CompuClever Blog

Too Much Junk: Stay Lean and Clean

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Synopsis:  Two months ago we presented articles on defragmentation – one of the most effective methods of improving PC system performance.  Prior to applying this procedure it is highly recommended to remove clutter from your PC – what is often referred to as “junk” files.  We are going to look at the symptoms your PC could be displaying.  Next, we will examine what some experts suggest and some of the challenges associated with these tasks.  Finally we are going to look at performing two solutions using PC Clean Maestro:  one, cleaning junk files and two, uninstalling programs that are not necessary.


There are many online references providing information and instruction on cleaning junk files and cleaning your PC.  Many of these articles offer instructions on how to go about manually using the onboard tools supplied by your PC operating system.  The difficulty with this is:

  1. Much of this depends on what operating system you are running.
  2. This can be time consuming if you do not know where these Microsoft tools are located.
  3. Manual removal of files is almost always tedious and does not produce thorough results as items are stored by programs in areas without your awareness.
  4. Quite often you need a fair bit of PC expertise and a whole lot of patience.

What you are basically being told to do is to locate some tool which would depend on what OS you are running (for example, there is the “Add or Remove Programs” tool for XP and the “Program and Features” tool in Windows 7).  Then you can locate and delete items one by one.  Some of these instructions can be challenging for some.  For example: “Delete the contents of the “Windows/Temp” folder located in the root directory of the hard drive”.  Even if you complete on this task it is incomplete as the items are placed in the Recycle bin.

Some of the instructions that we have come across even include inserting the Windows installation disk and reinstalling the operating system.  This is a major undertaking and should only be done after thorough backing up of programs and files and when all other attempts have failed.  Typically this would mean there is something even more wrong with your system such as having a computer malware or PC viral infection that cannot be easily removed.  What we are looking at though is something more common and less desperate – a gradual PC performance slow down.

Symptoms:

Let’s start by looking at the common symptoms you may be experiencing as a result of too much clutter on your PC.  By confirming the symptoms you can feel more assured that the treatment plan will be the correct one.  Generally speaking we are comparing the performance when a PC is freshly installed and running to the overall responsiveness you now experience with your PC.

Typical symptoms include:

  • Slow startup time.
  • Slower times to open programs, save files, close programs, and perform regular operations.
  • Computer freezes or locks up.  This means that your PC does not respond or stalls as if waiting for you to do something.  It can be more frequently experienced when more than one program is running at a time.
  • Computer crashes or shuts down on its own.

Cause and Effect:

There are numerous causes that are contributing to poor performance as a result of PC clutter. Over time and daily use, PC’s get clogged with clutter and junk files clog up the system.

Most commonly experienced causes of “Too Much Junk”:

  • Unwanted files get stored on your PC when you browse the Internet.  Web browsers produce caches of files when you surf the net.
  • Unwanted files get stored on your PC during downloads.  Programs create Temp folders and files to temporarily use during an installation.
  • Uninstalled remnants:  Items are not always removed when uninstalling programs.  This can happen even after you have successfully completed the un-installation of a program.  These are sometimes referred to as “orphan” strings and files which are left in the registry and on the hard drive.
  • Redundant programs can lead to excessive action behind the scene (taking up PC processing).

Surfing the net, getting files in email attachments, installing applications from the Internet… these are regular day-to-day activities. The result is fragmentation – files not stored in a contiguous manner. This can include having many interdependent files that make up a program stored further apart. These items become scattered across the hard drive which causes excessive movement of the hard drive and undo wear and tear. In the case when there are too many redundant applications running there can be processes that are actively competing for computer resources in the background.

Solutions – Clean & Uninstall:

So what have we learned?  Too much clutter of junk items can cause your PC to be slow in many ways.  To be specific, the result of junk files and unnecessary programs is that these items take up disk space and can use available memory thereby resulting in slowdown and unexpected behaviours.  Maybe the real question though is: how do you best remove these especially when considering that it is a task that you need to do periodically – it’s not a one-time fix.  As we stated, having too many programs that can perform the same functions can also be detrimental.  This is why PC Clean Maestro is so crucial to cleaning up and improving the PC state.  Let’s take a closer look.

Clean:

There are junk items that are considered to be the “low hanging fruit”.  That is, they are somewhat less challenging to locate and remove.  They also, in this case, produce some pretty good results in terms of how much hard drive space is reclaimed as a result.  Here is what we consider to be the top five items for removal.

A Comprehensive Junk Scan of Your PC - PC Clean Maestro
  1. Recycle bin items:  If you are a fairly new PC user you may be unaware that when you delete items they get moved to the “Recycle bin”.  The reason for this is that you have the option to reclaim them if you decide you were too hasty deleting them.  However, these still take up hard drive space and the bin can get as full as you have available space on your PC.
  2. IE download files:  Just surfing web pages leads to downloading of content including media files.  This can add up over time and it needs to be flushed from your system on a periodic basis.
  3. Installer files:  Cab files are downloaded to your system during an installation of programs that are sizeable.  For example, Windows Office.  A cab file (short for cabinet and seen as “.cab”), is a library of compressed files.  They can be used to reduce the download size and time for web content required for an installation.  Once an install is complete you no longer require these files.  For some programs you may want to back these files up to an external hard disk to prevent having to re-download them.
  4. Windows Temp folder:  Temporary folders are for storing temporary files.  This is intended to be a temporary storage and some operating systems automatically delete the items with each reboot.  Windows does not and you need to initiate this procedure.  In some cases it is best to remove only items that are considered older than seven days.
  5. Windows cache files, dump files, and error reports:  Windows automatically creates files and reports that are based on certain incidents for purposes of troubleshooting or re-simulation for analysis.  These files can accumulate over time and are not relevant after the incident has passed (assuming it has been resolved).

PC Clean Maestro is designed to clean.  All of these items we have mentioned, and more, can be detected and cleaned.  After performing a quick scan a complete summary is provided and the total size of the junk items is tallied up.  In some cases, this can add up to gigabytes of “junk” and can account for 5 -10% of your disk capacity.

Uninstaller:

The Uninstaller tool in PC Clean Maestro is easy to use.  Having this tool in the same program consolidates the clean process.  Often times, applications are downloaded to your system when you are installing another program.  This especially occurs when you are installing a program that is sponsored by a second manufacturer designed to appear on your browser toolbar or display popups prompting you to buy.

Cleanly Uninstall any Program - PC Clean Maestro

With the Uninstaller you get a complete list of installed items on your computer.  You can select on any item from the list and, depending on how the item was designed, you are presented with being able to Uninstall, Repair, or Change.  With the Change option you can modify the settings that you were first presented when you installed the program.

One of the more challenging questions facing every user ultimately is… how do I know what to uninstall?  The basic answer is to resolve two questions: how is this application used on my PC and can I trust the manufacturers of this software.  This can involve doing some online research.  You can examine a program and verify that it is has gone through an authentication or certification process; type the program name and “certified” in a Google search and check the results.   For more information, refer to our blog article: “The Clean and Uninstaller Tools”.

In Summary – Lean & Clean:

We’ve covered the basics to understanding the importance of cleaning your PC.  We’ve introduced the tool to use: PC Clean Maestro.  One important item to mention, users of PC Clean Maestro can use all the functionality presented here for free.

Tip: There are other functionalities to improve your PC computing experience relating to security and privacy which are included in the full version of the product.  We hope to provide more information on this for you in an upcoming article.

Now that you are in the know about the benefits of keeping your PC lean and clean, we will provide some instruction on how to go about it in our blog article including how to use the Clean Scan Schedule tool.  We hope the PC Clean Maestro operations will help you recapture the computing experience you once had when first operating your PC.

Fix or Disable Java

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Synopsis: There are Java errors that can appear and require your attention to resolve. Another major issue with Java relates to security. Many experts are beginning to say turn off Java altogether. This is a difficult decision to make and we have covered this in some detail in our newsletter: “Java – The Hacked.” For the purposes of this article we will focus on how to fix Java errors, keep your version of Java recent, and offer recommendations. Simply put: if you want to use Java error free –run the updated version. If you decide on continued use… consider our suggestion for safe surfing.

What is Java? Where is it Used?

Java is a programming language and platform used with many devices and on web pages. Frequently, Java is used to run applets – small applications that perform a specific task on a web page. Without Java, these little applets would show as blank areas on a web page and you would not have access to the interactive features they provide. From the Java site, examples are provided including chatting with people online, using mortgage interest calculators, viewing 3D images. The site also states that unless you have Java installed some websites and applications will not work.

The Java Question. To use Java or to not use Java. Getting rid of Java errors is a fairly easy process and will also provide you with the latest security updates. The most challenging question related to using Java is the ongoing potential for security exploitation. There are numerous examples of hackers exploiting or creating loopholes. For more information about this please refer to our latest newsletter.

Solutions. This article focuses on solutions.  We recommend that if you are having issues with Java or if you want to continue using it, begin by applying a simple fix.

Solution 1 – Update and Fix Java Errors:

With PC TuneUp Maestro you can easily update Java to address issues.

Step 1:  First you need to open the program and click “Fix & Clean” in the left panel.  The window will appear as seen here:

Java Error Repair - PC TuneUp Maestro

Step 2:  Click the Java Error Repair tool.

Step 3:  Compare the version you have installed with the version that is available.  If you do not have the latest version you can proceed by clicking the “Fix” button.

Fix Java Errors - PC TuneUp Maestro

Step 4:  Click the “Fix” button.

The Results:  You now are running the most recent version of Java.  For some users this means that previous errors that were appearing should now be resolved.  Keep in mind that we encourage our registered users to seek support from our team if problems continue to appear.

Best Practices: Now that you are running the most recent version of Java and you can verify this from time to time by following the same procedure above, let’s look at other alternatives.  Here are the choices as we see them:

  1. Continue to use the most recent Java version.
  2. Use a safe browsing method.
  3. Disable Java completely.

We have provided these decisions in a step-by-step format.  In other words, if you are not completely sure then you can try these one at a time.  The first step we have covered.  The next step is to begin using safer browsing and online practices.

Safe browsing:   To begin a new safe browsing practice we have two suggestions for you.

  1. Try out Mozilla Firefox as it has Click to Play and Blocklist technologies that you can customize to give you control of what Java and other add-ons and plugins you want enabled.  See this page for more information: Mozilla Support for Java.
  2. You can also try using more than one web browser. For this solution we recommend that you use two different web browsers: one with Java disabled completely (Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome) and one that still supports Java (such as Internet Explorer).  If you come across a site that uses Java and you feel it is safe, you can switch to the backup browser.  In this example, Internet Explorer is the recommended backup choice as it is the most difficult one to bring to a Java disabled state.

Solution 2 – Disable Java:

Maybe after you have tried these first two choices, you can get a better sense of how much you really need Java.  If you feel the chance of a security threat is not worth the risk, maybe now is the time to disable it completely.  Depending on which web browser you use this can be either an easy process or a challenging one.  Here is the breakdown:

Internet Explorer:  The steps to disabling Java in IE are complex.  If you have fairly good technical abilities, we recommend that you get started with this Microsoft knowledge base article.  However, when doing this you may find that Java is invoked in other ways in IE and you need to take further methods at the registry level (for advanced users there are steps available in another Microsoft knowledge base article).

Chrome:  In your web browser, type: “chrome://plugins” and  click the “Disable” links that are associated with Java(TM) – there are three disable links.

Firefox:  At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button and click “Add-ons”.  In the Add-on Manager select the “Plugins” panel.  Click the Java TM Platform plugin(s) and click disable.

We hope the information presented here has made your Java experience a more safe and healthy one.

Java – The Hacked

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Synopsis: We explore in this article a contentious subject – Java. There are those that are very insistent that the benefits of Java do not outweigh the fact that this very popular technology and widely-used tool is a target for hackers and virus makers and they are exploiting it. However, it is because of the widespread use of Java on devices and web pages that makes it a target for hackers. As a result security flaws have been exploited and patches are created in an attempt to keep up with security. First, this article will describe what Java is and where it is used. Some examples of recent security exploits are provided, and then we will offer some solutions and recommendations.

Java Explained

In simple terms, Java is a programming language that is used to create software programs.  In other words, it’s the underlying technology for business applications, games, PC utility tools, and more.  As of 2012 it has been used for client-to-server web applications by over 10 million users.  One reason for its popularity is that it is a simplified language that was designed to eliminate common programming errors.  It was also designed for programmers to “write once, run anywhere” – that is, the code needs only to be written once to be able to run on computers with different operating platforms.  Technically more than a programming language, Java is also a platform for developing applications.  This means that programmers do not have to be concerned if the application is running on a Mac, PC, or Linux.  If the Java components, also known as runtime environment, are available, it will run as expected.

Quick Java Facts 

  • The Java website estimates that it runs on more than 850 million PCs across the globe and billions of devices such as mobile and TV devices.
  • Java is unrelated to JavaScript, though either can be used to enable the functioning of web pages.
  • Sun Microsystems first developed Java with five primary goals in mind:
    1. Simple, object-oriented and familiar.
    2. Robust and secure.
    3. Architecture-neutral and portable.
    4. High performance.
    5. Interpreted, threaded, and dynamic.

In short… it was designed to be flexible and powerful while still being secure. Also it was to be portable across multiple architectures, operating systems, and graphical user interfaces. You can see it on computers, laptops, gaming devices, cell phones, and on websites. As the Java website states: “Java is everywhere”.

To Have or Have Not

There are many Java skeptics who are trying to cut back on their Java intake… or eliminate it altogether.  The reason for this is that, like any programming language, Java can be exploited by those wanting to take advantage of security loopholes.  We will discuss the issue of security here.  But first we will point out what to expect if you remove Java altogether.

Without Java: If you turn off Java (remove it from your PC world), and you come across websites that have Java apps embedded within, you will see a blank space where the program applet would be displayed.    Also… as pointed out by its website, without Java applications and websites that depend on it will not work.  Despite this, some experts are now saying the use and dependency on Java is declining somewhat.  There are alternatives to Java such as HTML5.  There are also some that declare Java to be unsafe and a security threat.  It certainly has had its share of bugs.

Security Risk: Here is a quick peek at some of the recent issues that have hit Java.

  • January 2013:  Oracle has issued an emergency fix for its Java software, which security experts said is being exploited to carry out identity theft and other crimes — but flaws remain which can still be exploited, researchers say.  The fix… is intended to block an exploit in Java from running in web browsers…  When used on websites, Java is typically used to run small apps that are loaded from inside the browser, but are downloaded to the user’s machine. There they are meant to run inside a “sandbox”, which strictly limits their ability to read or write data to the PC.  But the exploit shows that that has failed. Hackers have figured out how to exploit Java to install malicious software enabling them to commit crimes ranging from identity theft to making an infected computer part of an ad-hoc network of computers that can be used to attack websites.

While we can be assured that Oracle is working on fixes to security holes that hackers exploit, we do want to point out that there is a time lag in addressing the issues.  In August 2012, Oracle did release a patch a month ahead of their scheduled patch.  However, this happened after the Polish security alerted and received confirmation of 31 flaws.  Only two were addressed prior to the patch.

Response time by Oracle improves when major players take major steps.  In February 2013, Oracle only took one day to release a new version to address security vulnerabilities after Apple decided to block the latest update for Java 7.  The “…Java Runtime Environment was being exploited by nefarious websites, and was so serious that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned users to disable the web plugin.  In response, Apple disabled Java 7 through the OS X anti-malware system…” Mozilla Firefox has enabled what is referred to as a “Click and Play” tool so that the user gets an opportunity to accept playing the Java plugin or to leave it disabled on the web page.

What to Do

These reports are not encouraging.  What we know to be commonplace in the computing world is that the more something is popular and used, the more it is a target for cybercrime.  Such is the case with Windows being the target for viruses and Apple users thinking they were immune.  So too is this true with Java.  Logic dictates that having a replacement for Java may not be more secure, simply less targeted.

Many users rely on Java without even knowing it.  One example would be playing a game such as ones offered with the Pogo site.  These games require Java in order to be played.  In January 2013, many Pogo Java games were asking the user for permission to run before they load.   This was due to security measures implemented in the latest version of Java (version 7 update 11).

The challenge is to decide the best approach in terms of safety and functionality.  There are two fundamental solutions.  You can go without Java – disable it.  Or you can forgo the risk, use Java and attempt to take all the required precautions.  In this case, it means having recent and up-to-date Java upgrades with all the necessary security patches. There is one other approach that we will introduce here… use more than one browser.

Disable It: If you decide to go this route you need to first ask what will the result be and do I have an alternative in mind even if that alternative is to go without some functionality?  As pointed out, Java is required for many applications and websites.  For direction on disabling for your web browser, please refer to our article: Fix or Disable Java.

Use Java – Updates: As can be seen with the security risk examples included in this article, Java security exploits can and do occur.  But if you are of the mind that other replacements for Java are just as likely to be the target of exploitation… then you may be deciding to stay the course.  No need throwing caution to the wind.  We recommend taking some precautions including having the most recent update and Java version.  For our PC TuneUp Maestro users, the steps to updating Java is simple and easy.  For more information refer to the following article: Fix or Disable Java.

More Than One Browser Type: For this option we recommend that you use more than one browser and have Java disabled in the web browser you use most often.  This is a very safe method of surfing.  You may already be using IE for example… so download and install Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.  Next, disable Java in one of your browsers (you may find that disabling Java in Internet Explorer is too much of a challenge and want to use another web browser to do your day-to-day Internet activities).  You can use this Java-disabled browser for “safe” surfing.  When you come across something that requires Java and you really want to interact or view it, and you feel that the source is safe, you can open Internet Explorer as your alternative.

With or without Java, or sometimes using Java, the choice is yours to make. 

Surf Faster with Internet Explorer

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When surfing the net we rely on our browser. In this article we focus on how to address Internet Explorer performance issues. This is a frustrating experience common to many computer users. We will look at potential causes and attempt to rule out anything that may be less likely but needs to be examined. We then focus on what is a common experience for those that have run IE for some time and have collected a few “add-ons” during their surfing adventures.

Getting to the Source

There are several potential causes for a slow browsing experience.  The plan is to identify the symptoms and then to systematically go through potential causes.  We will attempt to rule out the ones less likely to be crippling your IE browser experience but are potential culprits all the same.

What are the symptoms?  It could be you have been facing a number of IE browser symptoms that indicate poor Internet browsing health.  These could range from: slow startup, slow downloading of pages, crashes, and more.  We can go through these one at a time.

Internet speed:  A slow connection to the Internet means slow browsing speeds.  But is it the Internet connection or the result of the browser?  One way to check is to test out your performance of your email application or compare how quickly you can download items (pictures and other files) to how quickly a web page downloads to your browser.  If everything else seems to be in order you need to examine the health of your IE browser.

Crashes and unexpected behaviours:  This includes situations when the browser crashes on its own and automatically performs a restart, or it freezes and becomes unresponsive, or it begins to display new browsing windows or redirect you to websites.  With the unexpected behaviours listed here, you need to examine your PC for malware and viruses.  In cases of crashes and application freezes, you may be experiencing security settings issues or add-ons that are not working properly (read on for more information on these).

Startup speed:  If your IE browser is slow to startup this can be due to a number of factors including browser settings needing to be reset, browser add-on issues, or because you need to upgrade to the latest IE browser.

One way of telling if certain browser add-ons are piling up is to examine your browser toolbar.  Are you seeing a lot of new toolbars with lots of shortcut buttons?  It’s time to examine browser add-ons and determine if you need them or if they are simply slowing things down.

Internet Explorer cluttered with excessive toolbars / add-ons

Browser Add-ons

As we are about to demonstrate, add-ons are intended to improve the browsing experience but, in some cases, they can impair functionality or result in annoyances such as unwanted pop-ups.  We can begin by answering some of the most common questions about add-ons: what are they, where do they come from, and are they legitimate?  Then we can move on to how to identify your IE add-ons.

What are they? Add-ons are intended to “add” features and functionality to your browser.  The ones we can focus on are: toolbars, extensions, search providers, and accelerators.  Examples of the functionality they offer include adding extra toolbars with website shortcuts, animated items, pop-up ad blockers, search fields, and more.  Add-ons are also known as ActiveX controls and browser help objects.

Where do they come from? Add-ons typically come from Internet downloads and in most cases require permission in order to be installed to your PC.  However, there are cases where they can be installed without your permission or you had inadvertently installed them while installing some other software.  In the latter situation, some software vendors attempt to hide these additional items that are installed and they do not make a point of presenting the resulting effects.  There are also add-ons that are pre-approved by Microsoft and have been originally installed on your PC.

Are they legitimate? In most cases add-ons that are on your PC are legitimate and authorized by accredited software manufactures.  However, in some cases it is possible to come across malicious browser add-ons.  In these cases, they can exploit security loopholes in IE or they can re-direct you when you type in a URL so that you instead end up at a malicious website that attempts to trick you for some financial gain or theft of identity (credit card information for example).  You can verify the manufacture of an add-on by viewing the information related to the add-on such as its manufacturer.

To view Add-Ons: You can very simply open up the Manage Add-ons dialog (as shown below) to view a list of the IE Add-ons on your PC.  Opening this dialog depends on the version of IE you are running.  If you have a menu bar as with IE version 8, you can click the “Tools” menu and select “Manage Add-Ons.”  If you are running version 9 you need to click the “gear” icon located near the top right of the browser and select Manage Add-Ons.  (You can also try using the Alt + X shortcut key combination.)  The dialog appears as seen here:

Manage Internet Explorer Add-ons

There are a number of useful items here.

  • We recommend clicking the down arrow under the “Show:” section in the left panel and choosing “All add-ons”.
  • You can also select any of the Add-on Types that are listed.
  • Select any of the add-ons in the top right panel and make sure they are from a legitimate source.
  • Click the “Learn more about toolbars and extensions” at the bottom left to bring up the help menu.

What can I do with unnecessary Add-ons?

For users who find it a challenge to properly authenticate each and every browser add-on and to determine the browser settings, there is a quick and effective solution.  PC TuneUp Maestro is equipped with the IE Repair tool.  This tool includes several very useful IE error fixes.  We recommend starting with the following two items:

  1. Launch Internet Explorer without Add-ons, and
  2. Reset Internet Explorer.

    PC TuneUp Maestro provides a set of tools to fix IE problems

When launching IE without add-ons, you get a preview of what IE will look like without any of the additional add-ons that have accumulated.  This is your chance to test the waters and see if you are missing anything when surfing the web.  This removes add-ons, Browser Helper Objects, and ActiveX controls (such as Adobe Acrobat) and toolbars (such as Google, Bing, and many more).  In some cases, certain web pages may not display correctly as a result.  If you prefer the add-ons as they were you can revert to the previous state or just close IE and it will be restored when it is next launched.  If you are alright with the changes you can then use the Reset Internet Explorer tool.  This will put it to its original factory installed state.

Summary

Suffering from what has become slow performance is not only a frustration but it in consideration of today’s technologies, it feels completely unnecessary.  One of the most common reasons for slow speeds with Internet Explorer is browser add-ons.  These can be collected along the way without even being completely aware as to how you picked them up.  We hope the solutions offered in this article have provided useful tips on how to deal with unwanted add-ons.  For more instructional details, check out our blog article: How to Reset IE.

How to Reset Internet Explorer

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Over time and frequent use, Internet Explorer can accumulate extra “add-ons” and can experience changes that result in slow performance.   There are instances where settings are adjusted by add-ons, browser extensions, and toolbars without your knowledge or approval.  What most users experience when installing items to their computer are software additions that are part of the package.  In other words, you begin installing some item and it includes browser add-ons that are intended to give you quick access to websites (via shortcuts) or additional functionality such as search fields.

Slow Performance:  The result of unwanted add-ons can be slower times when opening IE, slow browsing speed (it takes longer to view the pages you browse to), and unexpected behaviours such as crashes and program freezes.  Even worse, there are those additional items that can be malicious.  They function in such a way as to include links to sites that threaten the security of your online banking / financial information, they can lower your security settings making you vulnerable to further malicious attacks, or they can also result in annoying pop-ups that you can’t stop from appearing.  A good indication that you need to reset your IE to its original “factory-installed” state.

From the Start:  With PC TuneUp Maestro you can easily use two IE Repair tools to address these issues.

Step 1:  First you need to open the program and click “Fix & Clean” in the left panel.  The window will appear as seen here:

PC TuneUp Maestro - Internet Explorer Repair

Step2:  Click the Internet Explorer Repair tool.
Step 3:  We are going to now revert IE so that it runs a temporary Internet Explorer session without any add-ons, toolbars, ActiveX controls, or Browser Help Objects.  By doing so you can preview how IE performs with the new changes.
Click the Launch button as seen below:

Note: This is a temporary change.  You can now go online and see if your IE browser is more responsive and can view all available content on the targeted sites.  If you re-launch IE, the browser will load as it was with all add-ons.

Step 4:  If after the previous step you want to make a permanent change, we recommend clicking the “Reset” button in the following IE Repair tool:

The Results:  Your IE browser will be returned to the state it was when it was first installed with one important distinction – the add-ons are not deleted.  The makers of PC TuneUp Maestro recognize that add-ons can be useful when installed by a trustworthy software manufacturer.  The add-ons are not in fact deleted from your PC but have been disabled and are prevented from automatically being loaded when you start IE.  In this way, when an add-on is required, IE will explicitly request permission to load the add-on.  This is an opportunity for you to approve only those add-ons that are legitimate and necessary for your computing needs.

Microsoft
One of the first fixes that Microsoft recommends is to upgrade to a new version of IE. If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista Microsoft recommends Internet Explorer 9 . If you are using Windows XP, then you should be running Internet Explorer 8. 

There are several online resources available including:
• Internet Explorer Community—Microsoft Answers forums
• Internet Explorer Solution Center
• Internet Explorer Help & How-to

Best Practice

The most important best practices we recommend is to closely monitor what you install. During any installation, read carefully what you are installing, choose to custom install where possible and remove any additional items from third-party vendors. Keep in mind that many free software programs make money by including these additional installations. We hope this article has been helpful and that you are well on the way to a more productive online experience.