What basic maintenance should I perform to keep my computer running at its best?

1. Keep your OS and software programs up to date: Make sure that your operating system and all of your software programs are kept up to date with the latest security patches, bug fixes, and feature enhancements.

2. Clean out junk files: Using an optimization tool or manually cleaning out temporary and unnecessary files from your hard drive will help keep your computer running quickly and efficiently.

3. Defragment your hard drive: Periodically defragmenting your hard drive improves disk performance by reorganizing your hard drive files into contiguous blocks to reduce access times.

4. Uninstall unused programs: Removing programs you no longer use will free up space on your hard drive and can improve your computer’s performance.

5. Protect your system from viruses and malicious attacks: Install an antivirus program and use a firewall to protect your computer from viruses and malicious attacks.