Computer Troubleshooting

Below are some simple and easy steps that will make your Computer secure.

1. Always make backups of your most important information and store in a safe place separate from your computer.

2. Install a firewall. Zone Alarm is best. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet.

3. Update your operating system, web browser and software. I recommend FireFox, it’s a safe Browser. Internet Explorer is the favorite browser of the hackers.

4. Review your browser and email settings for optimum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. At a minimum set your security setting for the “internet zone” to High, and your “trusted sites zone” to Medium Low.

5. Install anti-virus software and set for automatic updates so that you receive the most current versions.

6. Do not open unknown email and email attachments. Remember “I Love You” virus?.Delete it at once.

7. Do not download any programs from unknown websites. If you’re looking for drivers, download it from manufacturer’s website. Don’t download any program from websites with adult banners, most of them have spyware and malware that will stole your information.

8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to “hide file extensions for known file types”. Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows.

9. Disconnect your computer from the network or Internet when not using it. A hacker cannot attack your computer when you are disconnected from the Internet

10. Make a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is compromised by a malicious program you can bring your Computer back to life.

There’s DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-ROM! So what’s really the difference between all of these different names?

Let’s first start with the most obvious, some have R and some have RW. The “R” stands for readable, while the “W” stands for writeable.

The difference between DVD-R and DVD-RW, or DVD+R and DVD+RW is that the R disc formats can only be written once, and then it is only readable and can’t be erased for the rest of its digital life. While RW can be written to and erased many times, they are both readable and writeable.

“R” discs are perfect if they are only needed to be written to once, such as giving some files to a friend or transferring them between PCs. “RW” discs have their strength in the ability to be used many times over, which is great for system backups, etc. The RW discs are more expensive than the R discs.

Now between DVD-R and DVD+R. DVD-R & DVD-RW are sister discs, the difference being one is writeable once, while the other is writeable multiple times. The same thing is true for DVD+R & DVD+RW.

The DVD-R DVD+R difference can easily be summarized by the following:

* The DVD-R/RW standard was developed by Pioneer, and is used primarily by Apple and Pioneer. These “minus” discs can only be written to in one layer on the discs surface. In addition, this format is supported by the DVD forum, but is in no way an industry standard. DVD-R/RW discs are cheaper than the “plus” format.
* The DVD+R/RW format is supported by Philips, Dell, Sony, HP, and Mcft. These discs can be written to in multiple layers, giving them slightly better and more disc storage than the “minus” format. Because of this additional capacity, they are slightly more expensive than “minus” discs.

The DVD+RW CD+RW difference can be explained by the “DVD” or “CD” prefix. DVDs, on average, can store up to 4.7 GB of data, while a CD can only store about 700 MB of data.