IMPORTANT TIPS!
Virus Protection
- Don't open attachments! One of the best ways to prevent virus infections is not to open
attachments, especially when viruses are actively circulating. Even if
the e-mail message is from a known source, be careful. A few viruses
take mailing lists from an infected computer and send out new messages
with its destructive payload attached. Always scan any attached files
for viruses, and unless the attachment is a file or an image you are
expecting, delete it.
- Stay informed. Did you know that there are virus and security alerts almost every day? Keep
up-to-date on breaking viruses and solutions by bookmarking your virus protection software homepage.
- Get protection. If you don't already have virus-protection software on your machine, you need it!
- Scan your system regularly. If you're loading antivirus software for the first time, let it scan
your entire system. It's better to start with your PC clean and free of virus problems. Many antivirus programs can be set to scan on
periodically or each time the computer is rebooted. Some will scan in the background while you are connected to the Internet. Make it a
regular habit to scan for viruses.
- Update your antivirus software. Now that you have virus protection software installed, make
sure it's up-to-date! Most newer antivirus protection programs have a feature that will automatically download new virus
definitions and program updates when connected to the Internet (make sure this feature is enabled or manually check for new updates).
Windows Update
Windows Update is a catalog of items such as operating system patches, help files, and
Internet products that you can download to keep your computer up-to-date. These can be critical
updates necessary to keep your computer secure! To access Windows Update, you must be connected to the internet.
To open Windows Update, click Start, then All Programs, then Windows Update. Click
the Express button to get high-priority updates. We recommend downloading update files
at least once a month. You can even have Windows Update automatically download and
install updates as they become available.
Another method of updating the Windows Operating System is to go directly to the
Microsoft's Windows Update site.
BACKUP!
How much is your data worth to you? If you use your computer for business, it might be a lot. If you only
use your computer for personal use, maybe you only have your iTunes and family pictures to lose. It is still worth it
to back up your data! Use an external USB or Firewire drive to back up your computer. External hard drives usually
come bundled with software to easily back up your whole system. More important, the software also allows you
to restore your system in case of distaster!
Organize Important Files
The Windows Operating system includes the default file folder My
Documents. The My Documents icon
is included by default on each Windows desktop (the desktop is what you
view on your monitor when Windows finishes loading). Consider the
My Documents folder a central file storage cabinet for your computer.
Inside the My Documents file cabinet, you can create many different file
folders depending on your organizational requirements. A family
using the same computer can create an individual folder for each
member, and inside their individual folders other folders can be created
as needed. For example: C:\My Documents\Dad\Work or C:\My
Documents\Dad\Golf
The benefit of organizing files in one central folder are numerous, including (1) file backups (of
critical data) are easy and efficient and (2) files are easily found by going to one location every time.
Change the View in Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer (a visual representation of the folders and files on your computer - an electronic
file cabinet) is customizable to view your folders and files in different ways: Large Icons, Small Icons, List,
Details, Thumbnails and Slideshow.
To change the view, single left click on the top toolbar Views and then single
left click Details.
The Details view is our favorite. It sorts the folders and files in columns by the following criteria:
Name, Size, Type and Modified. Clicking on the top bar of the Name column will sort
the column contents alphabetically (A-Z or Z-A). Clicking on the top bar of the Type column will sort
the files by their file type (which determines which software program will open the file). This is useful
when you want to see all your Word or Excel files together. The Modified column displays the last date
the file was modified or created. This is particularly useful when searching for a specific file by date.
The Thumbnails view is great for viewing pictures. This allows you to view the pictures without having
to open all of them to find the exact one you want (taking advantage of long file names is also recommended).
The Slideshow view is just like viewing slides in the "old" days (remember slide projectors?).
As you click on the slide, the image is displayed in a large view above the slides.
Refresh Your View
Whenever you visit a web page, files from the web page are stored as cache on your hard drive
(the hard drive is the internal hardware that stores your programs and files). The storing of
cache facilitates faster loading of a page during subsequent visits.
To refresh your view of the page to get the most frequent updates, press the F5 key on
your keyboard.
This same procedure F5 or Ctrl-F5 can be used to refresh the view in Windows Explorer.
When adding a new folder in Windows Explorer, new folder or file icons are automatically listed on the
bottom. When reorganizing your file folder (by adding, deleting, renaming, etc.), the view can be
quickly updated (refreshed) to show your changes.