[November 08, 2012]

Get Ready for the Online Holiday Shopping Season with Computer Tune-Up Tips from Crucial.com

As the busiest online shopping day of the year approaches, consumers will soon be taking to the web, beginning on Cyber Monday (News - Alert), in a mad rush to seize numerous online deals, one-day discounts, and early-bird promotions being offered by online retailers. In the wake of a National Retail Federation survey projecting an increase in the number of U.S. consumers that will be shopping online this holiday season, the memory experts at Crucial.com urge consumers to make sure their computer is ready to handle the rigors of shopping online this holiday season.

"More and more consumers are choosing to skip the long lines and crowded malls for the convenience of online shopping during the holiday season, but shopping in cyberspace can quickly lead to increased frustration and stress when a computer is not performing as needed," said Roddy McLean, marketing director, Crucial.com. "Let's face it, the holidays are stressful enough, and no one wants to be hindered in their quest for the next great deal by a computer that slows to a crawl, freezes up, or crashes as they are about to click the 'checkout' button after hours spent finding the perfect gifts."

So, before Cyber Monday is upon us, the experts at Crucial.com suggest that consumers take a little time to get their computers ready for the post-Thanksgiving annual online shopping spree with a few tune-up tips.

Upgrade The Holiday Memories.

Just like the mall stores need more employees to handle the influx of holiday shoppers, computers also need an extra hand when it comes to navigating the online holiday rush. In fact, if you have never upgraded the internal memory (RAM (News - Alert)) of your computer then chances are, any performance issues such as slow loading webpages or programs, system crashes or errors, can be resolved with a do-it-yourself memory upgrade.

Installing computer memory is a very simple and inexpensive process that requires no special tools or skills. Crucial.com makes finding and installing the correct memory upgrade simple with free, easy-to-use online tools such as the Crucial® System Scanner that automatically scans the computer to determine the current memory and recommends the right upgrade for your computer. With an average price of around $50, a memory upgrade will go a long way toward making this holiday season a jolly one for all.

Surf in Safety. Since online shopping usually requires credit card information, it is important to check the security settings of the web browser being used in order to protect credit card numbers and transaction details. Make sure the web browser is up-to-date and that all security setting updates are installed. Review the browser's security settings to confirm they are set to medium security levels at minimum.

Healthy Holiday. Just like humans, when a computer has a virus or is infected with spyware, it becomes sluggish and performance suffers. Keep your anti-virus program up-to-date, run a full system scan every three to six months, and install an anti-spyware program.

Defrag Your Disk. Computer hard drives get fragmented when programs are installed and uninstalled and files are added or removed. The files end up scattered around the hard drive making it difficult for the computer to find items in a timely manner. Utilize the system's built-in disk defragment tool to keep a computer running efficiently.

Dump The Junk. Whenever you install software updates, download images, save music files, edit documents, or browse the web, your computer accumulates unnecessary files and programs. Use the built-in uninstaller to remove unneeded files.

Visit Crucial.com for more tips and information on improving computer performance and do-it-yourself memory upgrades this holiday season.

As a pioneer of do-it-yourself memory upgrades, Crucial.com bolsters its online memory upgrade tools with a full team of memory upgrade experts to help choose the right memory upgrade for over 50,000 desktops, laptops, servers, printers, routers, and other electronic devices.

Follow Crucial on Twitter (News - Alert) at @CrucialMemory, "LIKE" Crucial at www.facebook.com/CrucialMemory, and subscribe to our videos at www.youtube.com/crucialmemory.

About Crucial.com

Crucial.com is a leading online retailer specializing in computer memory (RAM) upgrades and solid state drives (SSD), and is an online destination of Micron Technology (News - Alert), Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of�computer memory products. Crucial.com offers more than 250,000 upgrades for nearly every computer system: home and business, old and new, PC and Mac® computers. Utilizing a suite of easy-to-use, free online tools, including the Crucial System Scanner and the Crucial Memory Advisor™ tools, consumers are able to quickly assess, select, and purchase compatible memory upgrades to restore computer performance, improve system reliability and increase productivity. For more information, visit�www.crucial.com.

About Micron

Micron Technology, Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.

©2012 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice. Crucial, the Crucial logo, and Memory Advisor are trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi eid=50470588&lang=en

[ InfoTech Spotlight's Homepage ]