Unlock your PC's potential

Computeractive's rough guide to how PCs work can be found in issue 217, on sale from 8 to 21 June.

Here are links to some of the tools mentioned in the article.

Memory
To discover which kind of memory modules are suitable for your motherboard, try the automatic scanning tool available from Crucial.

Other articles
We suggest you take a look at two related features from Computeractive: the first is a comprehensive look at the workings of the Windows Control Panel. The second is a step-by-step Workshop on how to install a TV tuner card in a PC.

Be safe online
There are three basic cornerstones of staying safe online, and you can have all three free of charge.

The first step is to activate a firewall (software that inspects internet traffic flowing to, and in some cases, from a PC). If you are using Windows XP then you already have one.

Go to the Start menu, click Control Panel and choose Security Center from the list. Click Windows Firewall to activate or deactivate the tool. Note that you should not try to run two firewalls simultaneously.

Many people believe that independent firewalls offer better protection. Our tried and tested favourite is ZoneAlarm, which you can download free of charge.

The second defence is an anti-virus package: you can download AVG free of charge from our website.

The final safeguard we recommend is an anti-spyware tool, which scans a PC for programs that can sometimes be installed when downloading certains types of software. Even benign spyware can affect PC peformance, and some spyware is designed to locate and transmit information on the PC back to a third-party.

Try our free download of Spybot Search and Destroy to protect your PC.

Media matters
There's a plethora of free software designed to turn your PC into an audio/visual jukebox.

Applications that copy music from CDs, enable you to create playlist, subscribe to podcasts and buy music online include iTunes and Winamp.

Most PCs with a DVD drive include the software required to play DVDs, but if you need a DVD application, try AVS DVD Player

Back to work
For a free word processor and spreadsheet application, try Open Office.