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Configure Avast Anti-virus

Computer Terms

gb = gigabyte. One gb equals about 1 billion bytes.
Internet connections - Internet connections comes in many different shapes, sizes, and speeds. The three primary types of connections are cable, DSL, or telephone modem, although FIOS (fiber-optic) is soon going to increase in popularity. All of these connections require a special, connection-type-specific modem.
- DSL (digital subscriber line)- This is a highly popular type of internet connection. DSL allows you to use your regular telephone lines to obtain a high-speed connection to the Internet. Because DSL works at a different frequency than your normal phone lines use for voice, you can continue to send faxes and talk on the phone without any interruption to your phone conversation. Generally the phone company will give you a simple line filter/adapter to plug into the telephone outlet and each phone to ensure a clean telephone line and limit

Suggested Programs

Everything in bold below is what I consider an essential program that you should have.

Ad-Aware Free - Cleanup utility - Free
Excellent utility to remove spy/ad/mal-ware from your computer. Works best when used along with Spybot Search and Destroy and CCleaner.
Adobe Acrobat Reader - PDF Viewer - Free
View/Read PDF files.
Apple iTunes - Music player and management - Free
Excellent music and video management program. Doesn’t support many video and audio formats, which is a bit of a bummer. But otherwise works perfectly.
Audacity - Audio Editing/Recording - Free
Excellent yet simple audio editing program.
Avast Anti-virus - Anti-virus/Anti-Malware - Free (for home use)
Perfect for home use. After installing the program, follow these instructions and go to the Avast section.
CCleaner - Cleanup utility - Free
Easily removes garbage and temporary files from your computer. Recommended to run this once a week.

Computer FAQs

How much hard drive space do you have?
- Go to My Computer
- Right-Click on the C drive (sometimes it is called Local Disk C:) > Properties
- A pie chart will show you how much space you have on your computer and how much is used up.
- You should have at least 3gb (gigabytes) free on your computer at any time for optimal performance.
How much memory/RAM do you have and what can you upgrade to?
- Go to http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.as px (Crucial.com is an excellent source for good quality memory. Their prices aren’t necessarily the best, but they certainly are not unreasonable. They are a reliable and safe company to work with and buy from.).
- Click the checkbox under “Download the Scanner” button.
- Then click the “Download the Scanner” button itself.
- Save that file/program to your desktop.
- Once it is done saving, run the file/program from your desktop by double-clicking it.
- After about 5-10 seconds, your internet browser will open to the Crucial.com website. This page will hopefully show you how much memory you have in your computer and how much you can upgrade to. My recommendation is to have a minimum of 2gb of RAM which should be around $30-50 or so.

Computer Hardware/Devices/Components

Hard disk drive (a.k.a. hard disk, hard drive, HD, HDD) - Primary storage device for your computer. This is where all programs, games, documents, files, etc. are stored on your computer for long-term storage.
This is most like the long-term memory in the human body.
RAM/memory - Very high speed, temporary memory that is used when you are using a program or application. Nothing can be stored to your RAM permanently due to the fact that all contents of your memory dissappear as soon as you turn off or restart the computer. It is generally recommended to have at least 2gb of RAM on your computer for optimal day-to-day use. While it doesn’t hurt to have more than 2gb of RAM, it is unnecessary to have more unless you will be using your computer for high-end gaming, video editing, graphics work, etc.
This is most like the short-term memory in the human body.
Video Card (a.k.a. video adapter, graphics card, GPU, 3D Card, etc.) - The video card’s purpose is to process any visual elements of the the programs and applications you use into an image that you can see on your monitor.

Configure iTunes

Settings (This will help iTunes run more quickly, stably, and more smoothly.)

Main iTunes window > Store drop-down menu
- Click “Turn off Genius” is you do not use Genius playlists
Main iTunes window > Preferences menu
- Sharing menu
  - Disable all
- Parental menu
  - Enable “Ping”
  - Enable “Shared Libraries” if you do not use this feature.
- Devices menu
- Enable “Allow iTunes control from remote speakers”
Advanced menu

Enable “Keep iTunes media folder organized”
Enable “Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library”
Get all your music files consolidated into one location!
- Go to File > Library > Organize Files
- Enable “Consolidate Library” and “Reorganize files”, then click Ok.
- Depending on how large and disorganized your music library is, this may take between 1-60 minutes.

Improve iTunes performance by un-indexing XML files

Configure Windows 7 Services

Service Name – Default – Recommended