Internet and Network Security

Couple’s life changes bring Nicholas E. Pierce Technologies to fruition

Security for the Digital World

Efficiency Computer Tips

• Crashes are inevitable. According to Elisa Williams, in her article "Sooner Or Later, You're Gonna Crash": All hard drives eventually will fail because they are made up of mechanical parts that at some point -- though it may be years and years -- will wear out and malfunction. Most drives built for home use have a life span of about 10,000 to 50,000 hours. If you never turn your computer off, that time passes quickly. One year equals 8,448 hours on your [hard] drive (learn more) this is all kind of scary isn't it? Well, maybe performing a backup is scary too. Now you can chase those fears away!

• Backing up is easy. One option for Microsoft users is to do a backup using the backup function found under "system tools" on their computer. There is a wizard that will guide you through the process.

• Keep a log of your backups. This log should include the date, files included in the backup, and type of media. If your files are large, use MS Backup or WinZip to compress the files and save space. Also be sure to use a different medium than your main hard drive -– CD-ROM, diskettes, external or portable hard drive just for backups, Zip drive, tape backup, the Internet, etc. Never replace your last backup with your new backup. You should have two backup files at all times- - the current backup and the previous backup. The reason -- if you have a bad backup, or a virus, you'll need to restore the previous backup.

• Leave it to Data Plan B. Have your backups performed for you by us. Having us do backups for you takes away the headaches of having to do them yourself and provides extra peace of mind in knowing they are getting done and the data is stored off-site. This is something you need to think about because you never know when a disaster might strike your home or office building.

• Backup regularly (daily or weekly). Either store individual files on a diskette, CD-ROM or portable hard drive or schedule automatic daily back-ups of your entire computer to a tape drive, Zip drive or web-based service.

• Out with the old.  If you are not sure how old a document is, you can access the file. Click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop

  • click on “my documents

  • open the appropriate folder (for example: Word Documents)

  • click on the "views" button on your toolbar near the top right of your screen

  • click on the "details"

  • the list will show the date the file was last modified

• If you want to know the actual creation date:

  • click on the document you want to check

  • click on "file" in the toolbar, usually located at the top left of your screen

  • locate "properties" on the drop down menu

  • click on "properties"

  • click on "general" or "statistics"

  • locate the creation date 

  • click "ok"

  To delete a file or folder, simply click on the file or folder name and press delete.  Keep in mind if you delete a folder, you will delete all files contained in that folder.  You might want to open the folder to see all the documents you might have stored there before deleting it.

  Delete your wastebasket.

  Delete your “delete file” in your email.

• Speed things up.  If it seems like your computer is starting to get slow and sluggish, it may be time to uninstall some programs, shareware, executable files, e-books, or games that you no longer need or use.  They may be taking up much needed space and memory on your computer.

• Be careful.  Don't go into the program and delete all the "functions," including uninstall! Chances are the program will still be on your computer but now you have no way to uninstall it! Deleting a program instead of uninstalling it can sometimes render your computer useless as some files are shared by other programs! Do not uninstall a program if you do not have the CD or disk to re-install unless you know you will never want to use that program again! Deleting an icon will only remove the icon -- not the program!

Listed below is the process for uninstalling software programs and games from your computer.

• click on "start"

• move pointer to "settings"

• move pointer to "control panel"

• move pointer to "add / remove" programs

• you will see a list of software programs that are currently installed on your computer

• scroll down and click on the software you wish to remove

• click “add / remove” and follow instructions

• If the program or game you want to remove is not on the list, follow these steps:

• click on "start"

• move pointer to "programs"

• move pointer to item in this list that you want to uninstall

• look in the small pop-up menu for “uninstall”

• click on "uninstall"