pc performance Archives - CompuClever

CompuClever Antivirus PLUS – VB100 Award!

Andy Thompson — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 19:17:10 +0000

CompuClever is pleased to release the latest VB100 test results for CompuClever Antivirus PLUS. We will present these results and help you to understand them as part of our ongoing testimony to the effectiveness of our AV product. As is evident with these results… CompuClever Antivirus PLUS offers outstanding protection without slowing down your PC!

The Test Results

We’ve had four positive test results from the VB100 test lab, one of the few independently operated testing facilities focused on providing comprehensive examination of security software and solutions. Let’s start with an overview of these four tests that are available for online viewing. These tests were conducted between August 2015 and October 2016 on various Windows platforms.

Overview & Breakdown

The specific results of each test are based on test markers which you can get an idea of when you mouse over the column title (RAP Score, Performance impact %, etc.) We define them here:

Platform: This is the selected operating system that VB100 performs its test on. VB100 tries to cover a spectrum of the most popular Windows OS with their tests focusing on one version at a time. Note: CompuClever Antivirus PLUS supports Windows 10, Windows 8, 7, Vista, & XP.
Result: This is the overall result; simply put, it reveals if the antivirus software passed or failed the test.
RAP Overview: “Chart shows RAP scores with weighted average overlaid.” Note: The difference in scores is explained below.
RAP Score: “Weighted average detection rate over recent malware samples, including retrospective coverage of new malware (Reactive and Proactive).” Basically, this means the ability for the AV product to detect and react to malware threats. This is the most important measure of how effective any AV product is; the higher the score, the more effective the product.
Performance impact (%): “Increase in time taken to complete a set of common tasks.” This is the impact to system performance by the AV product when in operation. A lower score is better here.
Stability Rating: “Rated on a five-level scale from Solid (no problems) to Flaky (severe issues).” This is the rating given by VB100 based on the test results. This tells you the quality of the AV software apart from the previously mentioned effectiveness or performance impact measurements.

What is evident in these results is a consistent pattern of high RAP Score – detection of AV threats – and a low performance impact. Once again this means that CompuClever antivirus PLUS works to protect your PC from online malware threats all the while operating in the background.

In this way, you won’t notice it and it won’t have an impact to overall system performance – something CompuClever dedicates itself to accomplishing!

Overall Conclusions

Based on analysis of detailed test data, we are very pleased with the results of the tests. These results are in line with our original goals:

Total protection against any form of online threats: CompuClever Antivirus’s high RAP score is among the list of top security solution providers, like ESET, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and AVG.
Minimum impact to PC performance: CompuClever Antivirus’s extremely low % in Performance Impact to PC performance outperforms most of our top competitors.
A solid and well-built antivirus product: It is easy to install without reboot, has an intuitive user interface, and is extremely intelligent and quiet. CompuClever Antivirus is regarded as a “solid” antivirus solution.

This is what VB100 lab says about us in one of its test remarks:

The design is slick and attractive, with a good range of options available and intuitive deployment of controls.

Stability was perfect throughout testing, with not the slightest shake even under heavy stress. Performance impact was decent too…

Detection was as excellent as one would expect, with good scores everywhere.^[1]

Check Your AV Product

We invite you to examine the results for your AV product. You can trust VB100 as it a free service that performs regular independent reviews of malware solutions and provides test results for AV software that handle both known (reactive) and unknown (proactive) virus samples. You can see the latest test results for any product or you can use the Search field to quickly find test results.

CompuClever Antivirus PLUS

CompuClever Antivirus PLUS offers unparalleled security technology against malware threats. It is designed to deliver the best performance for your PC and it is built on the most advanced antivirus technology available today. Exceptional in its ease of use, it allows you to handle security with a single click. The intuitive technology also guards your online privacy and digital identity with specific protection when doing online banking and online shopping.

Browse the following topics to learn more about Antivirus PLUS:

[1]https://www.virusbulletin.com/

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Refresh Your PC with Device Driver Update

Andy Thompson — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 19:21:02 +0000

As stated in my recently updated book – “5 Tips for a Fast PC”, I am often the “go-to” guy for solving computer problems amongst my families and friends. One of our primary intentions in writing the book was to inform ordinary PC users how to master the basics of computer optimization and maintenance. I have to admit that I purposely left one specific trick out of the book – updating Windows device drivers – for a reason. This is because updating device drivers can be tricky if you don’t have the proper software tool. Although, we want to emphasize here that keeping your PC’s device drivers updated will enhance your PC’s stability and performance.

Today, I am going to explain what device drivers are, why you should update your PC’s device drivers, and how to do it safely and effectively.

What device drivers are

Your Windows PC is made of the following “building blocks”: the hardware, the Operating System (also known as Windows OS), and application software. But have you ever wondered how your OS and application software interact with hardware?

This is where a device driver comes into play. A device driver, commonly known as a driver, is a computer program that controls or drives a particular set of hardware. It serves as an interface between the OS and the hardware device. For instance, your mouse is controlled by a mouse device driver and your keyboard is controlled by a keyboard driver. And this pretty much applies to any hardware that’s in, or attached to, your PC. This includes the monitor, hard drive, CPU, web camera, printer, scanner, speaker, and more.

When should you update drivers

As we have pointed out, drivers are an essential component of the Windows OS as they ensure your PC runs smoothly. Similarly to the Windows OS and software programs, drivers can become outdated or even obsolete. There are three primary reasons that can cause your drivers to become outdated or even damaged.

Windows update: when you perform a major Windows update, like upgrading to Windows 10, some of your existing (“legacy”) hardware devices may not be properly detected by the new OS.
Hardware update: when you add new hardware, such as a mouse, keyboard, web cam, or printer, your Windows OS may not necessarily carry the latest driver for that specific piece of hardware.
Malware attack or invalid operations: when your PC has been attacked by malware or a third-party software that performs invalid operations, it can damage device drivers and cause issues beyond what is strictly security-related.

If your PC experiences one of the following symptoms commonly related to drivers, you definitely need to consider checking the status of your device drivers:

Your PC or software freezes or crashes frequently or even occasionally, but obviously enough to cause you concern.
Your hardware simply stops working or malfunctions. For instance, your speakers produce no sound or your printer doesn’t work.
Your PC or laptop generates unusual noise or heat, which can indicate issues originating with how hardware is being used.
You encounter general PC performance issues that can’t be addressed with the steps suggested in the “5 Tips for a Fast PC”.

Based on my experience, a majority of the mysterious PC performance or stability issues can be explained and addressed by performing a device driver check.

How to update device drivers

There are two ways to update devices drivers: manually and automatically.

You can manually update device drivers by accessing the Control Panel, opening the Device Manager, right-mouse click a specific hardware, and select Update Driver Software. You then have the option of letting Windows find the most updated driver for you, or installing the latest driver software that you download from the hardware manufacture’s website.

Although the manual process works in theory, it depends on two important factors. Number one, you know which hardware requires a driver update, and secondly, you trust Microsoft has the latest and best driver for you to download. Nevertheless, we found the second condition to be particularly unreliable for those who already perform Windows update on a regular basis. If Microsoft has the right device drivers for a piece of hardware you suspect is causing issues, then it stands to reason you would have automatically received a Windows update already.

Using device update software

Some advanced users are able to manually update drivers by searching the Internet for the correct version of drivers. However, we suggest using reliable driver update software to perform this task safely and effectively. The advantages of using a professional driver update program are:

It’s automated: a driver update application scans all hardware on your PC and identifies associated drivers that are updated or damaged.
It’s efficient: an effective and accredited driver application would take advantage of cloud-based resources and thereby have access to a comprehensive collection of device drivers for almost any hardware devices, for any PC brand.
It’s safe: a reputable device driver software would be digitally signed and approved by Microsoft to operate on your PC and thus be free from any security concern or threat.

Our test and recommendation

Building an effective driver update software program and maintaining a comprehensive driver database requires very specific knowledge and experience. We here at CompuClever evaluated three top driver software programs available on the market based on the criteria of coverage, effectiveness, and ease-of-use. These are the top three:

Of these three, our final recommendation is Driver Finder for the following three reasons:

Driver Finder offers a massive coverage of 400,000+ hardware devices from over 5,000 different companies.
Diver Finder is digitally signed by Norton and is Microsoft Windows logo certified.
Driver Finder supports Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10, making it easy for any PC users.

Click here to learn more about Driver Finder, we recommend you download a free scan to conduct a quick and complete assessment of your PC’s device drivers.

We hope you have better understanding about device drivers and how to update them. Let us know if you have any questions about how to keep your PC clean, optimized, and updated.

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3 ways to speed up your PC

Charles Edward — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:17:20 +0000

There are always little things you can do to speed up your PC, and help keep it running smoothly. We’re going to assume that you’re running a version of Windows 7.

Note: Some of the tools mentioned in this article require you to be logged on as an administrator. If you aren’t logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.

1. Remove spyware, protect against viruses

You’ve probably heard of the terms “spyware” and “virus”, but what are they, really? Both are malicious software programs inadvertently downloaded onto your computer from the internet. Sometimes your computer can be infected by spyware and viruses by visiting a website, and sometimes these programs can be downloaded as files. Both affect the speed of your computer. Spyware, as its name suggests, spys on your activities and personal information, such as passwords and even credit card information. Viruses are even more insidious – some wreak havoc for the sake of wreaking havoc, while other viruses may launch programs. Either way, both spyware and viruses will slow down your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials is a great tool for helping get rid of spyware and viruses.

2. Free up disk space

Free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer. Choose a tool identifies files that you can safely delete and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.

Speed up your computer by:

Removing temporary Internet files.
Deleting downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets.
Emptying the Recycle Bin.
Removing Windows temporary files, such as error reports.
Deleting optional Windows plugins you don’t use.
Deleting installed programs that you no longer use.
Removing older restore points.

Note: The quickest way to free up disk space and improve PC performance is to get rid of temporary Internet files, which take the most amount of space.

3. Speed up access to data

Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk as a file is opened (to piece it back together). The response time can be significantly longer.

PC TuneUp Maestro’s Registry Defragmentation tool completely removes fragmentation gaps and produces a cleaner, more compact registry that takes up less disk space and consumes fewer memory resources. The result is that your computer has optimal access to its registry, so your system and application response times are improved.

When to defrag your disk:
It’s always a good idea to defrag your disk when:

You add a large number of files.
Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
You install new programs or a new version of the Windows operating system.

We recommend you download PC TuneUp Maestro and conduct a free PC scan to discover PC optimization opportunities.

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