by Clay Cushman – Lead Technician

As we turn to computers to help us with our business, our organization, our entertainment, and our communication, their importance in our lives is growing almost exponentially. Of course, computers are machines that aren’t perfect, and almost anyone can relate to the horror stories of the dreaded “hard disk crash.” Without a doubt, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the lifeblood of the computing world: data. The goal of this column is to cover a few subjects that will help keep your computer running as smoothly as possible, and help ward off the catastrophe of a total data loss.

Data Backup

What is a data backup and why should I implement one?

A data backup is a copy of your data that you keep in case something unexpected happens to your original data. A sad but true fact of life is that computers do break—hardware failure, malware (such as virus and advertising software), data corruption, hacker intrusion, natural disasters, and power outages are some of the things that we see happen to computers on a daily basis. Since everyone is using computers more in their day to day lives to store their photos, music, videos, and e-mails, it becomes even more essential to implement some sort of data backup in case the unthinkable happens. Backups can also be a safeguard against user errors—did your child accidentally delete the family photo collection to install the latest video game? A reliable, working, and routine backup helps to alleviate the worry.

by Clay Cushman – Lead Technician

Computer security is a hot topic these days, especially with the proliferation of identity theft and online fraud. Criminals are constantly devising clever ways to fool computer users into handing over their information—making it harder for the end user to tell if their online transactions are legitimate. Here are a few steps to take to make sure your computer is secure against some of the most common security threats facing the casual user today.

Firewall

Most people do not know how a firewall works or what it is for; they just know that they need one. The inner workings of a firewall aren’t important in this article, but the basic job of a firewall is to keep other people from accessing your computer. This is essential for computers that are directly connected to the internet, as are most home users.