Before we start, you should visit parts one and two to make sure that your old machine doesn’t go to waste!

Secure and optimize your PC from Day One

No one likes pre-installed bloatware, spyware or viruses. Constant popups or icons in the notification tray can ruin the feel of a new device. I’d advise making our performance and protection bundle the first thing you download to keep your PC clean and virus free.

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Also have a look at some of the performance tips for new PCs on our blog:

• Ultimate Optimization Guide Part One
• Ultimate Optimization Guide Part Two
• Ultimate Optimization Guide Part Three

A lot of these tips dive deeper into the performance features of AVG PC TuneUp and show you how they work, step by step.

Get rid of unwanted programs and files

These days, PCs come with a lot of preinstalled trial software and advertising. While some of this software can actually be useful, in many cases they can slow down performance and get in the way. My advice is to use AVG PC TuneUp’s Uninstall Manager to get rid of programs you may no longer need.
Within AVG PC TuneUp, simply go to “Optimize” and click the “Uninstall Programs” button. From here you can click on Load to show you the programs that slow you down the most, or you can use “Filter list” to look out for large or rarely used programs and get rid of them in a snap.

[st_image template="B1" alt="AVG Uninstall Manager" select_image="http://now.avg.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/program_deactivator.jpg"]

If you need some of these programs, you can also “freeze” them so they don’t consume resources: To do that, click on “Deactivate Programs” and flip the switch. This will turn off the background activity (which slows down your system) until you start it!

Update your drivers

When it comes to performance, drivers are a hugely important of the puzzle. They control the hardware that’s built-into your machine. They control how your graphics work, how your Wi-Fi transmits data, how your hard disk stores its data or how and when your Bluetooth connects to your phone.

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That’s why you should install AVG Driver Update to make sure that you get the latest drivers all the time!