LockerGnome has a great article on Windows optimization tools. You hear the commercials on the radio and see them on TV, and those with little PC experience fall for their tactics. If your PC is slow, there are many freeware and low cost ways of fixing it. Do some research or ask a knowledgeable friend. You may be doing more harm than good when it comes to “fixing” your PC. I’ve used CCleaner for a long time, and have been very happy with it. It’s free and does a great job. Don’t expect any miracles, but it is a great start.

If these “subtle” marketing strategies don’t do the trick, there are more devious methods at hand that scam artist software peddlers can use to sucker in more unwary clientele. One is the ever-suspicious pop-up that displays as a phony alert that there’s something wrong with a system. A few years ago, my partner and I were running a very successful computer business. At the time, business was booming because unfortunate souls had downloaded software or email infected with viruses. To further add to their distress, some of them had attempted to fix their own systems with any number of the optimization scams or gimmicks that were currently out there. Others had installed the optimization tools in an attempt to speed up what they thought were slow PCs.