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6 Dumb Things to Avoid
While Using Your Computer
by Vinny La Bash, a member and regular columnist of the Sarasota
Personal Computer Users Group, FL
www.spcug.org
To paraphrase a recent TV commercial, we all do dumb things, but doing
them with your computer doesn't have to be one of them.
Most of us know that our computers work better when they are plugged
into an active electrical outlet, but ask any service technician how
many times he or she has encountered that situation, and you may be
surprised at the answer. Every one of us, no matter how experienced,
has done at least one dumb thing with our computers. Maybe you pressed
a wrong combination of keys and changed a setting you didn't mean to
disturb. Maybe nothing much happened or you ended up crashing your
system.
Whatever does or doesn't happen, paying attention to what you're doing
combined with a dash of forethought can prevent most dumb mistakes.
David Letterman has his top ten lists. I offer my top six. My list
will do little to entertain you, but it will help you to be smarter
about using your system.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 6: Failing to install or keep your
anti-virus and anti-spyware programs up-to-date.
Some people think that keeping these programs current is too much
trouble. Others quibble because sometimes they have to disable their
anti-virus program to install another application.
Don't be misguided. Viruses and spyware can gum up your system to a
point where your machine can be rendered useless and inoperable. You
could be a victim of fraud or risk turning your machine into a
"zombie" where a third party can use your computer for criminal
activities. Innocent people have been arrested and charged with
downloading child pornography. They had no idea that their machines
were compromised for illegal purposes, yet they found themselves in
deep trouble.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 5: Indiscriminately installing freeware and
shareware you find on the internet.
If you are guilty of this it's only a matter of time before you get
infected with a piece of sloppily written software that will cause
your system to behave erratically or crash. If you follow dumb with
dumber by installing pirated software, don't ask me for help.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 4: Share your files and peripherals with
the immediate world.
Turn off file and printer sharing. Unless you do this you could open
your computer to access by using a public wireless hotspot with your
laptop. Even if you don't use a laptop be aware that Windows, by
default, has administrative sharing for the root of each drive. You
can turn this feature off in the Systems Administration portion of the
Control Panel.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 3: Browse through the internet without a
firewall.
People new to computers are most likely to make this mistake. They
tend to be entirely unaware that they need a firewall because nobody
told them what a firewall is or why they need one. This lack of
knowledge exposes them to every virus, worm or malicious hacker in the
computer universe. Fortunately, this exposure can be easily corrected.
Many modems and routers have built-in firewall protection. Personal
firewalls can easily be downloaded from the web. Go to www.avast.com
and download one of the best all around network security programs in
existence. The best part is that this excellent program is free to the
general public.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 2: Picking weak passwords.
Every hacker in the known universe understands that many people use
their children's or grandchildren's name as a password. Cracking that
kind of security is as easy as breathing. Don't use a family member's
birthday or social security number as a password either. It's the kind
of information that is all too easy to obtain. Don't create passwords
from a dictionary. Hackers have programs which automatically compare
passwords against dictionary entries.
Passwords should be at least 8 characters long, and be a combination
of upper and lower case characters and numbers. The common objection
is that they are hard to remember. That also makes them hard to crack.
Create a phrase that you can easily remember and use the first letter
of each word along with logical numbers. For example, "Our vacation in
Jamaica begins on the fifth day of August" becomes OviJbot5do8. A
password like that is impossible to guess and is not found in any
dictionary.
Dumb Computer Mistake # 1: Never backing up your data or system
files.
Even if you never do any other dumb thing while computing, failure to
back up your data can negate everything else if you lose important
information. There are too many things that can go wrong for you not
to be backing up your data. Hard disk crashes, fire or water damage,
tornados, hurricanes, magnetic interference, and theft are just a few
of the many things that can damage or destroy data.
Backing up data can be time consuming and inconvenient, but losing
your data could be catastrophic. There are many strategies you can use
to protect your data, but any strategy is better than none. Don't
think that merely copying your data files to an external disk
constitutes backing up. Make copies of your essential data to three
CDs or three sets of CDs. Keep one set at home, but in a different
room than where the computer is housed. Keep another set at the office
if you work for a living. If you're retired ask a friend to keep a set
for you. Do the same for your friend. The third set of disks should be
kept in a secure place like a safe deposit box.
Data is the only irreplaceable thing on your computer. You can replace
hardware, operating systems and application software, but you can't go
to a store and buy a replacement copy of your data.
Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by
APCUG member groups. |
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