Quick PC Tips from an IT Manager

byCpool

107 followers

Updated 6 years ago

Quick PC Tips from an IT Manager

Good Morning WA! I just wanted to throw out some quick tips on how to keep the tools of our trade running in tip-top shape so when you are working on your site that you will not have silly computer maintenance or a slow computer get in your way of making your business. We are so focused on creating great content, SEO, etc we often forget to take care of what gets us there. Let's do it!

• Picking a PC: On the move or stay at home? If you are a traveler get a laptop, if you do your computer work at home get a desktop. PC or MAC? Just pick your flavor you like. To keep a budget I choose PC and I also can replace parts easily. Brand of PC? I do not worry too much about this, pick a brand you know like Dell, Lenovo or Acer. If you are doing basic office work go for an I5 processor and 8 gigs of RAM. If you are using Adobe products for design or want to also game on your computer go for a larger processor and more RAM. I like 256 SSD (Solid State Drive). No moving parts and quick! Hard Drive Space? Space is cheap now. I would not worry about this too much about internal space. A 1 TB external is cheap and there are plenty of places to save your data in the cloud. (One Drive or Google Drive). Remember, do not let anyone where ever you are buying your computer call it an investment, it's an expense. Computers are perishable items that last 3 to 5 years before they break or just are out-of-date. Do not break the bank unless you are buying a machine for design work or gaming.
• Protecting your PC, ANTIVIRUS: This is essential. We do much of our work online and there is literally an army of people out there that want your info and money. Windows Defender comes with Windows. It is okay but could be better. Get anyone of the big brand anti-virus softwares out there. I personally use Webroot. Do not want to pay for one? Keep Windows Defender running and download the free version of CCleaner and Malware bytes. Their free versions work really well. Yes ads will pop up for the free versions built I would rather have that then be infected.
• Updating your PC: Keep your computer updated, plain and simple. I have my updates running in the middle of the night so I am not waiting 2 hours right when I want to work. Yes this means I keep my computer on in the middle of the night. Many people like to shut their computer totally down which is not a bad thing, but at least a few nights a week keep it on through the night.
• Internet Browsers: Some buttons not working on Internet Explorer? Acting funny? Download Chrome or another browser. Some websites do not jive well with Internet Explorer and some do. If you go to Ninite (google it) you can download all these freebies safely without adding in a bunch of junk you do not want in a few clicks. (To include Malware Bytes and many more.)
• Back up your Data: Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. I can not say it enough. If you are trusting your computer to be alive forever and not suddenly get a blue screen of death you are setting yourself up for a really bad day. All of that work and precious pictures or whatever you hold sacred back it up to an external hard drive or One Drive, Google Drive, anywhere not just on your computer. Is your computer new? Do not trust it. I have seen computers months old go down. It takes one bad update or bad virus and it is all gone. Save your data somewhere else than just your computer.
• Get rid of old versions of Windows: Still using Windows 7 or older? Time to give it up. I know many of you do not like change. I do not either. The fact is Windows and any software puts all their time bettering the newest product on the market they have. Go to Windows 10. If you have a license for Windows 7 you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free (google Windows 10 media creation tool). All of your data will still be there as long as you do not tell it to delete it. Time to keep with the times. Your life will be easier when you go to the current version.
• Do not click on or download anything that you do not know what it is: Do not open up emails or attachments if you do not completely know what they are. Is Office 365 saying you have to update your password now? READ WHERE THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS COMING FROM. In fact do not ever click their handy link that is in the email. If you are worried just go directly the Office 365 (for example) and look there. Block spam emails and double delete (delete them and delete them from your trash). Do not click on pop up spam telling you that your computer in infected. If you do not know what it is, leave it alone.
• Another email scammer tip: Someone telling you that they have all your passwords, pictures, and browsing history and if you do not send them a Bit Coin they will send it out to the world? They don't. Do not fall for it. Those guys are tricky. Block that email and delete it. Or even better report them. These people take advantage of people all the time in many ways. Do not fund these people and fall for it.
• Last tip for now, computer running slow?: This happens. Clean up that PC. Windows can help you in troubleshooting. CCleaner does a great job. Defragmenting in the middle of the night is great. Restart the computer daily. If your computer is too old...well it's just slow. Get rid of programs running in the background if you are not using them. If you do everything and it is still just slow it might be time to restore or reset the PC. Do this if you have all of your data and software backed up! If I am trying to speed up a computer that needs a major over haul sometimes I use a program called Tron Batch. If you google it you can find the link in Reddit. This is intense and takes a little know how and will take a long time but works great and it is safe and free. Read the directions if you find this! I can get more into that in another post.

Well I was trying to be quick! I will expand more in future posts about these subjects. Thanks for reading WA! If you have any questions feel free to comment. Thank you!