Firewalls

Recently a friend asked me about his Norton firewall and XP. His system was running slow and hanging up for some reason. Well computers can cause many different problems and sympthoms, so I pondered and questioned him.

Remebering from my Cisco class, there are 2 types of firewalls (Hardware - like routers) and (software - like Norton, Mcafee). Well there is a difference. Firstly software firewalls have to load with other software running in the background. This loads the system down and can cause it to run very slowly. Hadware firewalls just sit there connected to (back or front) of your computer and respond accordingly - no heavy loading.

Now we add XP with a built in firewall and hey we got a lotta sofware running before we opened a program. Well the beauty of XP is that it has a built in firewall which protects the system. Well if XP has a firewall built in, then why try to install another one. It doesn,t make sense.
Here is a Microsoft excerp on turning on and off XP firewall :

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=283673


Start up files are problems too. Have you recently installed some software and found your system running slow, well I have an old Windows 98 box thats slowed down. Once I began to check the startup files, I found Windows was starting a lotta files on reboot. How did I check this, by pressing (crtl-Alt-Del), the startup files box should appear. There is only so much memory available for these files-when its low, the system starts slowing down considerably.

Heres what Microsoft says about Windows 98 troubleshooting startup files:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q188867

Starup files Info:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

You can click on certain files and cancel them to get familiar what controls what, however it takes some time to get familiar with what your looking at.

1. Let say you bought a new printer and installed the software, then there may be files added to the starup folder to launch the printer on startup.

2. Lets say you installed a new widget or application, well there is probably a file added to the startup folder, which activates the application on startup.

Get the idea. Software installations do things we don,t know about. Gotta problem - email me

Hope this helps
G jackson
A+,Network+,MCP-NT,MCP-2000,MCSA-2000,MCSE-2000,2000 Exchange Certified

My photo

I just recently purchased a Logitech webcam. This is a picture of me. As you can see I am very photogenic. This picture will more than likely be updated with a better copy.

Free slides for your Blog or Website

Well,Well, Well, it just keeps getting better and better. You can now add a free slide show effect to your blog or website. This is a cool little tool, I have seen it on Ebay as well. Hope you enjoy. Download link:http://www.slide.com/main

Internet Business: Upgrading your PC or Laptop

Internet Business: Upgrading your PC or Laptop
Brought to you by www.icommtechnology.com

Healthful Computing

I thought I,d post this tid bit to help those computer geeks that never get enough of working on computers.

Healthful computing means just what it says. Learning how to work on computers without ruining our health. No one ever told us that bending over, slaving at the peek screen could be hazardous to your health. What's that??. Well just look at all the cases of wrist operations, back surgeries, and ergonomic reorganizations and you,ll see this can hurt later. As a help desk support tech, I noticed answering the phone constantly began to cause certain pain. Typing memos and updates to help files,answering emails became laborious, not to say causing discomfort.
Welcome to the world of pain. Yes, by not paying attention to signs of pain, you could be in for a world of trouble. Most people probably work on pc,s without ever thinking that little nagging pain can grow into surgery. Wrist surgery is very popular. What happens is the joints start causing the most pain- carpal tunnel I believe. Seen those wrist straps on someone before???? Yup, the probably work constantly, typing information on a computer screen.

MAKE A FEW CHANGES
1. Check your chair height, position.
2. Correct your keyboard, it should be lower or at elbow height.
3. Use good lighting.
4. Correct your desk setup-change it to a more natural position and feel.
5. Exercise your wrists periodically, get up and walk around, stretch also.
6. If you talk or answer the phone more than normal-get a ear plug, possibly a headset.

Believe me, this will save you years of aggravation and pain. Remember surgery hurts, and may not restore your true ability to be mobile again. Start today-cleanup your setup.

Upgrading your PC or Laptop

Okay-you,ve been thinking of upgrading your PC or LapTop. Congradulations you have decided to join the 20th century just like the rest of us. Well not to worry, you just have to understand the latest technology and terminology. However if not comfortable with repairs, then take it to a certified repair station.Tools needed-phillips-regular screw driver,pliers,tweezers,lights,mall set box wrenches.After you,ve played around with your system you begin to get the feel of taking it apart.

Box- case or outer cover. This is just the outer cover usually held on by 4-6 screws in the back of a completed computer system. The cover usually slides backwards. Laptops are a little different in getting the skin/cover off. Because of the design and components inside of laptops, I dont recommend opening it, as it is better to take it to a certified repair station.

Screen - Monitor or LCD - Just what it says, monitor=.25 dot pitch,ususlly plugs in the back,color coded wires too-so pay attention where the wire came from.

Drive - hard drive-this device stores all your applications and software.

Memory Sticks - internal memory-random access mempory-temporary storage place for data.

Processor - cpu or computer brains-processes software and firmware instructions

Modem / Fax modem - Communication device-device used to communicate across the Internet or Fax documents.

CD/RW-DVD/WR- CD reader/burner or DVD burner-we all probably know about burners. A device used to copy CD,S-DVD,S

OS-Operating system software - Windows XP nowdays.

MHZ-this term is megahertz, represents speed of processor.

MB-Mega Bytes-size of memory sticks

MB-Motherboard

At a bare minimum, you want to get familiar with these terms without getting too complicated. Now normally I use Fry,s electronics-cheap parts. Okay, when upgrading from an older system- the new requirements for XP-512mb ram, 1 mghz (Pentium or AMD) processor, cd-rom,dvd-player, possible bult in fax modem,15,17,19,20 inch monitor,DSL modem can be added later,may come with the box. Without overwhelming anyone-these are the minimum I would use.

Do you speak computerease-Basic Computer Repair

Who turned off the lights. Well I was called by a customer. They complained that the monitor was dead. Hmmm, did it work last night (yes). I turned the pc on and off (front power light worked), that meant the pc was plugged in. Hard drive light came on (hard drive was working)- - well being as smart as I am, I checked the contrast control on the monitor and bam--it was turned all the way down. That contrast control wheel-controlled how much light the monitor received, if turned all the way down-guest what-no video or picture on the monitor.

Basic computer repair starts with knowing what your taking about. You must learn simple terms and components to begin understanding whats wrong or broken. Check out this powerpoint slide with computer component descripion excerp, from Berkley Library of Science or http://www.berkeley.lib.sc.us/basiccomputer.pps . Don,t have powerpoint-download viewer without installing powerpoint-http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&q=powerpoint+viewer

Another pc repair pdf