Secure Remote Support » Computer Knowledge

Turn Off Visual Effects

Joe — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:51:32 +0000

If Windows is running slowly, you can speed it up by disabling some of its visual effects. It comes down to appearance versus performance. Would you rather have Windows run faster or look prettier? If your PC is fast enough, you don’t have to make this tradeoff, but if your computer is just barely powerful enough for Windows Vista, it can be useful to scale back on the visual bells and whistles.

You can choose which visual effects to turn off, one by one, or you can let Windows choose a bunch for you. There are 20 visual effects you can control, such as the transparent glass look, the way menus open or close, and whether shadows are displayed.

The Performance Options dialog box lets you turn on or off up to 20 visual effects

To adjust all visual effects for best performance:

Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.
Click Adjust visual effects. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Click the Visual Effects tab, click Adjust for best performance, and then click OK. (For a less drastic option, select Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer.)

14 Computer Optimization Tips

Joe — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:49:14 +0000

Since you work and do a lot of browsing on the Internet, the first thing you need to learn is computer optimization techniques. It is much better that you take a little extra effort to look after your computer regularly, rather than have it freeze, lock up, or crash when you lose everything on it, at which time you’ll have to pay out a lot to have it fixed. Not to mention you have now lost all of the information, or data, you were working on. Follow these computer optimization tips and you will be much safer.

Set your anti-virus software checker to update itself automatically. This way, it is always updated with the latest protection.
Perform a scan of your computer daily when you finish working on it.
If you download any files through email or just from browsing the internet, scan this item before you open it with your anti-virus software.
Use your registry repair software to scan your computer once a week.
Use your adware/spyware software once a week. You can set this up to run automatically, which will help you keep this updated.
Never open any attachments in emails from people you do not know. Especially if the file is a .exe file. This is an executable file, and can launch all sorts of viruses.
Do not open any attachments even from people you do know, if you are not expecting anything from them.
If you do not have a anti-virus software installed, a virus could replicate itself to everyone on the address book and send itself out by email, without the owner even knowing this has been done. This is what happens when your computer is hijacked.
Do not download free music on the Internet – these free sites are always infected. If you do, run a virus scan, as well as your registry repair, and even the anti-spyware software.
As with the above statement, do not download any free games from the Internet.
Steer clear from adult sites, as they are particularly prone to viruses.
You can install software which will back up all your data on a daily basis. Use flash drives, memory sticks, and even DVD’s etc.
Even though you get statements and fill forms out electronically, print out contracts, payment forms, agreements and all legal documents and file them away in a ring-binder.
Be extremely careful if you do anything with your finances, payment details, payment processor passwords, credit card details, etc. on your computer. A hacker could easily access all these details, if they are anywhere on your computer.

If you can follow the 14 tips for computer optimization listed above, you will be better off than probably 99% of the population. Just by using your anti-virus software, your anti-spyware software, and your registry repair software, you can keep your computer running at optimal speed, and keep the errors and problems to a minimum.

If you would be interested in having your computer gone through and cleaned out, please contact our support department for the best in online computer repair.

Computer Maintenance – Ten Tips to Keep your Computer Running Smoothly

Joe — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:44:15 +0000

1. Never, never, turn your computer off with the power switch until Windows has shut down.

The one exception to this rule is when your computer locks up and your hard drive is not running (hard drive light is not blinking). In this situation, you can turn the power off without harmful effects to the hard drive. As cutting the power can also result in lost data or Windows files, you should only do this when you have to.

Following this rule will prevent permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the drive disc, and it will prevent a host of Windows problems. Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Press them again to reboot your computer. If you have had problems and you think it might be due to shutting off your computer incorrectly, contact our staff who will gladly assist you with this.

2. I highly recommend that you purchase an UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages, and will protect your computer from low and high voltage occurrences. An UPS is far superior to a surge protector and will save your computer from almost any type of power disaster. (See #1 above for what happens when your computer crashes.
3. Backup, backup, backup, any data you cannot afford to lose to at least two separate physical drives. So backup data to external hard drives, Zip disks, CD-RWs etc. The time to backup is when you create something you can’t afford to lose. Don’t wait until tomorrow.

4. Run Scandisk and Defragment at least once a month. This will keep your hard drive healthy and prevent crashes. Alternatively, purchase Norton Utilities and use it to keep your hard drive healthy.

5. Never unplug peripherals from the computer when it is powered up. Unplugging with the power on can short out the connector socket or the motherboard.

The only exception to this rule is if you know a peripheral is “hot pluggable”. If you do not know what “hot pluggable” means then ignore this exception.

6. Do keep at least 300 MBs of your C: drive free for Windows to use. If you use Windows XP or Vista then you should have 400-600 MBs of free space on your C: drive. If you do not have enough free space you will choke Windows and it will start dumping data to your hard drive, or it will just get really, really, slow. Use the ADD/Delete tool in the Windows Control Panel to delete unneeded programs from your drive. You can also use Cleansweep included in Norton Utilities to clean up your drive. If you do use Cleansweep or another hard drive cleaner, do not delete shared files unless you back them up. The cleaners do a rotten job of knowing if another program uses shared files.

7. Do not let a lot of programs load up when you start your computer. They use valuable memory and Windows Resources (Windows internal workspace). All programs in your Windows System Tray (in the lower left of your screen) are running on your computer. Close them if you don’t need them or run them and configure them not to load when you boot up. Other programs running in the background can be found by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

8. Do use a virus checker regularly. Everyone should use a virus checker. The best type of protection is continuous monitoring from a dedicated anti-virus program like Norton Antivirus. The second best thing is to use is the free online virus checkers such as Housecall provided by Trend Micro.

9. If you have a high speed Internet connection you need a firewall program. A firewall program keeps those who want to hijack your computer from gaining access to your system. You really do not want someone else running your computer. We suggest you purchase and run Norton’s Personal Firewall program or similar antivirus/firewall program. Your firewall should boot up with your computer to protect it from invasion. If you need some help getting this set-up and working correctly, please visit our support department where we can give you a free consultation on how vulnerable your computer is.

10. Keep track of the software disks you receive with your computer and new peripherals. These disks contain valuable software drivers and programs for Windows and are needed when Windows must be reloaded. Keep these disks and your Windows software disks in a safe, dry, place — you never know when you will need them.

Hopefully these computer maintenance tips will keep you out of trouble. However, if you have problems with your computer, feel free to ask for help from our online computer support department.

IEEE Standards

Joe — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:02:55 +0000

The wireless world consists of three standards. The three are 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. Each of these has their pros and con’s. Allow us to being with the first, which is the 802.11a standard.802.11a operates on the 5 GHZ band and has a maximum data rate of 52Mbit/s. As the device or user travels farther from the signal it is common for data rates to be reduced to 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 and then 6Mbit/s. While the data rate for 802.11a is 54Mbit/s, the signal strength is far from comparable to the 802.11b standard. The problem with 802.11a signals is that they are easily absorbed by walls and other objects that surround the signal.

802.11b operates on the 2.4 GHz band and has a max data throughput of 11Mbit/s. Common interferences for 802.11b consist of microwave ovens, cordless telephones, baby monitors, and Bluetooth devices.

802.11g operates on the same frequency as the 802.11b standard, 2.4 GHz. The difference between the two is that the 802.11g standard has a max throughput of 54Mbit/s compared to the 11Mbit/s of 802.11b. One of the advantages of the “G” networks is that it is fully compatible with 802.11b hardware. Similar to the “B” network, the 802.11g standard suffers the same interferences as 802.11b networks.

802.11n, which is the newest of standards, boasts a max data throughput of 74 Mbit/s. The 802.11n network operates on the 5 GHz and 2.4G GHz frequency. The “N” standard has not been finalized but is expected to be in the fourth quarter of 2008. Although devices already exist with “pre-N” technology, it is thought that the final version will not be much different. To address the changes, a firmware update should correct this.

If you’re interested in learning more about your computer, contact our technicians through our website! There they can tutor you other various things about your computer and help you with remote technical support.