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New Year's resolutions are as timeless as Dick Clark on New Year's Eve. In the spirit of 2002, here are eight PC resolutions for users of Windows-based PCs. You'll find these goals are easier to keep than cleaning out the garage, losing weight, or quitting smoking.

Boost Security

Recently discovered security flaws found in Microsoft's Universal Plug and Play function of several versions of Windows can allow hackers to take control of your PC. This flaw should make safety a primary New Year's resolution.

If you haven't done so already, you should check Microsoft's explanation and download the patch to fix the problem, which threatens Windows XP, Windows Millennium, and some Windows 98 systems. You can also try a free utility called UnPlug n' Pray, produced by Gibson Research. It disables the plug-and-play service altogether, protecting your PC from hackers trying to exploit that vulnerability. (Unplugging the function entirely is what the FBI recommends.)

But don't stop there. Playing it safe takes year-round vigilance and resolve. It's important to keep up on the latest viruses and protect your PC from Internet threats by using a selection of free utilities that help keep you safe. ZoneAlarm offers a free personal firewall, and the free Trojan Remover utility from Simply Super Software can identify and remove viruses hiding behind innocent-looking programs.

Avoid Adware

In 2001, consumers hit a boiling point over adware, a new class of advertising software. Adware typically installs itself on your PC as part of a software download. Once there, adware does tricks like putting commercial links and ads on Web pages you visit--without your or the site's consent.

Ideally, you keep adware off your PC by being careful about what you download. But if 2001 was a year of surfing dangerously, utilities and Web sites are available to repair the damage. Among the tools is one on the Scumware.com site, which hosts applets that can detect whether your PC is inadvertently running some of the most pervasive adware programs.

Fix Broken Windows

If you received a new PC this Christmas or just got a new digital camera or other peripheral, or even new software, it may be time to give your PC a tune-up. Doing so is a good dose of preventative medicine that can head off problems when you add new programs or peripherals. For example, you might want to check whether your PC has up-to-date drivers and all the latest software patches.

First, you should run the Windows Update feature inside your Web browser (it's under the Tools menu). This will automatically check for other upgrades and patches to Windows XP, Me, or 98.

You'll also want to visit individual software application vendors' home pages and check for updates. For drivers, you may be able to find the fix at PC World's own Driver Update section.

Get in Shape

Here is a chance to follow through on the empty promise of getting in shape: Tune up your PC instead, and don't break a sweat. To get warmed up, consult the Ten-Minute Tuneup recommended by PC World columnist Steve Bass.

If you have an older PC and have resolved to save money in 2002, a number of products will liven up that old system for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

One option is a clever product by PowerLeap called Renaissance/370S. It provides a full motherboard that simply plugs into a PC's ISA card slot. The Renaissance can move a system running a stone-age Intel 286 processor into the 21st century with a 1-GHz Intel Pentium III CPU and as much as 256MB of SDRAM for $470. A board with a 766-MHz Celeron II chip and 128MB of memory sells for $270. The boards also have integrated graphics and sound support and a built-in Ethernet controller.

Products like these can make processor upgrades easier, but more importantly, they can breathe new life into PCs that would otherwise end up on the scrap heap.

Clean the Digital Basement

PCs can be a lot like a basement. Before you know it, you can collect piles of electronic dust bunnies. Your hard drive is likely littered with megabytes of useless .bak files, which many programs generate as emergency data backups. Other common drivel are .chk files, often generated by disk-repair utilities.

In this age of 40GB drives it's hard to get too concerned about these files and cookie.txt files that take up less that 100MB. Still, you may want to launch a search-and-delete mission to free up some space.

The real burden on your system may be active rubbish. Check out the common programs that load into your PC's memory every time you boot up. Most people start with only a few programs that load into your system memory. Over time, the number can easily hit the double digits, making even the fastest PC run like an old 286.

You may want to keep your ad-blocking software running quietly in your system tray. But other programs, like the RealOne player from Real Networks, loads a little program in your system tray that constantly checks the Internet for updates to the software.

If you'd rather check for software updates yourself and downsize the number of programs in your system tray, here are two easy ways. You can simply go to Start/Run and type msconfig. That launches the MSConfig program, which displays a menu of start-up information. Here you can locate the programs that load every time you boot the PC. You can either block all of them, or create a selective list.

A handy utility called End It All displays a list of active programs, along with a brief explanation of what each one does. Then it lets you shut them all off by pushing one button.

Taming Ads, Continued

Pop-up and -down ads sprouted like ragweed on the Web in 2001. The good news is that plenty of weed killer is available.

AdSubtract Pro and ZoneAlarm Pro filter out a host of unwanted Internet cookies and smutty banner ads, and have added pop-up and -down ads to the list of blocked content. You can also find some free alternatives.

Since most pop-ups are created in JavaScript, you can prevent the popping by turning off your browser's JavaScript support. In Netscape Navigator 4.7x, choose Edit, then Preferences. Select Advanced in the Category tree, remove the check mark from Enable JavaScript in the displayed options, and click OK.

In Internet Explorer 5.x, choose Tools and then pick Internet Options. Click the Security tab, select the Internet zone, and click the Custom Level button. Scroll through the Settings window until you reach Active Scripting; set the option to Disable or Prompt, and click OK.

If you use America Online 6's browser, choose Settings, then Preferences, (Internet Properties) WWW, click the Security tab, select the Internet zone, and follow the same steps described for Internet Explorer.

Get Tough on Spam

Unfortunately, no silver bullet exists to kill spam. Spammers are locked into a cold war with antispam software makers, Internet service providers, and worthy antispam groups such as the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email, a non-profit group promoting legislation to stop the massive flow of spam over the Internet. But spammers are a dastardly lot and keenly adept at finding ways around such efforts.

But don't give up. You can strike back at spam. Start by reading PC World's Internet tips on preventing spam. You might also want to test the free utility Spam Buster. This junk e-mail killer runs from the system tray and purportedly deletes spam before it ever gets to your mailbox.

Feel Better

Are you suffering from eye fatigue and a painful crick in your neck? Be kind to yourself by taking the time to learn proper workplace ergonomics.

One way to relieve eye strain is by investing in a liquid crystal display monitor. The big story for 2001 was that LCD flat panel monitor prices finally drifted down from the stratosphere. That's good news for anyone sick of the cathode ray tube's screen flicker.

Come May, when normal people who made New Year's resolutions like "learn to play the guitar" or "save money" complain they had to sell their guitar to pay the rent, you can smugly tell them you nailed all eight of your resolutions before February.

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