It's Cyber February at MHCC
While periodic computer maintenance is imporant, we often get so busy that we forget. Here is a handy checklist of things you should be doing to your computer this month (if not more often).
Things you can do now
- Change your passwords. Recent articles have shown that most people not only never change their passwords, but often leave the default passwords.
- Run Disk Cleaner. Always a good idea to clear out any unused space on your disk. You can find this on your Windows machine at Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools
- Run Disk Defragment. When files change, they leave dead zones on your disk. Reorganizing not only clears the dead zones, but also makes your file access run faster.
- Check for any Windows Updates and install them. Go to Start > Programs > Windows Updates and see if there are any updates or patches necessary for your computer. These are important because problems, holes, and vulnerabilities and "often" solved by patching. It's a good idea to keep your patches up-to-date.
- Run a Registery Cleaner. Downloading and installing applications on your computer changes your registery. If you delete the apps, the registery may still reflect their installation. Reg Cleaners help your machine run faster.
- Backup your hard drive. There are many solutions for doing backup from external drives to "the cloud". Whichever solution you choose, BACK UP. Typically, make sure to back up your Documents, Pictures, and Music folders. More if you do more.
- Backup any flashdrives you regularly use. Flash drives should also be backed up frequently. It is a good idea to keep an special folder on your desktop into which you copy your flash on a regular basis. Also good for protecting homework assignments.
- Clean your computer. It is amazing how much Cheetoe dust you will find in a keyboard or cat hair inside of a tower. We recommend that you use compressed air to clean your keyboard and glasses cleaner on your monitor screen. A quick vacuum of the inside of your towers is appropriate. Just be careful when inside that you do not accidently disconnect a line or vacuum your RAM (that would be bad).
- Clean up and online sites you use. If you are storing information on the cloud, it is a good idea to review your data and get rid of unused files.
- Clear your browsers. Especially if you do online transactions such as banking or shopping, you will want to make sure to clear your browsing history and your cookies. Also, your browser will give you the option of clearing stored information such as passwords and autofills. Clear these out as well. You will refill these with your new passwords anyway.
Happy computing.
be | security minded