Maintenance of your hardware and its system are key to getting the most out of your computer, laptop or tablet.One of the most common problems encountered are viruses on the software side, but equally good care and storage are crucial to prolonging the performance and longevity of your device.John Manderson, president and CEO of Wireless Ventures Ltd in Bermuda, said that the installation and regular update of antivirus and antimalware software were the first step to take in protecting your PC.“This is the very first activity I always do with a new PC,” he said. “My personal choice is AVG suite of antivirus and Internet security but Microsoft now offers an excellent free security suite that you can download for personal use.”Secondly, he recommended defraging at least once a week.“Files quickly get spread all over the hard drive and with heavy use this quickly leads to a slower user experience,” he said. “I always set up a weekly defragmentation schedule for auto defragging. For a nice paid utility consider PerfectDisk.”Next up, set up and maintain a back-up schedule. Buy a cheap external USB drive and turn on Windows restore, he recommended.“On a new computer once I have it configured just how I want it, I run a full back up of the whole system,” he said. “If I ever want to restore or rebuild to this perfect start point, it’s easy.“With Windows restore you can go back in time to a point where the computer was working well. Say for instance you install some software that misbehaves you can do a restore to the point just before you installed it. This is especially useful if an uninstall attempt fails.Then switch your email client to auto archive, says Mr Manderson.“This is just one of my little personal items as I receive literally hundreds of emails per day,” he said. “Using both rules and auto archive helps to keep a busy inbox clean.”Finally set Windows updates to download automatically (but you choose when to install) and keep all of your system and reinstall software in a safe place, he suggested.“It’s a good idea to download Microsoft updates as they become available as they are usually security patches needed,” he said. I know choose to download but not install as I want to check exactly what is being installed in the event that something goes wrong in which case I know exactly what to remove.“Your brand new system may include special software or drivers. In the event you choose not to do a full backup once your new system is all installed, you will need them to rebuild from scratch.”Paul Coleman, who has worked in the IT industry for the past 20 years with Microsoft, Logic and latterly Orbis Investment Management Ltd, also warned to be alert to links or documents received in an email of which you are unsure of the authenticity. Above all, if you are not sure, he said don’t open it to avoid any potential viruses.“If you do get a virus and especially if the virus is a “root kit” type virus then I recommend you format the computer and rebuild it, starting with booting from the operating system installation DVD and reinstalling it,” he said.“Many people don’t agree with this: it is a huge hassle, and expensive if you can’t do it yourself; however, I would never feel confident that a virus is 100 percent gone unless I took those steps. I say: ‘If you got a virus and plan on using the computer to log into your online bank account then you need to format it and start again’.”Rishi Prabhakar, senior systems engineer at Gateway Systems, recommended laptop users to remove any unnecessary programmes from the start-up menu to improve speed.“The more programs you have at start-up the longer it will take for your PC to start,” he said. “Therefore removing some of these programs will help reduce the time it takes you to be able to start using your PC. Our advice would be to have only applications you use all the time starting at start-up, otherwise you could be wasting time on programs that you really don’t use.”On the hardware front, he said ensure that dust does not build up on keyboard in order to maintain optimum performance.“Dust build up on a keyboard can affect the performance of a keyboard plus think of other items around your house and whether you would like dust on them?” he said. “Dust is so easy to remove with the use of air sprays and wipes that you should never have a dirty keyboard.”Anyone who is anyone owns or knows of someone who owns an iPad these days and Mr Prabhakar’s top tip is to wipe the screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to keep it in good working order.“Ensuring the screen is clean will mean that you make the most of the excellent screen,” he said. “You wouldn’t watch a movie on a dirty TV so why would you want to browse the Internet or play your favourite game on a smudged screen. The recommended cloth will ensure you don’t scratch or damage your screen.”To protect the health of the system itself, he recommends carrying out regular back-ups to iCloud or in iTunes.“The mobility of the iPad is one of its biggest strengths. You can literally use it anyway so there is always a small risk that something could happen to it,” he said. “Replacing an iPad is very straight forward but what about all the pictures, movies and other important files you may have on there?“Rather than loose them completely or have to find important items again, cut out all that stress and effort by ensuring you do regular backups of the iPad in iTunes or use the newly-released iCloud. This will help make the process of replacing an iPad that much easier.”Furthermore, check for the latest updates for apps and the iPad itself, he said.“The apps are such a key part of the iPad’s success and a major feature of all apps is the ability to receive updates easily and quickly,” he said. “This means developers of apps can push out updates that give you more functionality or exploit new features of the iPad so your experience of the iPad is improved.“Making sure your iPad is up-to-date with the latest operating system is also key as Apple produce updates on a regular basis and some of these updates can dramatically improve the iPad. iCloud is a good example of this. iCloud was made available toward the end of last year and allows you to store content online so you don’t have to use your iPad’s hard drive.“This might not be of interest to everyone but the fact it is free for the first 10GB’s should be of some use to most people. The only way you can start using iCloud is by making sure your iPad has the latest operating system and this is achieved by installing the latest updates for the iPad.”And rather more obviously, said Mr Prabhakar, use the screen’s protective cover.“A protective cover will protect your investment,” he said. “The last thing you want to do is damage the screen when you have the iPad in your bag. The smart protective covers will even provide you with a stand that makes watching movies on the go that much easier. You really have no excuse to not buy one.”Lastly, remember to switch off your 3G network when you are not using it to avoid any unwanted extra costs.“If you have a 3G data package that doesn’t provide unlimited data, you may want to think about switching off your 3G connection when you aren’t using it as the iPad can pull down data whenever it is connected for the apps you may have running,” he said. “This will help to keep your bill down and ensure you only use data when you actually need to.”