[blind-philly-comp] Re: How to Speed Up Your Windows Machine Using Only Free Tools

  • From: David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2018 21:34:59 -0500

Kelsey,

I acknowledge that it would have been nice if I had been able to review the programs mentioned in the article to determine their level of accessibility. Aside from MalwareBytes I don't believe that I've used any of the other programs except for Autoruns. Autoruns appeared to be accessible at first but, sadly, the state of the check boxes were not being reported. In plain English, this means that you don't hear that you're pointing to a check box nor do you hear whether it's checked or not checked. Using the JAWS graphics labeler you might be able to label them if they are being presented as graphics which JAWS can see but this will take some experimentation.

On 12/5/2018 12:58 PM, Kelsey Nicolay wrote:

Hello,
I know MalwareBytes is accessible, but are the other tools mentioned
in the article accessible with JAWS or Nvda? I want to make sure
before I go through the trouble of downloading them.

On 12/4/18, David Goldfield <david.goldfield@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Make Tech Easier - Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 8:25 PM

How to Speed Up Your Windows Machine Using Only Free Tools

Are you one of the many Windows users who covets the speed with which the
new machines load and run? Do you see your friends getting to work while
your device sits and spins? Unless you are willing to shell out the money to
get a new, state-of-the-art computer, you will need to look for ways to
speed up what you already have. Lucky for you, there are things you can do
to increase the loading and processing speeds of your computer without
spending a cent.

Windows machines are known for slowing down over time because of hard drive
clutter and other software-related problems. And if you have an older
machine without the best and newest hardware, it makes the problem even
worse. If you are ready to speed things up, these free tools may make a
difference for you.

1. Malware Issues

[free-windows-speed-tools-malware]

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-282264"
title="free-windows-speed-tools-malware"
src="https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2018/11/free-windows-speed-tools-malware.png";
alt="free-windows-speed-tools-malware"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Before you do anything else, you want to clear your computer completely of
any malware. This process can take a while but will be worth it in the end.
If you have antivirus software (which you should), open it and run a full
scan to find and remove any malware.

If this isn’t working for some reason, try these free steps to eliminate the
suspect programs.

First, open a browser window, and download the free version of
Malwarebytes<http://maketecheasier.com/goto/malwarebytes-free>. Run the
program to get rid of the malware.

[malwarebytes-threat-scan]

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-283429"
title="malwarebytes-threat-scan"
src="https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2018/12/malwarebytes-threat-scan.jpg";
alt="malwarebytes-threat-scan"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The next free tool to get rid of all malware to help improve your computer’s
performance is Spybot Search &
Destroy<https://www.safer-networking.org/products/spybot-free-edition/>.
Download this and remove any malware that it locates.

And lastly, download and use the free Sophos Rootkit Removal
Kit<https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.aspx>
to remove rootkits. Rootkits are an especially nasty kind of malware that
gives hackers administrative access to your computer without your permission
or knowledge. The hackers can use them to control your device remotely.

2. Unwanted Programs

[free-windows-speed-tools-programs]

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-282265"
title="free-windows-speed-tools-programs"
src="https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2018/11/free-windows-speed-tools-programs.jpg";
alt="free-windows-speed-tools-programs"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

After you have completely removed any malware from your computer, the next
step is to remove any programs you don’t need and don’t plan on using. You
can remove these programs by using the Windows “Remove a Program” utility,
but if you want to get rid of all traces of the programs, you can use the
free tool Geek Uninstaller<https://geekuninstaller.com/>. This program will
remove every last trace of the programs, even those traces that are left
over by the Windows tool.

3. Startup Gridlock

 From here, you want to change some settings to speed up the startup process.
You will get to your desktop faster when you remove nonessential startup
programs and utilities that are loading when you start your computer. Every
time you start up your machine, some programs automatically start up as
well. Some of these you need, and some you don’t, and all those unnecessary
programs running at the same time slow down the process. You will get to
your desktop faster when you remove nonessential startup programs and
utilities that are loading when you start your computer.

A free tool that you can use that easily stop these programs from loading at
startup is called
Autoruns<https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx>.
When you download this program and run it, it will present a list of startup
processes. All you need to do is uncheck any programs that don’t need to
start when you begin Windows.

Another free tool you can use is Startup
Delayer<https://www.r2.com.au/page/products/show/startup-delayer/>. This
tool not only allows you to stop specific programs from loading
automatically, but it gives you the option of delaying the initiation of
some programs so that they are not all running at the same time. Once
Startup Delayer is installed and running, you drag and drop startup programs
into either the “Normal Startup” or “Delayed Startup” sections.

4. Too Much Junk

[free-windows-speed-tools-too-many-files]

&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-282266"
title="free-windows-speed-tools-too-many-files"
src="https://www.maketecheasier.com/assets/uploads/2018/11/free-windows-speed-tools-too-many-files.jpg";
alt="free-windows-speed-tools-too-many-files"/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

As a final step, you may want to find and remove junk files or duplicate
files stored on your computer. Programs like Iolo System
Mechanic<http://www.iolo.com/products/system-mechanic/> locate and delete
those files that may be bogging down your system.

If your computer has been running slowly, you don’t need to replace it. You
don’t even need to replace or add components to it. With some of these free
tools and a little maintenance, you can keep your computer running more
quickly and efficiently without running low on cash.

Is this article useful?YesNo
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https://www.maketecheasier.com/speed-up-windows-with-free-tools/


      David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist

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