Illustration: Gordon McAlpin

Instead of turning your PC off at night, it might be wiser to leave it on, and schedule a deep Registry Reviver scan or an antivirus scan. These scans can take time, and use PC resources, but they’re also important. Overnight is the perfect time to scan.

To schedule a deep scan in Registry Reviver:

Launch Registry Reviver
Click Scan
Check Deep Scan
Click Utilities
Click Scheduler
Click the frequency you wish, a good middle-of-the-night time, and click Apply

To schedule a virus scan with Windows Security Essentials:

Launch Windows Security Essentials
Click Change my Scan Schedule
Select Run a Scheduled Scan on My Computer and choose a scan type, time and date
Click Save Changes

Note that you’ll want to disable automatic Sleep or Hibernation mode on your PC, so that your PC’s not inactive when the scan becomes scheduled. To do so:
Click Start
Click Control Panel
Click Power Options
Click the Change Plan Settings link next to your current power plan
Select Never next to Put the Computer to Sleep
Click Save Changes

When you wake up, the scan will be finished, and you’ll get to review the results! It’s a snap!