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Keeping your Win7 machine clean and up-to-date

Software updates

Symantec Endpoint Protection

Only the virus definitions are updated automatically!

And there is NO automatic complete scan of the computer…

To perform a complete update, click on the Symantec shield icon in the right part of the taskbar, and the click on LiveUpdate
You can also click on Rechercher les menaces and then start a quick Active Scan or an Analyse complète
Adding an automatic complete scan: TODO

Computer updates

Updating Windows

All the Windows updating settings are available from
Start ⇒ Control Panel ⇒ System & Security ⇒ Windows Update

Click on Change parameters to select how and when Windows should be updated and select:

Mises à jour importantes: read the warning below
Enable Mises à jour recommandées, Qui peut installer les mises à jour, Microsoft Update and Afficher des notifications détaillées

If you use putty, cygwin/X or other applications that may remain open a long time (e.g during the night, weekend, etc…) make sure to select Télécharger les mises à jour mais me laisser choisir s'il convient de les installer instead of the default Installer les mises à jour automatiquement

With a full automatic update, Windows will automatically restart your computer (if required) after an update, which will kill the open connections…

Dell specific updates

Start ⇒ All programs ⇒ Dell ⇒ Dell Client System Update

Choose to set up things manually
- Download the files to a scratch directory: <disk>:\Scratch\<your_login>\Dell_System_Update
- Check for updates every week (eg Saturday at noon) and just notify the user about new available updates
Start a manual check from the first screen

HP specific updates

Cleaning the computer

Removing the user's temporary files

Note: temporary files created by Windows (attachments opened when clicking in Thunderbird, etc…)

Display the hidden folders
Go to C:\Users\jypeter\AppData\Local\Temp
Delete the files (it will not be possible to remove the files/folders that are currently being used by the system)

Cleaning the Java cache

Start ⇒ Control Panel ⇒ Programs ⇒ Java
Click on the appropriate button to clear the cache
Note: it's also a good idea to reduce the maximum size allowed for the cache!

Backing up the computer

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