Cleaning your Windows XP- Windows 7 Computer

Introduction
I have found that with a few simple skills, you can easily make a hundred dollars a day helping people with their computer problems. Immediately after you read this guide, you will have an in-demand skill for which you can charge about $50 per job which will only require about an hour of your time.
I will also post more articles that cover other topics relating to computer repair so that you can pick up a new skill with each article you read. The more you read, the more money you can make!
Instructions
Difficulty: Easy
Things You'll Need
• A USB flash drive is helpful. A 128MB flash drive will do fine.
Steps
1
Step One


By far, most computer problems these days are caused by spyware infection in the computer (especially in Windows XP), so first we must learn a bit about spyware. Here's the definition of spyware:
Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Not only this, but it makes your computer SLOW!

Now we know what we are dealing with! Let's move on.
2
Step Two


Spyware does not respect the computer that it is on, so therefore, it usually slows it down quite a bit, so it must be removed. We will get a couple of programs to do that for us in the following steps and put them on our USB Flash Drive. (Best of all, these useful programs are all free!)
3
Step Three


The first program to get is CCleaner. This program can be downloaded here: http://ccleaner.com/download/downloading . Save this on your USB Drive.

This program will remove junk and temporary files from the computer which will speed up our spyware removal (and the computer, itself). It will also clean faster and better than Windows XP's built-in utilities.
4
Step Four


The next program that we want is Ad-Aware. Save this program to you USB Drive, too: http://www.download.com/3001-8022_4-10719977.html

This program does the actual detection and removal of the spyware.

Once we have these 2 programs on our USB Drive, we are ready to work on someone's computer!
5
Step Five


Now, at the computer we are working on, we must insert the USB Drive and install the 2 programs from the flash drive. Install CCleaner, then Ad-Aware.
6
Step Six


First, we must run CCleaner by double-clicking the icon that was created on the desktop. Once CCleaner opens, click the Analyze button. This will start the scan for junk files.
When it is done, the Run Cleaner button will become available. Click that to remove the junk files. We're done with CCleaner, so close it.
Very simple!
7
Step Seven


Now, we need to run Ad-Aware. Double-click the Ad-Aware icon on the desktop.
8
Step Eight


Next, click Update, then Yes or OK to any boxes that pop up. This will make the program learn about new spyware.
9
Step Nine


Once the update is done, click Scan Now.
10
Step Ten


We want to select a Full Scan here so that it looks at the entire computer.
After you've selected Full Scan, click the Scan button.
11
Step Eleven


This is what the screen will look like while you are scanning. This process will take 15-20 minutes to complete.
12
Step Twelve


Once the scan completes, right-click in the list of objects found and click Select All Objects, then click the Finish button to remove the spyware!
13
Step Thirteen


If the system seemed to be heavily infected, you may want to restart the system and run Ad-Aware again to ensure a thorough removal.

Good job! You are now a computer technician!