Tips

Have a broadband internet connection?  If your computer has an ‘Internet IP Address’ rather than a ‘Natted IP Address’ your PC is directly exposed to hackers.  You need a broadband router between your PC and the broadband modem.  Install a wireless broadband router and add wireless functionality to your home or office network!

Turn off the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in XP.  Right click on an open area of your desktop, choose Properties from the context sensitive menu, select the Desktop tab from the Display Properties dialog box, click the Customize Desktop button, uncheck Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days, click OK, and click OK again.

There are good security softwares available free for home users.  Visit free.avg.com or www.microsoft.com/security_essentials for free antivirus software. Also visit superantispyware.com, malwarebytes.org, and safer-networking.org to obtain excellent anti-malware software.

Want to bring your internet connection to a remote part of your home or office but running a network cable from your router is not a good option? Try using a pair of Powerline Adapters!  Netgear and Linksys are two vendors who make these items, just buy a boxed pair of the devices.  Plug one into a wall outlet near your router and connect a network cable to your router or switch, then plug the other into a wall outlet near that remote area and connect a network cable from your PC/Laptop to the wall adapter and you should be network connected!  Linksys even sells a model that has multiple network connections at the remote end.  The newer versions reach speeds near standard ethernet networks.

If you install a wireless broadband router or wireless access point on your home or office network, be sure to configure some type of encryption or security on that wireless device. WEP is basic protection, WPA is more secure, MAC filtering is even stronger security but more difficult to administer. It is also a good idea to change the password on your device rather than leaving the default password. Read the directions on your device and you can do this yourself. If you have an outsider perform the installation or configuration make sure they provide you with written documentation about the configuration, it will come in handy when adding devices or making changes.

Beware of folks who provide overly simplistic statements when it comes to computers or networks. I typically quit listening when people tell me “all you have to do is…” Typically you are not getting the whole story. Technology changes fast, and believe me, I don’t have space to tell you how often I have to fill in the incomplete information provided by these types.  Often when it comes to IT there are multiple ways to reach goals. Spend some time checking these statements by searching the internet before spending your money.

Try to have all the memory in your computer that it will support. That information should be available from the manufacturer. They might even sell it to you (but you can usually get it cheaper elsewhere). Often you can just take your PC or laptop to a retailer and they can both sell and install the proper speed and amount of memory that your PC can support. If you have a 32bit Windows OS you will likely have a 3 Gigabyte limit, a 64bit Windows OS can address more, don’t let them sell you more than your motherboard and OS support though. The advantage of having them install and test the memory is it will be guaranteed to work, manufacturer limitations can complicate memory upgrades so if you aren’t highly technical get help with this. A memory upgrade provides the best bang for your buck when it comes to increasing system performance.