photo credit: mdornseif

Step 1: Download Smart Toolbar Remover and install it.

Step 2: Close your web browser.

Step 3: Run Smart Toolbar Remover and select the toolbars you want to remove.

Step 4: Click the “Uninstall” button to remove the toolbars.

Step 5: Follow any on-screen instructions for removing the toolbars.

Smart Toolbar Remover will not always remove all of your toolbars so I recommend also following the specific instructions for your Operating System below.

Windows XP

Step 6: Click on the “Start” menu and select “Control Panel.” Note: If you are using the classic Start Menu, it will be located under “Settings.”

Step 7: Open “Add or Remove Programs.”

Step 8: Look through the list of programs and hunt down any toolbars you might have installed. For example, the Yahoo Toolbar will simply be titled “Yahoo Toolbar.” Click on it and select “Remove.” Follow the uninstall wizard to remove it. Once it has been removed, continue looking through the list and remove any others.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

Step 6: Click on the “Start” menu and select “Control Panel.” Note: If you are using the classic Start Menu, it will be located under “Settings.”

Step 7: Click “Programs” and then click “Programs and Features.”

Step 8: Look through the list of programs and hunt down any toolbars you might have installed. For example, the Yahoo Toolbar will simply be titled “Yahoo Toolbar.” Click on it and then click “Uninstall” located on the menu bar. Follow the uninstall wizard to remove it. Once it has been removed, continue looking through the list and remove any others.

Step 1: Download CCleaner and install it. The setup is very straightforward and the only option I would recommend unchecking is “Add CCleaner Yahoo! Toolbar and use CCleaner from your browser.”

Step 2: After the setup has completed, run CCleaner. There should be a shortcut to it on your Desktop.

Step 3: Click the “Run Cleaner” button. You will be prompted about permanently deleting files from your system. Click “OK.”

Step 4: After it finishes, you will see a list of the files CCleaner has removed. Now click the “Registry” tab and click the “Scan for Issues” button.

Step 5: After it has finished scanning, click the “Fix selected issues” button.

Step 6: You will be prompted to make a backup of the registry. Click “Yes” and choose a location to save your backup to.

Step 7: You will now be prompted for each issue that CCleaner wants to fix. You can click “Fix All Selected Issues” if you don’t want to be prompted for each one.

That’s it! You have now successfully optimized your computer using CCleaner. I would recommend running it at least once a month, however, you can run it more if you would like.

Step 1: Uninstall any previous versions of antivirus software you might have installed. You can do this by going into your “Control Panel” and opening “Add or Remove Programs.”

Step 2:  Download Microsoft Security Essentials and run it.

Step 3:  You will be prompted with a welcome screen.  Click “Next.”

Step 4:  Click “I accept” to accept the license agreement.

Step 5:  You will now be prompted to validate your copy of Windows.  Click “Validate.”  If your version of Windows is not legal then you will not be able to install MSE.

Step 6:  You are now ready to install MSE.  Click “Install.”

Step 7:  After the installation wizard has completed, leave the check box checked to scan your computer for viruses and click “Finish.”  MSE will now update.  Once it has finished, MSE will scan your computer.

MSE automatically protects your computer while running in the background but you can also scan your computer manually if desired.  To do this just click either the “Quick,” “Full,” or “Custom” radio button and click “Scan Now” on the “Home” tab.

MSE will also automatically update itself with the latest virus signatures but if you want to force an update just click the “Update” button on the “Update” tab.

You can also look back through your virus history by clicking on the “History” tab.

And finally, you can change settings such as scheduled scans by clicking on the “Settings” tab.

If you need help installing or using Microsoft Security Essentials, please feel free to comment.

Step 1:  Download Restoration.  If possible, save it to a drive that doesn’t contain the files you are trying to recover because you could overwrite them.

Step 2:  Once Restoration has finished downloading, double-click it to run it.

Step 3:  Select the drive that contains your deleted file from the drop-down list in the top-right corner.  If you know the name of the file you are trying to restore (or part of the name), enter it into the box that says “all or part of the file.”  Otherwise, just leave the field blank to scan all deleted files.  Click the “Search Deleted Files” button to begin scanning.

Step 4:  After the scan has completed, you will see a list of deleted files that Restoration has found.  Click the filename that you want to restore and click the “Restore by Copying” button to restore it.

Step 5:  You will now be presented with a “Save As” box asking you where you wan to save the file.  Choose a location and click “Save.”

You should now be able to open your newly restored file.  Please feel free to reply below if you have comments or need help.  Enjoy!