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I used to recommend a suite of free third-party programs to my clients. They worked well enough, doing a very good job of 'locking down' their computers, preventing virus infections, avoiding spyware/adware infestation, and making the computers run faster. They also bombarded the users with bogus warnings and sales pitches, trying to get them to upgrade to the paid versions of what started out as free utilities, or to install additional, unnecessary software... most of it written in China. Hence, I no longer recommend installing any third-party utilities.

As much as I am NOT a fan of Microsoft, I now recommend only using the utilities they include with your Windows installation. If you occasionally need more power or speed in cleaning up your computer, I suggest using the portable versions of some of the very same programs I used to install. By running them only occasionally, and from a thumb drive, they can't set themselves up to run in the background all the time, nor pop up fake warnings. I'll talk about Portable Apps later...

Security

Windows 11 and 10 came with Microsoft Defender and Windows Security. That and some common sense are all the security you need.

Support for Windows 10 ended October 14, 2025. This means Microsoft won't be sending any more security updates for Windows 10; it doesn't mean Windows 10 won't work any longer. If your PC won't install Windows 11 - and you'd be surprised how many say they won't - you can just install the free version of Avast! ... no need to turn off Windows Security; it's such a well-behaved program, if it sees you're using third-party antivirus software, it will turn itself off!

Or... you can simply ask Microsoft to keep sending you security updates for another year, by clicking here . Yeah, it's really that simple. And it's free, if you have a Microsoft Account, AND won't be using your computer to make money; otherwise, it's $30.. since I'm typing this in early June, I'm not sure I would pay $30 to receive security updates till mid-October.

If you have Windows 8.1 or older, or if your Windows 10 installation has stopped receiving security updates, you need to download and install either Avast! or AVG . I like Avast the most, then AVG (now owned by Avast) almost as much. There are other free antivirus programs out there; I've tried several: Norton/Symantec, McAfee, ESET, MalwareBytes, and IOBit Malware Fighter; I wasn't impressed with any of them, and can't help you if you have problems with them.... my 'help' would be suggesting you remove them and install better software that is free. Sorry; I want to help, but I didn't take you on to raise.

Utilities

Zip Files

Every version of Windows since Windows Millenium has included built-in handling of zipped files; Win 98 required a third-party solution. Most Win 98 users opted for WinZip, a shareware utility. I didn't like WinZip that much, primarily because it made you lie every time you used it — you had to click a button promising to mail a check, when you knew very well you weren't ever going to pay for the software.

If all you need to do is add zipfile capability to Win 95 or 98, I recommend ZipCentral 4.01. It's free, small, fast, and powerful.

And for lots more options, more compressed file types, creating self-extracting archives, etc., check out 7-Zip . It works with all versions of Windows from Win 98 thru Windows 11 — but NOT Win 95 — and has even been ported to Linux.

Steve Gibson's Free Utilities

The author of SpinRite and ShieldsUp!! has created several free utilities to detect and repair security weaknesses in Microsoft Windows 98 and newer. Here's a link to his Freeware Page .

On every computer I service, I run:

the DCOMbobulator : turns off DCOM, Microsoft's dangerous remote control program that lets Internet users into your computer.

SocketToMe : checks for full 'raw' sockets, another dangerous back door into Internet-connected PCs.

MouseTrap: believe it or not, this program checks your computer for 'MICE': a Metafile Image Code Execution vulnerability.

If the machine is running Win2000 or newer, I also run:

Shoot the Messenger and turn off Windows' Messenger Service (this isn't MSN Instant Messaenger, but a background network message transfer system the average home user just doesn't need).

XPdite : looks at the system and determines if it has at least XP Service Pack 1 installed. If not, XPdite replaces a single vulnerable file in the Windows Help Center.

UnPlug'nPray , and I turn off Universal Plug 'n Play.

If you get an error or warning about needing Administrator privileges to run any of these programs, just download (Save) it to your desktop, right-click it, and left-click RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR.

If SocketToMe finds that full raw sockets are available, you'll need to run SocketLock to close them, then run SocketToMe again to prove the point.

If MouseTrap says you're vulnerable — "This Computer Has Mice!" —- you need to go to the Windows Update page, or to the Settings app in newer versions of Windows; scan for updates, and download and install every critical update found. ...Which is something you should be doing every week, anyhow.

And here's a slight digression: I'm talking mostly about security here, but Steve Gibson's WIZMO program is perfect for those computers that won't let you close the CD from the front-panel button (because the button is hidden when the CD drawer is open). Save Wizmo.exe to your Windows folder, then create a shortcut on the desktop with the command line WIZMO CLOSE=D: to close drive D: with a double-click. Make that command line WIZMO QUIET CLOSE=D: if you don't want to hear the trademark 'Gibson sigh' sound effect. (Some people will enjoy this sound more than others.) Wizmo can also open CD drawers, blank the screen, or make the whole screen a user-selected color (I call this the 'night-light' mode), and do a better job of shutdown, restart, and logoff than the built-in commands from Microsoft.

All of these programs are free, small, fast, powerful, safe, and NOT memory-resident — meaning they don't hang around to slow you down once they've done their work.

Firewall Protection

If you're running Windows, you need a firewall. Period. If you have a router, it probably has a hardware firewall built in; you still need a software firewall. Don't argue with me on this, I know what I'm talking about.

Before continuing this thread, I have to add... Even if you don't ever intend to go wireless or add visitors to your network, YOU NEED A ROUTER! The hardware firewall built into almost all routers will go a long way toward keeping Internet malware from trying to attack you. And if you shop Newegg , you can pick one up for $20 or $30.

Windows XP had a firewall built in from the very first, but it was disabled by default, until Service Pack 1... which is now outdated. If you are running Windows XP, please download and install Service Pack 2 immediately. Windows XP SP 2 has a firewall built in, and enabled by default. (Sorry, I still don't recommend Windows XP Service Pack 3; I've seen it slow several older computers to a crawl, and refuse to boot after loading on at least one of my clients' computers.)

As dangerous a place as the Internet has become, I really don't think anyone using a version of Windows older than XP should be on the Internet at all, even using a router and a software firewall. If you absolutely MUST venture into the wilds, here's a Tiny Personal Firewall that will work with Windows 98 and Win Me... please let me know if you successfully deploy it in Win 95. Thanks... I have numerous Win 95 PCs in storage, but I'm still a few months from going through them all to see which ones are worth putting back in service.

Final thought: You absolutely MUST have a hardware AND a software firewall to be safe online.

If you have a router, it has a hardware router built in. If you don't have a router, go get one... NOW.
If you have Windows XP SP 1, you need to download and install Service Pack 2. Once you have Windows XP SP 2, or any newer version of Windows, you're golden; all the newer versions include a software firewall, and it's turned on by default.
If you have Windows Me or older, try the Tiny Personal Firewall above.

Monthly Maintenance

I've continued to refine my new Monthly Maintenance routine, and I've boiled it down to something almost anyone can install and setup without help. Yep, no need to pay me $50 to come do it for you... though I'll be happy to do so if you'd rather... or I could do it for $25, if tacked onto a service call for any other reason.

I added color, just because I could, and it was free.
I added a bell... and probably used it 'way too many times.
I rigged the batch files to refuse to run if you aren't running them as an Administrator.
And I inserted a pause at the end of the batch files that lets you bypass the automatic reboot when they're done; the PC will continue to work, you just won't see the effects of having done the maintenance until you finally reboot, at a time more convenient fornyou.

The first two steps are just window dressing. They matter to me, but probably not to anyone else. The last two are necessary and useful.

These instructions are a recently edited version of the same steps from one of my newsletters.

Let's get started...

If you already have the Monthly Maintenance routine I created so many years ago, you'll need to replace it with the new one.
First, you need to open the Monthly Maintenance folder you already have, and uninstall Advanced SystemCare, Driver Booster, and any other IOBit or iTop software. If you're using IOBit's StartMenu 8, you can keep it; it will work without negative impact until you upgrade to Windows 11... and it won't work with Windows 11, so you should uninstall it if you ever manage to upgrade to '11.
Interestingly, IOBit Uninstaller can uninstall itself; no matter in what order you select the programs to uninstall, it will be the last program to be removed. There will almost certainly be an error message about some objects not being removed... ignore the error message, those files don't matter.
After you've uninstalled the old routine, delete all the icons in the old Monthly Maintenance folder; uninstalling the programs won't remove anything in this folder
Right-click this link, then left-click Save File As, Save Link As, or Save Target As... and save the file to your Desktop.
Right-click the downloaded file, and left-click Extract, or Extract All.
Put a check mark next to Show Extracted Files When Complete... and click on Extract. You'll soon find yourself in a Folder named Maintenance.

If you already had a Monthly Maintenance shortcut on your desktop, just highlight ALL the contents of the Maintenance folder, then clivk-and-drag all of it to the aforementioned shortcut, and drop it onto the shortcut. With any luck, this will move the contents of the temporary Maintenance folder into existing Monthly Maintenance folder. Check to make sure it did, then delete the temporary - and now empty - Maintenance folder from the desktop... the shortcut should still point to the permanent location.
If you didn't already have a Monthly Maintenance shortcut on your desktop, you could just drag the new Maintenance folder to wherever on your desktop you'd like it to remain. Maybe rename the folder to Monthlly Maintenance... or not, your choice.

In either case, you can now delete the Maintenance.Zip file from your desktop.

The colors and bell aren't mandatory. I wrote them into the batch files because I almost never leave well enough alone. If you would like to include them...

Right-click this link , then Save File As, or Save Link As... and save it to your desktop.
Right-click the downloaded file, and left-click Extract, or Extract All.

Put a check mark next to Show Extracted Files When Complete... and click on Extract. You'll soon find yourself in a folder named CECHO_BIN.

Select the two files CECHO.EXE and CECHO_X64.EXE, and drag them into your C:\Windows folder; you'll almost certainly have to give permission to write to this folder.

Make sure the two executable files successfully copied into your Windows folder, then delete the file CECHO_BIN.ZIP and the folder CECHO_BIN.

I know the instructions can seem complicated if you don't do a lot of file manipulation; they're really not... I'm just not great at explaining stuff. But if you just don't want to go to the hassle, that's why I offer to come do it for you... and cheaply.

BTW, the version of CEcho I include here was written in 2010. There's a newer version, from 2015, but they changed the syntax, and I didn't want to rewrite every batch file I ever wrote to accommodate the new version. Now you know...

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