Quarantining with your PC
Aysë Stenabaugh
Jesters Computers
(4/2020) With the spread of COVID-19 and many of us isolating at home, personal computers are getting more use than normal. Some have the option to work from home utilizing remote applications and others are keeping in touch through social media, streaming content or gaming. Whatever your reason is for using your
computer we have some advice on how to use your device safely and what you can do if you need help with your devices.
Prepare your equipment: Use a wired internet connection over a wireless one to improve your internet speeds and overall performance. By default, most computers are set to go to sleep after a short period of inactivity, we recommend that you disable sleep mode when running on power (leave enabled for battery power if you want). This will
prevent your computer from going to sleep unexpectedly. If you are video conferencing, using a headset over a desktop or webcam microphone will greatly improve the call quality. Most software will give you the ability to adjust your sound and video settings which allow you to achieve the best quality possible.
Be wary of scammers: Scammers know the world will be using the internet more and they will take any opportunity to take advantage of people. If you receive any phone calls from anyone about your computer and you did not call them recently yourself, they are probably a scammer. No one should have access to your computer to see that there is
a problem unless you have given them access to your device. Someone will rarely gain access to the average person’s computer without interaction from the user, usually by way of going to a website and downloading remote software or providing an access code to let someone view and control your device. Unless you know someone personally (such as a friend or a
computer repair shop you trust) you should not provide access to your devices. Many companies that offer remote support to resolve software issues and if you reach out to these places, you should be certain they are who you think they are. For example, there are a lot of websites that offer support for printers that are not the manufacturer and often these third
party support websites are scammers that will get access to your device and then try to extort users for money by locking their devices with passwords or tricking them into thinking they need to spend way too much on a support plan that you don’t need to "fix" your computer.
Use Internet Etiquette: Yes there are unwritten rules about how to use the internet when it comes to social activity. Don’t use all CAPS when you writing to someone online unless you WANT them to think you are yelling at them. When replying to an email or even a message, understand the difference between reply and reply all, a reply will
only go to the original sender, reply all will send a message to all of the original recipients listed in the To: field. More than anything though, check, double-check and triple-check all information that is shared online. Fake news seems to be more common on the internet than real news, and many people don’t know the difference. Users can help fight fake news by
reporting it (on social media via a button that is found on every post) so it can be reviewed and removed if necessary.
Use the tools you already have on your computer: The most common potentially unwanted software (or PUPS) that we see come from users attempting to get directions, track a package, or save a document as a PDF. None of these tasks require you to download anything to do them but many websites try to make you think you do so that you will
download and install their software. If you’ve ever wondered why pop-ups started infiltrating your computer after installing one of the above, mystery solved!
Seize this opportunity to optimize your devices: This applies for cell phones and tablets too. Go through installed programs (on Windows 10 right-click on the start button in the bottom left corner, then left-click on Apps & Features) by removing software you don’t use anymore or don’t need. It’s not recommend that you uninstall something
you aren’t familiar with instead, leave the application installed, ask your computer support technician or search online for additional input from reputable sources. Uninstalling unused programs will prevent them from running when they shouldn’t be which can use up system resources like CPU and memory unnecessarily. Backup any important data including all of your
photos and documents to a second storage device and/or cloud storage. Freeing up storage space won’t make your computer faster in most cases but if your hard drive has less than 10% free space, your hard
Most importantly, if you need help reach out to a good quality computer support business or a trusted friend or family member! If you are looking for help you can reach Jester’s Computer Services at 717-642-6611. At this time we are continuing to offer remote support when possible and are we continue to accept drop-offs
and pick-ups by appointment only. For more information or free computer tips and tricks including our video tutorials, visit us on the web on Facebook or at www.jesterscomputers.com
