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| | |  | | | | Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - The Occasional Tip - Computer Cleaning |
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| May 2008 |
Volume 2 |
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Spring is Here!
Well spring has finally arrived, the birds are chirping, the sun is out and you have put away your winter clothes. You have created or received a list of things to do and have your plan of attack ready. This weekend the grass will be cut, the windows will be cleaned and the weeds will be pulled out of the flower bed. The garage needs to be cleaned and re-arranged. The hedges need to be trimmed and the grill needs to be ready for the hamburgers, hot dogs and barbeque. The cars will to be cleaned inside and out, the kids need new closes and the dog needs to go to the groomer's. There are many and many more things you have in mind but I bet there is one you didn't think about.
Your Computer!!!!!
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What am I talking about? Well let's think about it. Let's say your computer runs 2-3 hours per day. That's approximately 14-21 hours per week, 60-90 hours per month, and 720-1080 hours per year.
Let's compare this to your furnace and your car. Every 3 months you take your car in for an oil change and have your air filter checked. You may decide to replace it or you may wait until the next oil change. Every month, or every 2 months, you go to your basement and take a look at the furnace filter to find out if it needs to be replaced. If you have one of those fancy electronic thermostats it alerts you when you need to change the furnace filter based on the amount of hours it has been running since the last filter replacement.
Take a close look at that filter the next time you go to change it. What do you see? Why do you change the filters on a regular basis? You do this for the same reason for both the car and the furnace. If the filter is full of dirt, the car or furnace can't get the necessary air through and the furnace and the car has to work harder to push or pull the air necessary to heat or cool your house or get enough air to the engine to run the car as efficient as possible. You have the filter so that the dirt and dust in the air doesn't get to the vital parts of the furnace or engine.
Computers don't normally come with an air filter on the fan to block the dust from getting into your computer and settling on vital parts. When it does, the computer can overheat, shutdown and sometimes cause significant damage. Take a good look at the images to the right. The top image is the inside of a computer where the dust got so thick it performed a solid layer on top of the CPU heat sink. The fan has a lot of caked on dust and when this gets think enough, the fan slows down and eventually stops working and now you don't get any air circulating inside the computer.
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| What do you need!
Here is a list of items you need to clean your computer:
- Air compressor - I would choose to use this before anything. Its quick and easy and removes dust properly. Do not go too close to the motherboard though, too much pressure can damage components on the motherboard.
- Compressed Air - If you don't have an air compressor, a can of compressed air can blow the dust out. Be sure to keep the can upright, otherwise it will leak liquid. Always read the instructions on the can.
- Cloth - (lint free) You should use a cloth to clean the exterior of the case, the mouse, cords, and keyboard. Only slightly damp. Fold your cloth over a few times to get in between the keys on the keyboard.
- LCD Cleaning Solution - Use this to clean you LCD or monitor display. Do not use household window cleaners as they contain chemicals that can remove the anti-glare surface of the LCD or leave a cloudy film behind. Do not spray any fluids directly on the screen. You should spray it on a lint free cloth then wipe it on the screen.
How often should you clean your computer?
It depends on your environment but here are some good guidelines:
- Non-smokers without pets - Clean the computer every five months.
- Non-smokers with pets - Clean the computer every four months.
- Smokers without pets - Clean the computer every three months.
- Smokers with pets - Clean the computer every two months.
- Business with clean office environment - Clean the computers every five months.
- Business with a high dust factory environment - Clean the computer every two months.
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| | Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - The Occasional Tip - Passwords |
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| March 2008 |
Volume 1 |
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Welcome to the first newsletter from Occasional Technology. My name is Irvin Hayes Jr. and I have been working with computers and supporting users for over 15 years. During this time, I have come across a lot of useful tips that I have shared with my customers and now I would like to share them with you. My plan is to publish a newsletter once a month with a useful tips that you can use in your day to day activities with computers and technology. You can also share your tips with the readers of this newsletter, ask questions or add comments on the newsletter. So I hope you enjoy reading this and many more newsletters to come.
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I Can't Remember My Password!
How many times have you said this to yourself? You use passwords all the time when you are using your computer, surfing the Internet and on your company network. Just take a second to think about all of the passwords you have: online banking, credit card logins, email accounts, online bill paying, online shopping accounts and tons of others. Do you use the same password for each of theses accounts? I hope not. It isn't a good idea in this day and age when identity theft is on the rise. Using the same password and even login name can be dangerous when it comes to protecting your privacy. Now not only do you have to keep up with your password, but a lot of sites are having you verify an image and/or use multiple security questions which you also have to remember. How are we expected to remember all these passwords?
What do you do to keep track of or remember your passwords?
- Use a document or spreadsheet to hold all of your passwords.
- Store them on a piece of paper.
- Use your PDA or Smart Phone.
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There are multiple methods you can use so you really have to do what works for you. I had this problem and a friend of mine told me about a software program called KeePass Password Safe which I now use on a regular basis to store all of my user accounts and password information. It has it's own password protection but that is the only password I really have to remember. It will also create random passwords using any combination of characters required.
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| Creating a strong password.
Creating a good strong password is key to keeping your accounts and privacy safe. Here are a few tips when creating your own passwords:
- Passwords should be a 8 or more characters in length. 12 - 14 characters is the ideal length.
- Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, symbols (!, %,$,#) and numbers.
- Do not use repeating characters or numbers in the password.
- Do not use birthdays, full names of kids, relatives or pets.
- Change your password on a regular basis. Every 60-90 days would be a good starting point.
Keep your passwords safe.
- Never tell anyone your password. This include friends and family members.
- Do not log into accounts on computers you don't control. This includes internet cafes, libraries, computer labs, shared systems, kiosk systems, conferences, and airport lounges should be considered unsafe for any personal use other than anonymous Internet browsing.
- Never send your password in an email.
- Protect any recorded passwords. If you have your passwords printed, make sure that it is placed in a safe location in your home. You don't want guest or others finding your login information.
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March 10, 2010 |
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