Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Keep it running smooth...

In order to keep your car running smooth, you need to do two things. First, you need to maintain it (oil changes and such). Second, you need to treat it nice (don't crash it into things). If you change the oil regularly but keep driving into things, it's not going to work well. Conversely, if you never hit even a fly, but you also never change the oil, that won't work either. If you just buy the car then ignore the maintenance, chances are it's not going to last long.

Computers are the same way. In order for them to run well, there are certain programs that you should run, and certain things that you should or shouldn't do. One without the other won't do it. And if you ignore maintenance on your computer, it's not going to last long either.

So what exactly does a computer need? We've created a web page that details the most common things you should or shouldn't do to your computer:
Keeping your computer safe

It's not a complete list, but if you follow the guidelines there, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Students (both returning and first-year) should take special note of these. Last year, 20% of Hope College students had to bring their computer to CIT for virus or spyware removal. The vast majority of these visits could have been avoided by following these steps.

Of course, once your car has problems, you usually need a mechanic you fix them. And the same is true of computers. We'll post more info in the future on what you might be able to fix yourself, and what's going to require "professional help".

posted by Jeff Pestun at 11:43 AM   

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