The 12 Rules of Computers
The idea for this column was actually sparked by a recent call from a friend who wanted to send an attachment via email - and in talking with him, I realized he was missing a fundamental piece of understanding about his computer that would have made his emergency call to me completely unnecessary.
So I wondered: what pieces of knowledge or information are essential to successful interaction with your computer - but that many people still don't have?
Well, 'Tis the season of "lists." Gift lists, guest lists, resolution lists. So why not a list of the 12 most important things you should know about your computer? In no particular order of importance, here they are:
1. Files. I remember when I was taking Cobol programming in college (ok, I have dated myself irretrievably, I know!). One of the fundamental concepts that my brain simply didn't catch on to quickly was the idea of a "file." In order for the poor computer to follow your instructions to do something, it has to know what to do it to! This is an essential piece of information that many people, I have discovered, seem to lack when trying to interact with a computer. When you open Word and create a new document, you have created a file. You can do all sorts of things to that file - add to it, send it, store it, copy it, print it. But in order to do any of these things, you have to first select that file. Files, like files in real life, are stored somewhere (put away) where you can easily reach them. In the old world, we stored files in filing cabinets, typically alphabetically according to some scheme. On our computers, we store files in folders in directories. One of the best schemes for storing files on your computer that I have heard of is to create a folder on your C drive (main hard drive) called "Data." In the Data folder, you can put sub-folders by category, such as "Downloads," "Photographs," "Christmas Cards," and so on. Now, your data can be easily backed up, and you always know where to go to find a document.
On the subject of files: understand what file extensions mean, and turn them on (they are off by default in Windows XP.)
2. Backup. Speaking of easily backing up data, this is probably the single most important piece of information you must know about a computer: it will fail at some point. It simply will. This would be the equivalent of telling you that your house will burn down at some point. So what are you going to do about it? Well, if I promised you that your house was going to burn down, you would no doubt keep important papers and records and family items somewhere else, right? So it is with your computer, except that of course you can keep as many copies of your data as you want, in as many places as you want. I recommend backing your data up to at least one external hard drive - more than one, if you have really essential data. External hard drives are cheap these days - you can get 500 gigs for under $200 if you shop around. That's a lot of data storage! You can also burn data to disks, though this process is more of a pain, and you're less likely to do it than to simply run a quick backup copy of your data file to your external hard drive periodically. There are even external hard drives that will run intelligent backups (that is, will incrementally back up your data on a regular periodicity without your having to do anything) for just a little more money.
3. Security. This ranks right up there with backups, because bad security practices can ruin your computer very easily. Regular readers of this column will remember the time a couple of years ago when I made the unforgivable mistake of going online without a firewall - my computer was attacked and compromised within minutes. (No doubt due to Trojan Horses than had been planted on my computer due to downloads - which were waiting patiently for an opportunity to activate.) So: get an use a good virus protection program. (AVG still has a free version, but read the reviews and find one that will not eat your computer the way Norton has started to do.) Get a firewall, preferably a hardware version, such as using a Linksys router, and never go online without it. Don't open attachments from people you don't know, or if you are not expecting one. Don't download programs or other files unless you know the source is secure.
4. Passwords. Along the lines of security, this is one I'm not to good about - but it is becoming more and more critical all the time. Password security is essential. A friend once suggested a good algorithm for creating a password so that you will always remember it, but it will be highly unlikely that someone will crack it: use a regular collection of letter and/or numbers, such as your mom's birth date followed by her initials; then use some regular identifier of the site or application, such as the last three letters of the website. It will be easy for you to remember this password, it will be unique for each site or application, and it will be extremely difficult to crack.
5. Surge protection. Another must - and don't think that a simple power strip will do it. Think of a good power cleaner/surge protector as simply part of your computer. Best bet is to get a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). This will condition your line, protect against surges, and keep your computer from losing power suddenly if power is interrupted.
6. Give it air. I wouldn't have really thought about this one until recently. I moved my office around, and my CPU , which had been sitting under a table, was now sitting under a desk with one side toward the skirt of the desk. What a difference a little air flow makes! Suddenly, my computer's fan was running constantly. I adjusted it's position, and it is now silent running again.
7. Click. Learn about the right click - this will give you contextual menus for the application or area you are working in. And *don't* click rapidly on everything in sight when browsing a website or getting to know a program. The programmers I know actually do read instructions to be sure they know what is going to happen when they "click here."
8. Reboot. From time to time, it really does help to restart your computer. It releases the memory, and will often cure a problem you may be having with a particular application.
9. Set laptop memory. When you buy a new laptop, let the battery drain all the way down the first few times you turn it on. That will set the "memory" of the battery to a long life. If you put the battery on charge before it is fully dis-charged, you risk setting the battery memory to a shorter lifespan. Also, beware of making upgrades to a new machine, laptop or desktop, yourself. Even installing new memory can void your warranty. (Basically, opening the CPU can void your warranty!)
10. Personalize. Set a computer up so that it suits you, and know its features and systems well. Know what OS you are running (including version), how much memory and hard drive space you have. Know what peripherals you are running (CD and DVD drives, sound cards, etc.) (And consider the option of running Linux... you don't have to run Windows or Mac!) Disable the administrator account, or at set the password to something difficult to crack (and then be sure not to lose your password!). Disable (from Startup) or uninstall unnecessary OEM software.
11. Consider giving kids their own computers. This is a controversial one. Some parents don't like the idea of letting a child have access to games, the Internet, instant messaging, and so forth at will. On the other hand, being responsible for his own computer can teach Johnny how to manage a necessary piece of technology. There's also the issue of how much damage a child can do to the family computer, which is particularly dangerous if important files are kept on that machine, or if the computer is essential for any phase of the adults' work. An older, refurbished machine with minimal installations, and limited access to the Internet might be exactly the thing to help children learn how to manage and care for their own computers.
12. Password encrypt your wireless network. This one is not easy, but when you consider the potential consequences (piggybacking, driveby hacking, etc.) it's well worth an afternoon's struggling with your network settings.
The idea for this column was actually sparked by a recent call from a friend who wanted to send an attachment via email - and in talking with him, I realized he was missing a fundamental piece of understanding about his computer that would have made his emergency call to me completely unnecessary.
So I wondered: what pieces of knowledge or information are essential to successful interaction with your computer - but that many people still don't have?
Well, 'Tis the season of "lists." Gift lists, guest lists, resolution lists. So why not a list of the 12 most important things you should know about your computer? In no particular order of importance, here they are:
1. Files. I remember when I was taking Cobol programming in college (ok, I have dated myself irretrievably, I know!). One of the fundamental concepts that my brain simply didn't catch on to quickly was the idea of a "file." In order for the poor computer to follow your instructions to do something, it has to know what to do it to! This is an essential piece of information that many people, I have discovered, seem to lack when trying to interact with a computer. When you open Word and create a new document, you have created a file. You can do all sorts of things to that file - add to it, send it, store it, copy it, print it. But in order to do any of these things, you have to first select that file. Files, like files in real life, are stored somewhere (put away) where you can easily reach them. In the old world, we stored files in filing cabinets, typically alphabetically according to some scheme. On our computers, we store files in folders in directories. One of the best schemes for storing files on your computer that I have heard of is to create a folder on your C drive (main hard drive) called "Data." In the Data folder, you can put sub-folders by category, such as "Downloads," "Photographs," "Christmas Cards," and so on. Now, your data can be easily backed up, and you always know where to go to find a document.
On the subject of files: understand what file extensions mean, and turn them on (they are off by default in Windows XP.)
2. Backup. Speaking of easily backing up data, this is probably the single most important piece of information you must know about a computer: it will fail at some point. It simply will. This would be the equivalent of telling you that your house will burn down at some point. So what are you going to do about it? Well, if I promised you that your house was going to burn down, you would no doubt keep important papers and records and family items somewhere else, right? So it is with your computer, except that of course you can keep as many copies of your data as you want, in as many places as you want. I recommend backing your data up to at least one external hard drive - more than one, if you have really essential data. External hard drives are cheap these days - you can get 500 gigs for under $200 if you shop around. That's a lot of data storage! You can also burn data to disks, though this process is more of a pain, and you're less likely to do it than to simply run a quick backup copy of your data file to your external hard drive periodically. There are even external hard drives that will run intelligent backups (that is, will incrementally back up your data on a regular periodicity without your having to do anything) for just a little more money.
3. Security. This ranks right up there with backups, because bad security practices can ruin your computer very easily. Regular readers of this column will remember the time a couple of years ago when I made the unforgivable mistake of going online without a firewall - my computer was attacked and compromised within minutes. (No doubt due to Trojan Horses than had been planted on my computer due to downloads - which were waiting patiently for an opportunity to activate.) So: get an use a good virus protection program. (AVG still has a free version, but read the reviews and find one that will not eat your computer the way Norton has started to do.) Get a firewall, preferably a hardware version, such as using a Linksys router, and never go online without it. Don't open attachments from people you don't know, or if you are not expecting one. Don't download programs or other files unless you know the source is secure.
4. Passwords. Along the lines of security, this is one I'm not to good about - but it is becoming more and more critical all the time. Password security is essential. A friend once suggested a good algorithm for creating a password so that you will always remember it, but it will be highly unlikely that someone will crack it: use a regular collection of letter and/or numbers, such as your mom's birth date followed by her initials; then use some regular identifier of the site or application, such as the last three letters of the website. It will be easy for you to remember this password, it will be unique for each site or application, and it will be extremely difficult to crack.
5. Surge protection. Another must - and don't think that a simple power strip will do it. Think of a good power cleaner/surge protector as simply part of your computer. Best bet is to get a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). This will condition your line, protect against surges, and keep your computer from losing power suddenly if power is interrupted.
6. Give it air. I wouldn't have really thought about this one until recently. I moved my office around, and my CPU , which had been sitting under a table, was now sitting under a desk with one side toward the skirt of the desk. What a difference a little air flow makes! Suddenly, my computer's fan was running constantly. I adjusted it's position, and it is now silent running again.
7. Click. Learn about the right click - this will give you contextual menus for the application or area you are working in. And *don't* click rapidly on everything in sight when browsing a website or getting to know a program. The programmers I know actually do read instructions to be sure they know what is going to happen when they "click here."
8. Reboot. From time to time, it really does help to restart your computer. It releases the memory, and will often cure a problem you may be having with a particular application.
9. Set laptop memory. When you buy a new laptop, let the battery drain all the way down the first few times you turn it on. That will set the "memory" of the battery to a long life. If you put the battery on charge before it is fully dis-charged, you risk setting the battery memory to a shorter lifespan. Also, beware of making upgrades to a new machine, laptop or desktop, yourself. Even installing new memory can void your warranty. (Basically, opening the CPU can void your warranty!)
10. Personalize. Set a computer up so that it suits you, and know its features and systems well. Know what OS you are running (including version), how much memory and hard drive space you have. Know what peripherals you are running (CD and DVD drives, sound cards, etc.) (And consider the option of running Linux... you don't have to run Windows or Mac!) Disable the administrator account, or at set the password to something difficult to crack (and then be sure not to lose your password!). Disable (from Startup) or uninstall unnecessary OEM software.
11. Consider giving kids their own computers. This is a controversial one. Some parents don't like the idea of letting a child have access to games, the Internet, instant messaging, and so forth at will. On the other hand, being responsible for his own computer can teach Johnny how to manage a necessary piece of technology. There's also the issue of how much damage a child can do to the family computer, which is particularly dangerous if important files are kept on that machine, or if the computer is essential for any phase of the adults' work. An older, refurbished machine with minimal installations, and limited access to the Internet might be exactly the thing to help children learn how to manage and care for their own computers.
12. Password encrypt your wireless network. This one is not easy, but when you consider the potential consequences (piggybacking, driveby hacking, etc.) it's well worth an afternoon's struggling with your network settings.
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