There is a widely used clich? in the business world: "You're only as good as your weakest link." This phrase can be interpreted to mean a company is only as good as its worst employee however, for some businesses, the "weakest link" may be found in their computer systems.
If your business relies on computer technology in any way, maintenance is imperative. Why? A healthy computer means less risk for lost data, downtime due to slow software programs, money wasted on constantly repairing and purchasing new equipment or viruses.
Viruses are extremely prevalent in this day and age so safeguarding your computer with anti-virus software is critical to its health and, in turn, the health of your business. There are several downloadable anti-virus programs including AVG anti-virus produced by Grisoft (free.Grisoft.com), a recognized leader in the anti-virus industry. The program, AVG Free Edition is an anti-virus protection tool available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product. AVG, as with many other anti-virus programs, provides rapid virus database updates.
With any anti-virus download you want to look for a program that is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down. Additional highlights should include automatic update functionality, real-time file protection and free Virus Database Updates.
Another key to maintaining a healthy PC is to be careful of what you download or install and what you already have loaded on your computer. The primary reason computers slow down over time is because of too many programs or unnecessary tasks running in the background. A background task is a program that you can’t see because it does not have a Window or an icon alerting you to its presence.
Get rid of this junk. Just about every piece of software that you ever installed thinks it is the sole reason for the existence of your PC. Examples of unnecessary tasks or software features are:
Microsoft Office background agent a.k.a the shortcut toolbar, Do you really need that shortcut toolbar running all the time? If not, it may speed things up to close this feature down.
RealPlayer, This program installs a background agent that launches your music files in one half of a second instead of two seconds and notifies you of any available updates.
Quicktime Video Player, Same thing as RealPlayer. Sure you can launch a .MOV file one and a half seconds faster but it is at the cost of slowing down everything else you do with your computer.
CD/DVD Writing Software, This does not need to be running 24/7. Get rid of these background tasks and start your CD/DVD writing software only when you’re ready to burn a CD/DVD.
The list goes on and on. To ensure optimal performance get rid of it all and take back control of your computer. There are free programs available that block programs that automatically launch themselves when you startup your computer. Check out Starter by CodeStuff. You can visit their website by copying and pasting the link below:
www.softwareblueprint.com/Newsletter/200604ControlStartup/StarterSetup.zip.
'Starter' displays a list of everything that is configured to start when you boot your computer. Right click on any of the startup items listed and select the option to go to an online database description of the startup item’s purpose and publisher. This database will also tell you if it is safe to disable the startup item.
Improving the performance of your computer is easy and free and may save you valuable time and money in the future with a few simple steps. Do it. Your business is worth it.
If your business relies on computer technology in any way, maintenance is imperative. Why? A healthy computer means less risk for lost data, downtime due to slow software programs, money wasted on constantly repairing and purchasing new equipment or viruses.
Viruses are extremely prevalent in this day and age so safeguarding your computer with anti-virus software is critical to its health and, in turn, the health of your business. There are several downloadable anti-virus programs including AVG anti-virus produced by Grisoft (free.Grisoft.com), a recognized leader in the anti-virus industry. The program, AVG Free Edition is an anti-virus protection tool available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product. AVG, as with many other anti-virus programs, provides rapid virus database updates.
With any anti-virus download you want to look for a program that is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down. Additional highlights should include automatic update functionality, real-time file protection and free Virus Database Updates.
Another key to maintaining a healthy PC is to be careful of what you download or install and what you already have loaded on your computer. The primary reason computers slow down over time is because of too many programs or unnecessary tasks running in the background. A background task is a program that you can’t see because it does not have a Window or an icon alerting you to its presence.
Get rid of this junk. Just about every piece of software that you ever installed thinks it is the sole reason for the existence of your PC. Examples of unnecessary tasks or software features are:
Microsoft Office background agent a.k.a the shortcut toolbar, Do you really need that shortcut toolbar running all the time? If not, it may speed things up to close this feature down.
RealPlayer, This program installs a background agent that launches your music files in one half of a second instead of two seconds and notifies you of any available updates.
Quicktime Video Player, Same thing as RealPlayer. Sure you can launch a .MOV file one and a half seconds faster but it is at the cost of slowing down everything else you do with your computer.
CD/DVD Writing Software, This does not need to be running 24/7. Get rid of these background tasks and start your CD/DVD writing software only when you’re ready to burn a CD/DVD.
The list goes on and on. To ensure optimal performance get rid of it all and take back control of your computer. There are free programs available that block programs that automatically launch themselves when you startup your computer. Check out Starter by CodeStuff. You can visit their website by copying and pasting the link below:
www.softwareblueprint.com/Newsletter/200604ControlStartup/StarterSetup.zip.
'Starter' displays a list of everything that is configured to start when you boot your computer. Right click on any of the startup items listed and select the option to go to an online database description of the startup item’s purpose and publisher. This database will also tell you if it is safe to disable the startup item.
Improving the performance of your computer is easy and free and may save you valuable time and money in the future with a few simple steps. Do it. Your business is worth it.