TIPS:

Protective Software: Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Anti-spam:

• Don’t let protective software expire. Renew without any lapse in coverage or buy a new product if you’re not happy with the one you have.
• For software reviews, you can check out http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com.
• An unprotected PC can become infected in less than one minute.
• Some software does automatic scanning. You have no control over when it will scan and make your computer slower to use. Other software allows you to program when the scans will occur, eg. at start-up (not my favorite), at shut-down, any day of the week at any time you choose.
• Suites have a lot of different programs: anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, a firewall, and more. Pay attention to what it has and what you need.
• Having two anti-virus products running is a good idea. Installing them can be challenging, though, because sometimes the first program you installed won’t allow the second program to install. We can install it for you or recommend software.

Installing Software:

• If you feel confident that you can deal with your computer not working, install or uninstall software at a time when you will be able to deal with a problem, perhaps on a Friday afternoon.
• If not, have a full-time professional technician with lots of experience do it.
• Example of what not to do: A customer had Symantec PC Anywhere installed on her business computer, but she wasn’t using it and had no plans to. So on a Wednesday, she uninstalled it. After that, her computer would not go into Windows. It had a black screen with error messages. CompuWiz did a service to get the computer to run perfectly within one day. This is an example of why it takes planning to make changes to your computer, even if they seem simple at first.

Hardware:

• You get what you pay for. Buy the most expensive computer you can afford, especially if it will be your only computer.
• Research which brand is the best and buy it. It will cost a lot more in the long run to buy a cheapie piece of hardware. Buying the best doesn’t give you any guarantees, but you’ll have a better experience, because it will be more reliable.
• Your Hard Drive is like a filing cabinet. You install software on it and it keeps it for you. A Hard Drive has moving parts, so it is more likely to fail than other components. Since it will fail some day, you need to backup your data. See Data, below.
• Memory is like the surface of your desk. It allows you to take out what you need and work. In the past, it was referred to as RAM (nowadays it’s called DDR or SDRAM). Edmundo says, “The more memory, the better.” A desktop computer running Windows XP generally should have at least 512 Megabytes (MB) of DDR. Laptops seem to need more memory to run fast enough: One Gigabyte (GB) of memory might be sufficient. Two GB is better.

Maintenance:

• When a PC has glitches or viruses, is running more slowly than before, or gives a blue/black screen with error messages, it needs a Full Service, performed by a technician. What we do is backup the data, clean the data, re-format the Hard Drive, re-install Windows, put the data back, put the settings back as much as possible, and install any desired software with the discs and keys. What you have at the end is a clean installation of Windows. From a software point of view, it’s a new computer. It doesn’t do anything for the hardware, however. And if a software package was glitchy and causing problems, it will continue to do so after being re-installed. But every PC needs a Full Service after a period of use. The timeframe depends on use. Gamers sometimes need this service every month, because they push their machines to the max. Business users might need it once a year or once every two years.
• Dust is bad for the inside of a desktop or laptop computer. In fact, it can even break components. If you’d like us to remove the dust for you, we’d be happy to.
• Windows Updates: the critical updates have to be done for security reasons. The non-critical updates are used for solving problems. If you set Windows to do the Automatic Updates, it will only do the critical updates. These updates have been known to cause problems occasionally. Some businesses have us do their updates, because they want to minimize down-time.

Don’t lose your keys:

• To our knowledge, all software products come with a key, which is a long series of digits. It might look something like this: K57LP-64FR8-M3S98-46RQP-Z56W7. The key is what you’re paying for, not the disc. If you lose the disc, the manufacturer might be willing to send you a new one, but you should keep your key. It’s a good idea to make a spreadsheet with all your keys in one place. We also recommend printing your spreadsheet out and placing it in a file cabinet. That way, when (not if) your Hard Drive goes bad, your software can be installed on the new Hard Drive.
• If you’re wondering where the keys are to all your software, see if you still have the packaging. Also, some manufacturers keep keys and will give you yours. Dell did it for one of our customers.

Data:

• Your data is your work. If you write a letter and save it, it’s going to the Hard Drive in your computer. Remember that your Hard Drive might go bad at any time, for any reason, so you need to save your data externally. That’s backing up. One example is burning a CD.

Data Backup:

• A DVD is just like a CD; it just has more space. CD/DVD’s are excellent for backing up data, because they are not magnetic, like floppy drives and zip drives (remember how unreliable those were?). But make sure it doesn’t get scratched.
• Hard Drives are fine for backing up data, as long as you’re backing up on three separate Hard Drives.
• Those little flash drives, or thumb drives, or whatever name you give, are fine for transferring data, but they are not reliable enough for acting as a data backup. They sure are handy, though.
• It’s important to get your data backed up off-site, in order to be prepared for a natural disaster or theft.
• CompuWiz now offers Online Data Backup. The way it works is that we install our backup software on your computer, and you tell us which files you’d like us to backup. The backup gets set up to happen every day, every week, or every month. Then the data will be backed up automatically as long as your computer is on when the backup is planned. While the data is sent over the Internet, it’s encrypted with 256 bit technology, which is the same as the banks use. When the data reaches our server, it is saved as a regular data file. When you wish to restore, you open up the backup software, ask for the file you want, and you will have it within minutes. If you’d like more information, please call or e-mail us.
• If you have a networked office, you have more options for data backup, such as a backup server with mirrored Hard Drives. If you’d like more information, please call.

And now, for some links:

• For those of you who hear terms like “CPU” and are not sure what that means, there’s www.webopedia.com.
• If you have a question, you will sometimes find the answer at www.ask-leo.com. He is the one we learned the “Don’t lose your keys” warning from.
• Previously mentioned is www.toptenreviews.com for software reviews. They review hardware as well. Another good review site is www.pcmagazine.com.

Please call if you have any questions about our service. (707) 541-7321