“CLEAN” YOUR NEW (and old) COMPUTER

Unless you build your new computer from scratch (which is not all that difficult) or buy from a custom builder, you can't help but end up with a lot of junk software on your new PC. This is because a lot of 3rd party software makers and Internet service providers pay the PC makers to include their “Junkware” with their own software, hoping that you might buy their products when they are so readily available already pre-installed on your hard drive. Obviously this also applies if your computer is not new you and you still have the original junk on it.

This is of course a major nuisance for more than one reason.
First, these programs use up valuable space on your hard disk, some of their components may load into your working memory and many times they keep on giving you nagging reminders to sign up or buy the licensed version of the software that you don't even need.

Solution: Get rid of them!!!

First thing you can do is to open Control Panel and select Programs and Features (in Windows Vista) or Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP).
Uninstall everything that you are sure that you will not need, for example: AOL, EarthLink and other service providers, software trial versions of applications you will never use, etc.

Once this is done it is recommended to run a utility such as CCleaner (which is a wonderful free download) and another great free utility is PC DeCrapifier to flush out all the “C” from your system.

CCleaner also has a very functional Registry Cleaner built in which is very advisable to use after a major clean up, because your registry will still be full of traces of the old software that you just deleted.

The final step is a total disk defragmentation to finish up with a nice, clean and fast PC.

P.s.: If your computer is not new you may still have the original junk on it,

Questions? Call or email me: peter@ligeti.com

Do you need a new computer?

I have been asked this question many times by friends with different levels of computer experience and user habits. I always respond back with a question: “what do use your computer for?”
In general, the most likely answer is that you probably do not need a new computer, but let’s dig a little deeper.
The question of a new computer typically comes up when you think that your computer is very slow in executing your programs, browsing the web, editing photos, etc.
Most of the time the reason is not that your computer is too old or powerless, but most likely has a few easily curable problems.
If your computer is within five years old and you do mostly emailing, Facebook, eBay and write some documents in Word, you may need a little more memory, and you need to delete your temporary internet files and also to do a little house cleaning, registry cleaning and defragmentation.
All of these are easy and largely free things that you can do yourself or have someone do it for you in one hour.
The newer programs however are increasingly power hungry and need more processor speed and much more memory. There is also a migration from the 32 bit operating system to the 64 bit OS. This will take another 2-3 years to conclude, but eventually will prevail and new programs will be only written for the 64 bit systems.
If you do decide to buy a new computer - and plan to have it for 5 years, which is the average lifetime for an average user, do buy a 64 bit system and do not skimp on the memory.
All big brands are pretty good, but they come with lots of extras, trial software, and other garbage that you do not need. You can run CCleaner or Decrapifier to get rid of those right away.
You can also buy excellent computers built to your specifications at reasonable cost at many on-line sources; many of these are large outlets are on eBay. The advantage is that you only buy what you need, while the disadvantage is that you need to be computer savvy to go this route.
Any questions: call or email me, Peter Ligeti, peter@ligeti.com. 408-528-8422

Good junk

I admit I am a pack rat. I don’t easily throw things away because I always consider a future use, perhaps ten years down the line.
I love to thinker and I fix pretty much everything around the house and more often than not, I have what I need “in stock”. My wife just laughs at the stuff I store in the garage, but I always look at the weird things as “inventory”, and in my mind almost everything has a potential use.
Some of my favorites include the usual pieces of 2x4’s, washers, brackets, boxes, tubing, etc.
Another goody is the 5-6 inch tall wooden wine case from a wine shop or Costco, which I mount on the wall in the garage to store spray cans and cleaning supplies. I also have one of these in my trunk, so when I put grocery bags or other small items in there they don’t go everywhere.
The ones I use more often are cleaner’s wire hangers and I love the fake plastic credit cards or expired hotel room card keys.
With the wire hangers I have secured garage door springs, trundle beds for moving, hang flower pots, pictures, poked stuff from under just about anything, and sometimes with a magnet taped to the end.
I unclogged drains and calking tubes, made whisks from them for mixing paint, made hooks to hang stuff on the wall. Tidied up and organized a bunch cables behind my stereos and computers.
The plastic cards are always handy for scraping food off the counter or out of pots and pans. I pick up my pets’ little “mistakes” (I throw those cards away). They are great for caulking, mixing, leveling, scraping bugs off your windshield. I cut them into “L” shape to clean the sliding windows tracks. Have you checked those lately?
The most important part of all this is the fun and convenience of finding instant solutions to problems around the house.
So before you throw things away let your creativity take over and start building your own “inventory”.

Organize and back up your data

Knowing where your data is on your computer is extremely important for at least two reasons:
1 - You will find it much easier to find and handle your own information, financial data, photos, music and other files.
2- Backing up your data (which you should do regularly) is going to be a snap.

When you install a new application (program) in your Windows PC, in most cases the software will set up a data sub-folder under its own folder or directory. This will result in having your data sitting in various locations on your hard disk, all over the place.
You do not have to accept the default location, but when it asks you for the location for your data, it is better to define it such that you can very easily locate and access it.

The best way of doing it is to have one DATA folder on the root directory of your C: drive, such as C:\DATA.

Make all your application programs save their respective data into this folder, for example, for your Quicken data: C:\DATA\Quickendata\ or C:\DATA\Photos, etc.

You will not have to worry about finding your data with this method.

It is never too late to reorganize your PC even if you already have a “messy” system. Just copy or move your data to your centralized “DATA” location and have your application program open it from there and - on exit - save it there.

We all have heard horror stories about people losing years of important data when their computer crashed or their hard disk died.

Since the cost of external storage media (drives) has come down to very affordable levels recently, there is no excuse for not owning at least one, but preferably more, external storage devices, such as USB hard disk drives and/or FLASH drives.
Installing them is as easy as plugging them into an available USB port or socket.
As they are P-n-P or Plug-and-Play, they will automatically install their driver(s) on your computer.

Many of these units come with their own very simple back-up software which will ask you about the location of the files you want to back up.
They will also keep track of what data files changed since the last back-up and will only back-up the ones that are different from the previously saved files.
Alternatively, if you are a just a little computer savvy, you can just drag-and-drop your files or the entire DATA folder onto the external drive.

Keep one of these drives near or connected to your computer and another one in a fire safe. Once a month you should burn a DVD or CD with your data on it and label and store it in a safe place.

Questions? Call or email peter@ligeti.com or 408-528-8422

What and where is my ID and Password?

Maintaining strong online identifications and passwords is the first line of defense in preventing ID theft and potentially a nightmare to clean your credit, get new credit cards, etc.
"Strong" means that your ID and password cannot be easily guessed and compromised.
As an example: a "weak" ID or PW would be something like: peter5510, which is my first name plus my street address.
A "strong" password contains letters, numbers, caps, symbols, such as: JpetRUSf7f34.
You should have different ID's and passwords for each of your important sites.
Remembering of these complicated strings is another story.
You can of course write them down or store them in a spreadsheet and keep them in a safe place or use encryption software that you can access with one good password.
These software are easily available on the internet and either free or relatively inexpensive. For example, you might download and try KeyPass 2.06 or Airy Secrets.
Both are excellent password handlers and use sophisticated algorithm to code your data.

Another option is to purchase a security device, such as ID Vault. They are relatively easy to install and not too expensive either. They do charge a monthly or annual fee and your data will be stored on their server.
Personally, I prefer to handle my own ID's and PW's.
Either way you go make sure that you maintain and change your ID and PW often.

Questions? Call or email peter@ligeti.com, 408-528-8422

GOOG 411 and MS 411

Besides the fact that the telephone companies charge you for 411 calls, their service is not always flawless.
Fortunately there is a better (and cheaper) way to find phone numbers and get connected.
These are very convenient when you are driving and don't want to fiddle around dialing or jotting down phone numbers.
Google and Microsoft have their own 411 services and not only they are free but also they are excellent and very easy to use. They will also connect you automatically without you having to pay anything extra.
The only minor drawback is that both do only business and will not search for private or residential phone numbers.
The best way to use these is to program a one or two digit "Speed Dial" combination into your cell phone.
For example I have programmed the Speed Dials "44" for GOOG411 and "55" for MS411.
This way I can dial either one of them almost without looking at my phone while driving or, better yet, using voice command, which most of the current mobil phones and even cars can do.
Once your call is answered by the computer speek slowly and because it has a superb speach recognition system, it will understand your request.

GOOG 411 or 800-466-4411
MS 411 or 800-885-5411

Questions? Call or email peter@ligeti.com, 408-528-8422

Viruses, Spyware, Physhing and Cookies

There are all kinds of nasty threats are lurking on the Internet that can spoil your day, not speaking about screwing up your computer or robbing your bank account.
The easiest to deal with is Phishing.
Phishing usually starts with a legitimate looking email from a know institution wanting you to confirm account numbers or passwords. Many of them will insult people with average IQ.
Fortunately it is the easiest threat to fight: don't respond to emails that don't look 110% safe.
If the message relates to an institution that you actually deal with, go to their web site and check if you have any message from them. Most cases you will not and that is when you will recognize that someone was trying to fool you.
Spyware is a bit different. Most Spyware is actually harmless and only wants to track your on-line habits. They are a.k.a Cookies - or little programs which you unknowingly downloaded hides in your computer and will collect information about web sites you visit and what you do there.
The malicious Spyware are the so called "key-trackers" which try to "remember" your log-in information, passwords and account numbers
There are many good tools to kill Spyware. My favorite is Spybot, which you can download for a nominal donation at www.spybot.com.
Viruses have no particular purpose other than to destroy as many computers as possible and create mass hysteria.
They are written by very bright software creators with sick minds and, most likely, unloving parents and no social life.
The first line of defense is a good anti-virus software from a reputable company.
I prefer AVG, which can be purchased at many outlets, including on-line.
They also offer a free version which can be downloaded at www.avg.com. This version does not have all the bells and whistles, but it is perfectly adequate to protect your computer. All versions of AVG constantly update their virus data base and require less computer memory to operate.
Questions? call or email me: peter@ligeti.com or 408-528-8422