Crucial Things To Know About Computing
Backup Management
It’s better to have too many copies of your data than too few. Otherwise, if you lose any data (due to accidental deletion, virus, hard drive failure), then it could be gone forever. Frequently, you should make at least one backup of any data you can’t afford to lose (documents, photos, email, etc). You can back up a fair amount of data onto a flash drive, maybe even all of it depending on your needs. If you have a lot of data, an external hard drive, which has much more capacity, can be used to store an extra copy of it. There are also paid online options for backup, like Carbonite. Carbonite only backs up your data, while an external hard drive in conjunction with a program like Macrium Reflect, can back up your entire system (windows, programs, settings, all your data). It’s not a bad idea to use an external hard drive as well as a service like Carbonite (see first sentence above!). Note that if you always use web mail (rather than Outlook or another standalone email program) all your mail will still be saved on the server and will display correctly even if your computer is lost, damaged or destroyed. If you need help with any of this, I am here at your service.
Password Management
Always have your passwords available (password to turn on your computer, to access your email or bank account, etc). It may not be best to have them stored in a file on your computer in case your computer is stolen or hacked, or if someone else may have access to the computer. These days, password requirements are such that it can be hard (impossible) to always remember every password for every account. Instead, have them written down. Keep that written record in a safe but accessible location (have a backup photocopy of that in case it gets damaged or lost). Passwords are almost always case sensitive, so write them down properly. If you use a zero, make sure you know not to try the letter O when looking at your list of passwords later on. Ones and i’s and L’s can sometimes be confused for each other as well. Lost passwords can really slow down your progress. Also write down answers to your security questions for websites. If a website allows you to use a phone number or secondary email address to verify your identity, utilize those options. It will allow you easier access into your account if there’s ever any trouble logging in.
Catastrophe Bailout
I can’t emphasize the importance of this one enough. Computing can become such a crucial part of our everyday lives; our jobs…seemingly of our entire existence at times! If computing is that important to you – in other words – if there are times when you simply can’t be without a computer, then you need a spare. Computers, being man-made machines, can and will eventually fail to one degree or another. If you have a computer on the shelf, already set up with the programs you use (access to WiFi, printer, your email and so forth) you will never be down for longer than it takes to boot up another computer. In the event that you need to use this bailout machine because your main computer failed to some degree, get that one fixed or replaced as soon as you can so that you still always have one on the shelf to save you a lot of stress in the event of an untimely failure.
Watching Out for Scams
There are many ways to get taken for a ride while using the Internet. A few common scams:
- Phishing scams – In this type of scam, you are directed to a website, usually from clicking a link in an email, which takes you to a website that looks like your bank’s website, or Amazon’s website, etc. It will ask that you put in your credentials to keep your account from being disabled. But when you enter your info, they use it to log into your account and rob you. The best way to tell if you are on a fishing website is to look in the address bar at the top of your web browser. If the page looks like eBay but the address doesn’t contain “ebay.com” at the beginning of the address and instead says something like “ebay-account-recovery.pl”, then you’re looking at a phishing scam out of Poland.
- Extortion scams – Numerous clients have received this email recently. The email claims that it took photos or video of you in a compromising position and that they will send it to your friends and family unless you pay extortion money. You can either ignore such a message, or you can forward it to the FBI.
- Malware Infestation – Never download and install software unless you know what it is and you’re sure you’re getting it from a reputable source. Avoid falling for things like “Recommended Download” or “You might be infected….click here”.
- General e-mail scams – Remember, e-mail is for communication between you and a person you know or a company you do business with. All other e-mail should be assumed to be junk mail or something designed to infect your computer or dupe you into giving up hard earned money.
- Bad Search Results – When you search using Google, many times the first few results will say “Ad” next to it. Don’t click those. They are frequently used to take you to a website that can cause your computer harm.
- Bad Phone Numbers in Google – A lot of times, when you search for a phone number for tech support for a company, you’ll talk to someone in India who claims to be with that company but they’re not. They’re willing to take a lot of your money while accomplishing nothing for you. Some of them will even steal passwords if you allow them to log into your computer. Others will delete your files or set a password on your computer so you can’t even use it anymore.
- Incoming Cold Calls – You receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft or another company. They say your computer might be at risk and you need to let them into your computer to fix it. Do not fall for this. Nobody will call you if your computer is at risk. It’s up to you (with my help) to keep your computer secure.
Although the Internet was invented with the best of intentions, and there are many amazing things you can accomplish online, there are also some very bad people who use the Internet for bad instead of good. The best way to fight back is to stay educated and use common sense. If in doubt, give me a call.
A great resource on this topic can be found at R.O.S.E. (Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly). Check their Resources menu and their Scams page for up-to-date information to stay protected.
Other Tips And Info
What to do if your desktop computer won’t turn on:
- Make sure that both ends of the power cord are connected. If they already were, disconnect both ends of the power cord for 10 minutes then plug back in and try turning it on again.
- If it still won’t turn on, call me to begin further diagnosis.
What to do if your laptop computer won’t turn on:
- Follow step one above. If that doesn’t work, continue below.
- Turn the laptop over and locate the battery removal latch(es). Remove battery to see if laptop will turn on using A/C power only. Note: Not all laptops have a battery that can be easily removed.
- If it still won’t turn on, call me to begin further diagnosis.
Rescue Disk
Make yourself a bootable DVD or Flash Drive using the Windows Media Creation Tool. In the event that Windows 10 will not fully launch, this can be used to help you repair windows without having to reinstall it. Even if it does need to be reinstalled, this tool can do that for you as well. If you need help creating or using this, call me.
What to do if you computer appears to be locked up?
Press the following 3 keys on your keyboard at the same time: CTRL, ALT DEL. That’s CTRL – Control, ALT – Alternate, and DEL – Delete
If the computer is truly locked up, pressing those keys at the same time will do nothing, even if you wait it out for a minute or two. However, if you get a screen with options that say: Lock, Switch user, Sign out, Change a password, Task Manager, Cancel…choose Task Manager. That should display the Task Manager window. In the lower left corner of this window, if it says More details, click on that. Now, see if any of the first three percentage columns (CPU, Memory, Disk) show a continuous percentage of 90 or above. If any of them do, click on that percentage and it will sort that column to show you (in the Name column) what is using the most of that resource. From there you can end that process by right clicking it and choosing End task. If you need further assistance with a computer that is very slow or locked entirely, just call.
Missing a file?
Click File Explorer (manila folder toward the left of the task bar at the bottom of the screen). Then on the left, locate This PC and click on it. Look for the box in the upper right corner that says Search This PC. Enter part of the filename (or the precise filename if you know it). Then press Enter on your keyboard. This will take some time, but it will search your entire computer for filenames containing the search term you entered. If you don’t know any of the filename but you know it was a Word document, then instead of entering the filename in the search box, enter *.doc …That will search your entire computer for Word documents. The same can be done for photos using *.jpg as the search term. *.pdf will locate all of your Adobe Acrobat documents. This can be used to find all files of any given file type based on its extension (characters in the filename after the dot). There’s a lot more to know about searching for lost files, deleted files and so on. If you need further assistance, please call.
Need to download a program?
This can be tricky. Avoid any download including the word driver unless you’re searching for a specific device driver. Many download sites will entice you to click on a “recommended download”. They’re always nonsense. Driver updater, Driver manager, etc. Be sure that you’re getting the download you intend to get. When installing, watch for all of the options. Choose advanced if available. Look for the ability to opt out of installing additional software. It’s generally not needed and can even be malicious even though just installing the program is not harmful.
Why I avoid the Geek Squad
I had a bad experience years ago at the Geek Squad. They had damaged some audio equipment I brought to them for repair. It took a discussion with the manager and some convincing for them to make good on what they had done. One of my first clients had a very similar story. In his case, they essentially damaged his computer and charged him a lot of money to repair what they had done. I recommend avoiding the Geek Squad, even though Best Buy does stock some computer components which may otherwise be hard to find locally.