Viruses, Malware, and Dust

Virus and Adware/Malware Check

Most computers today connect to the internet. And a good portion of them are always connected to the internet. Those factors dramatically increase the potential for viruses and adware/malware to wreak havoc on your computer.

The first step in dealing with this is, of course, exercising good computer practices. The second is running certain programs that can catch this stuff and deal with it once it has crept onto your system. For the latter you need two things. The first is a good anti-virus program. The best on the market for the past couple of years have widely considered to be from McAfee and Norton. Both of the companies now also provide anti-spyware solutions as well. Unfortunately though, they do cost money. But is it worth it? Absolutely. For adware/malware problems, there's a program from Lavasoft called Ad-Aware that can be downloaded from the internet. The great thing about this program is that even though the commercial version costs money, they offer a personal version for free that is still extremely powerful.

On a final note about these software solutions remember this : Just like the alarm system on your house, they don't work if you're not using them regularly. And ignorance is no excuse. Most of these programs take little or no setup to get them up and running so you can't use that as a reason not to give them a whirl either.

Clear the Dust!

Aside from the things that can eat your computer alive from the software side, the arch nemesis of your computer is heat. When heat increases in your computer, it stops running fast and efficiently so you obviously want to do everything you can to keep it cool. One of the things that you can and should do often is cleaning your box of dust....And we're not talking about the dust on the outside, where you can see it...You need to clear it from the inside. When dust builds up in your computer, it impedes the natural flow of air that's needed to keep your computer cool, which is why you have to clean it out from time to time.

What you'll need to do is to first turn off your computer and disconnect the power cord from it. Then open up the case which is usually accomplished by removing the screws that hold it together. Once inside, you need to remove all the dust you can from every inch of your computer. The best way to do this would of course involve you removing every component from your computer to make sure no speck of dust could linger or hide, but the reality is, you're probably not going to take the time to do that. Instead, you'll want to purchase an Air Duster. It looks just like a can of spray paint except it blows compressed air through a long little straw. You can use that to get everywhere in your computer. And you can get these handy dandy Air Dusters at any store that sells computer or office equipment such as CompUSA, Office Depot, and of course online.

And with that, you're well on your way to computer health...Or rather your computer is. Remember, caring for your computer not only keeps it running great, but it keeps it running great for longer. (Saving you a trip to a computer repairman).

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