Power outages, worms, email viruses and other threats against your computer. This newsletter will review some things to do to avoid the problems these things cause.
Power outages...
When the lights went out, how much work did you lose? Make sure you have an uninterruptible power supply on your computer. APC makes one that is like a large outlet strip and has three outlets that provide a few minutes of power when the lights go out and three that have surge suppression only along with cables and automatic computer shutdown software. Plug your main tower and monitor into the battery backed outlets along with your inkjet printer. Plug your speakers, laser printer, etc. into the surge only receptacles. Route your telephone through the unit too for complete protection. This will be $50 well spent.
Test your power backup occasionally. To do this, simply unplug the UPS from the wall outlet with your computer on and see if it does its' job. Be sure to save all your work, etc. before the test in case the test fails. After 3 years or so, the batteries tend to fail in these units and need replacing.
Blaster and other nasty surprises...
In the last newsletter I said "If you use Windows XP, use the Windows Update and load the Security patches." If you've followed that advice, Blaster didn't affect you. If not... enough said. Windows Update is also available manually inside Internet Explorer. Look on the menu bar under "Tools" where you can run it manually. To prevent viruses, ALWAYS keep your virus checker updated.
Until next time... Happy Computing !
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