PC Advice

Covering: Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Bourne End and surrounding areas.

Virus

There are daily threats by viruses all over the globe but it is only the real big ones you hear on the news. You should not only have an antivirus software on your PC but is is only good if the updates are done on a regular basis. Norton and McAfee are the most popular although there are many more out there. A virus is commonly spread by e-mail and a rule should be if you don't know who it is then don't open it! Saying that, the people you do know may also be sending you a virus without them knowing it. Although the antivirus software will catch most of it (if updated), as a personal rule don't open any attachments or if you must stick to .doc(MS Word), .xls(MS Excel), .jpg(Picture) and .bmp(Picture) although again these may contain a virus so it is at your own risk. To make things easier use the option to automatically update and to scan the whole drive at least once a month!

Firewall

Ok so you are now scared you have a virus and you are thinking of getting an antivirus software, but your pc is still at risk! A firewall protects your pc whilst on the Internet/LAN (Local Area Network) from intrusion attacks from hackers. The common forms of getting information to and from your PC is the floppy disk drive, the CD drive, e-mail etc etc. Your PC also has a range of ports which are like piped routes into your PC. With the firewall it closes and monitors these ports for intrusion attacks. Although a firewall is not all that necessary for a dial up (56k) it is a must for a broadband user. Windows XP comes with a built in firewall and it has although limited functionality it does help. Again there are others by Norton, McAfee and Zone alarm being the most popular.

Surge Protection

Power surges and lightning strikes can damage or reduce the life of home entertainment and other electronic equipment. Surges are not normally covered by your normal PC warranty. Power surge protectors are a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Windows Updates

I mentioned earlier how important it is to keep your virus software updated, it is just important to keep your windows updated as well. With your windows updates it will update your operating system as new technologies are released keeping your pc in tune.

E-mail

To help avoid SPAM and viruses to your e-mail box I suggest signing up for an online e-mail account such as Yahoo where you get 6mb of space. Once you have set up this second account use this e-mail address for anything you sign up for on the internet. Once a month you will have to go back to this second account and delete all the spam e-mails but it will save your own e-mail box from being cluttered.

Downloading

Most people with a broadband connection will at sometime want to use its power and download a huge file. Most common downloads are music, films and hacked games. Although illegal many people still use this and the most common are Kazaa and Winmx. I have experienced both however I have not found anything to match the speed and reliability of Bit Torrent downloads. If you are going to use Kazaa then download Kazaa Lite and for the Bit Torrent experience go to http://www.mininova.orgA word of warning for Kazaa users as the files are normally plagued with viruses and Spyware. With the films alone being around 700MB make sure you either delete them ASAP otherwise even the biggest of Hard Drives will be full pretty quick!

Spyware

Spyware is a program that sits in your pc and monitors what you use your pc for, then when you connect to the internet it sends this information to a marketing company. For example when you sign up to download a particular piece of software the terms will mention this Spyware program will be added but like most people you just click accept anyway. Then you are bombarded with pop up ads and lots of useless/unwanted e-mails (Spam). Look for some antispy software to remove these programs. Common are Gator (with DIVX)........

RAM

Is your PC running too slow? Most people say my PC is too old now and I need a new one. Although personally a pc for me will last about 3 years the average user can make there PC go even further with some PC tweaking and upgrading. If you can imagine RAM is like one of your hands, you can only hold so much in one hand and if you need to carry more you have the option to either take stuff out of your hand or use another hand. RAM works on the same principle. Look at your clock in the bottom right hand corner and count how many icons are to the left of the clock. Each icon represents a program that is running in the background. Do you need all these programs? If not select them and goto options to remove them as active programs. If you need them again select them from your programs menu. Also look at start/programs/startup to see what is starting when your pc is switched on and again see if you can change these. If you now find your pc is still running slow you may now need to upgrade your RAM (second hand scenario) to cope with the extra work.

Defrag

Imagine a sheet of lined paper which when you write you start at the top left and then continue line by line until you finish at the bottom right. When loading, saving or changing software your PC will not slot your program/file in a normal fashion but just puts it at the first available spot. This first spot could be right at the end of the HD and will make the access to your program/file slower. To keep everything in line run the Defrag option at least once a month and this will slot everything together making your pc run faster.

Uninstall

If you no longer want a certain program on your PC, UNINSTALL it and do not just delete it. Deleting the main program may cause conflicts in your operating systems registry which will take a month of Sundays to rectify. Use the uninstall option that is with the program or go to your control panel and use add/remove programs.

Website/Homepage

A Website is a site for a business where as a homepage is a personal site, basically the same thing just called different. I recommend using MS Front Page for web design although MS Word will also work but with limited functions. If you can use MS Word you can build a site! When I build a site I prefer to think of it as a book with the first page as the cover and then the contents page. Your first page must be saved as index.html and from there you can add as many pages as your web space provider lets you. My ISP (Internet Service Provider) server allows me 250MB and I am almost to its limit but I have many pictures which do take up the space. Before you create the site go back to basics with a pen and a pad and sketch out what you want then get to work. Once your page is ready you will need to then upload it to your ISP . There are many ways of doing this and each ISP has a different way so it would be best to call them for these settings. Once you really get into web design you can start to play with the source code. To see how a page is built click on view/source and there you will see all the code. You can just copy and paste this into your Html tag on your FrontPage then change the settings as you wish but there are copyrights and restrictions on most sites.

AOL

AOL has its own software all rolled into one. I personally do not recommend this due to conflicts with most other software. I can assist where possible but always try to advise using another ISP.

• Regularly update and run a Virus Scan
• Regularly Update and run an Anti-spyware scan
• Regularly update your windows operating system
• Regularly Backup important files, e-mails and your address book
• Every 2 months run a disk defrag or 1 month for heavy users.
• Every 2 month run a disk cleanup or 1 month for heavy users.
• To avoid spam, set up a 2nd e-mail address using a free online service like Yahoo or hotmail. If you ever sign up for anything online (Shopping etc.) give them this 2nd e-mail address. Keep your primary for friends and family only. If you are receiving jokes you may want to give your friends this 2nd e-mail address especially if they are copying in others.
• Never give your credit card or any personal information on an e-mail or instant messenger.
• When purchasing item from the net, look in the bottom right hand corner for a padlock sign before entering your credit card details. The padlock confirms the site is secure.
• You get nothing for nothing in this world, DO NOT click on any of the adverts for free ipods, PSP, or play advert games like shoot the duck etc.
• If you are unsure of an e-mail received DO NOT open it or any of the attachments even if it is from a known source. Common viruses are on a .exe file I.e. rabbit.exe
• You should have a screen saver to activate after at least 20 minutes of non use especially if you have a TFT (Flat Screen) monitor. Screen savers are there to ensure a permanent image is not burnt onto the monitor!
• Only clean your PC or Monitor with recommend solvents and cloths not normal house polish. Ensure your keyboard is free of obstruction by turning it upside down and shaking gently.
• Ensure all discs and manuals are kept together when not in use.
• Never move or open the case of your PC whilst it is switched on.
• Do not click on any e-mail received from Banks, Paypal etc. Most of these are a scam and although the site may look the same they are stealing you account details to use at a later time. Always goto to the website from the web by typing in the address to be sure.