OK, so I may be a little late on the whole spring cleaning thing, but better late than never as I like to say. On this blog my fellow tech geeks and I have covered many topics, from how to track down a rogue network host, to a review on a new cell phone, but there is one topic we have all overlooked. The physical care of your computer. I am not talking about how much memory you have, or how big the hard drive is, I mean the real nitty gritty care for your computer.

Heat
Heat is the enemy all computer technicians must face. I consider it one of the silent killers in the computer world. I have seen far too many computers fall victim to this common issue, because not enough care was taken to save the computer. Now, I will admit that heat is not normally one of the first things people think of when they get a new computer or laptop, but it’s this thought that could save you a lot of money. Processors, memory, hard drives, PCI devices—all of this can be destroyed by an overheating computer. There are a few ways to help protect yourself though:

• The first is to make sure you don’t have the computer in some kind of non-vented cabinet. If so, you may want to consider moving it. The heat has nowhere to go except back into the computer to be recycled as more hot air.
• Laptop users make sure you do not surround your laptop with piles of paper and other items; this is basically just insulating the laptop and not allowing it to vent properly.
• If you do not plan to use the computer for a while, try either turning it off, or putting it into a power save mode. This will allow the computer to take a break and cool off for a while.
• Try to avoid having a computer placed right next to a floor heater of any kind as this will just increase the amount of external heat being taken in by the computer.

With these few simple steps you are on your way to having a cooler safer computer, but there are other issues to look out for, leading me into my next topic.

Dust and Dirt
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anyone has a dirty house, but it’s a fact that dust is everywhere. There is no real way to avoid it. I don’t know what it is, but I swear computers live to suck in dirt and dust and just let it sit there. I tend to clean my computer twice a year because I can barely see through the vent fans anymore. Try some of these tips to help out:

• Use a vacuum with a bristle head to lightly clean the vent fans and the computer case. This also works for laptops. The bristles are a good way to remove loads of dirt and dust and to make sure your computer can vent properly.
• Canned Air is a must for any computer technician, I know we have loads of it at work. You can buy it at any store, really, from Staples to Stop & Shop. Take the computer outside and give it a few good blasts to loosen any dust that is caked on. Just remember to spray away from you, I always forget that part.
• Pet owners beware! Your pet’s fur may be shedding and finding a new home inside your computer. Pet fur is superb insulation, and can badly damage your machine. I don’t know how many fur coats I could have made with pet fur I’ve pulled from personal computers. I recommend cleaning every 3 to 4 months or so if you have an animal that sheds.

Static Electricity
Static electricty is a major problem for most electronics. Unfortunately for us humans, we can carry a powerful static charge with us wherever we go. Not many people may know this, but the motherboards on most computers do not sit directly on the side of the case. They are rasied up just a little bit to help in case a static charge runs through the case. Have you ever noticed that new computer parts come in those metallic looking static-free bags? I have two suggestions for this one:

• If you often work with the insides of computers, you may want to invest in a static charge stopper. This is a small band that connects to your wrist, and has a wire that clips onto the computer case. In theory, it grounds you to the computer case to stop any wild static discharges.
• My other suggestion is to make sure you either touch the side of the computer case, or a close friend to make sure you are not carrying a static charge. Not only will this save you a headache later, you get to give someone a little static shock!

If you take all of these tips and put them into practice, I can honestly say you’re likely to save money by increasing the lifespan of your computer. A computer is just like anything else from a car to the human body. The more you take care of it, the better it will work and the longer it will last.

Chuck Lindblom

For Windows, Microsoft offers ClearType, a technology that attempts to improve the readability of on-screen fonts. If you’re using Windows Vista, you’re all set, ClearType is turned on by default. In Windows XP, however, you will have to turn it on. It’s worth the effort, particularly if you’re using a flat screen monitor. The technology works by manipulating subpixel brightness (subpixels are essentially the small points of red, green, and blue that make a single pixel on the screen) to “smooth” the edges of on-screen fonts.

To turn on ClearType, right-click an empty area on your Desktop and choose the Properties option. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the tab labeled Appearance. From there, click the Effects… button. In the Effects window, check the second option entitled, “Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts,” and choose ClearType from the pulldown menu. When you’re done, click OK to return to the Display Properties dialog box, then click OK again to return to your desktop.

The smoothing is subtle, but you’ll notice fewer “jaggies” and slightly softer, easier to read fonts. Enjoy!

Craig Samson

The Conficker virus stole headlines at the end of March 2009 with its dynamic and unique threat to infect the Internet.  Since the Internet continued to function after the supposed payload date of April 1, there has been a media silence since April 2.

However, this does not mean the threat disappeared. On the contrary, according to the Conficker Working Group, 350,073,303 infections have been tracked to date. These infected systems are used to send spam and to distribute fake anti-spyware applications known as scareware. Like most things, the motive comes down to money—money earned by the virus authors through spamming and selling malicious software to unwitting users.

In order to understand how it works and why it created such a furor, check out some good sources for reliable information about how the virus works:

US-CERT – Conficker Worm Targets Microsoft Windows Systems

Microsoft – Centralized Information About the Conficker Worm

New Scientist – The Inside Story of the Conficker Worm

There are also several testing and remediation resources out there, but be wary of over-enthusiastic, no-name vendors fueling infection panic and pushing a free removal tool. Research vendors before downloading any software. In fact, to be on the safe side, use tools recommended by the Conficker Working Group.

Conficker infections have not stopped even though headlines have slowed down to a trickle. Keep up to date on this ever-changing security threat.

Share your Conficker experiences below, in the comments.

Microsoft has been releasing a lot of updates recently that have been asking the user to validate their copy of Microsoft Windows with the Genuine Validation Tool. But what exactly is the Genuine Validation Tool and what does it do?

This is a tool Microsoft uses to make sure the copy of Windows or other Microsoft programs you are using, are not a stolen version, or copied from another person.

By passing the validation, which is a quick process, you are entitled to all of the updates for Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft programs, as well as support from Microsoft on all of their products.

Chuck Lindblom

Lets get right into it:

Google is my personal favorite search engine. It’s the most popular general purpose search engine. It’s estimated that 63% of global searches are performed on Google, with the next biggest player being Yahoo! with a paltry 20%. Google is fast, typically very accurate, and offers a diverse suite of tools that can enhance your computer usage. Google has become ubiquitous in my social circles, such that my friends will say, “google it and find out” (Google in lowercase there, since it’s a verb in that sentence). It’s become like Xerox, Kleenex, and ChapStick, a household word (all of these brands trademarks of their respective companies). If you need to search for something on the net today, try Google (as if you hadn’t already).

Yahoo! is a longtime player in the search community; it continues to press on against Google. I will occasionally perform a search on Yahoo! if I’m not satisfied with a Google search result. My first impression of Yahoo!, though, is of being overwhelmed by its busy homepage. Once I get over that, Yahoo! offers some decent search tools, and its results are similar to Google’s. I can comfortably recommend this search engine alongside Google.

Bing, Microsoft’s latest entry into the search engine world, replaces the lackluster Live. It’s a pretty search engine, if that’s important to you. As I see it today, there’s a lovely picture of the Great Barrier Reef behind its homepage (the picture changes daily, as I understand it). Microsoft has written into the search engine a technology they call, “the decision engine,” which they claim will help users organize the search results (helpful if you’re overwhelmed by Google’s results). The jury is still out on this search engine, but check it out, you might like some of its features.

Ask was formerly called AskJeeves, and has been around for quite some time. Its default interface is beautifully simple, although you can “peel back” a corner and easily apply a variety of colorful backgrounds to spice up your visit. Its results remind me of Yahoo!, but not as good. I never bother with this search engine, frankly.

Wolfram|Alpha is not technically a search engine, but a “computational knowledge engine.” The results it provides are not a list of webpages like Google, but computed, structured data derived from its knowledge base. If you searched for “Abraham Lincoln” in Google, you get a list of webpages (topped by Wikipedia, unsurprisingly) about the former President, whereas Wolfram|Alpha gives you a fact sheet about him instead. Better yet, if you searched for “when was Abraham Lincoln born?” in Google, you again get a list of webpages (the top one clearly states his date of birth in the result); in Wolfram|Alpha, you get a fact sheet that tells you his date of birth, along with other notable things about that date. For instance, Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and so was Charles Darwin. As of today, Lincoln and Darwin were born 73,168 days ago (which is 10,452 weeks and 4 days ago, or 200 years, 3 months, and 27 days ago). This is a cool tool for the right type of inquiries.

Search engines of various kinds are out there in teeming masses. If I neglected your favorite, I’m not surprised. Either way, you might want to check out some of the alternatives listed here and see if you can find yourself a better search engine.

Craig Samson