Free Fundamental Computer Tips After 15 Years In IT

Ladies and Gentlemen! For your infotainment...!

Below you'll find my super-condensed, free, simple, and very basic computer tips-written mostly for Windows machines but also usable to some degree for Mac and Linux machines-and by the way, I've been coming to the conclusion recently that SOME pc users should actually be using Macs...or maybe Linux soon.. This is about 10 years worth of condensed knowledge, so use it...that way you won't have to read every page in all those big thick books that nobody really ever gets around to reading, not even the Dummies or Visual books...


And please do send a donation if these tips have helped you! Thanks..











Basic PC Maintenance Tips


1. Backup! Especially the important things..

2. Backup! Even the semi-important things..

3. Backup! Maybe even the not-as-important things too..

4. Use Automatic Windows Updates, schedule them for a time when your PC will probably be ON..NOT 3 a.m...

5. Make sure your antivirus is scheduled to scan at LEAST once a week and that it checks for its' updates automatically..

6. Make sure you have an antispyware/antiadware program (AdAware, Spybot, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, SpySweeper are all good..) that is scheduled to scan at LEAST weekly, and update itself BEFORE it scans. If you can't schedule the program, make sure to do the same things manually..

7. Make sure you're using a Firewall, preferably both software AND hardware..

8. Use Internet Explorer as little as possible, try Mozilla Firefox or Opera..or Google Chrome..

9. Defragment weekly..

10. Turn your computer OFF every few days; due to memory loss your PC will get sluggish after being ON more than a week generally.

11. Don't fill up your hard drive or it'll slow to a crawl..leave at least 20% of the space free. Windows users should probably run Disk Cleanup once a month or so, it's schedulable via the Scheduled Tasks control panel.

The text below is getting dated, but mostly still applies with updating, even mostly true for Windows 8:

"Scareware" (or "extortionware" as I call it, fake antivirus/antispy programs like XP Antivirus 2009/2010/11/12/13) prevention tips from redmondmag.com, an online IT publication:

• Use a firewall
• Use anti-virus
• Use anti-spyware
• Use a legitimate copy of Windows in order to get updates
• Keep Windows regularly and automatically updated and patched
• When a pop-up appears, check the source and remove it via the system tray; do not click the close button or any part of the pop-up
• Use an alternative browser and lock it down; no Active X, scripts or Java
• Don't give out admin rights
• Consider Windows Vista, or Linux or a Mac

From:

http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=2617

Firefox and security-why Firefox is "the most secure browser"- or at least one of them, Opera is very secure too: And speaking of the Opera web browser, the 11.01 version is excellent, and probably renders most pages as fast or faster than Safari or Google Chrome. They also have a great little "keyboard shortcuts everyone should know" article on their portal right now.

http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/

So far this year my best "scareware"/"extortionware" removal tools have been Avast 6.0 (now at 8.x) (Home Edition is free, Pro has a 30 day trial) with its' boot time scanner, and a very "light" and effective antimalware scanner, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, also a free application in its' basic form. Both are available from:

http://www.download.com/windows/

And for those pc users upgrading their Symantec/Norton Internet Security software to the 2011 version...maybe you shouldn't! Consider TrendMicro Internet Security , with free phone support, or ZoneAlarm with Antivirus (now with the Kaspersky antivirus "engine") with a great firewall and smooth antivirus use or the ZoneAlarm Internet Security suite if you want their antispyware included. Kaspersky 6 Antivirus got CNET's Editor's Choice Award. SBC/ATT Yahoo has an antivirus available as a free download for it's customers (now another version of McAfee..!), and AOL and Comcast subscribers may want to consider trying the free AOL or Comcast-branded version of McAfee security software. FreeAVG is also is a very good product, as is Avast Home Edition, now in an improved version 6.0 from Alwil Software. Norton Internet Security, in particular, had become a resource hog that almost bullied/coerced you into buying it as a "renewal", even if you didn't want all those bells and whistles! However, 2011 is out, and according to CNET's review a lot "lighter", but most of the above comments may still apply..in my own tests of NIS 2010 on WIndows 7 though, it looks like they've FINALLY done a really good job of keeping resource use down, and Norton's updates now happen every 5-7 MINUTES. NIS 2011 is getting great reviews, generally, and so is Norton 360, now available free in a Comcast version for Comcast customers.


NEW and FREE for home and home AND small business users (up to 10 users) from Microsoft-Microsoft Security Essentials, now in version 2.0, so far has been tested as very good, and has helped me clear out redirectors a couple of times already. Avira Personal Edition is yet another excellent free antivirus for home users, and Comodo's Internet Security is free even for businesses, though support is an extra charge. Comodo's firewall is one of the best, and very detailed and customizable. Comodo has some other good free tools too, including a System Cleaner and a nice backup application, one of the best I've tried along with Second Copy, which also syncs files if you want.


Better alternative to Outlook Express/Windows Mail, and even Outlook if you don't need Calendaring, although that's in the works too:

Mozilla Thunderbird, from Mozilla.org; built in Junk mail/Spam filter, free download. Also in-line spell check which is pretty slick..another more recent Microsoft alternative is Windows Live Mail, the replacement for Outlook Express and Windows Mail. It has basic calendaring and Junk Mail filtering, and is a pretty good upgrade from the old Outlook Express that stopped shipping with Windows Vista..it's a free Windows Live download...also note that Yahoo mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL mail all have integrated calendaring if you like web-based software, which is really the "data-safer" way, since it's all on corporate servers..

Best email service?

I've been using Fastmail for a couple of years now, and can highly recommend them..very fast,as in the name, inexpensive (free for a very basic account, in fact), and very powerful features...accessible via any email client including Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Mac Mail, Evolution, etc., and also through a powerful (not simple though) Web interface. This is IMAP mail, which is different from POP mail in that there are always copies of all your messages on the server, a critical distinction for businesses. Storage costs a bit for Fastmail (currently a 1gb inbox starts at $20 per year), but well worth it for the quality of this service. Gmail now includes an IMAP service, which I haven't tried yet. Probably not as good or as sophisticated as Fastmail's, but then it IS free.

Buying a new PC?

Thanks mainly to HP(!), many pc's no longer have a Restore or Windows Reinstall CD/DVD set included in the price! It's usually worth the extra $10-30 to have one available if the hard drive dies...oh, and don't lose it, either..!

Another thing that most of the less expensive pc's and Macs don't have is enough RAM; go for at least 512 mb for Windows XP (plan on at least 1 gb RAM for Windows Vista) or Mac OS 10.2 and higher. Same goes for Linux..

May 2008-XP won't be sold with most new pc's after June 30, 2008. That may change but probably not. Vista Service Pack 1 fixed quite a few things, hardware and especially RAM have gotten faster and cheaper, but Vista is still a resource hog. Get 2gb RAM (better yet, get 4gb or more RAM and a 64 bit version of Vista) with a new Vista machine, and wait until mid 2009 if possible, when the hardware should really have caught up. Alternatively, wait or the NEXT Windows edition, which will probably be better than Vista. That's speculation, of course, and you may not be able to wait until 2010!

UPDATE 11/2009

Windows 7 is here, and it's not only better than Vista, but the BEST version of Windows yet in my opinion. Is it perfect? No. Is it almost as good as Mac OS? I think so, considering the huge variety of software and hardware available on pc's compared to Macintosh.

Aug. 3, 2006..AOL announced FREE access for anybody who has their own non-AOL connection..tech support for AOL is thereafter automated-only, and of course would only pertain to AOL-specific issues.

As of Service Pack 1, Spring 2008, Vista finally seemed about ready, and most second party drivers and applications were finally in. Too much nostalgia and inertia for Windows XP scared a lot of people away from Vista, even after most of the compatibility problems were finally solved by a slow moving pc industry! Most people might as well wait until "Windows 7" (or Vista version 2 as I call it) arrives in late 2009 if they can. It runs smoother than Vista on far less RAM. .

Broadband Connection Troubleshooting Tips

Power cycling, troubleshooting internet connections:

The most basic step in troubleshooting broadband internet connections with routers is a power cycle: turn OFF/shut down the computers, router, and modem. Wait 30 seconds. Turn ON/Power Up the modem; WAIT for the connection indicator lights, then turn ON/Power Up the router, WAIT for the internet/WAN light, then turn ON/power Up the computers. if you still don't have internet connectivity after the computers are fully restarted you've got a more serious hardware or data flow (DSL, Cable) issue..

Lately I've seen a few routers that die; the indicator lights make them look like they still work, but no reset, firmware upgrade, or power cycling make them work-they're dead. Big tip here: don't spend too much time, work or money trying to fix an old router! A new, decent router is only about $40-80 now.

"CLOUD COMPUTING" or "SaaS" for the small business/home business (and even just home user) is really starting to gear up now-especially Google Apps Premier Edition with the new Outlook Sync and Microsoft Online Services for small businesses with networks over 5 users. No doubt Microsoft's version is higher-end as it's derived from corporate-level Exchange, SharePoint and other servers, but Google Apps Premier Edition (and the free version is decent too) is a very good competitor at about 1/2 the price if your business isn't heavily dependent on Outlook/Exchange and/or SharePoint. Google Sites is so far not even close to SharePoint in particular, though it has some utility. So far I also don't see any data/backup guarantees from either of these services, and absolute data security can't really be guaranteed (hackers?), but I will be trying both Google and Microsoft's online offerings out soon since they offer so much for so little money!

Excellent article at Computerworld about extending XP's life through 2014, mentions many of the same tips as I've already posted here..

Printer Que Clearing, a common problem:

Sometimes data gets "stuck" going to the printer-open the Printers and Faxes control panel, double-click on the printer in question, then click on the File menu and click "Cancel All Documents". Turn the computer OFF. Turn the printer OFF. Unplug the USB or data cable from the back of the printer for 10 seconds, then plug it back in. Turn the printer ON, then turn the computer back ON. You should be able to print again after reboot!


A postscript of sorts, a new blog coming, new movements in IT and related fields:


The arrival of the iPhone and then the iPad and many other items have resulted in a general "consumerization" of IT, but most of the text above still remains relevant in a general way. I will be creating a new blog and web site soon at www.northbayit.com to refine and extend this older blog for the future!

David Pogue's Basic Tips at NY Times web site..

PC World's "Greatest Windows Tips Of All Time"- from Dec. 2009

Reference:

Microsoft Technet

Apple Computer Support