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Just as I get many of the same questions from different inspectors about inspections and inspection report software, I get many of the same questions about PCs and websites.

So - I thought - why not include PC Tips in with the Inspection Tips for Success.  Many of our customers are not inspectors though and our non-inspector customers may also be interested in the PC Tips.  So, I decided to start an new newsletter. 

The goal of the PC Tips Newsletter is to help you get the most out of your desktop, laptop, notebook, and Ultra Mobile PCs.  Websites are also a popular topic so I will give you website tips too.

I hope you enjoy the new newsletter.  You should receive your first PC Tip a few hours after you receive this e-mail.

Tips for getting the most out of your desktop, laptop, notebook, tablet, or ultra mobile PC and the software that runs on them.  The newsletter also includes the Tips you need to create and maintain a great website.  

Anti-virus software is necessary today more than in the past but it a often a case of the cure being worse than the disease.  Some anti-virus software will make a modern state-of-the-art PC perform like an old tired PC from a generation ago.  

You will get the best balance of performance and protection by NOT allowing your anti-virus software to run in the background.  Do periodic scans of your PC for viruses but leave the anti-virus software turned off at all other times. You will literally be taking back control of your PC. 

I recommend using Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare.  It is the best anti-virus software I have used.  My second choice is Fix-It Utilities.  I have both installed on my main PC.  Windows Live OneCare is slower than Fix-It Utilities but it sometimes catches things that Fix-It Utilities misses.

In my opinion, the worst anti-virus software is Norton followed closely by McAfee.  I have tried Norton many times over the years and it never seems to get any better.  In fact, it seems to get worse.  It has caused me far more harm than any virus has ever caused.

If Norton and McAfee were the only two choices for anti-virus software, I would take my chances on viruses.  I would not install either of them on any of my PCs.

Today's Tip is too long for e-mail so the Top 5 Tips for protecting your PC from viruses is posted on our website:

http://www.bestinspectors.net/education/protectyourpc.htm

As PC users, we had processor speed drilled into us from the earliest days of PCs until recently. Manufacturers are putting less emphasis on processor speed these days because processor speed doesn't tell the whole story.

Upgrading the processor on a PC can be an expensive upgrade.  Small incremental upgrades are not worth doing. The improvement in performance may not even be noticeable. 

Memory upgrades, on the other hand, can result in significant performance improvements at a relatively low cost. 

As programs continue to grow more powerful and more sophisticated, the need for more and faster memory also grows.  Windows Vista requires much more memory than earlier versions of Windows.  Thirty-two bit processors can access a maximum of 4GB of RAM.  If you have anything less than 4GB, you should be able to improve performance by adding more memory.

Instead of being the screaming fast high performance machine you expected, it is more like an old tired dog.   Every time you try to do something, all you get is the Vista spinning doughnut (or XP's hourglass).  What's going on?!?!

Open the Windows Task Manager (Control-Alt-Delete).   Click on the on the "Processes" tab and put a checkmark in the "Show processes from all users" box at the bottom.  Task Manager reveals all sorts of stuff that you do not recognize - iTunes, Norton, McAfee, Nero, XYZ, ABC, and so on, and so on, and so on ...

You are wondering "What is this stuff and how did it get there?"

You wouldn't buy a sports car and expect it to be filled with boxes of lead balls when it is delivered to you.  A common practice among PC manufacturers these days is to load up your PC with all sorts of worthless demos of everything from anti-virus software to games.

Dell had gone so far with loading up PCs with junk software that their customers started to revolt.  In response they introduced the Vostro line which, according to the Dell website is  "shipped with no trial ware".  When they introduced the Vostro line of PCs they acknowledged that a significant number of their customers had expressed a desire not to have trial-ware pre-installed.

Microsoft publishes a nice free utility called Windows Defender that will allow you to selectively disable programs temporarily.  Windows Defender makes it easy for you to figure out what you need and what you don't need without putting your PC at risk in the process

We have Windows Defender download links on our website: BestInspectors.Net

If you have trouble using the touchpad, don't torture yourself.  You can plug in a standard wired or wireless mouse.  Without a mouse, I might as well be wearing boxing gloves.  I carry a small wireless mouse intended to be used with a notebook.  It is smaller than a typical full size mouse.  A regular full size mouse will work just as well.  I like the smaller mouse because it fits comfortably in my laptop case.  I hardly even notice the size difference.

The little button above the touch pad on most notebooks and laptops will turn off the touchpad so you don't accidentally move your cursor around while you are typing.  

Put your credentials on your website's main page.  Very few inspectors or other professionals put their credentials on the main page but you have only have one or two seconds to grab a visitors attention before they move on.  The best way for you to grab the visitor's attention quickly is to have  your credentials be the first thing your visitor sees.

The WORST thing you can do is to put Flash animations or any introductions that the visitor has to look at or "Skip intro" before they see your main page.

There is hope but, you have to act fast. Here's what to do:

Hard Drive Failure - Recover Your Data

 

Some of the offending applications are spy-ware.  Some are programs that your PC manufacturer was paid to install by a software company.  Some are what are called "TSR" (Terminate and Stay resident), "Quickstart", or "Quicklaunch" programs.  

They may be harmless applications by themselves but when they are all trying to crowd into memory, they can cause problems.  the operating system is supposed to act like a traffic cop keeping control of everything but it can get to a point where the operating system cannot handle everything.

What happens all too often is that the PC user runs a virus scanner which finds a bunch of viruses (probably dormant viruses attached to e-mail messages) and assumes that the viruses caused the problem.

Use a program such as Windows Defender to turn off all the programs running int he background that you don't need to have running.  All those little programs that are there to make applications launch faster are actually adversely affecting the overall performance of your PC.

You just might be amazed at the difference in your PC's performance after you disable all the unnecessary stuff running in the background.

There is an icon in the System Tray (that area with the icons in the lower right hand corner of your screen) that says "Safely Remove Hardware".  Click on the icon and you will see a list of all connected USB devices.  Select the device you want to disconnect.  A few seconds later, a message will pop up telling you that it is safe to remove the USB device.  

Some USB drives come with proprietary software that will safely diconnect the device for you.  Software usually uses the term "eject" instead of disconnect but they mean the same thing.

What about iPods?  There is a link in iTunes on the left hand side of the screen to eject your iPod.  Click on the Eject link FIRST, then disconnect it using the Safely Remove Hardware described above.  It only takes a second to safely remove your iPod so don't put your iPod at risk by unplugging it without following the proper procedures. 

That's a great question - one I am asked often.  I'm sure there are others who would also like to know about doing e-mail newsletters so here is a free e-book I wrote on the subject:

http://www.bestinspectors.net/education/emailnewslettters.htm

You can download the e-book from our website by following the link above.  It is free to our members and subscribers.

Anti-virus software is necessary today more than in the past but it a often a case of the cure being worse than the disease.  Some anti-virus software will make a modern state-of-the-art PC perform like an old tired PC from a generation ago.  

You will get the best balance of performance and protection by NOT allowing your anti-virus software to run in the background.  Do periodic scans of your PC for viruses but leave the anti-virus software turned off at all other times. You will literally be taking back control of your PC. 

I recommend using Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare.  It is the best anti-virus software I have used.  My second choice is Fix-It Utilities.  I have both installed on my main PC.  Windows Live OneCare is slower than Fix-It Utilities but it sometimes catches things that Fix-It Utilities misses.

In my opinion, the worst anti-virus software is Norton followed closely by McAfee.  I have tried Norton many times over the years and it never seems to get any better.  In fact, it seems to get worse.  It has caused me far more harm than any virus has ever caused.

If Norton and McAfee were the only two choices for anti-virus software, I would take my chances on viruses.  I would not install either of them on any of my PCs.