Virus Protection and Prevention

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. The original may modify the copies or the copies may modify themselves, as occurs in a metamorphic virus. A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or carrying it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, USB drive or by the Internet. Additionally, viruses can spread to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan Worms. A worm can spread itself to other computers without needing to be transferred as part of a host, and a Trojan Worm is a file that appears harmless until executed.

Many personal computers are now connected to the Internet and to local area networks, facilitating the spread of malicious code. Today's viruses may also take advantage of network services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, and file sharing systems to spread, blurring the line between viruses and worms. Furthermore, some sources use an alternative terminology in which a virus is any form of self replicating malware.

Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do any damage, but simply replicate themselves and perhaps make their presence known by presenting text, video, or audio messages. Even these benign viruses can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden, and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.

A computer virus can do extensive damage. It can crash your hard disk. It can destroy all or some of your data. Many viruses do weird little things that adversely affect your computer. The most usual symptom of a computer virus is erratic behavior. The destruction can happen at any rate of speed and can affect almost any part of the computer. Viruses can spread quickly through today's intricate cyber world. If your computer starts to act a little weird, the first thing to do is to check for a virus.

If you are smart, you will stop viruses before they enter your computer. You can do this by purchasing a good virus protection program. Such a program will check all files for viruses. Once installed, an antivirus program can be set to work in the background. It will check all files before they enter your computer and will alert you if a virus is detected before it contaminates your system. If a virus is detected, your antivirus program will quarantine or eliminate it so that it cannot harm your computer.

Be very careful to purchase a virus protection program that matches your operating system. If you use a Mac, buy a virus protection program made especially for Macintosh computers. If you use Windows 98 or Me or XP, select a program that was written specifically for your operating system. Don't try to use a virus protection program that was written for Windows 95 on a Windows XP machine; this will really mess up your computer.

Cleaning Monitor and Scanner

Cleaning monitor and scanner. Even some household glass cleaners which you might think could be trusted, can scratch the glass in your monitor or flatbed scanner when used with a rag or paper towel. With a scanner, small scratches can mean real trouble because a scratch can easily show up in your images at higher resolutions. Therefore, you should use only a dry, soft photographer's lens cloth which won't scratch or lens cloths with alcohol that are made specifically for monitors and scanners.

Never spray liquids onto a flatbed scanner. If liquid gets under the glass and into the body of the scanner, you could end up with condensation on the inside of the scanner when you use it. Again, a dry, photographer's lens cloth is a good choice. Or moistened lens cloths, which don't carry enough alcohol to do any harm.

Computer Monitors should never be opened. Never take the cover off any type of monitor, even if it needs cleaning. Why? Your PC's monitor is one of the two components of your system that carry enough voltage to seriously hurt you. If your computer monitor needs to be serviced or cleaned on the inside, take it to your local computer shop.

Use a cover for your scanner. Scanners are somewhat different from most external peripherals. They don't generate any heat while they are on, and most of us only use a scanner once or twice a week. Therefore, your scanner is a perfect candidate for a cover that will keep it clean. And, by no small coincidence, you'll find such covers at your local office supply store.

Ways to Increase Laptop Battery Life

While laptop, notebook and netbook chips have become better and better at saving power, other changes, like more powerful laptop graphics cards, faster hard drives, and Windows Vista, have erased many of those gains.

So you will need to take it upon yourself to improve your laptop's battery life if you really want to go the extra mile. And while that can be a confusing and tricky process, this blog post offers some helpful advice so you don't have to go it alone. Here are the ones that will really impact your battery the most.

Add more RAM. More RAM means the computer will access the hard drive less frequently, and the hard drive uses much more power than your RAM sticks.

Dim your screen. Those big, ultra bright displays really suck down the power. Dimming your screen just 20 percent can add a good chunk of time to your battery life.

Unplug external devices. Anything plugged in via USB, FireWire, or PC Card, Express Card draws power from your computer. Yes, even your mouse. And of course, turn off your Wi-Fi radio when you do not need it.

Minimize CD/DVD use. Optical drives are probably the worst offender on your notebook when it comes to battery use. Unless you're watching a movie, don't even leave a disc in the optical drive, as Windows loves to occasionally read it, just to check on things.

Do not forget about the Power Options Control Panel in Windows, which will let you manage hard drive auto spin down, screen brightness, and other settings in one central location.

Ways To Speed Up Computer

Ways to Speed Your Computer:

Defragment your hard drive
Scan your hard disk
Scan for viruses or virus scan
Check for spyware and adware
Uninstall unneeded program
Adjust visual effect for better performance
Stop program from starting on windows boot

How To Improve Computer Security

How to improve computer security:

Knowing what data and processes need to be protected.

Recognising the threats, judging possible impacts.

Calculating the risks and deciding what risks are acceptable.

Counter measures:

Developing a strategy to reduce the risk to an acceptable level, then implement, test and tune the strategy.

Keep it simple. If security is very complicated, it is unlikely to be effective and likely to be expensive.

Keep it coherent. It is better to have a minimum, coherent level of security than some systems highly protected and other dependant systems wide open.

Keep to standards if possible, it will make choosing and evaluating systems easier and will allow easier definition of inter company standards.

Create a Fast Shut Down Shortcut

Now I will help you create a fast shut down shortcut on the desktop. Right click the desktop, from the context menu select new shortcut. Then, in the "Type location" text box place the following line %windir%\system32\shutdown.exe -s -f -t 0

The following explanation:
-s stands for shut down the local computer
-f stands for Force running applications to close
-t sets the timer for system shutdown in seconds,
the default is 20 seconds. By setting it to 0 (zero) your system will shutdown a bit faster.