National Clean Out Your Computer Day

We all know the old ‘clean out your closet’ phrase. Well, even our computers need some spring cleaning. Especially our computers! And if you’ve ever received the ‘scratch discs full’ error on your MacBook, you know what we’re talking about!

Cleaning out your computer can seem overwhelming, but like your house, garage, closet, junk drawer, it’s only gets bad if you let it pile up. Your best bet is to set up ways to keep it clean throughout the year. Luckily, that’s not too hard!

National Clean Out Your Computer Day is the perfect excuse to keep your computer clean and working soundly. Here’s how:

Use a Cloud to Store Files – The best way to keep your computer from being overloaded is to use a cloud storage platform like Dropbox or iCloud to automatically store your files. You can sync these types of programs so that files are automatically backed up while still being able to access from your computer. Or if you have files that you rarely use, but need, just keep them on the cloud to save space!

Cleaning Your Computer on a Regular Basis – Regular cleaning is ideal to keep your computer running smoothly throughout the year. You can simply download Clean My Mac or Clean My PC, both great tools that make cleaning out all those leftover files that you’re not even aware exist are taking up space and RAM.

“CleanMyMac X chases junk in all corners of your macOS. It cleans unneeded files, like outdated caches, broken downloads, logs, and useless localizations. You can remove tons of clutter that lurks in iTunes, Mail, Photos, and even locate gigabytes of large hidden files. Mac cleaning tools in CleanMyMac X will cut the extra weight in seconds.”

“As you use your computer, it piles up all kind of junk: cache, log files, and what not. This junk gobbles up your disk space and drags down your computer’s performance. CleanMyPC knows exactly where to find the useless files, and which of them are safe to remove. A few clicks — and you’re back on a fast, clean PC.”

Use a VPN to Protect Your Personal Info – Not only do these keep your computer clean, using a VPN like Express VPN can protect your computer from hackers.

“A VPN (virtual private network) is the easiest and most effective way for people to protect their internet traffic and keep their identities private online. As you connect to a secure VPN server, your internet traffic goes through an encrypted tunnel that nobody can see into, including hackers, governments, and your internet service provider.”

Cleaning Your Computer in One Day – Keep in mind, this can take time depending on how fast your computer is. However if your computer does need one big cleaning set aside at least a couple of hours to take the plunge.

• Set up a cleaning tool to do the initial cleaning.
• Go through your largest files and remove those first.
• Organize your files into folders and back them up on a cloud.
• Set up a VPN to keep files and private information safe throughout the year.