“Read Me! Diagnostics, Safety & Security Check”
Apr 18, 2009 - 01:38 PM
Diagnostics
* Is your computer running very slow?
Answer: Your system might need a tune-up.
* Is your computer displaying a lot of pop-ups while on or offline?
Answer: You might be infected with Adware.
* Is your computer crashing often whether you are online or offline?
Answer: Your computer might be infected with malware.
* Are you seeing programs installed on your computer you never seen before?
Answer: Your system could be infected with Spyware & Adware, some of those programs can introduce new programs without your knowledge.
* Is your desktop or laptop overheating quite often?
Answer: People never clean the inside of the system with compressed air as a result your system will over heat and you may end up with hardware failure.
* Is your computer making loud noises?
Answer: There are very limited amount of moving parts inside a computer but most likely those loud noises could be due to worn out fan bearings, defective Cd & DVD Rom drives and damage internal parts on a hard drive.
Safety
When was the last time you backed-up your data?
Answer: Keep a copy of important files on removable media such as ZIP disks or recordable CD-ROM disks (CD-R or CD-RW disks). Use software backup tools if available, and store the backup disks somewhere away from the computer. Many people find out the hard way how critical it is to back-up your valuable data.
Security
* Do you have a good Antivirus security software installed on your computer?
Answer: If you don’t have one how are you going to know you are infected, you risk your self at being exposed for malicious threats.
* Do you use a firewall?
Answer: We strongly recommend the use of some type of firewall product, such as a network appliance or a personal firewall software package. Intruders are constantly scanning home user systems for known vulnerabilities. Network firewalls (whether software or hardware-based) can provide some degree of protection against these attacks. However, no firewall can detect or stop all attacks, so it’s not sufficient to install a firewall and then ignore all other security measures.
* Is you wireless network at home or business secured or unsecured?
Answer: If you are connecting to an unsecured wireless network at your place, you are exposed to being hacked, your identity stolen and have your internet access at your place being used by neighbors or near by users who can connect with out your knowledge.
* Do you have insalled on your Pc Spyware and AdaAware tools to help you remove Spyware & Adaware threats?
Answer: Over 85% of the users who surf online are infected with Malware on their systems, installing and running Spyware & AdAware tools will help you remove those threats.
* Are you up to date with Microsoft Windows Updates & other applications?
Answer: Vendors will usually release patches for their software when a vulnerability has been discovered. Most product documentation offers a method to get updates and patches. You should be able to obtain updates from the vendor’s web site. Read the manuals or browse the vendor’s web site for more information.
Some applications will automatically check for available updates, and many vendors offer automatic notification of updates via a mailing list. Look on your vendor’s web site for information about automatic notification. If no mailing list or other automated notification mechanism is offered you may need to check periodically for updates.
There is a huge percentage of active users who’s systems are out of date on their Windows Updates. Applying the updates will resolve know problems, fix known issues reported by other users, it will make your system more reliable and secured.
