Care and Feeding of the Home Computer

Herman Jackson

August 1, 2004

Rev 10-24-2006

Most computer users are well aware that computers require regular maintenance in order to operate properly. But, most users are not certain of just what they should do to keep their computer operating without disastrous occurrences such as hard disk failures and virus infections. This document is designed to serve as a roadmap for the user who is not a computer nerd, but wants to avoid problems.

Preventing File Loss

With increased use the value of files stored on a computer becomes the most valuable part of the machine. Preventing loss of files is simple – back up the data. But when should you do a backup? The answer is simple – whenever you have accumulated enough new data files that you would really be upset if they were lost.

For most computer owners the logical backup medium is the CD. CDs are the most stable of the commonly available media, and are both inexpensive and easy to create. Flash memory cards are an excellent medium for daily, weekly, or even monthly backups. These devices connect through a USB port and are known by a variety of names including USB Drive, Pen Drive, and Flash Drive. These drives are invulnerable to most of the common hazards with the exception that their contents can be erased by a strong magnetic field. Floppy disks can be used for short-term backup of individual files, but floppy disks are inherently unstable. Tests show that floppy disks go bad within about three years on average even if they are simply being stored, so they are not a good choice for long-term backup.

A good practice is to back up any important file as soon as it is finished and to backup less important files regularly – a weekly backup is probably adequate for most users. Really important files that may take several days to create present a special problem. Should you wait until the 30-page term paper or company report is finished before making a backup? Certainly not! If you backup to a CD it is simple to create a folder on the desktop, copy everything to be backed up to the folder, and copy the folder to the CD. If you name the folder with the current date then there will never be any question about the date of the backup. Using this procedure, most of us can get several weeks of backups on a single CD. If the CD is labeled with the date of the first and last backup done on it there should be little difficulty in finding any particular file. I also find it helpful for students to make a CD backup each semester containing all school-related files created that semester.

Speed up Disk Access

The slowest component of a computer is usually the hard disk, and with usage they get slower for two reasons. As available hard drive space decreases the Operating System becomes less efficient, and as files are modified they become fragmented and take more time to read from the hard drive.

As a disk fills the Operating System may not have enough “scratch space” for efficient operation. Files that can be deleted without harming your computer include Internet files and cookies cached on your hard drive and temporary files created by the Operating System. These are located in several places; however, Windows makes it easy to remove them. To delete temporary Internet files and cookies, in Internet Explorer select Tools, Internet Options, and click on the General tab. There you will find an option that removes these files.

To remove other files, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup. Select your hard drive, click OK, and wait for Windows to clean up after itself. If your computer has multiple users you may need to run Disk Cleanup for each user. Alternatively, you can delete Internet files for each individual user and then run Disk Cleanup a single time.

When a file is saved to the hard disk, the Operating System puts it in the first available space. If the space is too small the file will be broken into two parts or fragments. If the space is too large the file is stored and the small leftover space will be used to store the first part of the next file saved. As files are modified they inevitably become fragmented, and because each file fragment must be located before it can be read this slows down the hard drive.

After deleting cookies and temporary Internet files, and running Disk Cleanup you are ready to defrag the drive. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter. Click on Defragment and wait while the disk drive is analyzed then defragged.

How often should you do a disk cleanup and defrag? It all depends on how and how much you use your computer and how it is used. For most users once a month is probably about right. If there seems to be little to do in the way of cleanup and defragging at the end of the second month, try a two-month cycle. If there is too much, try a two-week cycle.

Creating Users

Most computer owners have a single login or none at all. I recommend that you set up your computer with a login for (1) administrator, (2) admin2 (I’ll explain), and (3) login names for each actual user. Admin2 is a user who has full administrative rights. Use this login for routine administrative operations such as adding or deleting users, loading software, etc. Administrator is the actual administrator of the computer, and you’ll very seldom use this login. In fact, I restrict use of this login to situations in which a virus or other malevolent software agent is interfering with the computer when I log in as admin2. Finally, each user should have his/her own login name and password.

Each of these should have different passwords, and every password should be (1) robust and (2) changed regularly. A good password contains both uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and one or more special characters. Using more different types of characters for a password makes it harder for a hacker to guess the password and hack into your computer. Never give your password to anyone you do not trust completely with your computer. If someone does learn your password, change it immediately. If your computer has been successfully hacked it is a good idea to change all passwords while disconnected from the Internet. If your Operating System has a default minimum time for changing the password, that is probably often enough. For example, Windows 2000 installs with a default of 42 days, and I use that value though it is possible to change it.

Updating the Operating System

Microsoft regularly posts updates to the Operating System on its website. At their website (rosoft.com) select Windows Update and Scan for Updates. If you are not using the latest updates you may find that your antivirus software does not perform adequately.

How often should you check for updates? My recommendation is that you enable automatic updates. If you do not want to do this, I recommend that you check whenever a new “virus scare” arises, but at least once every week.

Preventing Intrusion

When you are connected to the Internet your computer is visible to the world; and to anyone capable of hacking into it, it is just another Internet server. For this reason it is imperative that you use a firewall to prevent others from entering your computer from the Internet. There are several free firewalls available for personal use including ZoneAlarm, Sygate Personal Firewall, Tiny Personal Firewall, and Agnitum’s Outpost Firewall. These are all easy to install and configure. I use ZoneAlarm and have found it to be both easy to use and adequate for my purposes.

You probably will find that the firewall will automatically check for updates. If it does not, you probably should check manually at least once per month.

Protecting Against Viruses and Other Malware

The generic term “antivirus software” is used to designate software that finds and destroys various types of malware including viruses, worms, and Trojans. The two best-known vendors of this type of software are Symantec (Norton) and Network Associates (McAfee), but there are dozens of other manufacturers of antivirus software. One of the oldest products of this type is PC-cillin, and its manufacturer, Trend Micro, offers a free online scan. Many computer security experts recommend PC-cillin.

After you have chosen an antivirus package and installed it, set it up to automatically look for updates. Viruses are recognized primarily by comparing the pattern of 1s and 0s in their code with a catalog of known virus signatures, much like criminals are identified by their fingerprints or DNA. Because net malware appears on a daily basis, to be effective your antivirus software must be kept up to date.

If you leave your computer running 24-7, as many users do, I recommend that you schedule a full system scan daily at a time when you are least likely to be using it. Otherwise, make time to run a full system scan at least once each week. Because some viruses load copies of themselves in memory whenever a contaminated program is run, it is best to do the system scan immediately after booting up the computer.

Configure the software to scan all incoming data, whether from the Internet, a CD, or a floppy disk. Though you are most likely to get an infection from the Internet, check all data.

Protecting Against Spyware

Spyware is a relatively new type of malware. In its simplest form, spyware is an Internet cookie that stores information about your use of the Internet and makes this information available to the site where it originated. In its more virulent forms, spyware can spy on your activities and communicate with the computer where it originated. Because the potential for mischief is so great with spyware, it has recently become a major concern to computer users.

Reviews of several of the most popular anti-spyware packages is available at arereport.co m /mt/archives/000004.html (also at i-spyware-review.toptenreviews.com/). Of the ten packages reviewed, SpyBot is the only one that is free. It is easy to configure, and I use it on my office and home computers. The top-rated product is Aluria Spyware Eliminator, priced at $29.99 with lifetime updates. Ad-Aware, another anti-spyware package that is free to home users, was not rated on this web page but is highly recommended by users and computer security authorities that I have talked to.

Major anti-virus vendors include spyware either as an integral part of their software package or as an add on. These products should work properly with the antivirus software, and this may be the best solution for most users.

Now that you know what spyware is, the question arises: “Do you have spyware on your computer?” If you don’t have software designed to protect against it the answer is “YES!” If you do have antispyware software the answer is “Probably.”

Stopping Popups

Popups are those annoying windows that pop up when you access certain web sites. Popups are in themselves not dangerous, but they are annoying, and most of us would like to eliminate them altogether.

Several approaches are available for blocking popups. These include browsers that block them, toolbars that attach to your browser and block popups, and programs that do not appear on the screen but behind the scenes intercept and block popups. Reviews of 116 different products are available at up-killer-review.com/.

The Google toolbar works well with Internet Explorer, blocking most popups and giving instant access to a Google search box.

Choosing A Browser

When Windows was installed Microsoft’s browser, Internet Explorer, was also installed. However, hackers and the creators of malware commonly focus on damaging computers running Windows and they commonly target Internet Explorer as the way to get into your computer. For this reason a browser that is entirely different from Internet Explorer will be less vulnerable to attack. I recommend the Mozilla browser or it’s smaller cousin FireFox. Both of these are available for free download from the Internet.