Here’s a list of basic PC maintenance steps to keep your PC and browser working better:

1. Restart your PC – You’d be amazed how many problems this can clear up. This is especially true when Windows 10 is downloading or installing updates in the background.

2. Download, install, and run “Malwarebytes” from https://www.malwarebytes.com/ This is the best free anti-malware tool available, and it’s ok to subscribe to them to get extra protection if you want.

3. Download and install the free “Firefox” browser at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/ This is a better browser than anything from Microsoft because even the new Edge browser is still glitchy, and Google Chrome has privacy concerns.

4. Download, install, and run “Glary Utilities” from https://www.glarysoft.com It will run a scan to clean and repair the Windows File System, Registry, Shortcuts, and browser caches.

5. Do a “right click” with your mouse on the Windows Start Menu icon in the bottom left corner of your desktop screen. You will see a different menu pop up. About halfway down, click on “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”. Windows will ask if you want to run the program. Click “Yes”. This will open a window similar to the old DOS Command Line, or a Terminal window.

6. At the prompt where the cursor is flashing, type in the following command and then tap the Enter key:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

This will take a while, possibly an hour. This command tells Windows to check that all its files are correct for the current version of Windows that you have.

7. At the same prompt as before in Step 6, type in the following command and then tap the Enter key:

sfc /scannow

This will also take a while, but not as long as Step 6. This command is a System File Checker and makes sure your core Windows files are correct and not damaged or missing.

Stay tuned for more tips about how to protect your PC and browser program.