Although computers naturally start to act up as they age if you keep yours well-maintained it will delay that inevitability. A well-maintained computer is less likely to slow down, freeze up, or fail – which is why knowing how to maintain your computer is important.
Beware of dust
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Dust will trap heat inside your computer, causing its components to get extremely hot and degrade more quickly. As such you should keep your computer as dust-free as possible – by wiping down the exterior with a damp cloth, and cleaning the interior using compressed air.
It may help to also organize your cables. Typically dust will accumulate in tangles of cables, and it is hard to clean them thoroughly. On the other hand if your cables are organized, you can wipe their exterior.
Scan for viruses and malware regularly
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Every computer should have some form of antivirus installed, to help protect it from viruses and other threats. Additionally if your antivirus does not scan for other types of malware, you should have a malware scanner too.
Scanning your computer regularly can help to detect and remove these threats before they have the chance to cause damage – which is why it is so essential to keeping your computer well-maintained.
Keep everything updated
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Updates are more important than most people realize – not just for your operating system, but also for other software, drivers, and so on. Many updates fix critical issues or security loopholes, which is why you will want to keep everything as up-to-date as possible.
Utilize a surge protector
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From time to time there may be a spike in your power supply – which could potentially affect any electronic equipment, computers included. That is why you should utilize a surge protector so that if that ever happens your computer will be shielded.
If you want you could go a step further and use a UPS unit that will give you a short span of power if your supply is interrupted completely. That way you can save any work and shut down your computer properly, rather than have it suddenly switch off.
Remove unnecessary ‘junk’ from your hard drive
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As time goes by a lot of unnecessary files are likely to end up occupying space on your hard drive – which could affect its performance. That is why it is important to periodically remove any ‘junk’ from your hard drive so that it doesn’t take up space for no reason.
Assuming you’re using a Mac, you may want to use Movavi Mac Cleaner to help you to clean unnecessary junk from its hard drive. It will automate most of the process, and let you delete all the junk that is lurking on your Mac with a single click.
Additionally Movavi Mac Cleaner has several other tools that can help you to keep your Mac well-maintained. In particular you can use it to uninstall apps, protect your Mac with a built-in antivirus, and so on. With its help coupled with the methods listed above, you should be able to keep your computer well-maintained and extend its lifespan.