You've probably experienced that awful moment when—usually in the middle of a crucial project with a tight deadline—your PC crashes inexplicably. Less catastrophic, but nearly as frustrating, are the times when your system seems sluggish. Performing a few simple maintenance tasks can help you prevent crashes and keep your system running smoothly.

Use antivirus and firewall protection

Virus infections and hackers can cause just as many system problems as hardware failures do. In fact, a lot of the new viruses out there can override or even reformat files on your hard drive. Hackers who break into your PC can wreak havoc on your system—and, even worse, steal personal information stored on your computer. You're especially vulnerable to hacker attacks if you use an always-on, broadband Internet access such as DSL or ISDN, because (unlike dial-up service) those connections give your PC a "static" Internet protocol (IP) address that's easier to find. But even dial-up users are susceptible, regardless of how long they are online or how frequently they connect. Hackers use sophisticated tools to search the Internet looking for any live connection Whatever your means of access, anyone connected to the Internet should install antivirus software, antispyware software, and a personal firewall protection to stop hackers.

Check the integrity of your hard drive

If you're experiencing frequent crashes, it could be because you have problems with your disk directories. Even routine use of software can cause irregularities within the disk directory structure—which manages the filing system within your computer—and those irregularities cause most hard drive crashes. Run a utility program that scans your hard disk for errors. A good utility will check the physical structure of the hard drive, and it will repair and optimize your disk directory (the directory gives your system information the operating system needs in order to be able to open things and read them correctly). Run a scheduled scan of your system at least once a week.

Defrag your hard drive

If your computer seems to be running more slowly than usual, it could be that your hard drive is fragmented. When you save files, your PC looks for available memory and puts parts of a file one place and other parts somewhere else. This creates "fragments" of files. The more files you have, and the more frequently those files are used, the more likely they are to become fragmented, so the disk heads have to look in several different places to read the whole file and this slows down your system. Run a utility program to "defrag" your hard drive. The utility will place your files in contiguous cluster and will optimize your hard drive, placing your most frequently used files up front for faster access. This will improve performance over time. You should run your defrag utility frequently to minimize the time required to complete the task. If possible, run the defrag utility once a week, or at a minimum, once a month.

Remove unnecessary Web clutter

Internet history files that accumulate when you surf can take up an incredible amount of space on your hard drive. Cookies, cache, and history files may also contain personal information that you don't want to share with others who use your computer or worse, a hacker. Maintain good habits by emptying your Internet browser's history files as often as possible, perhaps after exiting the Web each day. Use a Web cleanup feature or program to help you remove Web delivered files from your hard drive A good clean-up program can help you get rid of dangerous and unnecessary Web-related information while allowing you to keep helpful Internet files such as cookies from sites you frequent.

Make sure your software is up to date

Running out-of-date drivers or software can interfere with your computer's performance. For example, running old software on a newer PC can cause system conflicts that result in frequent crashes. Stay current with your Windows updates and keep any hardware or software that you have installed up-to-date as well. Manufacturers regularly issue updates that increase the functionality and security of your PC, so it's to your advantage to run the latest versions. Check with the individual manufacturers of software you use to make sure you're running the most current version.

Back up your hard drive

In the event you do experience problems, make sure your data and important files are safe. Back up frequently, to CD-R, zip disk, or directly to a second hard drive. There are also programs available that make it easy for you to back up your system - some products back up the entire contents of the hard drive, and some just the files you select. Backing up is well worth the effort to ensure smooth file recovery. If you contract a virus or your hard drive fails, your system backup could save you a lot more than time.

Remember, prevention is the best defense

The best way to keep your PC running smoothly is to prevent problems before they occur. Be sure to install virus and firewall protection, such as Norton AntiVirus and Norton Personal Firewall. Norton AntiVirus automatically scans and cleans attachments in both incoming and outgoing messages (even in Instant Messenger programs), and Norton Personal Firewall makes your PC invisible to hackers, automatically blocking suspicious connections and alerting you when someone's trying to break into your system. And, for a complete set of problem-solving utilities, try Norton Utilities Premier. This all-in-one solution includes Norton Online Backup, plus powerful utilities software to help you defrag and optimize your hard drive, and manage Web clutter. It even comes with programs that help you back up your system and recover from disasters, even if you're not sure what went wrong.