Computer advice please

[phallic1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close phallic1]

Ok, here's the dealio.

I'm a complete caveman with computers. I own one obviously but maintainance does'nt happen 'cause I don't have a clue. The only thing I use my computer (Compaq desktop with windows XP Home) for is browsing and emails and ordering shit off of different merchants (amazon ect.)

I have never had any security programs such as Norton or AVG, I've just used my internet providers security bundle for an extra few dollars on my bill. Well my computer is so full of viruses and spyware shit that it is'nt even useable anymore.

I have this young guy who is a computer geek who is offering to fix all my problems for a small fee.

My concern is my history of websites on penis enlargement and all related sites and porn sites like imagefap that I browse at least 5 times a week. I don't want this guy finding out what my "interests" are and looking at me like I'm a freak.

Is there any easy way for a caveman to clear all that history besides the "Clear browsing history" option out of my computer or should I just smash the hardrive with a sledgehammer and buy a new one with Windows 7?

[WhatAwanker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close WhatAwanker]

ccleaner free non-malicious program to download and use
cleans out just about every trace on your PC
Piriform - Download CCleaner, Defraggler, Recuva, Speccy - Millions of users worldwide!

[Radiohead Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Radiohead]

Yes, Ccleaner is excellent.

Sounds like you have a bad case of "computer dinosaur syndrome"...a reformat, with a fresh installation of windows is a necessity at this point.

or buy a new computer. That is your best bet. If you have cough up 700$ shipping included, you can get a really cool computer. http://www.newegg.com/

If youre concerned about history and stuff like that, ccleaner is your savior.

[blink2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close blink2000]

defraggler
ccleaner
free anti-virus

having a good processor and enough ram along with enough hard drive space is important.

since you've got XP home, i recommend at least a 2ghz processor (single core) and 2 gigs of ram.

xp pro can handle a dual core processor, but XP home can only utilize a single core. quad cores and above can only be utilized by windows vista or 7 (of course OS X and linux too depending, but i'm talking about the windows family). also, with a 32 bit OS you're limited to 4 gigs of ram maximum... (a 64 bit system can expand the capacity, but then you'll run into issues with drivers, at least in this current poitn in time).

[boogie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close boogie]

Unless he is a fledgling repair geek, I can almost gurantee he has seen tons worse than what's on your computer , and if he ain't getting paid by the hour, I doubt he has much interest in poking around in your history.

Regardless, like the above posters have mentioned, CCLeaner is a good option, but really, just clearing your browsing history in IE should do the trick. If he's offering to fix everything for a small fee, he is likely just going to reinstall Windows.

I'd be very, very careful of entering your credit card info without any antivirus or security software. A fair amount of malicious software won't actually harm your computer or give any evidence that it is there, but will record keystrokes to get passwords and account information.

If your computer is getting on in age ( 5 or 6+ years ) it may be time to look at a Windows 7 machine, just be sure to start it off right by using an anti-virus this time, I'd recommend the paid version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, like $30 a year, will save you tons of headaches.

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

Do you really think the guy fixing your computer hasn't been to far worse sites than this one or has seen far worse on others? With all the stuff that is usually on computers I don't think he'll be spending time to look at your individual files or that he would really care. Stop worrying!

[boogie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close boogie]

You would be absolutely amazed how many people have horse porn.

Or maybe it's just that these people have a higher probability for viruses ;p

[Iguana Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Iguana]

As an IT professional who does this type of thing daily, this would be my advice.

Have him reformat your drive and reinstall all your software. If your machine is inundated with viruses and spyware it is really
difficult to remove them all with any 1 application. This way you are certain to be rid of them.

If he reformats your drive he will not have to look at any of the drive contents, simply wipe it out and restore.

Going forward, you should really install some viral and malware protection. There are plenty of good free ones out there.

[ThickShady Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ThickShady]

Here man this will have your computer looking brand new. AND FREE! (Don't pay someone to do something you can do yourself, and it's really simple.. i know this is a long post but you will save the cash!)

I have been a Computer Tech Expert for years and when you go to a computer shop and they say they will "Optimize" your computer for a price, this is how to do it for free.

First you need to get yourself an Antivirus program. There are lots of free ones that work fine.

Here are some of the best free options (You only need one):

AVG AVG Free - Antivirus Download | Free Virus Protection

Avira www.free-av.com/

Avast avast! Free Antivirus - Download Software for Virus Protection

You definitely want to do this so once you have cleaned out your PC you can keep it protected and clean.

Okay so The anti-virus is mainly for Viruses, you also have spyware. Spyware and Adware are the worst, they slow down your computer and make pop ups and all that fun stuff. You need to download these programs to help keep those at a minimum.

Spybot Search & Destroy The home of Spybot-S&D!

Ad-Aware Ad-Aware by Lavasoft - Antivirus software, free spyware removal, firewall

I recommend downloading both and running them everyonce in awhile.



Finally I recommend a program called "Tune Up Utilities 2010" TuneUp Utilities 2010

This program costs money, but you can just use the free trial, it will clean up space on your computer much faster than other defrag programs, optimize your computer so it turns on and starts up much faster and also runs faster while your on it. It will also fix any registry problems you may have (You will be surprised, and viruses and spyware can really damage your registry).
Also it helps remove programs you don't want on your computer faster and simpler than Your built in program on your PC.

You want to make sure you use these options.

Defrag Harddrive
Make space on hardrive
Fix registry problems
Clean unnecessary programs and files
Optimize start up.
Set whether you care more about performance or Visual (Windows XP is not exactly beautiful so lean more towards performance, if you select performance all the way it will make your computer look like Windows 98, so make sure you are not all the way performance)

It is not a program like an antivirus where you have to run scans everyday, doing it once will be beneficial in a HUGE way, and you have a 30 day trial to try it out. When the trial is up delete it, or pay for it if you liked it!

Okay so now after you have gone through every possible option on Tune Up, you have had your computer "Optimized"

I know this may seem like a lot of things to do but the programs are really user friendly and will guide you through what you need to do. I promise you this is the best option you can do and your computer will be faster than you have ever seen it! Also if you ever notice your computer acting funny you have the tools to stop the problems in their tracks.

Just know some of these programs take time to complete so for some parts you may wanna leave the computer and occupy yourself and then come back.

I know it seems complicated but just download the programs, and it practically guides you step by step and then after you won't believe how much faster and cleaner it is!

Hope this helps (All of you should try out the tune ups trial, fixes a lot of things you wouldn't even notice)

Also this should clean out your temporary folders so your history will be half gone, Depending on what internet browser your using (I'm assuming Internet Explorer) you just have to go to

Tools-Internet Options-Delete Browsing History

Then check all the boxes (You can uncheck Passwords so websites don't forget your passwords, but I would check everything else)
Now typing things into the google searchbox won't even bring up previously searched items.

Cheers!