Transcript how-to-maintain-your-computer-2011

St. John UMC Computer Classroom
How to maintain your computer
Who am I?
 Gerod Truelove
 17 years of experience
 Bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky in Computer
Science
 Currently works for a local manufacturing facility as their
Network Administrator
 10 years experience running own small business
How to maintain your computer
 Prevention
 Maintain performance
 Maintain equipment
 Troubleshooting tips
Prevention
 One of the best ways to maintain your computer is to
prevent problems from occurring.
 Best prevention strategies
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Install anti-virus software
Install anti-spyware software
Install a firewall
Keep your operating system updated
Keep your applications updated
Remove unwanted or unused software
Education
Prevention:
1. Anti-virus software
 What is anti-virus software?
 Definition: "anti-virus" is protective software designed to defend your computer against
malicious software. Malicious software, or "malware" includes: viruses, Trojans, keyloggers,
hijackers, dialers, rootkits, and other code that vandalizes or steals your computer contents.
 How does it work?
 Most anti-virus software companies uses signatures to match specific patterns of data within
files on your computer.
 Heuristics method
 Sandbox method
Prevention:
1. Anti-virus software
 Popular anti-virus software
 Symantec (Norton)
 McAfee
 AVG (Free)
 Avast (Free)
 Kaspersky
 Trend Micro (PC Cillin)
 You can download these free software packages from
www.download.com
Prevention:
1. Anti-virus software
 I don’t have anti-virus software. What do I do?
 Get it as soon as possible. My recommendations…
 Free version: Avast (don’t forget to register!)
 Paid version: Trend Micro
 I have anti-virus installed on my computer. Now what?
 Keep your anti-virus software updated
 Signature updates
 Program updates
 Setup a weekly full system scan
 If a virus has been detected, deal with it immediately. Update
the software, then perform another full system scan.
Prevention:
1. Anti-virus software
 Other
 Lowered performance
 Multiple computers
 Questions?
Prevention:
2. Anti-spyware software
 What is anti-spyware software?
 Spyware is the name given to a variety of harmful programs that secretly install themselves on a
computer without the user's consent. Once installed, this spyware software gathers information
about the user, everything from personal data to Internet browsing habits.
 How does it work?
 Anti-spyware software works very similar to how anti-virus software works. Anti-spyware
software looks for patterns through out your computer and matches those patterns to a database
of known threats. If a threat is found, the software notifies the user to take action.
 NOTE:
Anti-spyware software is not a replacement for anti-virus software. They are to be
used in conjunction with each other.
Prevention:
2. Anti-spyware software
 Popular anti-spyware software
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Symantec (Norton)
McAfee
Ad-Aware (Free)
Spybot – Search and Destroy (Free)
SuperAntiSpyware (Free)
Spyware Doctor
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Free)*
Windows Defender (Free)
 You can download these free software packages from
www.download.com
 * Most popular free version
Prevention:
2. Anti-spyware software
 I don’t have anti-spyware software. What do I do?
 Get it. My recommendations…
 Free version: Malwarebytes Anti -Malware
 Paid version: Malwarebytes Anti -Malware
 I have anti-spyware software installed on my computer. Now
what?
 Keep your anti-spyware software updated
 Signature (database) updates
 Program updates
 Setup a weekly full system scan
 If a threat has been detected, deal with it immediately. Update the
software, then perform another full system scan.
Prevention:
2. Anti-spyware software
 Other
 Most free anti-spyware programs require user interaction to
keep it updated.
 Most free anti-spyware programs do not have a real-time
scanning engine however, Spybot – Search and Destroy does.
 Do not use the same software vendor for both anti-virus and
anti-spyware. Use different software vendors to provide a type
of layered protection.
 Questions?
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 What is a firewall?
 Definition: A "firewall" is an term to describe a specialized defense system for a computer
network. The term comes from construction, where specialized fire-prevention systems involve
fire-resistant walls being placed strategically in buildings and cars to slow the spread of a fire. In
the case of computers, the term describes hardware or software that prevents unauthorized
electronic access to a network computer systems.
 How does it work?
 A firewall works by detecting inbound and outbound network traffic and prevents or allows that
traffic depending on user settings
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 Hardware
 Usually deliveries protection to the most vulnerable position in
your network. Most new routers have firewalls built-in.
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 Software
 Needed if directly connected to the Internet.
 Needed on mobile devices.
 Recommended as a best security practice.
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 Popular software firewalls
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Symantec (Norton Personal Firewall)
McAfee Personal Firewall
ZoneAlarm (Free)*
Sygate (Free)
AVG Anti-virus plus firewall
Trend Micro Internet Security
Built in Windows OS
 You can download these free software packages from
www.download.com
 * Most popular free version
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 Is my Windows Firewall turned on (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Security Center Windows
Firewall
 Link
 http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx
Prevention:
3. Firewall
 Other
 Firewalls prevent networked devices from unauthorized threats,
however, it also prevents legitimate devices from
communicating as well.
 Sharing files
 Sharing printers
 Playing games
 Questions?
Prevention:
4. Operating system updates
 What is an operating system?
 In simple terms, an operating system is software that controls the allocation and usage of
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hardware resources such as memory, CPU time, disk space, and input and output devices. The
operating system (OS) bridges the gap between the computer hardware and the user.
Windows (7, Vista, XP)
Mac OS
Unix
Linux
 Why do I want to update my operating system?
 Computer vulnerabilities are discovered daily and it is necessary for software companies to
“patch” their software when these vulnerabilities are discovered. Failure to do so could result in
problems down the road.
 Example: Infected icon vulnerability
 Bug fixes and improvements
Prevention:
4. Operating system updates
 How do I update my operating system?
 Most Windows users have automatic updates enabled. This
means that when Microsoft releases new updates for your
computer, your computer will automatically download and
install them. Usually you will then be asked to reboot your
computer.
 Manually install updates by going to the Windows Update
website
 Are my Automatic Updates enabled (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Security Center  Automatic
Updates
Prevention:
4. Operating system updates
 Other
 Window Updates often can update your hardware drivers
 Microsoft Updates
 Questions?
Prevention:
5. Application updates
 Why do I want to update my application?
 You need to update your applications for the same reasons why you update your operating
system.
 Example: Infection Adobe PDF vulnerability
 Bug fixes and improvements
 At a minimum keep your Internet facing applications
updated. Most times, these types of software will
download updates automatically and ask you to install
them.
 Adobe Flash
 Adobe PDF
 Java
Prevention:
5. Application updates
 Other
 Best practice – Keep all software updated
 Questions?
Prevention:
6. Remove unwanted or unused software
 If you are not using or planning to use a piece of software on
your computer, then remove it.
 Reduced performance
 Sluggish startup times
 Another possible security vulnerability
 Additional problems
 Example: Toolbar and BB&T’s website
 How do I remove programs (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Add or Remove Programs
 Select the program and Remove
Prevention:
6. Remove unwanted or unused software
 Questions?
Prevention:
7. Education
 Education yourself
 Be weary of P2P (peer-2-peer) file sharing applications. A lot of
these services have files that are infected with malware.
Limewire, Frostwire, Bearshare, Kaaza
 Be mindful of pop-up messages that say your computer is
infected with hundreds of viruses. Unless this message came
from your security software, you are possibility staring at an
infection.
 Questions?
Maintain Performance
 Maintain the performance of your computer by following
these guide lines.
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Remove unwanted or unused software
Delete Internet Cache
Check Disk
Defragmentation
Disk Cleanup
Use 3rd party software tools
Tweak the startup routine
Maintain Performance
 Remove unwanted or unused software
 For maximum performance, keep your computer running lean
 Example: Friend who evaluates software
 How do I remove programs (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Add or Remove Programs
 Select the program and Remove
Maintain Performance
 Delete Internet Cache
 If your Internet browsing experience does not perform like it
used to, or if you are experiencing odd behavior from
previously viewed websites, then it maybe time for you to
delete your Internet cache.
 How do I delete my Internet cache (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Network and Internet Connections
 Internet Options
 From the General tab, click “Delete…”
Maintain Performance
 Check Disk
 Sometimes problems with your hard drive can affect performance of
your computer. When trying to maintain or restore the performance
of your computer, it is good idea to run a check disk.
 Do not run a check disk daily
 Example: Replaced hard drive due to slow performance
 How do I delete my Internet cache (Windows XP)?
 Start  Control Panel  Network and Internet Connections 
Internet Options
 From the General tab, click “Delete…”
Maintain Performance
 Disk Cleanup
 The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk
for files that you can safely delete.You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use
Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk:
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Remove temporary Internet files.
Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets
that are downloaded from the Internet.
Empty the Recycle Bin.
Remove Windows temporary files.
Remove optional Windows components that you are not using.
Remove installed programs that you no longer use.
 Start  Run  Type “cleanmgr”
Maintain Performance
 Defragmentation
 After some time your computer’s hard drive can get
fragmented. You can increase the performance by
defragmenting your hard drive regularly.
 Start  Run  Type “dfrg.msc”
Maintain Performance
 Use 3rd party software tools
 CCleaner (Free)
 Advanced SystemCare (Free)
Maintain Performance
 Tweak the startup routine
 Microsoft System Configuration Utility or MSCONFIG for short is used to
tweak your startup routine. This is a very powerful utility that will help in
troubleshooting and diagnosing problems. You can disable unnecessary
programs thus increasing the performance of your computer.
 Start  Run  Type in “msconfig”
Maintain Equipment
 Electricity
 Surge Suppression
Computer
 Network cable
 Telephone cable
 Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
 Heat
 Maintain good air flow
 Keep fans cleans
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