Get rid of the ballast

Avira asks Internet users about PC maintenance tasks

Tettnang, 16 October 2008 – “Wasn’t it much faster in the past?” At first it’s only a feeling, but then comes the sad fact: The PC at home cannot cope with today’s applications at the same performance level it once did, even standard tasks require much longer.

Users, who don’t keep their computer well configured, know what this scenario is like. The IT security experts at Avira wanted to know Internet users’ opinions concerning “computer well-being” and posted the following monthly question: “Your PC can perform better and faster if you care for it by defragmenting the hard drive regularly, deleting temporary files and scanning for malware. Be honest, do you regularly give your PC a makeover?”

A good result: Internet users told us they keep their computers in good shape. The survey participants were asked about cleaning the computer on a regular basis. 3,022 out of 5,149 said they regularly defragment their hard drive and delete unnecessary ballast. Approximately 18 percent do take proactive measures and only deal with maintenance tasks when the computer does not work anymore. Uncertainty keeps ten percent of the participants from dealing with the problem. They know how to defragment a hard drive, to delete unnecessary files and to install virus updates – but they don’t dare to tackle the problem out of fear of destroying something. Eight percent don’t know how to clean the system and keep it fast and said they “Do nothing”. Only 3.5 percent seek professional help and just two percent take the deluxe route and simply get a new one.

“Many computer users know that it is good to clean up the computer every now and then”, explains Rainer Witzgall, Executive Vice President of Avira. “Unfortunately, Windows is apparently still too complicated for many people. Inexperienced users don’t dare to delete files”. Many programs require an excessive amount of resources, “At Avira we pay great attention that our anti-virus software does not slow down the system and uses only a small amount of system resources“.

Avira provides free basic protection that can be downloaded from www.free-av.com. For additional protection Avira recommends Avira AntiVir Premium for activities on the net such as online banking or shopping. The software includes additional features such as WebGuard that checks web based Internet traffic against infection and automatically blocks phishing and malware-URLs as well as protection against ad/spyware. The Avira Premium Security Suite offers game mode for PC gamers for 39.95 euro. All products are available in the Avira Online Shop.