Computers - 28 pieces of computing advice that stand the test of time-gctid59291

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28 pieces of computing advice that stand the test of time | PCWorld

Mark Sullivan

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• Oct 3, 2012 3:30 AM

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  Technology never stops moving foward. Hardware gets faster, and  operating systems gain new features and (we hope) finesse. This is  natural computing law.

  But just because computers are one big exercise in evolutionary  progress, that doesn't mean certain computing maxims ever go out of  style. Take, for example, the nuggets of wisdom in the following list.  All of these things are as true today as they were 2, 5, and in some  cases even 10 or 20 years ago.

  Below, we give you the best pieces of computing advice we've ever heard.  Have we left anything out? Share your suggestions in the comments  section of this article.

 When in doubt, punch out

  If something isn't working on your PC, don't wring your hands and yell  at the screen. Just restart the system. That simple act alone will fix  many of the problems you may be experiencing. When your PC restarts, it  clears out all the temporary files in the RAM and relaunches the  operating system. This wipes away any files that may have been giving  your PC fits—and the operating system starts fresh and unfettered by  whatever was affecting it. If you want to do these things without  restarting, click Start, then Run, and type

Code Select Expand

%temp% into the command line.

 Expect your battery to let you down

   It's simply Murphy's Law: Your laptop or tablet will poop out the moment  you need it most. That is life. Always bring your power cables with you  on the road, and if possible invest in backup and secondary battery options.

 Crowdsource your troubleshooting

  Chances are, the help resources at your device manufacturer's website  won't address your exact headache, but if you type an error message or  problem you're having into Google, you'll inevitably find helpful  information from poor souls who have encountered the very same issue.

 Back everything up

  Never get caught with just one copy of anything that you want to keep.  Always back up your data, and then back up your backups. Consider  backing up both to an external drive and to a cloud storage service.  It's a good idea to keep separate system and data partitions—back up  your data partition daily, and back up your system partition (Windows as  well as your installed programs) at least quarterly.

 Remember that thumb drives are your friends

   It's very easy to lose track of the recovery discs that come with a new  PC, so keep a USB drive with recovery software on it in case something  goes wrong. Store it away in a safe, easy-to-remember place. And in that  same safe place, keep both electronic and print copies of all your  software keys.

 Look to last year's model for a better value

  Tech manufacturers always charge a premium for the latest and greatest  hardware—and typically you don't really need the world's fastest  processor, graphics card, or I/O technology. So do yourself a favor and  consider buying hardware that was best-in-class during a previous  manufacturing cycle. It will likely be heavily marked down, but still  wholly capable and packed with performance.

 Skip the extended warranty

  Don't be a sap. Extended warranties are designed to prey on your fear  that the hardware you just purchased is already on its death bed. From a  return-on-investment perspective, extended warranties almost never pay  off—except for the companies that sell them.

 Read the manual

   You might be surprised at what you can learn by reading user manuals.  It's natural to just jump right in and begin doing the things you expect  a device or application to do, but I've found that by reading the  manual I can learn about features and functions I didn't know existed.  Reading the manual can increase the benefit you derive from your device,  and make you feel a whole lot better about buying it.

 Consider the total cost of ownership

  This maxim mostly applies to purchases of printers and subsidized  phones. If you intend to do a lot of printing, pay close attention to  the cost and efficiency of consumables, namely the ink or toner. And if  you're investing in a new smartphone plan, consider what you'll be  paying month to month...to month...to month...

 Resist the urge to impulse-shop

  A tech geek is never more dangerous than when perusing the aisles of a  brick-and-mortar hardware store. If you absolutely must purchase a new  toy in person, make sure to do your research beforehand. Don't be swayed  by the razzle-dazzle of salespeople, and arm yourself with deep product  knowledge before you enter a store. Also, always ask the retailer to  match lower Internet pricing, if you can find it. (You'll want to bring  your smartphone with you.)

 Keyboard shortcuts: Use them, love them, live them

   You can work far faster (and look way cooler) by mastering keyboard  shortcuts for the programs, services, and operating systems you use  every day. To learn these shortcuts, check out PCWorld's numerous  articles containing keyboard shortcuts for every major OS and many  popular applications. Get started with Windows 7 shortcuts.

 Build your own

  In many cases, building your own PC can be a less expensive proposition  than buying a prefab system—and even when it isn't cheaper, building  your own ensures that you get the precise configuration that fits your  needs (this is especially true for gaming PCs). PCWorld frequently  publishes building guides, so you'll never be able to claim we never showed you how!

PC World's Interactive "How to Build a PC" - YouTube

Keep your software up-to-date

  The message windows reminding you to update your software can get  annoying, but it's a good idea to stop what you're doing and click the  'Update now' button. You'll get the all the functionality the software  has to offer, and you'll also obtain vital security patches that can  protect your system from software crashes and data loss.

 Use an ergonomic keyboard and mouse tray

  You might not realize how much time you spend at your desk. Hours can  fly by when you're "in the zone," and those hours of typing and mousing  add up. Carpal-tunnel syndrome and other repetitive-stress injuries are a  real risk for the information workers of today, and they can cost you  dearly in pain and missed work. A small investment in adjustable,  ergonomic keyboard and mouse trays, coupled with some research on  correct positioning, can save you a lot of trouble.

 Encrypt sensitive stuff

   Encrypt any file you wouldn't want to share with a thief, including email. My program of choice: TrueCrypt. But don't bother to encrypt the entire drive. Just create a TrueCrypt volume and keep your sensitive files there.

 Label your power bricks

  Every time you buy a new device, you wind up with a new power adapter.  They collect under desks, behind PCs, and in boxes in the closet. It's  almost as if they're breeding. It's easy to lose track of which one goes  to which device, and it's possible to harm your gear by using the wrong  power cable. So the first thing you should do after buying new gear is  to label the power brick, permanently pairing it with the right device.

 Hide those cables

  The tangled mess of cables and wires under your desk will only get worse  and worse—and you won't realize how much it bugs you until you finally  clean it all up. You can bundle groups of wires by running them through  toilet paper tubes, or binding them with pipe cleaners or small bands of  velcro, and then use binder clips to tie the bundled wires to the  underside of your desk, or any place where they're out of sight.

 Stay wired when you want to connect

  Wired ethernet will always be faster and more reliable than wireless  networking. If you regularly do something (for work or play) on your  home computer that relies on a constant Web connection, you may be  better off using a wired internet connection. Wired connections are  capable of far faster data speeds and are simply not subject to the many  factors that can disrupt a wireless connection.  

 Put your router in the middle

  Position your wireless router as close as you can to the center of your  home. This action can help ensure that all the wireless devices in your  home are within range of the access point. You'll also find that the  signals coming from your router are more likely to reach their  destination if the antenna is elevated off the floor a few feet.

 Stop thieves

   People store gigabytes of vital information on their portable devices,  yet they rarely think about protecting their devices from theft. One of  the best things you can do is to install a GPS-enabled antitheft program  on your laptop, tablet, or phone. If your device goes missing, the  software will lock the OS, report the device's location to you via GPS,  and in some cases even capture and send some photos of the thief.

 Investigate crashes

  If your PC seems to crash frequently, the Windows Reliability Monitor (Control Panel > System and Security > Action Center > Reliability Monitor)  can help isolate the cause. The utility keeps track of all hardware and  software crashes and warnings, organizing them by date. By clicking on  one, you can see the full details of what happened.

 For gamers: Update your drivers

  Confirm whether you have the latest drivers for your PC's graphics and  sound hardware. Game developers create their titles using the latest  features and functionality in graphics cards. If you're using older  drivers, your graphics card might not be up to the task of rendering the  game properly on screen.

 Take a screenshot

 Save a screenshot (or snap a photo and save it to Evernote)  of every weird problem or crash you see. Having an image can help  immensely if the problem becomes chronic and you need assistance in  fixing it.

 Use two-factor authentication

  Two-factor authentication simply means that logging in to a given  service requires two separate forms of authentication: something you  know (such as a password) and something you own, typically your  smartphone. For example, you can enable two-factor authentication for  your Gmail account. Doing so will require you to have your smartphone  nearby every time you try to log in to your account so that the service  can send you a unique alphanumeric code via SMS, but the arrangement  makes it much more difficult for hackers to break into your account.

 Change your router's default SSID

   The easiest thing you can do to improve the security of your wireless  network is to change both the login and the password for your router to  unique alphanumeric phrases that only you know. Since finding the  default login and password for almost every router on the market is  child's play online, leaving your router at the defaults allows anyone  to gain access to the wireless network in your home or small business.

 Shun 'Free Public Wi-Fi'

 The 'Free Public Wi-Fi' network you might see listed on  your Windows PC when you're in various public places is the result of an  old Windows XP bug that causes the OS to set up an ad hoc data-sharing  network for connected PCs if it can't connect to a trusted wireless  network automatically.

  Connecting to this type of device-to-device ad hoc network rarely poses  any immediate danger, but it won't get you onto the Web, either. And  malicious users could spy on the connection and steal valuable information from you.

 Say no to cookies

  Enable the Do Not Track feature  on your browser. This feature will send a message to the websites you  visit that it is not okay for them to install cookies in your browser  that will record your movements around the Web. Unless you want that to  happen, of course.

 The best tip of all: Take a break

   Every so often, take an electronic sabbatical. Go 24 hours without  looking at a screen. It's good for your eyes, and it reduces the chance  of burnout. It also reminds you of how powerful personal computers of  all shapes and sizes have become—and that thought alone might make  everyone a little more tolerant and patient when problems arise.