I often get the question of what people should do when they get a virus on their computer. Usually the best course of action, if you're not comfortable removing it yourself, is to shut the computer down completely. Many viruses and spyware run in the background without your knowledge. It doesn't matter whether or not you have your internet explorer open. They will continue to download more of their "friends" onto your computer, and make removal harder.
If you absolutely need to use your computer, at least unplug your ethernet wire, or disconnect from your wireless network. You won't be able to go onto the internet that way, and neither will the virus/spyware!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Power!
Did you know that the average desktop computer uses over 80 Watts of power while it's on? That;s not counting the monitor. Add another 50W or so for that one. Even when you turn everything off, your monitor, speakers and computer together are still using in excess of 15-20W (and a little more in sleep mode)??
That's why it's a good idea to get a power strip and plug everything in there and shut off the power strip switch after shutting your computer off. You won't just save money, you'll also protect your computer from power surges!
The only downside to doing this is that there will be a greater demand for power from the CMOS (real time clock) battery on the mainboard of your PC. Usually these batteries will last 5-10 years or more if you keep your PC plugged in. However, if you keep it mostly unplugged, they may last a little less than 5 years. Those batteries, typically CR2032 coin cells, are only a few bucks, so it's hardly a real downside.
People still tell me that they think it's better to keep the computer running 24/7. That's a myth that got started when people thought that hard drives would wear quicker when doing multiple starts and stops. That may have been true for the first generations of drives, but it really isn't anymore. Laptop drives actually stop & start repeatedly to save battery power. So unless you actually use your computer for 24 hours in a day, turn it off at night! It will save you about 1.5 kW/day on average! That's about $10/month!
Now if you're really serious about tracking power consumption in your home, you could consider this device: BLUEline PowerCost Monitor and Energy Meter. Even though I do not have personal experience with this particular device, I did create one myself that logs my power use for the entire home. It gave me a lot of insight where I could save some money. On average I've saved over $300/yr in electricity!
Another nice device is the Kill-A-Watt meter. You plug it into the wall and them plug any device (or power strip) into it to get an idea of how much power it uses.
That's why it's a good idea to get a power strip and plug everything in there and shut off the power strip switch after shutting your computer off. You won't just save money, you'll also protect your computer from power surges!
The only downside to doing this is that there will be a greater demand for power from the CMOS (real time clock) battery on the mainboard of your PC. Usually these batteries will last 5-10 years or more if you keep your PC plugged in. However, if you keep it mostly unplugged, they may last a little less than 5 years. Those batteries, typically CR2032 coin cells, are only a few bucks, so it's hardly a real downside.
People still tell me that they think it's better to keep the computer running 24/7. That's a myth that got started when people thought that hard drives would wear quicker when doing multiple starts and stops. That may have been true for the first generations of drives, but it really isn't anymore. Laptop drives actually stop & start repeatedly to save battery power. So unless you actually use your computer for 24 hours in a day, turn it off at night! It will save you about 1.5 kW/day on average! That's about $10/month!
Now if you're really serious about tracking power consumption in your home, you could consider this device: BLUEline PowerCost Monitor and Energy Meter. Even though I do not have personal experience with this particular device, I did create one myself that logs my power use for the entire home. It gave me a lot of insight where I could save some money. On average I've saved over $300/yr in electricity!
Another nice device is the Kill-A-Watt meter. You plug it into the wall and them plug any device (or power strip) into it to get an idea of how much power it uses.
Friday, February 13, 2009
OpenDNS for Parental Controls and Adware/Spyware protection
There is a free service out there, called OpenDNS, which replaces the regular DNS servers from your ISP. DNS stands for Domain Name Service(s). Explaining this internet lingo, these DNS servers "translate" the name www.google.com for instance to the appropriate IP address, or location on the internet. This translation is necessary every time you go to a website.
Normally, your ISP provides you automatically with DNS server settings and you may never have even heard of the term. Since these servers are so essential to browsing the internet, by tweaking the results they return, you can take advantage of some really interesting features!
The service OpenDNS provides takes advantage of that! For instance, say you have kids and want to prevent them from seeing the "bad" websites. To get to one of those websites, you still have to either click on a link or type in the address (say, www.badwebsite.com). OpenDNS maintains lists by category of these "bad" websites, and if you check off that you want those sites to be blocked, a request for www.badwebsite.com will not lead to that site, but instead, to a page on OpenDNS's server, indicating the site has been blocked.
So that's the mechanism. How do you take advantage of it?? It depends on your internet setup. First you have to manually replace the DNS servers that your ISP assigned to you. How hard or easy this is depends on your router type. If you don't have a router, or your router doesn't support changing just the DNS entries, you can still take advantage of the service by changing the settings in Windows 2000, XP (or Vista) manually. I suggest you look at the OpenDNS website for more information and some setup instructions. Secondly, you need to create a free account and select which site types you want to be blocked.
Of course, we here at RDVDB would be more than happy to set this up for you. It will most likely take less than one hour to set this up, depending on your router type, and the number of PC's you want to take advantage of these features.
The nicest thing about OpenDNS is that not only can it block pornographic websites, it can also block known adware/spyware sites. This dramatically reduces your chances of getting these things on your PC. Do note that OpenDNS is not 100% fail-safe (like anything out there). You can still get to the "bad" sites by typing in their IP address directly. Also, even though their lists are extensive, they won't have ALL sites listed. But it is a nice FREE layer of protection!
Normally, your ISP provides you automatically with DNS server settings and you may never have even heard of the term. Since these servers are so essential to browsing the internet, by tweaking the results they return, you can take advantage of some really interesting features!
The service OpenDNS provides takes advantage of that! For instance, say you have kids and want to prevent them from seeing the "bad" websites. To get to one of those websites, you still have to either click on a link or type in the address (say, www.badwebsite.com). OpenDNS maintains lists by category of these "bad" websites, and if you check off that you want those sites to be blocked, a request for www.badwebsite.com will not lead to that site, but instead, to a page on OpenDNS's server, indicating the site has been blocked.
So that's the mechanism. How do you take advantage of it?? It depends on your internet setup. First you have to manually replace the DNS servers that your ISP assigned to you. How hard or easy this is depends on your router type. If you don't have a router, or your router doesn't support changing just the DNS entries, you can still take advantage of the service by changing the settings in Windows 2000, XP (or Vista) manually. I suggest you look at the OpenDNS website for more information and some setup instructions. Secondly, you need to create a free account and select which site types you want to be blocked.
Of course, we here at RDVDB would be more than happy to set this up for you. It will most likely take less than one hour to set this up, depending on your router type, and the number of PC's you want to take advantage of these features.
The nicest thing about OpenDNS is that not only can it block pornographic websites, it can also block known adware/spyware sites. This dramatically reduces your chances of getting these things on your PC. Do note that OpenDNS is not 100% fail-safe (like anything out there). You can still get to the "bad" sites by typing in their IP address directly. Also, even though their lists are extensive, they won't have ALL sites listed. But it is a nice FREE layer of protection!
New Site is up!
As you may have noticed, the new RDVDB Computer Services website is up and running! Still some rough edges here and there, but we'll be working on that! We also expanded our service area outward from Deerfield to Candia, Raymond, Nottingham and Northwood. If you live outside these areas, a travel fee may apply in addition to the usual hourly fees.
Thanks!
Robbert
Thanks!
Robbert
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Neat utility for Windows XP
I have been using Vista on a couple of my PC's for about a year now. Then when I happened to be reading an article in a magazine talking about the search function in the start menu, I thought.. What search function?!? I don't remember seeing it! Well.. It's there! And SO handy! It's much quicker to type "Word" in the search prompt than navigating through the start menu to find it buried somewhere in Start - All Programs - Microsoft Office - Word.. Especially if your Start menu is as full as mine!!
So once I found that, I started to get annoyed about the lack of such a function for XP. I tried a Vista Start Menu extension for XP for a while, which had that functionality, but it caused lockups and crashes.
Then I found "Launchy". It's a free utility that pops up when you hit Alt-Space and allows you to type a search string to find any program or item in your start menu (or anywhere else if you extend the paths in the options menu!). It's certainly made my search for programs MUCH quicker!
So once I found that, I started to get annoyed about the lack of such a function for XP. I tried a Vista Start Menu extension for XP for a while, which had that functionality, but it caused lockups and crashes.
Then I found "Launchy". It's a free utility that pops up when you hit Alt-Space and allows you to type a search string to find any program or item in your start menu (or anywhere else if you extend the paths in the options menu!). It's certainly made my search for programs MUCH quicker!
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