DIGEUS REGISTRY CLEANER - REVIEW

 Copyright-free photo from Artefacts

I've been having yet more problems with my poor computer (just over 5 years old) and several unexplained crashes. All who know me are aware I'm more than paranoid re viruses etc, and am very good about using my DiskClean and Defragmenting programmes regularly.

So having had another crash on Friday - for no reason that I could see - right in the middle of my writing my Pink Saturday  post (which really made me scream) there's been nothing for it but to get a registery cleaner. What this does is clear out all the unused stuff that accumulates, plus old and out of date stuff, all of which stops a computer running properly.

I dowloaded a Registry Cleaner and found I had more than 1600 errors: odd bits of programme that hadn't deleted etc. To say I'm shocked is an understatement. However, I am very happy to report the Digeus programme I finally decided on has cleaned all this mess up for me. This is one area I am no expert on, and don't even want to know about, thanks. Like driving a car, I really don't want to know what goes on under the hood.

By the way, this works for all computers from Windows 95 (has anyone got one still working?) through Windows XP (mine) to Windows 7 (I'm hoping I may be able to afford this sooner or later... ) . I'll also be posting this onto my Computery site, for future reference.

So I'm a happy bunny again!

NEW PAGE!

It's been a busy week!


Copyright-free image from Tack-o-Rama


First I had the competition on the BladeRubberBlog to finalise - we (being Graham & Kaye, who own BladeRubberStamps, and Freyja who also teaches there) had to decide the ten finalists. Which are now chosen, and I have put them up on the blog (anonymously) with a poll for people to vote for their favourite piece of artwork. The standard was really high - I'd hate to have to choose between them!

Then the vote for the new page title finished: and so Computery was born. This page is going to have tips, tricks, how-to's - anything and everything computery, tecchie, that doesn't fit anywhere else.

The first entry (tonight!) is how to make your own computer screensavers. I expect most of you will know this already, but for those who don't... I'm hoping this is going to be a really useful resource, and I'd like you to feel free to email me with suggestions and solutions you found out (the hard way, no doubt, just like me!)

I'm quite thrilled with this - it's made me get to grips with Photoshop a little more to make headers and buttons (which will also go onto Computery).

APRIL FOOLS DAY VIRUS ALERT

Just to remind you that the Conficker virus looks set to go out from midnight tonight.


Copyright-free image from Tack-o-Rama



The usual April Fool's Day fun (not). This warning was sent to me by Dawn (GoldBettyBoop). God bless you, girl!

Here are the links:

• Yahoo
• Snopes re Conficker

So can I PLEASE urge you all to update your virus checkers and firewalls.

Here is the Microsoft link to install the Windows Live OneCare scanner (free) which will eradicate the virus. You need to download this via Internet Explorer (not Firefox) and then run it - it will take several hours to do a full scan, so allow yourself enough time.

And if you have just one password for all of your stuff (your bank, PayPal & eBay etc) please change it so you have separate passwords - a mix of letters and numbers is best. Just think of something off the top of your head, the sillier the better. And don't forget to write them down - this means NOT typing a list on your computer and saving it, by the way. Keep a little book by your computer and hand write this stuff in. If you get a trojan or the Conficker virus, they will go through your entire system and rip any passwords you may have thought you hid there. Also any banking details.

Whilst you are at it, you might as well do a little housekeeping:

• Go to Accessories > System Tools > ScanDisc to remove any clutter in your system
• Go back to System Tools and Defragment
• Back to System Tools to create a System Restore point
• Back up all your stuff onto CDs or DVDs or an external hard drive
• Go to Microsoft/Windows Update for the latest downloads
  

I know this is something we don't usually bother to do regularly (although you should be updating your Virus Checker & Firewall at least twice a week, and running Scan Disc and Defragment weekly) so you might as well do it all now for your own peace of mind.

After all that, your computer should be skipping around like a newborn lamb and you should have all the latest security stuff ready to swing into action to protect you.

And the usual common-sense stuff: don't open any weird-looking emails or attachments (run a scan first if you think you need to see them) and if you get emails from any banking groups, insurance companies etc - or eBay or PayPal - don't click on any links the email. Go to the company's main website and then go into your account to see any messages. There are a lot of clever spoofs out there, and the web pages LOOK genuine, but aren't (I got caught that way).

I'm sure you'll think I am paranoid - but better safe than sorry.

POLL - TITLE FOR NEW PAGE

I can't make my mind up what to call my new page, which will archive all my computer-related stuff: tips, techniques etc

I am going to put everything in the one place so people don't have to scroll through the entire blog to find it: eg: System Restore, fonts and all of that.

So I have put the choices in the sidebar on the right, if anyone would like to vote on this. I am none too good at picking names!

Thanks everyone!

FONT FRENZY, SYSTEM RESTORE POINTS etc

Hi gang

I bet you didn't know that if you have too many fonts on your system, it can start behaving very strangely....

I've been using FontFrenzy, a free programme, which I think is totally brilliant.

What it does is to move all those boring and unnecessary fonts that are originally installed with your computer. These go into another folder - I FontFrenzied mine and ended up with 61 (some of which are really boring to look at, but necessary in the running of the machine) which was a whole lot better than the 752 which I ended up with when I had finished reloading the computer with the CD label maker, Photoshop, my web design programme and my desktop publishing programme. FontFrenzy takes a snapshot of all the fonts in your sytem, moves them and then you can ReFrenzy at any time you want to reinstall them. You can also adjust the size so that you can actually SEE what your fonts look like.

Some systems don't like FontFrenzy. Mine doesn't like the latest edition (link above) since I put in the new hard drive.

I do advise you to try this one (above) first as it doesn't have a nag screen. I run Windows XP Pro and it kept trying to download all the folders onto my Desktop. Windows Service Pack 3 can also affect it. If your system doesn't like it, simply re-run the programme to disinstall it.

However, being me, I was determined to get the programme again (I can't live without it) and found an older version: FontFrenzy1 This worked perfectly for me. The only drawback is that this version has a nag screen.

I also like to use another free programme, AMP Font Viewer, to organise my fonts. The icon sits on the Desktop. Double click this to bring up the programme - and why I love it is this: it shows you all the fonts you have loaded, and behind this is a tab to show you all the fonts you don't have loaded! So all you have to do is browse, to point the programme in the right direction (eg: the FontFrenzy Fonts folder) which displays all your fonts (again, you can readjust the size so you can actually see what they look like) and you can install temporarily, just for that one use, or permanently. So I can zip through all my fonts, upload all the fancy ones my heart desires, and then dump them again by DeFrenzy-ing with FontFrenzy. I love to download any new freebies that take my fancy, and this means I don't overload the machine and slow it down.

I have now spent a little time creating a new folder in My Documents, and labelled it FONTSfolder. I then created more folders under this heading, so my sub folders are called things like Dingbats, OldFashionedScripts, ModernScripts, Typwriter, Grunge etc. I then copied fonts from the Font Frenzy Fonts folder into the various categories (although you can also do this via FrenzyMan, right in the programme). The reason I used AMP Fonts Viewer to do this is that I now also download all my freebie fonts right onto my Desktop, unzip them using another brilliant freebie: JustZIPit and drag-and-drop them straight into category in My Documents. So I can dip into them as I wish (and it saves DeFrenzy-ing them all and reinstalliny my favourite fonts).

If you have masses you have collected, this is a quick way to organise them all. It's a good idea to do a backup CD so that you have all your weird & wonderful, can't-remember-where-I-got-them-from fonts all in one place. I have various free CDs with fonts on that came with scrapbooking and computer magazines: again, it's worth going through these and saving your favourites, then you can dump all those discs and do even more decluttering.

IMPORTANT: BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING HOW TO CREATE A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT

Before you make any major changes to your computer, especially if you aren't very confident, it's always a good idea to make a System Restore Point. If you have a computer manual, read up how to do it... or trust me and follow my instructions below (which should be pretty much the same for any PC).

WHY BOTHER WITH ALL THIS STUFF?

The reason you should do it is that if you have made a mess of installing FontFrenzy or any other programme, or moved your fonts and made a mess of it, etc - you can reverse it using System Restore, so it's like nothing ever happened! However, you can't use System Restore until you have created a System Restore point as your computer won't have anything to restore to!

To create a System Restore Point, click on your Start button (bottom left-hand corner of your computer screen) then click Accessories, System Tools then System Restore. You'll see two buttons, the top one is System Restore, and the lower one - which is the one we want right now - is called Create a Restore Point. Click on this and type something in the box (eg: FontFrenzy & AMP Font View installed). Click on Create, then click on Close. That's it!

To use System Restore, go to Start, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore, then System Restore which restores your computer to an earlier time. You'll see a little calendar - some of the dates are bold. These are system restore points. Click on one of these (it might be an automatic Restore Point, which your system does from time to time, or it might be one you labelled yourself, eg: New Printer). Click on the one you want, click OK and let the computer do the rest. It will take some time, all the desktop will disappear, the screen will go black, etc, then it will reboot with a little box telling you if the Restore was successful or not. Click OK if it was, and everything will be back to normal!

I bet you feel loads better now!