Did you know that Microsoft offer free virus protection? In this article I’ll show you how to find, download and use the various Microsoft virus protection software for Windows Vista and 7.

1) Perform a Safety Scan for Windows Vista and Windows 7

The process is free and a download is required.

Note: Internet Explorer is required to download and run the safety scan.

2) Download Microsoft Security Essentials

Security Essentials is free and provides constant protection against spyware, viruses and related malicious software.

Once installed, Microsoft virus protection security essentials runs in the background and protects your computer against unwanted viruses. Updates are regular and automatic so you don’t need to worry about having the latest protection installed.

3) Malicious Software Removal Tool

This software is also free and is installed by default with Windows Vista and 7 versions. Updates are applied regularly via the standard Windows Update process on the second Tuesday of every month.

The malicious software removal Microsoft virus removal protection tool can solve the problem of removing viruses once your computer has been infected but is not a substitute for appropriate PC virus protection software.

What you’ll need

To download and use Microsoft virus protection, you will need:

• Microsoft Windows (Vista or 7)
• Install permissions (e.g. local administrator)
• Internet Explorer 7 or higher

Conclusion

There are 3 free tools available for download at the Microsoft website. This software can help to locate, protect against and remove viruses.

These free tools are designed to run along side (i.e. not replace) other anti virus software. Free Microsoft virus protection is a great way to enhance the security of your computer if you run Vista or Windows 7.

STOP!

Before you go rushing ahead to blow away you existing Windows Vista installation, why not give “repair” a try?

Windows Vista Repair
By Jacob Erdei

Now that just about everyone knows how to use the XP Recovery Console Microsoft’s newest OS does not contain one. Not to worry we have a detailed article that will walk you through how to use these great new features in Vista.

The Purpose of this article is to teach you how to make vista repairs if you are having startup issues or you can’t seem to use the vista system restore option. There are two ways to use these options and they depend on if you have a Windows Vista install disk or if Vista was pre-installed on your OS you will have a ghost image on your hard drive.

If you have the windows vista repair disk: (This should be your backup copy of Vista if you made one)
PLEASE NOTE: This Vista install CD can be run from within Vista. Just insert the CD once Vista has loaded up and go to install, go > Install Now > Upgrade.

1. Boot up with the Vista install disc

2. You should see a screen that says “Windows is loading files”

3. After a few minutes you will get a language option. Select your language and hit next.

4. On the install screen select “Repair your computer”

5. Windows will find your copy of Vista on the machine

6. Select your copy of Vista and click next

7. You will now see the following options.

* Startup repair – This automatically fixes problems that are preventing Windows from starting

* System Restore – This will Restore Windows to an earlier point in time

* Windows Complete PC Restore – This will completely restore your entire PC – programs, system settings and files – from a back up that you have previously created (Available in Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions only)

* Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool – This checks your computer’s memory hardware for errors

* Command Prompt

8. Assuming you are using this option because you were unable to boot to Windows Vista select the system Restore option and then select the date you would like to go back to. If your OS is fine you can always use the startup repair option.

Pre-Installed and OEM versions: (please check with your manufacturer fist. They may have replaced these tools with their own.

1. Turn your computer on and start pressing the F8 key. If you see the Windows Vista Logo you have gone too far and need to reboot and try again

2. You will get an advanced options screen. Select the “Repair your computer option” and hit enter.

3. Select your language and hit next.

4. Enter your user name and password and then next.

5. The recovery options should now appear.

6. In most cases just using the system restore to set your computer back will solve your issue. If this is not the case try the Startup repair option.

For all your computer repair needs please go to windows Vista repair. If you would like to just have your computer fixed for you right now online and at a great price then you should consider online computer repair

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacob_Erdei
http://EzineArticles.com/?Windows-Vista-Repair&id=485947

Have you tried this? Did it work and were you able to recover your files? Tell us in the comments box below.

In this article, we show you how to optimize virtual memory in Windows Vista.

What is “Virtual Memory” and why should I care?

Windows uses memory Random Access Memory (RAM) to load and run its Operating System (OS) and your programs.

When the RAM is full, Windows will use your Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to “extend” it’s available memory.  This area of the HDD is known as “Virtual Memory” (VM).

HDD is a lot slower than RAM. Therefore, the less RAM that you have the more Windows needs to use your VM.

Excessive use of VM (e.g. if you have lots of programs running at the same time) can result in dramatic slowdowns for your computer. Also, if your PC has incorrect settings, you might see the popup message “insufficient virtual memory”.

What you will need

Windows Vista is automatically optimized for the best settings if you are running a “standard” hardware platform. Specifically, if your PC has a single hard drive, STOP! You will not be able to optimize your VM settings to gain any performance benefits.

You are going to need another physical HDD (a partition on the same disk as Windows won’t do). The HDD needs to be fast and preferably internal to your PC although a fast external USB2.0 drive might work too.

Steps to configure and optimize Virtual Memory

1) Right click “Computer”, select “Properties”

2) In “Tasks”(left side bar)  Click “Advanced system settings”

3) Click “Advanced” tab

4) Find the “Performance” box and click the “Settings…” button

5) Click the “Advanced” tab

6) Find the Virtual memory box and click the “Change…” button

7) Uncheck the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” check box

8) Find the box labelled “Paging file size for each drive”

9) Select C: and then click the option “Custom size:”. The settings that you need are “Initial size (MB):” = 500, “Maximum size (MB):” = 500

10) Select the drive letter associated with your other physical HDD (see “What you will need” above) then click the option “Custom size:” The settings that you need are “Initial size (MB):” = 1.5 x the amount of RAM in your computer. For example, if you have 4GB, you would set this to 6144 (i.e. 1.5 x 4096MB), “Maximum size (MB):” = 6144

11) Click “OK” several times. A reboot might be necessary.

The benefits

You should immediately start to see some improvement in performance. When Windows needs access to virtual memory, it has a completely separate (and fast) HDD to use.

You will particularly notice the performance improvement if you use any video or image editing applications (e.g. Adobe Photoshop or Windows Movie Maker) or a game player.

Step 1 – Set up your task bar

• On your task bar, right click and select “Properties”
• Click the “Toolbar” tab
• Check the “Desktop” option
• Click “OK”

Step 2 – Hide your desktop icons

• On your desktop, right click and select “View”
• Uncheck “Show Desktop Icons”

Your desktop icons are now hidden! You can access your desktop icons together with other useful shortcuts by clicking the “Desktop” expandable menu on the right of your task bar.

Now you can use your Vista desktop as a useful area to download, edit and create files without having to look (or get stressed) at the Vista desktop clutter.

You might consider radical approaches such as complete re-install of Windows or perhaps even buying a new computer? Usually, there is no need and you can save a lot of time and money with some simple steps to improve your Windows computer performance. The five tips below are the easiest and cheapest ways to speed up your Windows XP or VISTA computer today:

1) Eliminate viruses and spyware

Viruses and spyware are one of the main causes of making your Windows computer run slowly as they deliver nothing but consume valuable system resources.

2) Free up disk space

Windows needs a lot of free disk space to operate. If you are running short on disk space, it can slow down your computers performance.

Free up as much disk space as possible on your system diver (c:) by deleting unwanted programs and data or moving these to cheap USB data keys or other storage devices.

3) Optimize Virtual Memory

If you have two or more hard drives, you can get an instant performance boost by optimizing your virtual memory settings. See our post on virtual memory for easy to follow instructions on how.

4) Eliminate unnecessary programs

Many programs that you install load into memory every time you start Windows. Loading programs into memory means longer start up time for Windows and slows down performance.

Type “MSCONFIG” into Windows Vista search to identify and disable unwanted programs that run on Windows start up.

5) Optimize your hard drive

As you use your computer, the data becomes scattered across your hard drive. This is perfectly normal but can slow down your Windows performance over time.

Use the Windows built in tool “Defragmentation” [right click a drive -> properties -> tools -> Defragmentation] to optimize your hard disk and speed up your Windows computer.

These steps are easy and can significantly improve your computer’s Windows performance. Why not give them a go and see if they can save you time on re-installing Windows or even money on buying a new computer?