If you are like most people around the United States, you love your technology but hate it when it does not work the way it is supposed to. If you have a computer, for instance, you know that it is not rare for this kind of technology to fail, usually at the worst possible time. At least 140,000 American hard drives experience a crash every week. At least 31% of people who use PCs report having lost all of their data due to some event that was not within their control. There are some things every computer owner should know how to do to avoid taking it to the computer repair services center. One of the most basic computer maintenance steps is the regular backup.
- Back up your data. This is the number one thing that people who work in IT services andamp; computer repair tell people. It is so basic and is something that both individuals will avoid doing. There are a number of reasons you need to learn how to back up your data. You can lose your data when your hard drive crashes or when your system is contaminated. “Ransomware” has been developed. Hackers get into your system and take control. They then demand a certain amount of money to give access to that data back to the owner. The good news is there are a lot of ways to deal with this. You can use external hard drives, cloud services or other services. It is always a good idea to store your data in a location away from the physical space where you keep your hardware. If there is a flood or fire, you can lose everything.
- Keep your computer and system healthy and virus free. For a long time, people with Macs did not have to worry about malware or viruses. Now, both PCs and Macs can be targets of this kind of nefarious software. If you suspect you have any, you can get free applications to find and remove the nefarious applications. There are also simple things you can do to not become infected. Never open email from people or organizations you do not know. Use strong passwords and change them on a regular basis.
- Get to know your WiFi network. Setting up and troubleshooting a WiFi network is a lot easier than most people realize. You do not need to hire someone to come in and set up your network. There are online tools that can help you check your upload and downloads speeds for your wireless network. If you find that you need to reset your router more often than you used to, take a look at the physical set up of your router and modem. You do not want anything sitting on top of it or even blocking the signal. If you need help setting up your system, you can always call your internet provider. Hiring a computer repair expert is overkill when it comes to setting up a wireless network. Most systems come with very simple instructions and tech support at the internet company should be able to walk you through the process.
- Get rid of the clutter on your computer. Many people will take their computer to a PC repair or laptop repair specialist to help them clean out the clutter. You can do a few things to keep it off of your computer in the first place. When you are working online, there are often websites or popups that look like something you will want to click on. Be really careful when you are online to not click on anything that you have not researched. Now, a lot of computers come with some random stuff already installed. When you first get your new computer, go through and see if there is anything you can uninstall. If you are not sure about an application, do an internet search and learn more about it before you uninstall it.
Learning some basic maintenance steps you can take to keep from needing costly computer repairs is something everyone should do. The good news is that there are a lot of free tools and advice you can find online to keep your PC or Mac running like new.
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