Official FAQ for the Technically Challenged

[Robin Hood]

Some recommendations from
Robin Hood
Network Solutions & Computer Repair

What is good virus protection?

The number one thing you want to look at in any virus protection is does it have a resident shield. A resident shield is real time protection. The second most important thing is that it is updated regularly. Good anti-virus software should update at least daily. Third, you need to look at how many resources it uses. A good virus program should use very little of your computers resources, Norton Anti-Virus is a hog when it comes to this point. Fourth, does it play well with others, once again Norton Anti-Virus falls very short in this category.

I recommend a couple of different options here depending on what you are doing with your computer. If you are visiting some questionable web sites (file sharing sites, hacker sites, etc.) I would recommend a product called PC-cillin by Trend Micro.

If all you do is some pretty standard internet surfing (message boards, shopping, etc.) I recommend AVG Free Edition which is 100% free for a home user. I am a reseller of AVG’s products, and I can tell you that the free version is the exact same software that businesses have to pay for with very few exceptions, there are just a few bells and whistles turned off in the free version that you average home user wouldn’t use anyway.

But all the big name computer manufactures put Norton on their systems from the factory, it must be good right? Wrong, the only reason Norton Anti-Virus comes on so many of the big name computers is Norton PAYS them to put it there. They aren’t doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

What should I do about Spyware?

Number one, know your enemy.
Spyware: an application surreptitiously gathering information about your computing habits that may send the data to some unknown site - aka "key loggers" or "keystroke capture parasites." (Not to be confused with "Malware," which includes viruses, worms and Trojan horse programs.)
Adware: an application that pops up advertisement windows and banners randomly or based on current browser content - aka "pop-ups."
Hijackers: applications that ch-ch-change your browser home page, default search engine and even redirect you from sites you try to reach - aka "jackers" or "switchers."
Cookies: small files that track data such as Web site preferences and passwords for repeat visits. Spyware gathers and spreads this information without user knowledge - aka "tracking cookies".
Adware is the most annoying, but hijackers and Spyware do the most damage. Scumware purveyors claim we all "agree" to their garbage, but of course we don't. Yet, a lot of this stuff is harmless.

What can I do about these things you ask?

There are a couple of programs designed just for rooting out this crap. The first program I recommend is Spybot Search & Destroy. Spybot is a very powerful program that can help you remove this crap from your computer, it also has a very cool immunization feature that “tricks” Spyware into thinking it is already installed on your computer and doesn’t need to be installed again. In its advanced mode you can even adjust what programs start when your computer starts, thus improving performance of your PC.
Next up we have Ad-Aware. Ad-Aware doesn’t have as many features as Spybot but none the less it still manages to catch some stuff that Spybot misses.
There are a multitude of Spyware removers out there, however I have found that using these two together works very well at finding and getting rid of the crap, and they both are 100% free to download and use.
One more thing to remember as with any Spyware or anti-virus software, make sure you are scanning with the most recent definitions files available.

What can I do to make Windows run better?

Get a Mac or a Linux system!
No seriously, the first thing you can do to help speed up your Windows PC is make sure there isn’t a ton of programs running when your computer boots up. Spybot has a very cool feature under the tools menu in the advanced mode of the program called “system start up”, in here you can determine what programs start when your PC boots up. Just a word of caution here though, be very careful what you disable, as some of what it lists is required for Windows to run. For instance you wouldn’t want to disable your anti-virus software.

What about minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP?

Microsoft will tell you that Windows XP will run on a PC having:
A 300 MHz Processor
128 MB of RAM
1.5 GB of Hard Disk Space

Yeah, right!!! And I am Bill fuckin’ Gates!!

To get the most out of your PC running Windows XP I recommend:
Intel Pentium 4 running at least 1.2 MHz or an AMD Athlon 1800+ or greater
512 MB of RAM
At least a 20 GB Hard Drive

Have you seen Vista yet?

Yes, it looks like it is going to be very cool, but it is going to take a lot of PC to run it well.

If I was looking to get a new PC what would you recommend?

First thing you need to do is figure out what you are going to use it for, is it going to be a computer just for surfing the Internet, getting e-mail, and maybe typing some letters? Do you want to be able to play some high end games on it? Are you going to be doing a lot of photo editing? These are all the questions you need to ask yourself. I would highly recommend a custom built computer over a off the shelf computer any day. Why, you ask? Any computer that comes from a large manufacturer is set up the way they think you might like to have it, they also add lots of crap that you will never use, but yet you have to pay for. With a custom built PC you get exactly what you want, and you only pay for what you have put on it. In other words you can get more bang for your buck with a custom built PC. One more important consideration is warranty; most of the big guys out there give you a year at most. Most custom builds you can get upwards of 3 years. Ok, so you bought that big name brand computer it is a year later and the motherboard goes out, now what? You have to buy the replacement from that same big name company at extremely inflated prices ($150+), with a custom build you can get any compatible motherboard, and it might even be an upgrade from what you had for a fraction of what you would pay for a proprietary motherboard ($50-75).

What about leaving your computer on all the time?

Yes, do it. The advantages of leaving your PC on all the time far outweigh the disadvantages. When your PC is on all the time, you can schedule things to run while you are asleep (virus scans, backups, etc.). If you are running these things while you are in bed, you don’t have the headache of waiting for them to do their thing while you are trying to use the computer.

What about doing backups?

My personal favorite backup software is Norton Ghost; it is a nice clean little program that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. It lets you browse your backups and chose exactly what to restore. There are some other very good backup programs out there, but when it comes down to bang for the buck Ghost has them all beat. I think the average home user should do a complete backup at least once a week at minimum, more if you can. The best way to backup your PC is to purchase an external Hard Drive that is three times as big as the amount of data you have on your PC. So if you have 20 GB of data, you should get yourself at least a 60 GB External Hard Drive. That way you can keep more than one back up, I would recommend keeping at least three. Prices on external Hard Drives have come way down in the last 2 years; you can get a 120 GB External Hard Drive for about a hundred bucks now, so there is no excuse for losing your data anymore.

What about Digital Cameras?

Once again, what are you going to be doing with it? Are you going to be making lots of 8x10’s and bigger prints from your photos? Or, are you just going to take snapshots to view on your computer? The sky is basically the limit on digital cameras now; there are some extremely high end cameras out here that are 8+ Megapixels. With an 8 MP camera, you can realistically make poster sized prints with no pixilation. A 5 MP camera will give you nice 11x14 prints but you will start to see some pixilation on bigger prints. If you just want a camera for snapshots to be viewed on your computer, a 3 MP camera is more than enough to do it well and you can even do the occasional 8x10 with no problems. One thing to remember about digital photographs, there are no negatives to fall back on, so you should make a copy of your photos onto a CD as soon as you download them to your computer. This then becomes your “negatives”, put them in a safe place.

What about editing my photos?

There are several options here; Microsoft makes the Digital Image Suite, a decent product for organizing and editing your photos. Adobe Photoshop is by in far the absolute most powerful editing program out there, but it has a steep learning curve and a steep price tag. If you opt for Photoshop, I highly recommend a book by Scott Kelby called “Photoshop for Digital Photographers” Scott’s books do not read like stereo instructions and are packed with useful information. If you are just wanting to some basic editing (cropping, removing red eye, basic color adjustment, etc.), Photoshop Elements is a good program, with a reasonable price tag.

What is VOIP?

Simply put VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a phone service that uses the internet to route its telephone calls, it is being more widely used everyday. I am sure most of you have seen the Vonage commercials on TV, Vonage is a VOIP provider. If you have a high-speed internet connection I highly recommend you look into VOIP. For about $25 a month you can have unlimited phone service to North America. I personally use Vonage, and love it, if you are interested in giving it a try I can get you a free month.




If there is anything else you would like to know or you need some PC help, feel free to drop me an e-mail, and we can discuss it further.

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