Written By: Patrick Grote
Date: July 30, 2003 (Previously Published)
Section: Hints and Tips

Isn't it odd that the internet used to be all about information and access and now it's about revenue generation and advertising placements? Look no further than here for a free guide to improving your PC.

DEFRAG FOR HEALTH

In the new era of 20 gigabyte and larger drives, defragmenting becomes extremely important. Your PC writes information to the hard drives in the zaniest ways you can imagine. Instead of keeping things together and in order, it will look for any free space, start writing and if it runs out of space it will write the next fragment of data onto another space and so on. This leads to delays in loading your software and even data corruption if the fragmentation becomes too extensive.

Microsoft includes utilities to defragment your hard drives. Under most systems you should look under START/PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/SYSTEM TOOLS and then select DISK DEFRAGMENTER.

When you run DISK DEFRAGMENTER make sure you do the following. You need to do these things to ensure data is not written to your hard drive during the defrgamentation process:

Close all running programs. Close all programs running in the system tray. Disable your screen saver.

Also, ensure you check the CHECK DRIVER FOR ERRORS option under settings. This runs the SCANDISK utility on your hard drive to ensure errors are corrected. For 99.9% of us the Microsoft supplied tools will do the trick.

DON'T CATCH THE VIRUS

Viruses, worms, trojans ... they're out there, waiting to infect your system! They come from e-mail, websites and programs and are designed to do one thing - be a pain in the rear.

Nasty script worms can infiltrate your system to the point where you have to rebuild it. For those without a significant amount of PC knowledge this can be expensive and confusing.

If you're running an anti-virus program, good for you! If you're not, run to GRISoft's website and get their excellent, free AVG AntiVirus product. For a simple registration this program can be yours.

Once your anti-virus program is in place make darn sure you do the following:

1. Set the auto update feature of the program to check for program updates and new virus definition files once a week. A virus definition file is used by the anti-virus program to detect new viruses. Think of it as a doctor who refers to medical texts to diagnose a disease. Without knowing what it looks like she can't find it. The same thing occurs with the anti-virus software. If it doesn't know what it's looking for it can't find it.

2. Scan all operating system files once a week. You can set your anti- virus software to do it automatically. Program files include EXE, DLL, COM and other files your PC needs to run programs.

3. Scan all files on your computer at least once a month automatically. Sometimes viruses find ways into your system that aren't obvious. Regularly checking all files ensures viruses aren't hiding on your system. One thing many people forget about is scanning compressed files. ZIP files are among the most popular compressed files and you should ensure your anti-virus software is checking them.

4. Turn on real time scanning. This goes by many names, but the gist of it is to ensure your anti-virus program is running in your system tray and checking each and every file coming into your PC, including e- mail.

GET RID OF STRAGGLERS

Ah, the never ending hard drive. Yes, we live in a time when hard drive space is sky rocketing. Can you believe that a 5 megabyte drive (that's megabyte not gigabyte) used to cost $2500? I remember those days and even when I bought a new 60 gigabyte drive I still pruned my files.

Pruned? It's a good word and you need to go through your drive and delete those old files you don't use. Maybe it's the experimental photo album from the digital camera. Maybe it's the remixes you did and never completed in WAV format. Whatever old files you have on your system should deleted.

"I was with him on the first three suggestions, but this one is just asinine. I have over (enter number here) gigabytes free."

Ah yes you do, Grasshopper. But, here are the top three reasons to be a good housekeeper of your hard dive:

1. Fewer files mean quicker backups. More on this later.
2. Find what you need easily. Too many files and you start to get lost.
3. Global warming. The extra power your hard drive needs will just kill the atmosphere.

OK, #3 is a joke. Cleaning your hard drive makes backups easier and makes your life easier because you can find what you're looking for.
"JUST RESTORE FROM BACKUP"

Heaven help you if this is the answer to your PC woes. If you're like 99% of the computer users you never back up your PC let alone your important data.

Backups are critical, ensuring that you're able to continue your happy PC adventure if your system dies. Backups also make it easier to upgrade your PC and recovering from a virus attack.

Rather than launch into a how & why diatribe, let's point you to the best reference about backups I have found on the Internet.

The author, Fred Langa, is a former Windows Magazine columnist and a great guy. The bottom line is to backup your data files to prevent heartache and heartburn in the future.

OPEN THE PIPES

If you're happy with dial-up service or you don't have the financial means to spend $30.00 a month on your PC, then skip this section and the next section.

If you're still with me, it's time to get broadband. You need it and you need it now. The Internet becomes more than just a nice place to visit when you get broadband. It becomes a very useful tool and a much more engaging experience.

Broadband is a connection to the Internet which allows you to increase your access speeds by at least a factor of 10. What used to take you ten minutes to download only takes one and the sites that seem pokey to you now will literally appear on your screen in the blink of an eye.

Right now there are two mainstream choices for faster internet access. Cable and DSL. Cable is provided by the same cable company that brings you television into your home. DSL is brought to you by your phone company and runs on the same lines as your telephone connection.

They are both fast, but cable modems can be faster. They are both reliable, but DSL can be more reliable.

The biggest knock on cable modems is that you share your Internet connection with the other people in your neighborhood. You are all on the same local network, so if your neighbors decide to download the latest music videos you could see a performance hit.

The biggest knock on DSL is installation and support. The federal government has decided to help us out by ensuring that the folks that provide you DSL are not the same ones who support it. You can see what is coming can't you? One hand never knows what the other is doing. This leads to a dizzying amount of back and forth and a very frustrating experience can right around the corner.

The best article I have come across that discusses cable modems vs. DSL is at the cNet site.

After you get your connection you'll need some support. Check out Broadband Reports.

STOP THE ARMIES FROM ADVANCING

Now that you have made the plunge into broadband you're going to notice that many, many, many people will warn you about the individuals who will try to get into your system. Unlike some other hype you read, this problem is real.

When you use a broadband connection people will try to access your system. Don't fret; they aren't after you personally. More than likely you were the next IP address they chose to scan for vulnerabilities.

"Vulnerabilities? You mean I have them?"

Oh yeah. All Microsoft operating systems do. New ones are discovered about once a week and you need to ensure you're protected. Protection comes in the form of a firewall - special software which acts as a buffer between your PC and the Internet. It looks at all the requests and data coming through your Internet connection and ensures they are valid and not someone trying to do something sneaky. The best personal firewall, ZoneAlarm, is also free! You can grab Zone Alarm here for free.

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