So you got a new computer, now what?

With the holiday season winding down many people have gotten new computers either as a gift from another, or a gift to themselves. Unfortunately a computer is not like the toaster oven you also got, it requires a bit of pre-maintenance to keep it functioning well. So here is a basic list of what you want to do to the computer from the start:

Register it under warranty, if you do have a hardware problem it will be much easier to get handled if it is preregistered.

Install anti-virus - while many computer say they come with Norton or McAfee anti-virus it is often a trial that is only good for 2-3 months. We recommend using Clamwin (clamwin.com) or AVG (avg.com) for free anti-virus, NOD32 (eset.com) if you want a commercial product.

Next you need to get windows updated. If your computer is on windows vista or 7, just click on start - all programs - windows update. The window that opens up will let you know if there are any updates available.

Finally I would recommend installing a couple pieces of software:

Firefox (getfirefox.com) - A much better alternative to Internet Explorer, it has less security problems and is generally faster. I would also recommend the following plugins:
WOT - Gives you an instant rating of pages you are visiting for security, vendor reliability and child safety
Adblock Plus - Automatically blocks known ads from loading
Xmarks - Saves your bookmarks to a web server. Good for backups, great for those who use multiple computers as they will automatically sync.

OpenOffice - If your computer did not come with Microsoft Office, I would give OpenOffice a shot, it is available for free from openoffice.org and will do 95% of what Word, Excel and Powerpoint will for free.

InfraRecorder - Free CD burning utility, simple to use but powerful

VLC (videolan.org) - Multi video player, handles more types of video than Windows Media.