12 Must-Do PC Tasks

The excuses end here! Get your PC into tip-top shape by performing these 12 simple tweaks.

Computers may have become a lot more user-friendly over the past decade, but they're still far from perfect--PCs require a certain amount of configuration and maintenance to operate at their full potential. Unfortunately, because we humans are also far from perfect, we frequently don't put in the work we should, and we end up with a slower, sloppier, less secure machine as a result.

No more excuses! Whipping your PC into the best shape it can be requires but a dozen simple tasks. None are complicated, most take a matter of minutes, and all will have a major effect on how well your computer works for you. Even better, by the time you're finished you'll never have to worry about doing many of these tasks again.

Clean the case, keys, and display
Back up your data
Guard against malware
Update your software
Organize your files
Toss out the chaff
Encrypt private data
Change your passwords
Optimize startup
Organize your inbox
Automate everything
Should you defrag your drives?

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Keeping Dead Products Alive: Tips for Supporting Legacy Software

Nearly 80 years ago, the term "planned obsolescence" was coined by Bernard London, a New York City real estate professional and amateur economist. The idea, which London thought was a darn good one, was to design products with a limited lifespan so consumers regularly had to get new ones, thus keeping the economy going.

This is why you don't see many 1983 Ford Escorts tooling around. While cheap old cars rust out or fall apart, software should keep chugging. "Unlike hearts, lungs, knees, eyes or kidneys, software just doesn't wear out or get weak," says reader Fred Linton. But old software ends up just as obsolete as your junk Ford. That's because vendors choose to make it that way.

Even though code doesn't stop working unless corrupted, software goes out of date in a variety of ways. The biggest death blow strikes when vendors stop support. No more features but, more critically, no more security updates.

Another problem is when new environments won't run old products. Even if a new version of Windows looks and acts largely the same, many older applications and hardware no longer operate.

Redmond magazine heard from some 30 readers -- all IT pros -- about their frustrations with unsupported software and how they deal with them.

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