Tips to proactively protect your computer

[Chuckt]

What are the important things to do to protect your computer?

(1) Have a copy of Windows.
(2) Have a copy of your computer's drivers. You can get drivers from Dell or you can sometimes get them by searching online from your manufacturer. You need these to rebuild your computer if you are damaged by a virus.
(3) Have anti-virus / malware protection. I recommend Malwarebytes but it is important to have protection that is proactive and not just re-active. Scan your computer and make a backup.
(4) Have backups and have a backup plan.
(5) Do you have an external case for a hard drive if you were ever hit by a computer virus? Sometimes it is easier to diagnose from a second computer what is wrong. It is also good to know where to get compatible parts. I use Dell because they sell compatible parts and they have supported me in the past with free drivers.
(6) Have you ever practiced going into safe mode with your computer?
(7) Have you vacuumed the dust out of the fan in your computer or used compressed air?
(8) Have external storage for emergencies.
(9) Keep your system up to date with updates.

Go through the list and do it. And if you have any tips, contribute them here, please.
This is a list to keep your computer up and running as well as safe.

 

[naomibee]

What are the important things to do to protect your computer?

(1) Have a copy of Windows.
(2) Have a copy of your computer's drivers. You can get drivers from Dell or you can sometimes get them by searching online from your manufacturer. You need these to rebuild your computer if you are damaged by a virus.
(3) Have anti-virus / malware protection. I recommend Malwarebytes but it is important to have protection that is proactive and not just re-active. Scan your computer and make a backup.
(4) Have backups and have a backup plan.
(5) Do you have an external case for a hard drive if you were ever hit by a computer virus? Sometimes it is easier to diagnose from a second computer what is wrong. It is also good to know where to get compatible parts. I use Dell because they sell compatible parts and they have supported me in the past with free drivers.
(6) Have you ever practiced going into safe mode with your computer?
(7) Have you vacuumed the dust out of the fan in your computer or used compressed air?
(8) Have external storage for emergencies.

Go through the list and do it. And if you have any tips, contribute them here, please.
This is a list to keep your computer up and running as well as safe.

some of this I new and some not. Both my computers right now are infected with some thing I don't know what. this forum is hard for me to get on. Its either that or our satellite internet service slowed down again .

 

[Chuckt]

some of this I new and some not. Both my computers right now are infected with some thing I don't know what. this forum is hard for me to get on. Its either that or our satellite internet service slowed down again .

There is another thread where the users helped another user out with a virus:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/annou...-some-computer-savvy-person-to-assist-me.html

If you are using Windows XP, or Windows 7, you can go to Start, Control Panel and Add/Remove programs and look to see what is installed.

You can look at browser extensions to see what is installed.

Toolbars and free software usually are the culprits in a lot of cases but machines also get damaged by clicking on links which is why everyone needs anti-malware protection.

Malwarebytes is free and there is also a paid version but be careful what you delete. It is good to have backups before you go deleting stuff. It isn't always good to have two anti-virus checkers running at the same time because they slow down your computer.

Another tip is to keep your software up to date which I will add to my original post.

 

[naomibee]

some of this I new and some not. Both my computers right now are infected with some thing I don't know what. this forum is hard for me to get on. Its either that or our satellite internet service slowed down again .

There is another thread where the users helped another user out with a virus:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/annou...-some-computer-savvy-person-to-assist-me.html

If you are using Windows XP, or Windows 7, you can go to Start, Control Panel and Add/Remove programs and look to see what is installed.

You can look at browser extensions to see what is installed.

Toolbars and free software usually are the culprits in a lot of cases but machines also get damaged by clicking on links which is why everyone needs anti-malware protection.

Malwarebytes is free and there is also a paid version but be careful what you delete. It is good to have backups before you go deleting stuff. It isn't always good to have two anti-virus checkers running at the same time because they slow down your computer.

Another tip is to keep your software up to date which I will add to my original post.

thanks for the advice. I did find out its the internet provider. They slowed us down. but on my lap top I did a lot of getting rid of tool bars I did not need. and fire fox really slowed me down. got rid of it. and I really do need to do some back up's . and copy all my pictures and music. just in case.

 

[Moonglow]

I download all computer files to disk and leave little on the hard drive.

 

[naomibee]

I download all computer files to disk and leave little on the hard drive.

I USE to do that in the past when I had more time. with my other computers. it takes for ever to copy files all that dropping and dragging files. but I know I need to do it.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

1.Unplug

2. Throw out window

3. Buy new one



Works every time

 

[Chuckt]

I download all computer files to disk and leave little on the hard drive.

I stopped using discs because I kept getting errors on the media and they would never hold the amount of data that I need.
I found hard drives and flash drives to be more accurate. Flash Drives are probably the most accurate except they can get bit rot.
I like flash drives because they don't take up a lot of space and I just bought a 32 GB flash drive to back up the Windows 8 system files in case of emergency. I bought it for around $20 on Amazon.

 

[Chuckt]

some of this I new and some not. Both my computers right now are infected with some thing I don't know what. this forum is hard for me to get on. Its either that or our satellite internet service slowed down again .

There is another thread where the users helped another user out with a virus:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/annou...-some-computer-savvy-person-to-assist-me.html

If you are using Windows XP, or Windows 7, you can go to Start, Control Panel and Add/Remove programs and look to see what is installed.

You can look at browser extensions to see what is installed.

Toolbars and free software usually are the culprits in a lot of cases but machines also get damaged by clicking on links which is why everyone needs anti-malware protection.

Malwarebytes is free and there is also a paid version but be careful what you delete. It is good to have backups before you go deleting stuff. It isn't always good to have two anti-virus checkers running at the same time because they slow down your computer.

Another tip is to keep your software up to date which I will add to my original post.

thanks for the advice. I did find out its the internet provider. They slowed us down. but on my lap top I did a lot of getting rid of tool bars I did not need. and fire fox really slowed me down. got rid of it. and I really do need to do some back up's . and copy all my pictures and music. just in case.

The more RAM you have the faster your computer will be.
We found out that Google Chrome actually works faster and better than Internet Explorer.

 

[naomibee]

There is another thread where the users helped another user out with a virus:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/annou...-some-computer-savvy-person-to-assist-me.html

If you are using Windows XP, or Windows 7, you can go to Start, Control Panel and Add/Remove programs and look to see what is installed.

You can look at browser extensions to see what is installed.

Toolbars and free software usually are the culprits in a lot of cases but machines also get damaged by clicking on links which is why everyone needs anti-malware protection.

Malwarebytes is free and there is also a paid version but be careful what you delete. It is good to have backups before you go deleting stuff. It isn't always good to have two anti-virus checkers running at the same time because they slow down your computer.

Another tip is to keep your software up to date which I will add to my original post.

thanks for the advice. I did find out its the internet provider. They slowed us down. but on my lap top I did a lot of getting rid of tool bars I did not need. and fire fox really slowed me down. got rid of it. and I really do need to do some back up's . and copy all my pictures and music. just in case.

The more RAM you have the faster your computer will be.
We found out that Google Chrome actually works faster and better than Internet Explorer.

on my lap top I think I will down load Google chrome I herd its better then fire fox all I ever had is trouble with that. I'm glad I got it off today.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I have a much shorter list...

1) Wipe the hard drive and install Ubuntu or LinuxMint
...no more problems.

 

[Ringel05]

I have a much shorter list...

1) Wipe the hard drive and install Ubuntu or LinuxMint
...no more problems.

You forgot to add Ubuntu One for Cloud storage.........

 

[Ringel05]

99% of what I have on my hard drive I don't care about, the other 1% I save to thumb drives. About once a year I wipe my hard drive and reinstall Windows (and or Linux).

 

[Chuckt]

99% of what I have on my hard drive I don't care about, the other 1% I save to thumb drives. About once a year I wipe my hard drive and reinstall Windows (and or Linux).

There is an article on repairing old flash drives:

Repairing Dead USB Flash Drives

USB FLASH drive repair - infar.be

My next step is to identify which crystal in surface mount parts I need to buy.
The skill to learn is Surface Mount Soldering and part identification.

I hope to learn this skill to fix thumb drives. Apparently, dropping thumbdrives might be able to crack the crystal.

Other than that, you have to keep good backups.

 

[Ringel05]

99% of what I have on my hard drive I don't care about, the other 1% I save to thumb drives. About once a year I wipe my hard drive and reinstall Windows (and or Linux).

There is an article on repairing old flash drives:

Repairing Dead USB Flash Drives

USB FLASH drive repair - infar.be

My next step is to identify which crystal in surface mount parts I need to buy.
The skill to learn is Surface Mount Soldering and part identification.

I hope to learn this skill to fix thumb drives. Apparently, dropping thumbdrives might be able to crack the crystal.

Other than that, you have to keep good backups.

Pictures still go on DVDs other than that all I save is important documents and browser backups. Most of that I now store on the cloud in Ubuntu One. I don't have an email program on my hard drive so I don't have to worry about backing that up. I also don't use my ISP's email client just in case I change ISPs, made that mistake once.

 

[Gracie]

Well, as some of you know, my pc is spankin' new today, lol. However, I have one question for now:

Do you turn your pc off at night? For many years...I NEVER turn mine off. It goes to sleep but is never off. The only time I turn it off is when I am cleaning the fans or the keyboard, etc. Otherwise, it is on. All the time. Unless there is a power outage in the winter (yes, it is on a surge protector, and no, we don't usually have outages anyway).

So the question is...is it better to turn it on when using it, turn it off completely when you think you are done, turn it back on if not, turn it off when you go to bed? Or do you leave yours on all the time?

 

[Gracie]

Oh, and in answer to some of things that I need to keep on top of...I never keep important pics on my pc. They are all stored at tinypic. I have no clue how to use disks or floppies or whatever they are called. I use my pc to do ebay now and then, list on craigslist once in awhile, play on pinterest, look up drugs and health issues on google, post at message boards. That's it.

 

[XPostFacto]

The best protection for any PC is to keep it turned off.

 

[XPostFacto]

Well, as some of you know, my pc is spankin' new today, lol. However, I have one question for now:

Do you turn your pc off at night? For many years...I NEVER turn mine off. It goes to sleep but is never off. The only time I turn it off is when I am cleaning the fans or the keyboard, etc. Otherwise, it is on. All the time. Unless there is a power outage in the winter (yes, it is on a surge protector, and no, we don't usually have outages anyway).

So the question is...is it better to turn it on when using it, turn it off completely when you think you are done, turn it back on if not, turn it off when you go to bed? Or do you leave yours on all the time?

I have a satellite connection. My modem doesn't sport an on/off switch so rather than crawling under the PC hutch to turn it off, I plug it into a surge suppressor, which gets turned off every night after finishing my on line activity. Yes, I turn off the PC every time I'm finished using it. You need to turn it off to free memory that is being tied up by some system function or some app you are running. Start every day new. There are those who say that if you turn off your PC every day, it will cause premature wear on the power supply. Well, I have never had a power supply go out yet because I turn it off every day. Just turn it off when you're not using it. It's a good thing to do.

 

[Ringel05]

Oh, and in answer to some of things that I need to keep on top of...I never keep important pics on my pc. They are all stored at tinypic. I have no clue how to use disks or floppies or whatever they are called. I use my pc to do ebay now and then, list on craigslist once in awhile, play on pinterest, look up drugs and health issues on google, post at message boards. That's it.

Ebay and Craigslist are the ones you have to watch out for, they're big targets. There used to be a turn off, don't turn off debate a while back, due to the current design in the OS software that argument has been made moot, turn it off if you want to.
CNet and Softronic have loads of open source CD/DVD burning software with user and editor ratings. In most cases copying and burning files is almost intuitive.