Someone asked me the other day if I sell computers. I chuckled to myself. Not because of the obvious nature of the question but because I'm almost repulsed by it. Its an automatic response now. I can barely control it. What he really needed was so much deeper.
Most of the people that ask if I sell computers are looking for something cleaner and prettier than the machine they are currently using. They usually have unintentionally misused their existing machine by not maintaining it (sometimes just because they don't want to learn how) and now they are willing to borrow $500 (for the cheapest new computer they can find) on their credit card because of the "low payment" but can't justify paying $150 to $200 to service their existing machine because that would seem to be "less of a deal". (At our house we call that "paying stupid tax")
My advise to Joe the PC Owner? Learn the basics of how a computer works and what it takes to maintain it. You don't have to know how necessarily, you just need to know that there are things to do on a regular basis. Similar to changing the oil in your car or maintaining good tire pressure, You need to know these things. If you don't take care of them your computer will break down sooner. And it will break down.
There are some very basic things that all computer users must learn how to do.
Know what the latest terms are in PC security and what they mean
Use a firewall program and know what it is and why we use them
Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date
Use anti-malware software and keep it up to date
If you don't know the basic terms that people are using in PC security you'll be no better off than the guy who walks into a jungle with a bottle of Skin-So-Soft, instead of insect repellent, a knife, a handgun and a 12 Gauge Shotgun. Be prepared, as the old boyscout motto goes. Be aware of your surroundings. Being ignorant of what can harm you is stupid. Protect yourself from virus attacks, mal-ware infestations, back door access, and security holes by knowing that they exist and that you can stop them with a little bit of knowledge.
Most people know (at least they should know), that if you run your car engine after someone puts sand in your gas tank that bad things will happen. The same is true for "cruising the internet". Most files that you download are harmless but sometimes people create files that are harmful and find ways to get them into your computer without your direct knowledge. (This is why people buy really good car alarms.)
No one beside you can make the decision to protect your computer. There is no "government bailout" for this one however. If you get burned its your life, your money, and your privacy. Warranties and guarantees do not cover data loss. EVER.
Clean up after yourself. Every time that you use a computer it creates logs to all of the activity that you have created or accessed. This information can be used by others to define what your habits or influences are. This data is usually harmless but anytime that you use your computer you should be aware of the outcome of your actions. The second reason you should clean up after yourself is because the space on your hard drive is limited and it burden's the computer to have to keep track of useless data.
(I remove countless GIGABYTES of data from the computers that I repair so that I don't have to back up useless data and sort through it later when I'm restoring all of it to your computers. (some techs aren't that nice and just put it all back on there)
Be organized. Keep your data neat and orderly. Defrag your hard drive often.
(90% of all speed related problems with your Microsoft driven PC comes from a heavily fragmented hard drive. )
Back up all of the data that you created. All of it. You should maintain the data on your computer so that if your computer fails that you can immediately have access to all of it up to the point of your last backup. I keep three copies of my data; the original, the first backup, and another in cyberspace. I recommend that you do the same. If your home or business is affected physically where you don't have access to your data then you can be assured that your data is always safe this way.
(A lot of people say to me "I only use the computer to get on the internet." Others that I know use then as tools that make calculations that no human could do in a thousand lifetimes. You can bet that the people who are using computers to make those calculations are backing up their data because if its importance to mankind.
But what about you? The letters that you've sent. The pictures you have taken, The music that you've paid for? These are the digital records of our lives.
Times are changing. We don't keep photo albums like our grandparents did (We use Picasa). We don't have stacks of vinyl records holding our audio media (We use iTunes). We don't keep huge file cabinets in our homes anymore with our "important" papers in them (We scan them). We don't keep almanacs and maps in our cars (We use GPS). Some of us don't even have home telephones anymore (We use VOIP). All of this information should be backed up and saved. )
It takes time to diagnose computer problems, to research and determine the possible fixes and to implement the repairs. You need to choose how you are going to proceed. Are you going to buy a new computer so that you can start this vicious cycle all over again or are you going to take some initiative to learn how to protect yourself. I know that your computer is broken now and that you need to get back to work. But the issues remain. You need to step up and acknowledge that a new $500 PC is not the answer.
Most likely, as I've seen so many times is that you need to invest in a solution that will grow with you for the next five or six years. It will need to have external storage to be sure that your data is backed up properly. You will need to find excellent software to protect you and you'll need to learn to use it. Don't forget to back up off-site! Oh! And you'll also want to make sure that your network is secure from intrusion.
"Sure, I sell computers", I told him, "But what I specialize in is providing complete technology solutions."
Most of the people that ask if I sell computers are looking for something cleaner and prettier than the machine they are currently using. They usually have unintentionally misused their existing machine by not maintaining it (sometimes just because they don't want to learn how) and now they are willing to borrow $500 (for the cheapest new computer they can find) on their credit card because of the "low payment" but can't justify paying $150 to $200 to service their existing machine because that would seem to be "less of a deal". (At our house we call that "paying stupid tax")
My advise to Joe the PC Owner? Learn the basics of how a computer works and what it takes to maintain it. You don't have to know how necessarily, you just need to know that there are things to do on a regular basis. Similar to changing the oil in your car or maintaining good tire pressure, You need to know these things. If you don't take care of them your computer will break down sooner. And it will break down.
There are some very basic things that all computer users must learn how to do.
Know what the latest terms are in PC security and what they mean
Use a firewall program and know what it is and why we use them
Use anti-virus software and keep it up to date
Use anti-malware software and keep it up to date
If you don't know the basic terms that people are using in PC security you'll be no better off than the guy who walks into a jungle with a bottle of Skin-So-Soft, instead of insect repellent, a knife, a handgun and a 12 Gauge Shotgun. Be prepared, as the old boyscout motto goes. Be aware of your surroundings. Being ignorant of what can harm you is stupid. Protect yourself from virus attacks, mal-ware infestations, back door access, and security holes by knowing that they exist and that you can stop them with a little bit of knowledge.
Most people know (at least they should know), that if you run your car engine after someone puts sand in your gas tank that bad things will happen. The same is true for "cruising the internet". Most files that you download are harmless but sometimes people create files that are harmful and find ways to get them into your computer without your direct knowledge. (This is why people buy really good car alarms.)
No one beside you can make the decision to protect your computer. There is no "government bailout" for this one however. If you get burned its your life, your money, and your privacy. Warranties and guarantees do not cover data loss. EVER.
Clean up after yourself. Every time that you use a computer it creates logs to all of the activity that you have created or accessed. This information can be used by others to define what your habits or influences are. This data is usually harmless but anytime that you use your computer you should be aware of the outcome of your actions. The second reason you should clean up after yourself is because the space on your hard drive is limited and it burden's the computer to have to keep track of useless data.
(I remove countless GIGABYTES of data from the computers that I repair so that I don't have to back up useless data and sort through it later when I'm restoring all of it to your computers. (some techs aren't that nice and just put it all back on there)
Be organized. Keep your data neat and orderly. Defrag your hard drive often.
(90% of all speed related problems with your Microsoft driven PC comes from a heavily fragmented hard drive. )
Back up all of the data that you created. All of it. You should maintain the data on your computer so that if your computer fails that you can immediately have access to all of it up to the point of your last backup. I keep three copies of my data; the original, the first backup, and another in cyberspace. I recommend that you do the same. If your home or business is affected physically where you don't have access to your data then you can be assured that your data is always safe this way.
(A lot of people say to me "I only use the computer to get on the internet." Others that I know use then as tools that make calculations that no human could do in a thousand lifetimes. You can bet that the people who are using computers to make those calculations are backing up their data because if its importance to mankind.
But what about you? The letters that you've sent. The pictures you have taken, The music that you've paid for? These are the digital records of our lives.
Times are changing. We don't keep photo albums like our grandparents did (We use Picasa). We don't have stacks of vinyl records holding our audio media (We use iTunes). We don't keep huge file cabinets in our homes anymore with our "important" papers in them (We scan them). We don't keep almanacs and maps in our cars (We use GPS). Some of us don't even have home telephones anymore (We use VOIP). All of this information should be backed up and saved. )
It takes time to diagnose computer problems, to research and determine the possible fixes and to implement the repairs. You need to choose how you are going to proceed. Are you going to buy a new computer so that you can start this vicious cycle all over again or are you going to take some initiative to learn how to protect yourself. I know that your computer is broken now and that you need to get back to work. But the issues remain. You need to step up and acknowledge that a new $500 PC is not the answer.
Most likely, as I've seen so many times is that you need to invest in a solution that will grow with you for the next five or six years. It will need to have external storage to be sure that your data is backed up properly. You will need to find excellent software to protect you and you'll need to learn to use it. Don't forget to back up off-site! Oh! And you'll also want to make sure that your network is secure from intrusion.
"Sure, I sell computers", I told him, "But what I specialize in is providing complete technology solutions."
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