If you really have a hankering to foul up your computer, here is a list of
ten steps you can take to do a thorough job of messing things up.
(Of course, the following is written with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Do just the opposite, please! Actually performing the following
steps will result in serious damage to your computer.)
1) Do Not Turn Off Your Computer
Correctly
Instead of using the correct
Windows shutdown procedure, just pull the plug or turn off the switch on the
back of the computer. This will increase the chances of corrupting
the operating system and program files on the hard drive, and perhaps keep the computer from
booting up properly the next time it is turned on.
No one really expects their
computer to work correctly when they first turn it on, anyway.
2) Do Not Use a Firewall While Surfing the Internet
If your Windows firewall is
active, turn it off. Also, do not install third-party firewall
software or use network routers with built in firewalls. That will
allow your computer to be compromised by hackers and malicious software as
you surf the Internet.
It is even possible someone might
hack their way into your system while it is just sitting idle, but still
connected to the Internet. Lucky you!
3) Do Not Use Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Programs
Anti-virus and anti-spyware programs keep viruses, trojans, spyware, and
other malicious programs from infecting your computer. You don't want
that, do you? Either turn them all off or just don't keep them
properly updated. Invite those nasty infections in to damage your
system and make a hash of all the data you have saved.
4) Do Not Use a Surge Suppressor
Do not plug your computer into a
surge suppressor. A surge suppressor keeps damaging voltage spikes and
power surges out of your PC. To properly damage sensitive components
in your computer or invite data loss requires that you plug your computer
directly into a wall power outlet.
While you're at it, plug the
coffee maker, space heater or vacuum cleaner into the same power outlet as
your computer. What fun you will have as the computer's power supply
catches fire and lets out those pretty sparks and smoke. It will seem
like the 4th of July!
5) Install and Uninstall Lots of Programs
The more programs you install and uninstall, especially unfamiliar
software downloaded from the Internet, the more likely you will cause a
problem on your PC. You might corrupt the data on your hard drive,
damage the operating system and its registry file, or better yet, infect
your computer with viruses, trojans, and other malware. Just what the
average computer user is wanting to do.
6) Fill the Hard Drive with Data, and Do Not Keep it De-fragmented
Load lots of programs, data
files, music and movie downloads, and other stuff on your hard drive.
Fill it right up with anything you can find. Delete some of it and
then load it again. Do this frequently.
Also, do not defragment your hard
drive at any time. That way you will rapidly run out of free space,
and the hard drive will also start running very slowly. The computer
will take a long time to start up. Opening programs will take forever.
With luck, you will even start losing valuable data.
7) Open All Attachments Received via Email
Throw caution to the wind. Open every attachment you receive via email,
especially those from unknown senders. There is no better, more
efficient way to
infect your computer with a nasty virus or some really foul spyware.
And using a computer is supposed to make our lives more efficient, right?
8) Pick Weak Passwords
Strong passwords are for sissies!
Use the same password for all of your secure logins. Make it something
really short, just three or four letters or numbers. "1234" works
well. The all time favorite is "password". You can use your
name, a relative's birthday, or a common word out of the dictionary.
If you use a strong password with
a random mix of letters, numbers, and punctuation, at least 15 characters
long, how is someone going to hack their way into your bank account? Does
that seem fair? Don't make the bad guys work any harder than they have
to.
9) Do Not Back Up Your Data
Everyone yearns for the day when
their hard drive unexpectedly dies. Power failures while saving data
can be lots of fun.
You can lose every bit of
information, important business records, all the priceless family pictures,
that video production you have spent countless hours working on. That
is what we all live for!
Keeping backups of important data
and having a data recovery plan is the wimpy way out. What is
life without a little crisis now and then?
10) Do Not Install Security
Updates for Windows or Other Programs
Installing security updates for
Windows, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and other various programs and
applications, just makes it more difficult for computer criminals to break
into your system.
Not installing updates will allow
hackers to exploit weaknesses in your system. Your
computer could be taken over and made to send spam and virus laden emails to
thousands of other computer users around the world.
Even better, it could become part
of a zombie network that attacks innocent websites on the Internet, causing
them to crash and costing their owners thousands of dollars in excess
bandwidth charges.
Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
Seriously, everyone should treat
their computers with a modicum of respect. Doing otherwise will only
invite unnecessary and potentially very damaging problems.
The following are a few tips to make
your computing life easier. Additional information on each of these tips
can be found elsewhere on the AYS website.
-
Turn your
computer off using the correct shutdown procedure.
-
Use a quality
firewall on your system to protect it from outside attacks.
-
Use quality
anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on your system. Keep them up to
date.
-
Apply updates
to the operating system as they are released by the vendor.
-
Avoid opening
email attachments from unknown senders.
-
Exercise care
when opening email attachments from known senders.
-
Plug your
computer into a properly rated surge suppressor power strip, not a bare wall
outlet.
-
Use strong passwords
at least 15 characters in length, that consist of random letters, numbers,
and punctuation.
-
Check the fragmentation
of your hard drive on a regular basis. Defragment the drive as necessary.
-
Establish a
regular schedule for backing up important data files.
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