Backup important data
A computer or its hard drive
can fail at any time and without warning. When it does all your
personal documents, letters, pictures, music, video, etc. is lost and in
many situations cannot be recovered or costs a lot of money to be
recovered. Make sure you have backups of all your important data so it
is not lost when the computer fails.
Protect the computer
Make sure to protect your computer from electrical surges, brownouts, and black outs. At the very least, every computer user should have a decent surge protector
on their computer and phone line if they use a modem. Surge protectors
can help protect your computer during an electrical storm and could save
you hundreds of dollars in repair, if it were to get damaged. It is
also a good idea to have the computer running on a UPS, which can help prevent damage to a computer during a brownout or blackout.
Keep computer and its programs updated
There is no such thing as a perfect software
program or hardware drivers. After the developer has released their
program they may discover errors and release updates to fix these
problems. In the case of major software programs and operating systems,
there can be several hundred updates and service packs released during
its life time. Making sure your computer and its programs are up-to-date
can help prevent problems.
In addition to updating a
program, programs that use other programs or plugins may also need
updates, for example, it is very important to make sure all the plugins
for your Internet browser are also up-to-date.
- How to update a Microsoft Windows computer.
- System information tool to check your browser for the latest plugins.
- What hardware device drivers should be updated?
Keep the safe from viruses, spyware, phishing and spam
Every computer connected to the Internet or other
network need to be protected. If you're using Microsoft Windows, we
recommend having some form of antivirus program installed and running on
the computer. It's also a good idea to have a malware detection program
running on the computer to pickup any spyware or malware that an
antivirus may not have detected. Finally, every computer user should
also be fully aware of other security risks such as chain mails,
phishing, and spam while on the Internet.
- What is a computer virus?
- What are the current available antivirus programs?
- See the chain mail, malware, phishing, spam, spyware, and virus computer definitions for further information about each of these terms.
Read, understand, and watch for tricks
One of the most common mistakes new computer
users make is agreeing to dialog text boxes, agreements, or other
prompts without reading the dialog text box or understanding it. Before
clicking any Ok or Install button, make sure you understand what you are
doing. If you do not understand the prompt, click the Cancel button or
close the box.
Also, while installing any program
watch for any check boxes. Often free programs, plugins, and updates
have check boxes that ask if it's ok to install additional programs onto
the computer. For example, when installing the Adobe Flash plugin there
is often a check box to install an additional antivirus, firewall,
toolbar, or other program. If left checked (often checked by default),
these additional programs will be installed and may cause problems or
frustration because it is not something you wanted.
Clean the computer clean
Keeping the computer physically clean can help
keep the computer running smoothly, help prevent issues such as over
heating, and help protect you from getting sick. While cleaning the
computer, it's also a good idea to clean the data on the computer.
Microsoft Windows users can run ScanDisk to check the hard drive for
errors and Defrag to keep the data on the hard drive organized. It's
also a good idea to go through the installed programs and uninstall
anything you no longer use.
- Cleaning the computer and its components.
- How do I run Microsoft ScanDisk?
- How do I run Microsoft Defrag?
- How to uninstall a program in Windows.
Be familiar with free alternatives
Be familiar with and know about free alternatives
to popular commercial programs. For example, almost every computer user
needs a word processor
program installed on their computer. Instead of purchasing Microsoft
Office, which is several hundred dollars use a free alternative such as
Open Office that is just as capable.
- Top 10 free PC programs everyone should have.
Take full advantage of all the mouse buttons and wheels
Many new computer users only use the left mouse
button. Use the mouse to its full potential by also using the right
mouse button to access the context menu. For example, if you highlight
text and then right-click that text it will bring up a menu that will
allow you to copy, cut, and perform many other options that text, the
same thing applies to files.
Although most users
already use the mouse wheel to scroll up and down on a web page, this
wheel can also often be used as a third-button by pressing down on the
mouse. Some computer mice also allow the wheel to be pushed
right-and-left on to perform additional features such as moving forward
and back on a web page.
Finally, many computer mice
also have side buttons also known as thumb buttons that can be
programmed to do any number of features, including going back on a web
page or opening a magnifier.
Use included help files and the Internet
Every program includes some type of online help that can often be accessed by pressing the F1 function key
while in the program or through the file help menu. If the included
help does not answer your questions, searching the Internet or using
online help services such as Computer Hope can answer those questions.
Become familiar with and use shortcut keys
Every computer user should become familiar with
and use keyboard shortcuts. Knowing these shortcuts can drastically
increase your productivity on the computer and make your overall
computer experience much more enjoyable.
- Computer keyboard shortcut keys.
- Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know.
No comments:
Post a Comment