Dell Small Business 360 - Top Tips for Tuning Up Your Systems

Waiting on the side of a road for a tow truck. Wasting even more precious time while the car sits in the shop. Those are some of the hassles you can expect when you don't make regular oil changes and perform routine maintenance on your car.

Yet, as much of an aggravation as a car breakdown can be, it's a walk in the park compared to the headache that can result when you neglect to keep your company's computer systems in top operating shape.

Do yourself - and your small business - a huge favor: Go to your computer right now, open Microsoft^®  Outlook^®  (or whatever electronic calendar you use) and schedule a regular monthly appointment to give all of the systems in your office a tune-up. Or, if you simply don't have the time or lack the desire to do the tune-up yourself, arrange for it to be done automatically (more on that later). Either way, it's a small investment in time that will pay major dividends down the road. Why? When your system goes down - or performs less than optimally - so, too, does your small business.

Consider this: Losing use of your computers for an hour or two is frustrating, but rarely fatal to your business. But should you lose access to your systems - and all the critical customer and business information stored on them - for days, your company's future is threatened. That's why it's essential to keep your systems in top shape. In fact, even if they don't go down, slow-operating computers can rob your business of precious time, making it less productive. The bottom line? Regular system tune-ups can help you avoid these frustrations.

Much like those available for a car, a system tune-up can be as intricate and extensive as you'd like it to be. But, to help ensure your systems will maintain top performance, it's critical that your monthly tune-up includes each of these top six best practices:

If it's not consistently updated, security software - anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-spyware applications - can become less effective and eventually worthless. Along the way, your systems can become more vulnerable to time-robbing, computer-crashing spam, worms, Trojan horses, malware, spyware and other electronic villains. And to make matters worse, online security threats continue to grow both in quantity and sophistication. Fortunately, most top-of-the-line security software updates itself automatically, but it's always a good idea to double check that the automatic update features are turned on. If your software doesn't automatically update, then it's important to do this yourself.

The best security software manufacturers offer comprehensive security suites that are designed to provide multiple layers of protection against spyware, viruses and worms, spam and other online threats. Other features include privacy protection and parental controls. The products feature subscription-based updating, so your protection stays current as online threats evolve.

When your desktops and notebooks are equipped with the most recent updates from Windows^®  - which can be downloaded directly from the Microsoft Web site www.update.microsoft.com - they are much less likely to suffer security breaches, including those created by hackers dedicated to wreak havoc on Microsoft and its customers.

The best way to ensure that you have the latest security updates (often referred to as "patches") is to enable automatic Windows updates on your computer. Most systems today make this simple as a few mouse clicks: Simply click on the "Microsoft Update" icon in your Start Menu.

Unless you barely touch your computer at work, your files will tend to get fragmented - spread out all over your hard drive. When your system is operating well, file fragmentation won't cause you any problems. But if your hard drive crashes, you will discover that your chances of recovering a fragmented file are much worse than your chances of getting back a contiguous one. That's why it's important to "defrag" the hard drive regularly.

Here's how to do it: In Windows XP and 2000, open "My Computer", right-click your hard drive, and select "Properties." Click the "Tools" tab, then the "Defragment Now" button. In Windows Vista, open "Disk Defragmenter" by clicking the "Start" button, clicking "All Programs," clicking "Accessories," clicking "System Tools" and then clicking "Disk Defragmenter." Click "Defragment Now" to begin. The process can several minutes to a few hours depending on the size and amount of fragmented files on your system. However, you can still use your computer while the Defragmenter works its magic.

Most small businesses tend to use certain programs all the time while other programs never see the light of day. It's a good idea to get rid of the latter because removing unused programs can not only free up disc space on your system, but can also make Windows perform quicker and more reliably.

Just about all the applications available today come with an "uninstall" program. For a list of all the software on your computer that has an uninstall program, first select "Start" and then select on "Settings" and then "Control Panel" and then double-click on "Add/Remove Programs." If you're using Windows XP Professional, select "Start," "Control Panel," and then Add or Remove Programs. Next up: Just look over the "Add/Remove Programs" list and find any applications you don't use anymore. Highlight the program and choose to remove it. In Windows Vista, click the "Start" button, then click "Control Panel," then "Programs" and then "Programs and Features." Next, select a program, and then click "Uninstall." Note: some programs include the option to change or repair the program in addition to uninstalling it, but many simply offer the option to uninstall. To change a program, click "Change" or "Repair."

Most computers have a plethora of unwanted "junk files," such as temporary folders, backup files and temporary Internet files, not to mention all the files in your Recycle Bin. Although these files tend to be small, they nevertheless can add up over time to slow down your system. That's why it's a good idea to remove them on a regular basis. The "Disk Cleanup" tool in Windows will do exactly that for you. Just select "Start," and then "Programs" (or "All Programs" in Windows XP Professional), then "System Tools," then Disk Cleanup, and follow the prompts. If you're a Vista user, open "Disk Cleanup" by clicking the "Start" button and then click "All Programs" then "Accessories," then "System Tools", and then "Disk Cleanup."

A firewall is a protective barrier that can prevent unwanted access to or from your company network. The firewall scans all traffic passing in and out of your network and blocks unauthorized messages, intruders and viruses. Whether it's a hardware appliance or a software application, the firewall needs to be checked regularly to help ensure that it's operating properly. And, if it isn't working as it should, it needs to be activated. To do both, follow the instructions from the manufacturer of your system's firewall.

Although the best practices identified above are fairly easy to follow, they do require a certain amount of time. If you simply can't spare that time each month, then you should consider using programs and services that will do the job for you - automatically.For example, Dell offers "Automated PC TuneUp" which can perform the following activities on any day and at any time you wish:

After Automated PC TuneUp completes its system improvements, it can provide a full report on the activities it successfully completed. The bottom line? PC TuneUp is a simple-to-use, automatic way to keep your system safe and in shape.