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Published in
The National on June 2, 2000
Maintaining your PC
In the past month,
Tok IT introduced the
computer, talked about its history and gave a bit of detail on what to look out
for when buying a computer. Now we look at maintaining the PC.
By Daniel Lam
Computers are machines. Like most machines, they
need to be taken care of (then again, so do many other things that are NOT
machines!).
Unfortunate though it may seem, computers may
perform what they are tasked to do better than humans, but they are incapable of
taking care of themselves (don't count certain computer applications and
software that seem to enable your PC to take care of itself ... more on this
later).
So we, as the computer users (who may also be the
owners) need to maintain them, to make sure they stay in tip-top condition and
to avoid having to spend a bomb on repairing problems that could have been
avoided in the first place.
Before you start
Take the effort to discharge whatever static
electricity you may have (whether you are aware of it or not). You can do this
by simply touching the metal casing (within which the system unit is housed).
Remember, static electricity isn't strong enough to cause a person permanent
harm, but is sufficient to wreck the computer's sensitive components!
Cut off the power source
As mentioned in an earlier Tok IT article,
power surges (either thanks to an act of God or more likely due to erratic power
supply....) can spell doom for your computer. Even if you have some computer
accessory that protects the computer from such surges (like a UPS or surge
protector), to be on the safe side you should always disconnect the power supply
if you are not using it.
Can't stand the heat (and dust, too)
One of the first things you should do, right from
the beginning, is to keep the computer away from heat, humidity and dust.
In Papua New Guinea, that means keeping the
computer in an air-conditioned room. But that is not always an option.
If possible, locate the computer away from a
window (unless there are curtains) where it may be come under direct sunlight.
It is not so much that the computer cannot withstand sunlight ... it is the heat
that sunlight generates. And as is with most electronic equipment, heat is bad
news.
The same goes with humidity and dust ... these
make it difficult for the computer to "stay cool". Computers don't
take very well to moisture, so make sure you keep it nice and dry.
Use a large piece of dry cloth to cover the
computer (monitor, system unit, keyboard and all) when it is not in use ... and
keep a smaller, lint-free cloth handy for wiping away the odd dust ball that may
well collect, especially at the back of the system unit where the many wires are
located.
Wipe the monitor
Many people forget to clean their computer
screens. They can see that it's dirty, but they cannot understand that it needs
cleaning. Dust likes monitor screens because of the static charge generated by
the monitor.
Cleaning it isn't difficult ... just wipe with a
(damp, not wet) soft cloth and leave to dry. There is no need to use cleaning
liquids. In fact, cleaning liquids may damage the screen by stripping the
coating. Some newer monitors have coated screens, which reduce glare and improve
image quality.
For the other parts of the monitor, especially
the cooling vents, you can use a damp (again, not wet) cloth. Make sure you
leave it to dry before switching it on.
To extend the life of your monitor, avoid keeping
it switched on for long periods of time. The reasons are simple: monitors
consume a lot of power, which means if you can help it, switch it off. Because
monitors use so much power, should they fail (mostly due to overheating), they
may: i) explode; ii) ignite; or iii) fail to work. Naturally, if it HAS to fail,
we hope for the third possibility....
Clean up the system (case)
Use a damp (not wet) cloth and wipe the case. By
default the system case requires minimal care, since it is really little more
than a box to hold some of the more important computer components (motherboard,
CPU, peripherals, etc).
But once in a while (perhaps once every six
months or so) it may be a good idea to give it a thorough clean up.
Although the case's interior gets dirty too, Tok
IT does not recommend opening up the case and cleaning it ... unless you
know exactly what you are doing, you risk damaging the computer components.
If you feel like taking the risk, use a cotton
bud and a dry cloth.
The back of the case, where the wires and cables
and the like are situated, may need a bit of cleaning (it is a favourite haunt
of dust balls).
Things are getting hot here
Pay extra attention to the power supply fan vents
... they are the likeliest to get clogged up with dust. If they are clogged,
your computer is on the road to disaster.
It may also be a good idea to check the
positioning of the case ... there is a tendency for users to push the case as
far back as possible towards the wall. This leaves insufficient space for the
ventilation of the computer.
On a high-quality system, the power supply is one
of the more reliable components that will function for years without giving much
problem.
In fact, the power supply is probably the least
likely component to fail on a typical system.
What you should do is to make sure the vents are
clear. Using a damp cloth may not do a good job ... try using either a mini
vacuum cleaner or a cotton bud.
The right keys
Keyboards are one of the most abused parts of the
average system. They get pounded on, covered with dirt, loaded with dust and
food particles, and the occasional dribble of coffee....).
The extent to which keyboard care is important
depends on how much you care about your keyboard, and what it costs. If the
keyboard is cheap and you don't care about what kind of keyboard you use, you
can practically treat them as a disposable item. Just get a new one when they
get damaged or gummed up from excessive gunk.
Other people (such as yours truly) use keyboards
with special features, some of which are hard to replace if they become damaged,
and so care and maintenance become much more important.
First things first: Keep food and drink away.
Unlike other computer components, the enemy of keyboards is not dust. It is
spilled drink and bits of food.
Maybe you can have a policy of not eating or
drinking at the computer ... saves a lot of heartache.
Clean it regularly. Over time, dirt and natural
oils from your fingers will accumulate on the keycaps, and dust and debris will
fall into the keyboard between the keys. These should be cleaned at least
annually, by wiping with a damp cloth. Cleaning a keyboard isn't always that
simple; opening it up can in fact ruin it, and some attempts at cleaning a
keyboard can in fact make things worse.
Check the cable and connector: Make sure that the
keyboard cable is not caught on anything or pinched between your desk drawers,
etc, to prevent damage.
There should be slack in the cable as well; if
the keyboard cable is too tight this can damage the cable, connector, or worst
of all, the plug on the motherboard where the keyboard connects to it (this can
result in your needing to replace your motherboard!).
In the unfortunate event that you spill coffee or
other liquids into the keyboard, wipe immediately as best as you can. It is
still possible in some cases to save the device, but often you will need to
replace it.
Mousing around
Mice, too, are subject to plenty of abuse. They
are in fact even more sensitive and vulnerable than keyboards. This is because
the ball that rolls on the surface of the desk or mouse pad provides the input
needed for the computer. By default they are designed to have traction (to
"grip" the surface of the desk or mouse pad), which means they are
great at attracting dirt and dust.
Mice are usually cheap, but it may be a better
idea to keep it clean.
If the ball gets dirty, the computer mouse feels
"sluggish". You should give the "internals" a quick clean
up.
Turn the mouse over and remove the panel that
keeps the mouse ball/roller. Using a dry soft cloth, wipe the ball clean. Use a
cotton bud to lightly clean the insides of the mouse. Then replace the ball and
the panel. Your mouse should feel like new.
That's not all. Make sure that the mouse cable
does not get stuck in any part of your desk or workspace, to prevent damage.
Like keyboards, there should be slack in the cable as well; if it is pulled too
tight this can damage the mouse.
Published in
The National on June 9, 2000
Internal clean-up
By Danie Lam
Your
computer looks spanking clean now. You
switch on the computer and wait for the familiar screen to show. All goes well
... then you get an error message.
If you are lucky, the reason can be as simple as
you having left a diskette in the floppy disk drive and the computer cannot find
the necessary files on the diskette to "boot up" (in this case, just
remove the diskette and press any key on the keyboard ... as instructed by the
error message).
If you are NOT lucky, the problem can be in the
form of a corrupted hard disk (either physically or otherwise).
Back it up
If you fail to take care of the hardware portion
of the computer, what is the worst thing that can happen? The unit gets damaged.
You can either send it for repairs or get a new one. But there is something else
that, once damaged, cannot be replaced as easily. We are talking data.
Data, once lost, cannot be readily replaced. It
can only be protected against loss. This is why many corporations (especially
financial institutions) spend lots of money to protect their data.
The best way to avoid loss of data is to use your
computer wisely.
Data, although hard to replace, has one saving
grace ... it can be easily duplicated. When you "back up your
computer", you are essentially making copies of your hard disk's contents.
By creating backups of important data on a
regular basis, you ensure that your data, or most of it anyway, will never be
truly lost; at worst, some will be lost and you will experience the
inconvenience of restoring it in the event of a hard disk failure, for example.
It is absolutely critical that you create backup
copies of all important data, documents and programs on your hard disk, so that
you have some protection in the event that catastrophe strikes.
If you are using Windows 98, simply go to Start,
Program Files, Accessories, Systems Tools, Backup.
Shut it down properly
If you are finished with your session with the
computer, do NOT turn off the power or otherwise switch it off ... with today's
operating systems such recklessness would often be rewarded with data loss.
The main reason why this is not good computer
practise is that today's operating systems (OS), like Windows 95/98 and the
various incarnations of Windows NT, have multiple tasks running at any one time.
Many of these tasks are running "behind the scenes" - without the
user's knowledge.
These include screen savers, anti-virus programs,
etc. When the computer is switched off without these "background"
programs properly shut off, whatever data that these programs may be accessing
or using may be damaged. If these data are damaged, then your computer's file
system may be corrupted, hence leading to major trouble.
Before you switch off your computer, always make
sure you have exited all your running applications (that means saving all your
work). Then shut down the OS.
Make your data childproof
Computers and children don't always mix. Well, if
you use your computer for important work as well as home entertainment - as many
of us do - you need to take special precautions to protect your data from both
prying eyes and mischievous fingers. This is yet another good reason to back-up
your data.
If what you wish to do is to prevent access to
the system, passwords are a viable option. A BIOS password prevents the computer
from booting up unless the correct code is entered (but if you forget the
password....).
A screen saver with a password is a great help
too. Some programs allow you to encrypt data files ... word processors like
Microsoft Word have password options to prevent unauthorised reading.
You can also set the hidden and/or read-only file
attributes of sensitive files or directories to make them harder to find and/or
delete. This is a simple protective device that will work in many cases to
protect against accidental damage (in Windows, just right-click on the file
while in Windows Explorer, then select the required file attributes).
Spring-cleaning
The amount of hard disk space is limited. Today's
hard disk capacities are enlarging at a ferocious rate (35Gb hard disks are now
commercially available in many countries). But for most of us computer users,
there is only so much available hard disk space.
After a few months, you may find that your hard
disk seems to be getting smaller and smaller and instructions are taking longer
and longer to be carried out.
The reason is simple ... many users enjoy
installing this and that on their systems. These take up hard disk space. At the
same time, some OSes, install programs and utilities have a habit of leaving
bits and pieces of useless data that should be cleaned up.
Hard disks that are full (that is, having less
than 20 or so megabytes free) can cause problems for the computer. This is
because some operating systems, Windows in particular, operate a "swap
file". This swap file allows the operating system to perform better and
faster, and is "carved" out of your hard disk. If the hard disk is
full, then the OS has no room to maneuver. When you push the computer just a wee
bit (when performing some difficult task, for example), the OS crashes.
Tok IT recommends that you examine your
hard disk regularly, at least once a month, and clear out the unnecessary files.
Before you do any deletions, though, back it up!
Again, if you are using Windows 98, there is a
utility called Disk Cleanup you can use to make things easier (Start, Program
Files, Accessories, Systems Tools, Disk Cleanup).
Fragments all over
Fragmentation refers to the spreading of parts of
files over the data area of the hard disk. Over time as many files are created
and deleted, files will tend to become more and more fragmented.
While having a fragmented hard disk is not likely
to cause data loss, it leads to a very inefficient (i.e. slow) computer system.
Defragmenting is easy ... from the Start button,
select Programs, then Accessories, choose System Tools and lastly Disk
Defragmenter.
Depending on the speed of your computer processor
and the size of your hard disk, the process can take anything from 30 minutes to
a few hours.
Tok IT recommends running Disk
Defragmenter on a weekly basis.
Scanning for problems
A utility that comes with MS-DOS and Windows
95/98 that is most useful is ScanDisk. This utility scans the hard disk for
filing errors and checks the overall condition of the hard disk.
For MS-DOS, type "Scandisk" at the
"C:" to start this utility. For Windows 95/98, go to Start, Programs,
Accessories, Systems Tools and ScanDisk.
Published in
The National on June 16, 2000
Viral infections of a digital nature
In today's world of inter-connected computers, no
one is truly free of it - the insidious enemy who creeps into your computer,
replicates itself then spreads to other computers. We are talking about viruses,
of course. This week Tok IT shall endeavour to help you understand
viruses.
By Daniel Lam
Billions
of dollars, mostly in production time,
have been lost thanks to computer viruses. One may well wonder what these are,
to be able to do so much damage.
A computer virus is a piece of software that has
been written to enter your computer system and "infect" your files.
Some viruses are benign and won't harm your
system, while others are destructive and can damage or destroy your data.
Like real viruses that strike living things, a
computer virus will try to replicate itself and infect as many files and systems
as possible.
If your system is infected, when you save or copy
a file to a diskette you will probably infect the diskette, and in turn whoever
uses that diskette will infect their system.
New computer viruses are being written all the
time. Therefore it is important to understand how your system is exposed to
them, and what you can do to protect your computer.
Note that a computer that is completely isolated
cannot reasonably be "infected" ... if you remove the floppy disk
drive, the CD-ROM drive and whatever means of installing, copying or downloading
things (that means no modem or network links either) into your system, it cannot
be infected unless it was already infected to begin with.
Since this is highly unlikely, read on.
Types Of Viruses
Computer viruses come under four categories: boot
sector, file or program, macro, and multipartite viruses.
Boot sector viruses are most commonly transmitted
- when an infected diskette is left in the drive and the system is rebooted. The
virus is read from the infected boot sector of the floppy disk and written into
the master boot record of the system's hard drive.
The master boot sector is the first place your
system reads from when booting up from the hard drive....
Program or file viruses are pieces of programming
code that attach themselves to executable programs. Once the infected program is
run, the virus is transferred to your system's memory and may replicate itself
further.
Macro viruses are currently the most commonly
found viruses. They infect files run by applications that use macro languages,
like Microsoft Word or Excel. The virus looks like a macro in the file, so when
the file is opened, the virus executes commands understood by the application's
macro language.
Multipartite viruses have characteristics of both
boot sector viruses and file viruses. They may start out in the boot sector and
spread to applications, or vice versa.
There are other malicious programs that are not
technically viruses but are considered such just the same. These are known as
worms and Trojan horses.
A worm is a program that replicates itself, but
does not necessarily infect other programs.
Examples of recent worms are "Melissa"
and "ILOVEYOU", both of which caused widespread havoc worldwide. These
worms replicated themselves via e-mail, making use of any Microsoft Outlook
address books.
In the case of "Melissa", the worm was
activated when someone opens the infected attachment that came with a
particulare-mail, thereby unleashing the virus.
The virus then "raids" the Microsoft
Outlook address book and sends out upto 50 copies of itself to everyone with an
entry. That sometimes meant that the virus multiplied itself at a tremendous
rate. When you consider the amount of useless e-mail circulating around the
Internet, you can imagine how servers around the world crashed under the sheer
volume of activity.
"ILOVEYOU" was even more devastating.
It was "Melissa" and more - not only was it capable of sending more
copies of itself than "Melissa", it also destroyed files and made
alterations to the computer system. It has been touted the most dangerous virus
ever.
Trojan horses are harmless programs ... until
they are triggered. Like the Trojan Horse that led to Troy's downfall, within
the program is another seemingly harmless piece of software that turns
"violent" when some condition is triggered.
How the computer gets infected
Viruses can be written into almost any type of
file, so it is important to be aware of this when you add software to your
system.
Generally, licenced software are safe ... be wary
of pirated software, which are essentially "stolen" or
"hacked" copies of the originals. Malicious programmers can easily
slip in a virus or two.
Usually, viruses enter your system through files
added to your system from diskettes (or other removable media like Zip disks)
and from downloading from the Internet. You can also get a virus through an
e-mail attachment, but not from a plain text e-mail message alone.
Check for viruses
Common symptoms that indicate your system may
have been infected are:
-
Strange messages or displays on your monitor;
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Unusual sounds or music played at random times;
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Your system has less available memory than it
should;
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A disk or volume name has been changed (for
example, if you named your hard drive "Tok IT" and it has
become "Loveydovey");
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Programs or files are suddenly missing;
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Unknown programs or files have been created;
and
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Some of your files become corrupted or suddenly
don't work properly (for example, if you can no longer open or retrieve them).
There are many programs (usually called
anti-virus software) that will check your system for known viruses, scan
incoming files, and warn you before any infected files are let in.
An important fact about these programs is that
they are only as good as their database of known viruses. Since new and
different viruses are being introduced all the time (in the region of thousands
a day), anti-virus databases need to be updated often.
If your system does not have any anti-virus
software running, here's a tip: get one. Fast.
Have the software scan your hard drive. The
software will identify any files that have been infected by any virus it
recognises and offer you the option to repair the file if it can. In some cases
infected files can be "cleaned" by the software; in others, the files
will have to be deleted.
A few months back Tok IT had the pleasure
of installing an anti-virus software on a colleague's computer. On a scan, a
total of 116 infected files were found ... one-third of the contents in his hard
disk! Evidently, his system had been a breeding ground for viruses (that
explained why his computer crashed often).
Anyway, once you have determined that all the
files in your system are virus-free, this would be a good time to do a complete
backup of your system. If your system gets infected in the future, you will
really appreciate having clean copies of your files.
Another method you can use to detect viruses is
to monitor the byte size of the programs installed on your hard drive,
particularly those with the "*.exe" and "*.com" extensions
(like "Setup.exe" or "Command.com"). If you notice any
unexplained change in file sizes, this is a good indication that your system has
become infected. This can be a difficult and tedious method of checking your
system, so certainly installing anti-virus software is a better alternative.
Immunising your system
Once you've scanned your system and determined it
to be clean, it is time to put in place procedures to protect your system.
The number one thing to do - be careful whenever
you're installing software or downloading files.
Most anti-virus software can be adjusted to scan
all removable media inserted in your system and to scan files that are
downloaded to your system, including email attachments. This Tok IT
recommends - it is the most important thing you can do to protect your system.
It's also extremely important to keep your
anti-virus software current, and you should check regularly with your chosen
vendor (popular anti-virus programs include Norton and McAfee) for updates to
their product. This can usually be done at the vendor's Web site, if you have
Internet access, or via certain computer magazines that come with CDs.
Arrggh! I've been infected!
First thing you should remember in any situation:
Don't panic. If you have installed anti-virus software and it has detected a
virus in your system, first try to get the software to "clean" or
"disinfect" the files. If this doesn't work, you'll most likely have
to delete these files from your system.
If you receive an e-mail attachment and the
anti-virus software detects it as infected, delete it immediately. It is a good
idea to play it safe with attachments in general and not open any that aren't
from a trusted source.
If you receive an e-mail message with an
attachment containing a virus, you will not infect your system as long as you do
not open the attachment.
Worst case scenario
In extreme cases, you may have to reformat your
hard drive, destroying all of the data on it. Then you'll have to reinstall your
software and data, assuming you have the original software disks and clean
backups of your files.
In this case, it's a good idea to install your
anti-virus software first on the empty hard drive, so that the integrity of your
backup files and original software can be verified.
Ahem, excuse me....
You might also want to act responsibly and
contact everyone you have recently exchanged data with - via diskettes, e-mail
attachments, Zip disks - and let them know that your system has been infected
and theirs may be infected, too.
You'd want to advise them to check their system
for the appropriate virus or symptoms.
Published
in The National on April 12, 2001
Spring cleaning ver 2.0
Do something useful this Easter weekend ... clean up your PC's hard drive
By Daniel Lam
Computers work better when they are lean
and mean. Apart from getting new hardware or software, here are some tips to
speed up your computer. Here's a reminder, though: some tips might
"hurt".
Clean up the system
Of the many things you can do during the Easter weekend, cleaning the system
does the most good. If you are new to computers, now is a good time to learn. If
you are IT-savvy, it never hurts to get a reminder now and then.
First thing to do: trash unnecessary programs/software/applications and data
files.
Let's face it - unnecessary stuff is like excess flab ... nobody really needs to
have them around, and having them around slow things up. Data files are perhaps
the number one "flab" on a computer. Why, because they take up
precious hard disk space even when not in use, and they slow the computer down
every time the hard disk is read.
Graphic files are among the biggest culprits ... if you have video files on your
hard disk, then things are even worse. Data files have a tendency of filling up
even multi-gigabyte hard drives in a zip.
I should know ... I had a total of 20Gb free a few months ago. Because of the
nature of my work, I keep a lot of pictures on the local hard disk. Within weeks
I was down to about 2Gb.
True, I still had plenty of hard disk space, but a hard disk that's 90 per cent
full would take longer to access than a hard disk that's half full.
Unnecessary programs mess thing up, too. For the purpose of an article some
months back, I installed several freeware MP3 players on my computer.
Now programs not only take up hard disk space, they also create entries in the
Windows Registry (a huge file that tells the operating system (OS) what's what
and where it is). And the larger the Registry file, the more time the computer
wastes time referring to it, especially at start-up (that's why your computer's
OS may be slow to start or load sometimes).
Unnecessary programs also pepper your computer with tiny programs that take up
permanent residence and use up precious Random Access Memory (RAM).
Try this: hit Control, Alternate and the Delete keys all at once to open the
Close Program window.
See all the programs that are running, eating up memory? Only TWO of them are
needed to run Windows - Explorer and Systray. The rest are not necessary for the
OS to run, but may well be what you WANT to use.
Having too many programs running makes the computer unstable.
All right ... but how do you get rid of programs?
Begin by going to the Control Panel and going to Add/Remove Programs. Select
the stuff you never use, then Remove them. If you find that you need the
programs later, you can always reinstall them.
On problem: this does not necessarily get rid of the entries in the Registry.
You need Microsoft's regclean.exe, a free utility you can download from the
Microsoft website.
Better yet, if you can get your hands on Symantec's Norton SystemWorks or Norton
Utilities, then you can use their more powerful Registry cleaner and tools to
trash programs.
What about data files?
This can be painful, because lost data files are lost unless you had the
wisdom to back them up (which, by the way, takes up more hard disk space unless
you save them in some other media!).
Just make sure you know what files can go and what can't before you proceed.
Then go to Programs/Accessories/System Tools and run Disk Cleanup. This one gets
rid of temporary files, old Internet files and old downloads. There are lots of
utilities out there that help you find other candidates for deletion - for
example, Norton SystemWorks will give you a list of files that haven't been
accessed in months, and find duplicate files.
Nothing beats rummaging through your own stuff and deciding what to trash,
however.
Set your folders to display file size, and sort the list to show the biggest
files first. Then you can see what the biggest offenders are.
Go to the Find function on the Start menu and locate files ending with .bmp,
.tiff, .jpg, .gif, .avi and .mpg. Hands off .dll files and anything in the
Windows directory.
Trash them all and you should have a much leaner machine.
That's not all
You've gone through the motions, but the computer's still slow. Okay, that
means you must conduct the painful business of starting your computer afresh.
That means wiping the hard drive clean, reformatting it and reinstalling
everything you need.
This gets rid of ALL unnecessary files and Registry entries. Believe me, doing
this can work wonders for a computer that's deemed obsolete.
Just make sure you have the installation disks ready, and lots of time and
patience in your hands.
Optimise your computer
Tok IT has delved on this before, but just to recap....
Let's optimise settings that involve hard disk. Go to Control Panels and choose
System. On the System window, click on Performance.
Under file system, select "Network Server" and "Full Read Ahead
Optimisation". For CD-ROM, move the cache size to "Large" and
optimise access for "Quad Speed or Higher".
Now, most times we let Windows manage virtual memory (it is recommended, of
course). If you have plenty of hard disk space left, select "Let me specify
my own settings" and set both the minimum and maximum to approximately
three times the size of your RAM.
This creates a fixed block of several hundred megabytes of reserved space on
your hard drive for the Windows swap file, which it uses as a slow substitute
for physical RAM. Otherwise Windows grabs space as it can for the swap file,
which can degrade performance.
Tune up the hard drive
Run Scandisk with the "Thorough" option checked. This will test
not just the integrity of your files and folders, but the physical disk
surface's ability to hold data. It will map out weak spots that could lose data
or slow down the system with multiple reads.
Once that's done, run Disk Defragmenter. This takes files that are scattered
around the disk and assembles them into contiguous blocks, another speed
booster. It will also place system and program files in optimum locations.
Get rid of silly start-up items
In System Tools, open up System Information. Under Tools, select the System
Configuration Utility. You'll have to experiment here. You'll find a list of
processes that load at start-up, and by unchecking the box next to each, you'll
prevent that process from loading.
This can save memory, speed the start-up process, and make your computer more
stable by eliminating conflicts among programs.
For advanced users
One last tip for advanced users: As an experiment, disable hardware
functions you don't use in the setup BIOS (this is the screen that appears on
start-up when you hold down a Delete key or other key particular to your
computer).
For example, if you don't use your serial or Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports,
you can turn these off.
This tends to free up resources that other hardware may need.
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