disable Wkdetect.exe.  Now double click on each of these entries (Default) values and set them to "YES" (in the right-hand pane). 

But what else gets interrupted with disk activity? Scandisk.  So, in the same Applets hierarchy, scroll down the list until you see the Scandisk key.  Continue to cascade through to its Settings key and you will find:  Disable loadqm.exe, Disable loadwc.exe, and Diisable ScreenSaver.  Do the same thing here as you did for the Defrag key.  NOTE:  this will only suspend operation of those utilities while Defrag or Scandisk are being run.  LOADWC.EXE (Windows Update Checker), LOADQM.EXE (Query Manger), and WKDETECT.EXE (Update Checker for Microsoft Works) can safely be turned off in the Startup tab of MSCONFIG.  "                                                                           http://www.tpsconsulting.com/tips2.htm#DISK%20DEFRAG

The Internet Explorer security Settings 

If you find that you are getting "script errors" or "active X" errors while surfing the net, it might be because your internet security settings are set wrong.  The following is how I have mine set, which gives me the security required to surf safely as well as be able to experience all the multimedia effects that are showing up on some websites. To view your settings and to make changes please follow these steps:

From an open window of your Internet Explorer, click on TOOLS then on INTERNET OPTIONS.  If you are on a dial up connection and would rather not start your Internet Explorer then you can go to the CONTROL PANEL and click on INTERNET OPTIONS.  This gets you to the same place.

Now click on the SECURITY tab then click on INTERNET icon

Visit this site for more details. http://www.tpsconsulting.com/tips4.htm
 

Optimizing Internet Explorer


Internet Explorer or IE is the most popular web browser in the world currently. It comes with all Windows Operation Systems so most of you are probably using it to "surf the net" right now. Unfortunately the default settings of IE can cause it to slow down over time as it becomes bogged down with saved copies of webpages and images from them. Here's some quick tips to streamlining your web browser to get the best speed and performance out of it. This applies to users of IE version 5.0 or higher. If you are using an older version I'd suggest upgrading to the newest version. This can be done at this address

If you have IE 5.0 or newer, here's what you do.

Open up Internet Explorer
Click on Tools then Internet Options
On the section titled "Temporary Internet Files" you will see a button called "Delete Files" Press it and add a checkmark to "Delete All Offline Content". Then Click 'OK"
Click on the button labelled "Settings"
There is a number there titled "Amount of Disk Space to Use." Some people will find this number to be in the hundreds of MBs. This is a lot of wasted space on your hard drive and will slow down your connection considerably as IE sifts through all this data. The ideal setting for this is 5 MB reset this number to 5 then click "OK"
Click on the Connection Tab on the top
Click on the button labelled "LAN Settings"
Remove and Check Marks you see. All 3 items should be blank
Click OK and OK again to close the window. You should notice webpages displaying faster after this and the dreaded "Page Cannot Be Displayed" message should only be seen if a page is genuinely down
 

I've somehow downloaded this annoying add-on to my browser! How do I get rid of it?

Often there will be advertisements online that will say something like "Enhance Your Internet." They suggest by installing their free software you can enhance or maximize your Internet. What they don't tell you is what they mean by "maximize." Most people would assume they mean increase your Internet speed. However usually they mean they'll install a slowdown, an add-on to your browser that will "enhance" your surfing by popping up ads from time to time. This is the case with sites like BonziBUDDY or Comet Cursor. If you find yourself being annoyed by one of these add-ons here's help:

I get so much SPAM! What should I do?

Anyone who's been on the Internet for any length of time knows how annoying unsolicited emails or SPAM can be. There are some tips we offer:

NEVER RESPOND! By responding you're only letting the spammer know that your email account is active and you'll probably receive more SPAM as a result. Even if the email says "respond if you do not wish to receive this email any longer," do not reply.

Block Senders: Most email programs allow you to block emails from a particular email address. Click here to see an example of how to block senders in Outlook Express.

Be Vigilant: When providing your email on websites to receive newsletters or download software be sure to read the user agreement. Make sure they won't pass your email on to others or sign you up for other newsletters.

Create A Separate Email Address: Create a separate email account for use when downloading software or signing up to websites online. You can always go sign-up for a free account with Hotmail or Yahoo.
 
You can easily uninstall these add-ons. Click here to see how.
 
 
 
 
 Oulook Express Mail - Back up your mail message files

To back up your mail message files, follow these steps:

  1. Review your mail message folders and delete any unneeded messages
  2. Click the File menu, select Folder > Compact All Folders
  3. Find the files with the extension .mbx and .idx on your computer. These files are usually located in a folder under C:\Windows \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express \ Mail. The files might be in a different folder if you did not accept the default folders during setup
  4. Copy the files to a backup folder on your computer, a floppy disk, or a network drive

Note: Each message folder has one message file (*.mbx) and one index file (*.idx). There's is no need to copy the *.idx files. Some message files might be too large to back up onto a floppy disk.

 

MSN search -  Internet Explorer  typed Url clear form.
To clear previous search words from your list
Search words you have used previously are available in a drop-down list in the search box. You can click any word or phrase in the list to move it to the search box without retyping.

If you want to clear the list of previous search words, do the following:

For Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later:

  1. On your browser's Tools menu (version 5.0) or View menu (version 4.0), click Internet Options.
  2. In the Internet Options dialog box under the Content tab, click AutoComplete.
  3. In the AutoComplete Settings dialog box, click Clear Forms.
  4. Click OK. Your list of previous search words is now cleared.
How do I change my Internet Explorer home page?

By default Internet browsers have the startup website (or homepage) already set. Internet Explorer for example uses msn.com as their default start page. But you can easily change this to any website you would like. This also works if your homepage has been changed by accident.

Click here to see how to change your homepage in Internet Explorer.

Windows Outlook Express tips.

Customize Outlook Express. (Windows 98)

If you don't like how Outlook Express looks, you can easily change it. Select the "View" menu, choose "Layout." From here, you can enable or disable toolbars, disable or enable the message preview pane, and more.

Save Space in Outlook Express. (Windows 98)

Outlook Express cleans up after itself only when it notices 20% wasted space. If you would rather have Outlook Express clean after itself more often, choose the "Tools" menu, selecting "Options." On the multi-tabbed dialog box that follows, choose the "Advanced" tab. Under "Compact files when there is XXX percent wasted space," lower this number from 20 to your desired setting.
 

Fast Send Email. (Windows 98)

Using the run dialog of Windows, you can quickly and easily send email via your default email program. To send an email from anywhere in windows: Open the run dialog by pressing the windows key + r then type "mailto:" without the quotes. Insert the full email address of the recipient. Press Enter and a new email form will be loaded. Fill in the subject, type your message and send.

 

Windows Outlook Express Tips, Tricks and Secrets.
 
Using Virus Protection Features in Outlook Express 6
     Virus Protection features in Outlook Express 6 are found on Security tab of the Tools, Options dialog box.

Using Internet Explorer Security Zone to Disable Active Content in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) E-mail

Security zones enable you to choose whether active content, such as ActiveX Controls and scripts, can be run from inside HTML e-mail messages in Outlook Express. By default, Outlook Express 6 uses the Restricted Zone instead of the Internet Zone. Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 and Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 used the Internet zone, which enable most active content to run. To customize your Internet Explorer security zone settings for Outlook Express:

CAUTION: Changing security zone settings can expose your computer to potentially damaging code. Use caution when you change these settings.
Start Outlook Express, and then on the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the Security tab, and then click either Restricted Sites Zone or Internet Zone (less secure, but more functional) in the Virus Protection section under Select the Internet Explorer security zone to use.
Click OK to close the Options dialog box, and then quit Outlook Express.
Start Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu, and then click Security.
Click Custom Level for the security zone that you selected in Outlook Express. The security settings that you choose apply to Outlook Express as well as Internet Explorer.

To Prevent Applications From Sending E-mail Without Your Approval

If you configure Outlook Express as the default mail handler (or simple MAPI client) on the General tab, Outlook Express processes requests by using Simple MAPI calls. Some viruses can exploit this functionality and spread by sending copies of e-mail messages that contain the virus to your contacts. By default, Outlook Express 6 prevents e-mail messages from being sent programmatically from Outlook Express without your knowledge by displaying a dialog that enables you to send or not send the message. If you regularly use an application that uses Simple MAPI calls to send e-mail as yourself, you may want to disable this protection as follows:
  1. Start Outlook Express, and then on the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Security tab, and then click to remove the check mark from the Warn me when other applications try to send mail as me checkbox.
  3. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Using the Internet Explorer Unsafe File List to Filter E-mail Attachments

To use the Internet Explorer unsafe file list to filter e-mail attachments:
Start Outlook Express, and then on the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the Security tab, and then click to select the Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus check box under Virus Protection.
This option does not enabled by default. If you enable this option, Outlook Express uses the Internet Explorer 6 unsafe file list and the Confirm open after download setting in Folder Options to determine whether a file is safe. Any e-mail attachment with a file type reported as "unsafe" is blocked from being downloaded.

NOTE: The Internet Explorer 6 unsafe file list includes any file types that may have script or code associated with them. To add additional file types to be blocked or remove file types that should not be blocked:
Click Start, point to Settings (or click Control Panel), and then click Control Panel (or switch to Classic View or View All Control Panel Options).
Double-click Folder Options.
On the File Types tab, click to select the file type that you want to block or allow, and then click Advanced. If the file type you want to add is not listed, perform the following steps:
Click New.
In the Create New Extension dialog box, type the file extension you want to add to the unsafe file list.
Click OK, and then click Advanced.
Click to place a check mark (block) or remove the check mark (allow) from the Confirm open after download checkbox.
NOTE: You cannot remove the check from Confirm open after download to allow some file types. For example, .exe files are in the default unsafe file list in Internet Explorer and cannot be allowed.

How to Determine When Outlook Express Has Blocked an Attachment

When Outlook Express blocks an attachment, the following alert is displayed in the message alert bar at the top of the e-mail message:
Outlook Express removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your email: file_ name1, file_ name2, and so on.
 

Download these Internet Music players

Other software
 
  • Macromedia Flash Player
  • Macromedia Shockwave Player  
  •  Netscape 
  • Internet Explorer  Outlook/Express  (Latest Version)
  • Download MSN Messenger
  • Windows help  
    •  
     
    Some Great Major Search Engines 
     
    Use several search services. Not one of them covers more than a part of the Net. Use a minumum number of specifically realted words as well realted to your search.
     
    Regional (Canada) Regional (Other) Companies
    People (E-mail addresses) People (Postal addresses & telephone numbers)
    Images Jobs
    Games Software
    Health/Medicine Education/Children's Sites
     
     
     
    Do please SEE ALSO
    https://pbulow.tripod.com/links.html
    https://pbulow.tripod.com/links2.html
    https://pbulow.tripod.com/tips.html  
    https://pbulow.tripod.com/index.html
     
    God bless you.