Let’s say your computer is running slowly or ineffectually. Maybe it is error prone and unable to install system updates. Perhaps it is a case of having unwanted toolbars and addons ruining your web browsing experience by injecting even more ads in your sites. Maybe you’ve got some kind of unwanted toolbar.

Going about the process of cleaning up your computer can be challenging. It is rewarding to do so, however, and it can save you a lot of grief. Provided you are still able to access your files on your computer, you should make a backup of all your personal documents, pictures, videos, etc., onto either a flashdrive or cloud storage (OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, mega.nz, etc).

How to figure out what version of windows you are on

Don’t be embarrassed if it is not especially obvious. While the visual difference between Windows 10 and Windows 7 can be stark, people who are not familiar with the appearance of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 might mistake it for Windows 10. Windows Vista can be mistaken for Windows 7, too.

Open an instance of File Explorer either by clicking on its icon in the taskbar or by pressing Windows Key + E.

You should right-click on the icon that says This PC. On some versions of Windows it is called My Computer. After right-clicking on this icon, press Properties.

You may get a totally different looking screen than I have here. This is because this screenshot is taken from Windows 10 version 20H2. Regardless, you should be able to see which version of Windows you are using. If you are using Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, the parts of this guide that mention the Settings Applet will either not apply to you or will apply very little. Most of your system settings, then, will be instead accessible through Control Panel, which you should be able to find in your Start Menu.

Getting around your computer

On Windows, you can actually find many of your programs by searching for the name in the Start Menu. Even if you do not have the search-bar in your task bar enabled, you can still type and it will bring up the search function.

After you’ve made your backups, you *could* go straight to the factory reset options. This will get rid of all your programs at the very minimum and at the maximum all of your files.

Some malware, such as the unwanted desktop toolbars or rogue software, can be removed simply by uninstalling the software via the apps list in the Settings applet. You can access the Windows 10 Settings applet either by pressing the gear icon in the Start Menu or by searching for Settings in the Start Menu.

Sometimes in Windows 10 you will be faced with the problem that the application you want to remove does not appear in the apps list in the Settings applet. Windows 10, as of version 20H2, has technically two control panels from which you can uninstall applications. The one that is more common to use these days is known as Settings. The other one is called Control Panel and can be accessed by searching for it in the Start Menu.

If you’ve got malware on your computer, Windows may have already let you know. If not, be sure to check out the built-in Windows Security program. On some versions of Windows it is called Windows Defender. Perform a scan and see what gets picked up.

When windows security (or defender) is not enough

Windows Security (formerly known as Windows Defender) is better than nothing. It is certainly better than McAfee. You should not buy McAfee subscriptions.

However, Windows Security is not perfect and is not the end all, be all of anti-virus protection. While power users and techies can claim to be able to forego the use of anti-virus software, I still wish to list some helpful free options that one can use to clean their Windows PC.

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is a software available to use for free. The free protection does not give you automatic scanning or real-time protection but you still have the ability to conduct manual scans. The free-trial and the paid-for version does give you real-time protection. Malwarebytes is decent software.

AdwCleaner

Nowadays, a lot of malware that infects PCs is adware. Adware either presents the user with undesired popups, injects extra advertisements into websites that you visit, or hijacks your default search engine. Adware is especially problematic to deal with because it is difficult to locate the source sometimes. You can get rid of a lot of adware by simply uninstalling it, but not all adware is created equal, and not all of it will give you the opportunity to uninstall it manually. AdwCleaner is great for getting rid of adware.

RKill

RKill is a program that was developed at BleepingComputer.com that attempts to terminate known malware processes so that your normal security software can then run and clean your computer of infections. When RKill runs it will kill malware processes and then removes incorrect executable associations and fixes policies that stop us from using certain tools. When finished it will display a log file that shows the processes that were terminated while the program was running.

beepingcomputer.com

Some malware prevents your anti-virus software from starting. RKill can deal with such malware. It is effective in destroying rootkits.

This is by no means an exhaustive list but it should give you a sense of where to start with cleaning a Windows PC. There is a misconception that only Windows PCs get infected with malware. This is untrue. Macs also get infected with malware. It happens frequently enough that anti-virus companies also support Mac systems (such as Malwarebytes). Malware even affects computers running ChromeOS and even less common Linux-based computers.