‘Clean Out Your Computer Day’ may be an American phenomenon, but advocates of the scheme have encouraged UK workers to join in.
Software support firm Iolo Technologies has also underlined the importance of employees dealing with sluggish computers. They say around 1,000 tweets each month are from Britons enraged about the speed of their machines.
Iolo quoted a study, carried out by the British Association of Anger Management, which found badly-performing PCs cause workers to take out frustration by shouting, or even throwing bits of equipment around the room.
Some workers reported taking their anger out on colleagues, whilst others were found have physically struck their malfunctioning machines in frustration.
JJ Schoch, vice president at Iolo, said: “Whether using computers at home or in a work environment, everyone has at some point experienced frustration with slow PCs.
“It can be a challenge to remember to routinely clean out your computer - that’s why we feel having a day dedicated to maintaining your computer is so important.”
In order to combat PC-related frustrations, Iolo have offered the following ‘Clean Out’ tips to help boost the performance of struggling machines:
- Organise files into folders in a logical manner.
- Following this, make sure all shortcuts on the computer still work.
- Back up files; it’s best to do this at least once a month
- Remove old and unused files, along with duplicate material.
- Defragment the hard drive.
- Uninstall programs that are no longer used.
- After doing so, ensure the registry is cleaned out.
- Get rid of any unnecessary start-up items.
- Don’t forget an external clean: make sure the machine is clean and clear of dust.
- Failing all else, invest in software that can permanently wipe data from a PC.