Hi all,

I would just like to remind everyone that it is very important that you back up your important files, pictures and videos periodically every night if possible onto another hard drive but deffinatley onto DVD discs when you get chance every few months.

Please don't leave this until it is too late just because you cannot be bothered or don't think you have the time... make the time and do it.

The amount of people who come to me and say their computer has broken and it turns out to be a faulty hard drive is untrue... all their information has been lost, just because they couldn't spend the time to back it up.

Remember... you have a lot of important documents and photos on the computer and you need to keep atleast 2 copies just incase on seperate medias. I've got my entire photo collection since 2000 on the computer and if my computer went down i'd be gutted... I always back it up onto a second hard drive, an internet space I have and also DVD discs every few months.

PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DO THIS!!!

Thanks all

Also...

If you don't have Virus protection on your computer then PLEASE do it... it is soooooo easy to get a virus that will destroy your computer in seconds...

There are very good virus programs that are completely free on the internet that you can download and they will help keep your computer safe. It is amazing how much adware companys put onto your computer to track what you do and click on... I garantee all of you have some on your computer, right now... even me... but my virus scanner will pick it up every day and get rid.

If you don't know how to go about doing these things then please message me and I will help you out... I do see it is important to do these things... Technology is very good, until it goes wrong!!!

I already have a external hard drive with all my importante files in it as for virus protection got one as well so hopefully I'm safe

A note on virus and spyware scanners:

Common sense, and intelligent use of the internet, will prevent more virus/spyware infections than a virus scanner ever will. I'm not saying you shouldn't install a scanner, but there really isn't any need to do so as long as you adhere to the following rules (which in my opinion are nothing more than common sense, and good computer practice):

1. Don't use obsolete operating systems (ones which are no longer receiving security updates).
2. Always keep your operating system updated with the latest patches/hotfixes/etc.
3. Use a firewall - Windows XP has one built in, as I imagine do most builds of Linux nowadays (not 100% sure on that). You don't need a third-party piece of software as long as you keep your operating system up to date.
4. NEVER open email attachments you weren't expecting. And if you were expecting them, ALWAYS visually inspect the email and the attachment to make sure it is legitimate.
5. NEVER browse to dodgy internet sites - the most common way (by far) of picking up a virus infection is by downloading crap from porn sites, warez sites, or the dodgier P2P networks. It's just asking for trouble.

In all the time I've been using a computer, I have *never* contracted a virus (depite having been emailed several), and nowadays I run quite happily virus- and spyware-scanner free without a problem.

Just my two cents anyway

I'm gonna have to do mine

Laptop had a right fit yesterday....said 'abused' oops

I'm using avast aswell

Good post there Alex,

You and I may well be computer literate and know what to look for and what is dodgey and what is not... I ran without a scanner for 6 years on the net but I have since put one on due to the fact of doing important Uni work and i'm on a network so wanted added firewalls to protect my computer.

A note that p2p are things like limewire that you download the program to and then are able to download music, videos, software and the like... these are NOT good... I know myself as i was trying to get some software and got myself a nice virus that ate right through my system. I was able to stop it, but not correct it... It's now going to take me about 8 hours to re-format and re-install my programs. In all fairness I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and used it as a dummy machine for exactly this scenario, but... please be aware that it's EASY to get a virus if you are not careful!!!

P.s I now have the legit software

It is a very good idea to back up EVERYTHING that you'd be bothered about losing. I had a scare about a year ago when the system on my hard drive corrupted. Fortunately I was able to recover everything by connecting my old one one as a slave drive to my new one.

It did teach me though to be very careful though, and back everything up on a regular basis. As well as having a stack of cd's with all on, a lot of stuff I also transfer to my second pc also.

One other thing I do also: with my photos even once I've transferred them to my computer I don't wipe the memory card until I've made a back up onto cd. That way if something did go wrong with my pc then they won't be lost.

Btw, just going back to the subject of antivirus software, here's the link to one called Avast:

http://www.avast.com/

It's excellent, and is also free, so there's no reason at all to be running without anti-virus software.

I got avast on my computer much better than Norton in my views and like u say its free

Yes, I wouldn't use Norton. Even if was a fantastic anti-virus software - which it isn't - it eats up far too much memory and slows your computer down. Plus of course you have to pay for it!

I used to have it a few years back, as I'd got it free with my PC for a few months, and had just kept renewing the subscription. Someone advised me to replace it, so I installed Avast and uninstaled Norton, and my computer ran miles faster afterwards.

yes agree there Norton does take so much memory in the computer than it slow and like u say its far from be the best