5 Things You Should Do First When You Turn On Your New Computer

There are a few things you need to do first when setting up your new computer, as tempting as it may be to start using it right away.

Don’t worry about your computer skills or knowing where certain keyboard keys are whether you’re using the sleek new Microsoft Surface Book, another Windows 11 laptop, or a conventional desktop computer.

Instead, consider these five points before moving forward:

Update Your Antivirus Software

The last thing you want to do is let malware infect your brand-new computer. Who would want that?

Although almost all computers already have antivirus software preinstalled, we considered calling this “install an antivirus software.” Since Windows includes Microsoft’s own tool, the majority of PCs are already set up.

The only catch is that it won’t be updated. Therefore, after configuring it, go to the scanner’s settings and update the “definitions”—the guidelines that show the program how to recognize and get rid of fresh viruses, Trojans, worms, etc.

As previously mentioned, most new Windows computers come with some basic antivirus security, but it’s not the best. You can get many antivirus programs for Windows at no cost, and you can also get rid of viruses on your MacBook.

Install the latest Windows updates

You might expect your brand-new computer to be fully updated, but this is probably not the case. Microsoft updates Windows with security and non-security fixes at least once per month, and frequently even more frequently!

If you have never done this before and need assistance, see How to Install Windows Updates.

The Windows Update tool is set up to automatically download and install updates. While this is generally a good thing, having it happen in the background for the first few hours of using your new computer can be a little overwhelming. It’s simple to alter Windows Update settings, which is something we frequently advise people to do.

Driver updates that are required for your hardware to function properly may be installed for you by Windows Update. Microsoft, on the other hand, only offers the most fundamental drivers for some hardware and refuses to install drivers for some gaming mice, USB microphones, and other add-ons you might connect to your new computer, such as a webcam, drawing tablet, etc.

When using a free driver updater tool, which is a program that can check for outdated or missing drivers and frequently download and install them for you, sometimes even automatically, there are fortunately a number of options.

Also: What To Look Out For When Searching For The Right Laptop

If you want to make sure you always have easy access to these updates, keep one of those programs on your computer. They come in particularly handy if your network adapter breaks and you need a network driver but don’t have access to the internet. If you installed Windows manually, then this might be the case.

Install a program for file recovery

This might come as a surprise since if you haven’t even used your computer yet, let alone lost anything, why install a program to help recover accidentally deleted files?

This is because file recovery programs have a major catch-22, which is that you should install one before you actually need it. When you install the program before the file has been deleted, you risk overwriting the location on the hard drive where your deleted file was stored and making it impossible for you to recover it. You don’t want to take that kind of risk.

For a number of great and totally free undelete tools, check out our list of Free File Recovery Software Programs. Just install one and forget it. It will still be available to you if you need it later.

Join a Service for Online Backup

Yes, this is another proactive step that you will later appreciate having taken.

Online backup services are a combination of software tools and subscription services that automatically store the data you want to be protected on secure servers away from your home or business.

The best and most economical long-term solution for protecting your data is an online backup service.

The top-rated ones on our list are reasonably priced, allow you to make as many backups as you’d like, and are incredibly simple to download and set up. A free backup service or, at the very least, a local backup tool should be used, though, if purchasing a new computer is the last significant purchase you intend to make for a while.

Uninstall Any Unwanted Programs

It’s possible that you’ve already noticed how much, shall we say, “extra” software came with your computer.

Theoretically, aside from using up some hard drive space, leaving these programs installed won’t do much harm. In reality, many of these preinstalled programs run in the background, hogging up memory and processor power that you’d rather use for other things.

Depending on the version of Windows you are using, we advise you to go to Settings or Control Panel and remove those programs.

If you’d prefer an easier solution, you could use a program made specifically for this function. One of these uninstaller tools is even called PC Decrapifier. You can probably guess the reason.