• Settings

  • Part 1
    • Right-click the blue and white “A” icon in the system tray and select “Program Settings”
    • Sections:
      • Appearance
        • “Animate the icon when scanning” = off
      • Sounds
        • “Disable avast! sounds” = on
      • Update (Basic)
        • Set both radio buttons to “Automatic”
    • Click ok
  • Part 2
    • Right-click the blue and white “i” icon in the system tray > VRDB > Select “Disable VRDB generation”
    • Right-click again on the blue and white “i” icon in the system tray > VRDB > “Merge with main Avast Icon”

• Yearly Avast update

  • Every year, Avast will tell you that your anti-virus will expire.  They currently do not charge for anti-virus for home use so all you have to do is re-register with them to get a new key/code.  FYI, they do not sell your information.
  • Go to https://secure.avast.com/web/eng/home-registration.php
  • Submit your ACTUAL/REAL email address.  Once you submit the information, it could take up to 24 hours for Avast to send you the code.
  • Once you receive the code, right-click the blue and white “A” icon in the system tray and select “About avast!”
  • Click “License Key” button
  • Copy and paste the long code that Avast provided you in their email into this Registration code window and click ok.
  • That’s it, you are good to go for another year.

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.

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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

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