The computer is a machine that requires constant supervision (contrary to popular belief). You have to do some check-ups once in a while and clean it up to make sure everything still works in order.

One of the utility tools that any computer user should have at their disposal is HijackThis.

This application can generate a thorough report of registry entries and file settings found on your Windows.

Perform a system scan and save a logfile, repair files, create backups before fixing items, automatically set it to fix everything after scanning, use the Process Manager, and others.

What you must understand is the fact that HijackThis can't recommend you which files should or shouldn't be deleted, so that decision is entirely up to you.

If you are an inexperienced user, it's probably best you don't go there.

Just a little piece of advice before you make any quick decisions: deleting everything you find will inadvertently cause Windows to have errors at some point. Before doing so, it's highly recommended you make a backup.

Items to overlook while scanning can be added to the IgnoreList, while files on reboot or an NT service can be deleted.

If you are uncertain about deleting a specific file, then you can visit the HijackThis online forums and get your answer there.

We performed a scan, and HijackThis informed us the system denied writing access to a certain file, after which it gave us guidelines on how to fix the problem.

CPU and memory are barely used, and HijackThis works extremely fast (whether it's scanning or deleting).

With all these being said, HijackThis can be used to take better care of your operating system, but you have to know a thing or two about the technical details in order to use it. Oh yes... and it's free!