August 2018
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This is a bi-monthly compilation of questions that our clients have asked us recently!
I am really, really new to using a computer and the prospect of making some kind of serious mistake using it concerns me a lot! Can you give me a quick list of things that I should do or not do? Actually, we could probably give you a very long list of such items, but that might frighten you even more! So, we'll just keep it sweet and simple. Let's talk first about some basic things you should do. They would include: * If you've literally never touched a computer before, get a computer-savvy friend or either of the One Click Wonders to give you an in-person tutorial on using a mouse and keyboard to navigate this new friend (and it WILL become your friend very quickly!). * Take the time to try to get familiar with your computer. Whether it be a Mac or a PC, when you first log-in you are presented with what is generally referred to a "desktop metaphor." That is to say the screen is set up to look like you might expect a real world desk to have. You have a wide open workspace. There's a trashcan. There's a calendar and clock easily available. Instead of a telephone, you can reach out to the world via electronic mail ("e-mail") and through the marvelous invention of "the web" which you can "browse" with one or more pieces of software with names like "Chrome" or "Edge" or "Safari" or "Firefox," just to name a few. Your friend or one of us can show you how to use these tools. * You should expect to get a little frustrated from time to time because despite all their hype, computers are actually pretty stupid things and tend to take commands very literally. If you can't get the computer to do your bidding, take a deep breath, then try again to get the computer to behave or ask someone you trust to help you. How about some things you should not do? * Do not EVER respond to a report on your computer that says a problem has been detected that requires that you telephone someplace unknown to get it "fixed." And if you find yourself on the phone talking to someone you don't know about a computer problem, never EVER allow that stranger to access your computer remotely. * Do not respond to any e-mail that says you must log into anything (your bank, your Internet provider, Amazon, whatever!) in order to verify your credentials with that entity. Simply ignore the request. Any legitimate vendor will reach out to you in a more secure manner than e-mail for that kind of information. And never send sensitive information like passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc. by e-mail, either. * Resist the temptation to install software on your computer that claims make it faster or "better" in any sense. Installing software without knowing exactly what it is, who built it and what it can and cannot do opens you up to a host of potential problems. As you learn more about computers you will find that they can provide a wonderful window on the world, help you stay connected with people you care about and provide a lot of entertainment. Take the time to learn how best to use your computer and Terri and I are always available to help you along the way. My computer appears to have crashed! Is there any way to recover all of the pictures and other documents I had stored on it? A computer crash is a scary thing and unfortunately, it happens more frequently than you might think. Depending on the nature of the failure, the chances of getting your "stuff" back ranges from very good to very poor. Sometimes a computer crash is only a minor software glitch that can be resolved pretty easily with the right tools. A more serious crash is the result of some kind of hardware failure, either of the motherboard (essentially the brains of a computer) or the hard drive (where data is actually stored). A motherboard failure is frequently more expensive to repair than replacing the entire computer, but fortunately such a failure often leaves the hard drive undamaged and it is usually fairly easy to extract data from an undamaged hard drive. If it is the hard drive that has failed, data recovery becomes a much more difficult and potentially expensive task to undertake. This brings us to the obvious secondary question: how to protect yourself from the grief of any kind of computer crash? The answer is: back up your computer data on a regular basis! Both Macs and PCs have software designed to make copies of user data automatically to a secondary location (usually an external, portable hard drive). There are also vendors of on-line backup services that store data at a secure location on the Internet. Either backup scheme is cheap insurance against losing years worth of personal files and not difficult to implement. If your computer has crashed, Terri and I can help you assess the nature of the failure and help you find the best way to try to recover your information. We also can counsel you on implementation of a backup plan so that any computer failure won't be a major calamity. What do you want to know more about? There are still many other topics we could talk about here or in a personal consultation. We welcome your comments and questions for future issues of the OCW Insider. You also can give one of us a call or shoot an e-mail and we'll set up an appointment to meet with you! |
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phone: 864.710.7009 email: dave@oneclickwonders.com |
phone: 864.633.6707 email: terri@oneclickwonders.com |