Tip O'Tex Computer Club
May 2004 Newsletter
Critical Updates
Most people now have "automatic critical update notification" but that doesn't mean its completely automatic. You'll get a pop-up asking if you want to "view updates" or "remind me later" - if at all possible, choose to view (and install) them as soon as you get that notice. That notice only appears when you're online, so its not a matter of having to connect to the Internet before you can finish.
I've noticed often lately, that people tend to click "tell me later" and just never get back to it. Sometimes they're afraid that they'll click on something they shouldn't - something that will be bad for their computer.
But if you get that notice, please follow thru on it. If you just can't do them right then, be sure to get it done soon. To do Critical Updates manually, just connect to the Internet, open Internet Explorer, click on Tools > Windows Update. You can choose as many or as few as you want. If you don't have a lot of time, just choose some of the smaller ones.
If, by chance, you still haven't upgraded to Internet Explorer 6.0, please let me know - I have a copy on CD and can take care of that for you. Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5 just doesn't work as well. If you have Windows XP then you already have 6.0, so don't worry about it. You can get 6.0 at the Critical Update page, but it takes a LONG time to download. Quite often programs come with IE 6.0 on the CD - such as Quicken or TurboTax. You can use those CDs to install it.
Maintenance
Routine maintenance on your computer is essential. If you allow the Temporary Internet Files (TIFs) to accumulate over too long a period of time, you'll find that surfing the Internet gets slower and slower.
Scandisk is automatic on Windows XP computers, but should be run routinely on Windows Me, 98 or 95. Once a month is about right.
Defrag is NOT automatic on any of the Windows systems, but should still be run. Before you defrag, you should dump the TIFs (through the IE> Tools> Internet Options, and also empty the Recycle Bin. Getting rid of some of the C:\Temp files wouldn't hurt either.
It was interesting to see that on my new Dell, under the Dell Support Alerts, they recommend getting rid of "spyware" - and two of the programs that they mention as being good AND free were Ad-Aware and Search&Destroy. I've been using and recommending both of those programs for quite a while now. If I've been sitting at your computer at any time in the last few years, you have at least one of those programs on your desktop - use it. The next time you're online, open it and check for updates... then as soon as you get offline, run the program.
