We all have junk on our computers, whether we like it or not. Maybe they’re Internet files or files that have been left behind from uninstalled programs, but either way, I have a program that will clear all of them away! I can almost guarantee that you’ll love this program. It’s called CCleaner and I think it’s a must have for all computer users. If you’re interested, keep on reading!

CCleaner is a program that optimizes your computer by removing various kinds of garbage system files, such as temporary files, old registry entries, invalid shortcuts, etc. It also helps to maintain your privacy by deleting your browser’s URL history, cookies and so on. It’s a small all-in-one system clean up tool that is just beyond handy!

To get started with using it, just follow these directions:

1.) First, download CCleaner from this link. Follow the installation wizard and when it has finished, open up CCleaner. Your screen will look similar to this:

2.) You will then see that certain tasks that you commonly do on a regular basis have already been checked. Such tasks as emptying the Recycle Bin and running the Disk Cleaner. If you select the Applications tab, you’ll see some of your installed software. Take a minute and look over the list to see if there’s anything you don’t approve of. If there is, you can uncheck them.

3.) Next, click the Analyze button and the progress bar will then begin. When it has finished, you’ll see how much junk information can be removed on the right pane.

In the above screenshot, I had just run CCleaner, so I only had 2.62 MB to delete. Now, you may have up to 60 MB, depending on how old your computer is. You’ll be amazed though, I promise! When you’re ready, to delete all of that junk, just click Run CCleaner.

4.) Click Issues and you’ll be able to check out your registry by clicking Scan for Issues. Once you do, the progress bar will initialize. After it has found all of the issues, click Fix Selected Issues and a prompt will appear, asking you to back up your registry. I strongly suggest that you select Yes on this one.

5.) I’ve never had a problem with CCleaner, but it’s still a good idea to do it. I usually save it to the My Documents folder.

6.) To fix all the issues, select Fix All Selected Issues and then click Close.

Finally, if you click Tools, you can also uninstall programs from CCleaner. It’s so much easier than using Windows’ Add/Remove programs.

Another bonus feature of CCleaner is that you can set it to delete all the files from a certain folder every time you run it. For example, when I make a slideshow and I need to get pictures off of the Web, I usually download them to my computer, just in case I need to edit them. Once I embed them into my presentation, I don’t need them anymore, so I set CCleaner to delete the pictures from that folder whenever I use it. You can do this too. Here’s how:

1.) In CCleaner, select the Options button and click Custom and then click Add Folder.

2.) Select the folder and then click OK.

3.) Confirm the choice by selecting Yes.

4.) Then when you go to clean your computer, make sure that under the Windows tab, Advanced heading, the Custom Files and Folders option is selected.

Now, go on and clean up your computer. Have fun!

Probably the most basic factor is the resolution of the screen, or monitor, itself. When you buy a new monitor, the screen resolution (which is the number of dots of resolution across and down the screen) should be printed on the product’s information sign, but can always be found on the box.

So the monitor here would be capable of 1080 (HD) resolution, because there are at least 1080 dots of resolution across the face of the monitor.

The next thing to look for is your video card. If this is important to you – if you’re displaying HD video or playing visually complex games, like World of Warcraft – you want a fairly powerful video card. All video cards are NOT created equal. Some things to look for in a video card, if you want these things, is that it has its own on-board RAM and its own cooling fan. The more powerful that these things are, the more that they tend to heat up; the more that they tend to heat up, the more that they tend to fail. If you intend to link this computer out to a TV, you also want to look for an HDMI output. DVI will work for video (you will need a DVI to HDMI adapter), but this method carries no sound. The card pictured below is the GeForce GTX 560 with a gigabyte of RAM and an HDMI output. It will set you back about two hundred dollars.

The last thing that will determine your resolution, if you don’t have a video card with on-board RAM, is the amount of RAM in your machine itself. The more RAM that you have, the more stuff you can have open and running on your computer at any given time. So if all of your RAM is being eaten up by the computer’s processes, you will have little left to display graphics.

Hope that this helps.