Top 10 laptop maintenance tips

Laptops are the hottest gadgets available today. A person is virtually handicapped without a laptop by his side, and laptop provides the greatest advantage of being mobile and portable, enabling us to complete our work regardless of where we are. Laptops are very sensitive and once damaged, can be really costly to repair. It is thus natural that we should take care of our laptops and see to it that there is no harm in any way. As compared to desktop computers, laptops are much more sensitive and easily damageable. Some simple yet effective laptop maintenance tips are as follows:

1. Dusting: Your laptop should be kept free of dust. Daily, as you keep your laptop aside and go to sleep, dust accumulates over it overnight and if dust enters inside the keypad, it becomes really troublesome. Thus, you should take a dry cloth and clean the dust from the surface, after which you should use a blower to blow out dust which has entered inside.

2. Avoid liquids and food: It is advisable to avoid having food while using the laptop, or while you are near the laptop. This is for the simple reason that if the liquid seeps inside, various forms of damages can occur such as loss of monitor display.

3. Optimum temperature conditions: Laptops get heated really fast, especially when they are being charged while in use. Thus, keeping them in direct view of the sunlight or in the kitchen near the stove should be avoided.

4. Defragment: Laptop cleaning is not only about the outside dusting, it is also dependant on how you maintain the internal functioning. Daily, when you are done with your work, at least defrag your hard drives once.

5. Protect against viruses – Make sure that you have a good antivirus installed so as to protect your PC from malicious agents such as virus, Trojan, malware etc. You should take care to run an antivirus scan from time to time.

Cleaning your laptop touch pad

In this section, we shall look at a really important concept of keeping your touch pads clean, which if damaged, can cost you heavy expenses to repair. All you need is a damp cloth and isopropyl alcohol. Use round about 50% isopropyl alcohol solution and spray it using a sprayer on the touch pad. After you are done spraying, you can use a damp cloth to wipe it. Always remember that when you are wiping, do not press too hard else the internal parts of the touch pad might be damaged. After you are done, you will see the results for yourself. The touch pad will shine as if you have just purchased it recently.

How to Wipe a Hard Drive

Hard drive is considered as the storage center of a computer. All your files, folders, programs, and even the Operating System reside in the hard drives. When the hard drive is totally erased, these programs will be erased with it too. However, some people choose to erase a hard drive because they may simply want to renew or reformat their computer or they want to get rid of a hard-headed malware. 
Step 1

Check if you already have backup copies of all the files saved in the hard drive. If not, better make backup copies of your files first before proceeding to the next step. You can do this by burning a copy of your files in CDs or DVDs or by simply making copies in flash disks or media cards.

Step 2

Does your computer have a system recovery disk? If yes, proceed to the next step. If not, proceed to Step 5.

Step 3

Place the system recovery disk in the applicable drive. This special disk will help you to easily format and reinstall the Operating System.

Step 4

Follow the on-screen instructions from the disk. This will lead you to erasing the hard drive and may also help you to re-install the necessary applications after formatting.

Step 5

Use the DOS command prompt to format or erase the hard drive. Do this by opening the command link prompt. You can do this by clicking the 'Start' button and choosing the 'Run' option. Type the 'cmd' command in the open field and press 'Enter' or click 'OK'.

Step 6

The window for Command Line will open. Type 'format c: /u' or 'format c: /q'. The 'c:' here is the drive you want to erase. Meanwhile, the '/u' means unconditional format and the '/q' means quick format. The unconditional format is considered more secured than the quick format.

Step 7

Insert the installation CD of the Operating System after formatting the hard disk. You will be guided with the on-screen instructions on installing the Operating System.

Step 8

Formatting the hard drive may not totally erase its contents. Most computers are set to store copies of files in a hard drive. These copies may not be deleted even when formatting the hard drive. If you want to totally erase the hard drive, you need to use a special program called disk wipes for that. Some free disk wipes you can use are the Disk Redactor, Free Disk Wipe, Quick Wiper, and R-Wipe & Clean.

Step 9

Some bits of data in a hard drive may still be recovered even after using a good disk wipe application. There are some IT professionals who can do this. If you do not want this to happen, the only way you can do is to physically destroy the hard drive.

How to find Viruses on MAC?

Find out the common myths about MAC and Viruses

There’s one common myth successfully implanted in the brains of MAC users that a MAC system cannot be hacked. Technically, any piece of application or software can be hacked and be fed with a virus. An Apple PC might be much secure as compared to a Windows, but this doesn’t mean that Apple cannot be attacked by a virus. Though on a limited magnitude as compared to a Windows operating system, MAC, can be prone to the risk of custom designed viruses such as malware and spyware.

These days, installing an anti-virus on an Apple system is not considered shameful anymore! In fact, the numbers of people who’re installing antivirus on their MAC PC are on the growth! Now how do you find out viruses on a MAC? Read on to find out more.

1. Foxit Reader virus: Foxit reader is one of the largest used PDF viewing software. In the year 2009, an application claiming to be Foxit Reader for MAC became available online, when the fact is that only Windows, Linux and U3 were the platforms for the Foxit Reader. Users succumbed to the hoax and downloaded the application which further routed them to phishing websites.

2. IBotnet: IBotnet gave MAC users a clear picture of what is to come. With this virus, people came to know the reality that even MAC systems can be hacked and that the numbers of viruses being created for MAC are on the rise. Such viruses are generally put inside a parent application, and when you install the parent software, they automatically find their way into your PC.

Above are some of the virus attacks that have attacked MAC PCs. How to monitor and remove such threats, in case they enter your PC are as follows:

3. Performance Logs: Using performance logs can help you know which directory has been modified recently. Luckily for MAC users, there are only a few directories which can be attacked by viruses. So in case there is a suspicious activity in any one of the drives, you can know that the folder is at risk. Also, if the performance log shows some files being downloaded which you are not aware of, then you might want to probe further.

4. Anti-Virus: Antivirus applications are available for MAC, so you might consider buying one or downloading it in case it is free. Further, anti-ad-ware, anti-spy-ware are some of the add-ons with the antivirus software which can be used in a combination.

Thus, keeping your system secure is a better option than letting viruses enter and later operating on it. As they say, ‘better safe than sorry!’.

Connecting your Television To Computer Problems

The world is witnessing a technological boom where by the amount of electronic gadgets being produced are endless. Today, you can convert a VHS tape to a DVD, convert audio cassettes into CDs, and convert your LP record into studio quality MP3 and much more. Today, we have a variety of gadgets at home which we can use and the best part is that we can use them in a combination. For example, you’ve downloaded a movie on your laptop, and want to watch it on your LCD TV; we’re all provisions these days. Connecting your TV to PC seems to be a general practice now-a-days, and here are some ways you can use to connect your TV to PC in order to overcome the common problems that occur while connecting.

1. S-Video: Most laptop and computers have a 7 pin port which you can use to insert the S-Video cable. S-Video cable comes in two types – 4 and 7 pin. A common problem is that your TV might not be equipped with a 7 pin, making it difficult to connect with a laptop. At such times, you can use a converter wire which is 4 pin on one side and 7 on the other.

2. VGA: In case you own a high definition television, it is advisable to connect using VGA cable. The audio and video quality of VGA is much better than that delivered by S-Video cable. Also, the VGA wire comes really cheap. But this method will work only if you have a high definition TV.

3. DVI: DVI, also commonly known as the digital visual interface. This method is better than both of the above mentioned ones since this is digital, and offers a better visual quality and a better viewing experience. The only problem here is that the DVI wire comes a little expensive, and is priced for a minimum of $40, with the high end ones coming for $80. A problem here is that you cannot use it with a normal TV. You will need a high definition TV here as well.

4. HDMI: HDMI wire is the most common wire you will find at homes of those who connect their PC with TV. Laptops these days never come without an HDMI and modern day TVs are equipped with more than one HDMI port, making it convenient to connect your PC to TV. HDMI and DVI interfaces are compatible.

One common problem encountered is that of no sound signals while using an HDMI connection. The manual provides information regarding which port of the TV will get sound signals and thus, that port should be used for connecting.