Did you make your list of New Year’s resolutions? Most people want to exercise more, lose weight, save money, or break bad habits. Have you ever thought about making a resolution that could simplify the technical problems in your life? During the year, there’s a good chance that you developed some bad computer habits. With the new year, why not start fresh and correct your unhealthy computer habits. Here are some tips to help you stick to your computer resolution this year.
Clean Your Computer
Start your new year off fresh by physically cleaning your computer. It’s the perfect time to get rid of those finger prints and random smudges on your screen. Before you clean your screen, check to ensure that you’re using a screen safe cleaner.
We’re all guilty of eating around our keyboards. It’s a bad computer habit that everyone has. However, food crumbs aren’t the only thing you’ll find laying around. Computers collect dust and other debris in the fans and vents, which could cause your computer to overheat. Avoid using a vacuum cleaner to clean your computer, because it could seriously damage your system. Instead, use a can of compressed air to remove any crumbs or dust. Just make sure to shut your computer off before doing any heavy-duty cleaning.
Password Maintenance
We cannot stress this enough, but stop reusing the same passwords for everything. We get it. It’s easy to use the same few passwords, but it’s a safe or not practical computer habit. Your best bet is to go ahead and create new passwords for all your accounts. Create longer passwords with numbers, capital letters, and symbols to make them stronger. Do you have trouble thinking of new passwords? Try using phrases, rather than just one word. You can always use a password generator to randomly create unique, strong passwords. The more complex your passwords are, the safer your information will be.
Are you afraid that you won’t be able to remember all your new passwords? You can use a password manager app, like LastPass, to keep track of everything. Password managers store all your passwords and account usernames in a vault. The only way to unlock your vault and access your passwords is by entering your master password.
Update Security Software Often
Updating any software is a necessary evil. However, updates are crucial to keep your computer operating smoothly. If you don’t update your security software frequently, your computer can be more susceptible to malware or viruses.
You should check to make sure that your antivirus and malware programs are up to date. You want to have the most recent versions so they can find and shut down any suspicious programs or downloads. Some updates require a full system restart before they can be applied. It’s best to fully shut your computer down often, to help it work faster and more efficiently.
Schedule Regular Back Ups
Computers and hard drives fail without warning. People rarely think about backing up their computer, until it’s too late. It only takes a few minutes, but preforming a backup can mean the difference between losing everything and only losing some things. If you want to be prepared, check your settings to see if you can schedule automatic backups.
Most people end up falling short of their New Year’s resolutions. Creating healthy computer habits is key if you want to be free of unnecessary technical problems this year. You, as a computer user, need to follow through with this resolution. By practicing these tips, you can prevent some computer problems from occurring. If you want to learn more ways to take care of your computer or you want to optimize your computer’s performance, contact your local IT professionals today.
