Resolutions for the Information Age

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2007, loyal readers and new friends alike. It’s the beginning of another 52 weeks of The Wire and Untangled Web, and the perfect time for us to take a look at our personal and business information systems to determine the best path to take in the upcoming year.

In other words, we are talking about New Year’s resolutions, Information-Age style. It is critically important for all of us to do the right thing for ourselves – like kicking the smoking habit, losing weight, getting more exercise, or throwing away that Madras sport coat. Now we can resolve to take better care of our computers, too.

Protect the system and its information

In 2007, our personal computers and business systems are likely to hold even more critical information and take a more important part in the transaction of everyday business. Given the key role information technology plays in just about every corner of our life, it makes sense that we should do what we can to ensure the safety and security of our systems.

Imagine the annoyance of spending an evening at home in 2007 without the convenience of e-mail, instant messaging, web surfing, and your favorite video games. Now imagine how you would feel if all of your financial and commercial information was scrambled forever.

To help prevent you from finding out how devastating that could be, I have compiled a short list of steps that just about any computer user can take to help protect their system, regardless of how simple or complex it is. Keeping in mind that many of us lake the time and inclination to devote our every waking moment to computer maintenance, I’ll keep things short and sweet.

Clean up and chill out

Keep your computer cool and clean. This is critical. Back at the Globally Renowned Granese Institute of Technology, rarely a week passes that we do not hear about some sort of system failure caused by a computer that has overheated. The two main causes of these failures are more often than not related to the cleanliness of the system and its location.

Computers run hot. Today’s faster systems can generate temperatures hot enough to boil water. The hotter your system runs, the sooner it is likely to fail. Computers that have their cooling airflow blocked by desks or high pile carpets can suffer a meltdown at any moment.

Power supplies, video cards, motherboards, microprocessors and hard drives can all fail if they are subjected to high temperature for an extended period. Check your system now to make sure it has adequate airflow. If you haven’t cleaned it in a while, consider giving it a good going-over or seeking the assistance of someone experienced in computer cleaning.

Scan the system for viruses

No matter how cool your computer is running, a virus infection can heat things up in no time. Those nasty little virtual bugs can slip onto your system from the web via e-mail or on removable media. If you have not checked your computer for viruses lately, now is the time to take the appropriate steps.

Virus management software is no longer expensive or difficult. Many ISPs provide protection for free. Several good protection programs are available online for free, including the popular AVG Free, which you can download from www.free.grisoft.com. Download a new version or update the current protection system and run a full system scan right now. You may be surprised with what you find.

Execute the spies

While we are talking about infections, let’s have a look at spyware, too. Too many system failures are caused by malicious programming that is installed on computers without the users’ permission. They can do anything from tracking your Internet usage to actually undermining the security of your system.

If you already have anti-spyware software, update it and run it immediately. If you do not, take the time to download and install one of the many free programs available online. I am partial to Ad-Aware, which can be had for free at www.lavasoft.com. Do yourself a favor and check out your system today.

Keep powered up

No matter how careful one is about keeping their system cool and free from intrusive code, the computer will not work without electricity. Power failure is not at all uncommon here on the Atlantic Coast, and it always comes at the wrong time. Nothing is worse than seeing several hours’ worth of work disappear in a blink, never to return.

Fortunately, something can be done about it. Take a few moments and a few bucks and head to a vendor of computing supplies. Invest in something known as an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. These affordable devices provide even more electrical protection than the trusty surge protector.

In addition to isolating the computer from power anomalies, an UPS will give users a few moments to save data, close programs, and shut down normally should they experience a power failure while working on the computer.

A suitable UPS for the home can be had for well under $100. Larger orders for business installations cost more, but the protection is well worth the expenditure. The next time the lights go out does not have to be a disaster for the electrically secure.

Backing up is easier than you think

The number one Information Age resolution for 2007 is something that applies to virtually every computer user out there. Finish reading the paper, then go to the computer and make a backup of the system. Daunting as it seems, backing up can be performed quickly and easily by even the most inexperienced users.

For a home computer, grab a blank CD or DVD and throw it in the burner. Open the burning program and burn a copy of the critical information onto the sturdy optical media. Drag the My Documents folder over to the new backup disks, and then check to see how much space remains.

From there, copy Internet favorites from the browser and the address book from the e-mail program. Digitized music users can save themselves the trouble of re-buying their MP3 collection by backing up music files. Dedicated gamers will be well-served to back up their high scores and game saves.

You cannot have too many backups. Even if you only back up the data, you will still have a leg up on the next major meltdown. Once data backup is completed, make a full-system backup. It takes longer, but it makes it possible to recreate the system completely in the event of disaster.

Make that backup now

Back it up now any way you can. If you already have another backup device, take the time to use it. Whether you are backing up to tape, network attached storage, or an external hard drive, start off the new year by making a copy of the work that has taken you all of 2006 to complete.

Now that it is 2007, I’d like to thank every one of my loyal readers for keeping me busy for another year. I am especially grateful to the wonderful readers who have taken the time to write to me during the past 12 months. There is still plenty of room in my e-mail box, so do not hesitate if you feel like dropping me a note. As always, you can reach me by email.

I am looking forward to another great year addressing technology in the popular culture for the best readership anywhere. Let’s make a resolution to be here again this time next year, and to have a very happy and healthy 2007. Thanks for making these columns a labor of love for me.