Although it’s easy to get lost when the conversation turns to the finer details of the Java coding or the history of the Rebel Alliance, working with a bunch of techies does have its advantages. One of these is handy computer tips.

I had a nagging PC problem and searching the internet didn’t seem to bring up much useful information. Rather, it brought up too much information, but it was difficult to know what was good advice. The issue was my laptop that was running slower than a snail working under the union leadership of Bob Crow.

Perhaps I should uninstall some programs, but which ones? I was also running Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus software, but it was due for renewal. Luckily, the marvellous Richard Edmonds, who operates under the title of Traygon, made some excellent suggestions which have made noticable improvements. (Yes, he did tell me to write that, but it is true.)

Firstly, I had to replace Norton with a free Anti-virus software called AVG. Wowzers! Getting rid of Norton felt like taking off a pair of lead socks. It appears you actually have to pay Norton to slow down your computer. AVG combined with the Windows firewall is apparently enough security.

Next, there was a thing called CCleaner (the first ‘C’ is for Crap) which finds unnecessary… erm ‘crap’, in your registry files (that’s the database which contain all your settings and can get thoroughly clogged up) and gets rid of them. Finally, Auslogics free defragger gives your PC a much better defrag than the built-in Windows version. So now the computer has not only got rid of its heavy socks, but thrown out the platform boots that it was tottering around on, and is now sprinting around in a brand new pair of trainers.