Advice From the Pros
As time goes on, our culture is more and more reliant on computers each day. Some hold vital information others, precious memories. When it comes to your computer's health and well being, there are certain things you need to do to avoid losing precious data. Following these recommendations will not prevent an attack or failure on your computer; it will help ensure that your data is safe.
Backup, backup, backup!!!!
It cannot be stressed enough how important this is. Always backup your data to another source (not on the same computer you are operating). Use a CD, DVD, Flash or Jump drive but back up the data to a source that you can keep separate from the computer. If your computer crashes or gets a virus, the repair can be made (data can be corrupted by viruses or lost in a hardware failure and can be lost during the repair process). A good rule of thumb is any time you add or edit data back it up after the session.
Virus and Firewall Protection
Most people use the Internet for something. While we like to believe that people are basically good, there are some unscrupulous people who like to send viruses and hack into other people's computers. The best defense against this is a good anti-virus and firewall program. These programs today offer protection from all types of on-line threats. When you get one of these programs, it is not worth the money you spent if you do not keep it updated. Most programs have a setting to automatically update with the latest virus definitions. Turn this feature on. A virus definition is a snippet of code that is identified as harmful to your computer. It is stored on your computer and if a virus tries to infect your computer, the anti-virus program detects it and stops it from executing and places the file into a quarrintine so it cannot harm your computer. It is much like getting innoculated for a human virus. There are new viruses everyday and if you do not have the latest definitions, your computer can get sick and will have to go to the Dr. (The Computer Shop, Inc.) to be made well again. These programs can be purchased in most any store that sells computer components. You can also go on line and download them directly to your computer. They range in cost but are well worth the money spent. It only takes one virus to wipe your whole computer system. It is recommended to get a program that is a security suite, in other words it offers protection from all known avenues of attack.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Actually, it's not. Look it up for yourself. But keeping the computer clean can keep down a host of problems. We are not advocating you taking the computer apart and cleaning it on a routine basis. Exercising some caution around your system will help keep it clean and running its best. Do not eat or drink around the system. Crumbs and liquid in the keyboard or worse, the computer itself can wreak havoc on your system. The keyboard can sitck and not function when liquid is spilled (especially if it is a drink with sugar in it). Since the computer runs off of electricity, you can imagine the damage if liquid were to get in there. If you smoke, it is not advisable to do so around a computer. the tar and nicotine in the smoke adheres to the components and draws dust. This (smoke by-products and dust) can clog up the fans and the heat-sinks, look at the pictures on the right to see what we're talking about. Heat-sinks arepeices of metal with fins on them to dissipate heat from components that get really hot. When this happens, the computer can overheat which can cause severe damage to the system. So try not to smoke around your computer and keep it in an area that does not have a lot of dust.
Updates
Depending on your system, the software developers who create this stuff will offer updates and or security patches from time to time to fix problems and security issues as they arise. Some operating systems like Windows, offer a tool to automatically update your computer as a new patch cecomes available. Again, turn this feature on. This will ensure that you have the most up to date and problem free type of your software and that all known bugs and security issues are fixed. Do not confuse an update with an upgrade. Updates are patches that fix problems and issues within a version. An upgrade is new version of the software you have, i.e., upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Bottom line, if your software has updates available, download and install them. If you are unsure, go the the software's web site; they will be able to direct you on what and how to do it.
