Ladies and gentlemen of the Internet era, please pay attention to the following post. You need to backup. Backing up is one of those things that it’s easy to think, “Eh, it’ll never happen to me,” or, “That’s just one more thing to worry about,” or even, “But that costs more money!” Alas, if it happens to you—if your beloved computer crashes and you lose everything, or just that one super important document you were working on at that exact moment—you’ll never, ever question the wisdom of backing up again.

If you’re not convinced, ask around. A brief and completely unscientific survey of just five or ten computer users you know is sure to reveal at least one catastrophe that could have been prevented with an effective backup.

Presuming you are now sold on the necessity of backing up, let’s proceed to types of backup. The two main options are “hard” and “virtual.” Both will require some investment, whether initial or long term. Both will require a bit of time in which your system will run a bit more slowly or clumsily while the backup is proceeding, but both are good options.

A hard backup refers to hardware that is utilized to backup your data—whether through cds, dvds, an external hard drive, or even another computer altogether. It’s a backup that you can lay your eyes on and hold close to your heart.

A virtual backup, on the other hand, is one in which your data is stored elsewhere—more specifically, online. Out of sight, but not out of mind.

Both types of backup have advantages and disadvantages. Let’s compare and contrast, shall we? Hard backups require an initial investment in the equipment—the blank cds, dvds, the external hard drive–, whereas virtual backups often have a free trial period so you can test it out and see if you like it. After the trial period or storage limit is reached, you’ll have to continue investing on a regular basis to continue your backup storage and protection.

Both backups offer peace of mind that your precious photos, docs, and iTunes purchases will be available elsewhere, should the ultimate tragedy befall your primary computer. Hard backups offer a tangible and portable sense of security. Sleep with your pretty pink external hard drive under your pillow—I won’t tell. Virtual hard drives, though you can’t snuggle with them at night, offer accessibility even when you’re away from your primary computer. No more regrets about hanging out at your best bud’s, wishing you had access to your cheat codes—just log on to their PC, open a browser, log into your virtual account and voila!

If this post can help prevent just one backup tragedy, I’ve done my job.

By default, a wireless-ready laptop or PC running Windows XP will connect to “Any available network” and “Automatically connect to non-preferred networks”. Convenient? Yes. But very risky. Computer Protection is becoming more complicated in the digital world, In fact, there are so many criminals moving their business endeavors to the Internet that Cyber crime is now a more lucrative business than drugs. Wireless invasions on your computer or laptop are a terrific way for a cyber criminal to breach your security. Invading your system with viruses, malware, spyware, or whatever it might be to help promote their cause. This clearly is a breach of privacy and more importantly could compromise computer performance or all together health. Taking some simple precautions when out and about is an easy way to avoid wireless bandits. Below these steps are additional steps on improving your performance by maintaing your computer’s registry.
Precautions to avoid the random Wireless bandits:

1. If using the Windows Classic Start menu, click Start | Settings | Control Panel. If using the default Windows XP Start menu, click Start | Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Network Connections icon to view network connections.
3. You may have several connection options listed. Right-click the icon for “Wireless Network Connection” and choose Properties.
4. In the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog box, select the Wireless Networks tab.
5. If the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is not checked, third-party connection software may be in use. Consult that product’s documentation to determine how to disable automatic wireless connections. If the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is checked, then continue with the steps below.
6. Under Preferred networks, highlight the name of the network to which you plan to connect and click Advanced.
7. In the Advanced dialog box, click “Access point (infrastructure) networks only”.
8. Remove the check mark from “Automatically connect to non-preferred networks”.
9. Click Close.
10. Click OK.
11. Close the Network Connections window by clicking the X in the upper right corner of the window.

There are some terrific registry cleaning software’s out there. I know Cyberdefender is about to launch a registry product, which has some buzz, and Error Nuker is well reviewed. I don’t endorse either, but simply trying to give my readers a starting point.

COMPUTER REGISTRY 101

Just in case you don’t know, all computers running Windows have something called a registry. You can think of your computer registry as a living archive, constantly updating and keeping track of everything. Its knowledge ranges from everything about what you installed, ran and scheduled to all of your user accounts and passwords needed to log on to your machine. To manually clean your registry using the Windows Registry Editor, first create a backup of the registry, and then remove unnecessary files:

• On the desktop, click the Start button on the left bottom corner
• Click Run
• A new window to “run” commands
• Type regedit
• Click OK
• At the top of the window click File
• Go down to Export
• Type a name for the backup file, and click Save

After creating a backup of your registry, you can go to the left side of the registry editor window and view how your computer is configured.
Click on the plus sign to expand a section of the registry editor. A “well-used” area for anyone manually deleting registry files is “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.” This area is used to make registry changes to hardware and software. I will do some registry cleaner reviews in the coming posts.

In recent years, free WiFi has been all the rage in amenities for hotels, motels, libraries, dorms, and… fast food? Consumers love their laptops and want to take them with them when they travel, work out of the office, and, apparently when they eat at Burger King. In the future, free WiFi will just be one of those things we expect when we go to a hotel, like a remote control or the Gideon Bible.

So when you’re out enjoying your juicy burger and keeping updated on the WOW message boards, how do you know if the WiFi you’re borrowing is safe? Well, the short answer is: you don’t. We would like to think that if a large corporation is in charge of the free WiFi hotspot, we’re protected. Hopefully that is true. But when you’re using someone else’s stuff, you’re taking a risk, pure and simple.

The best way to protect yourself is abstinence. But I’m going to guess that if you’re reading this, you’re more interested in using the free WiFi and limiting the risks. The first clue to whether you’re being protected is the log-on. This can be seen as rather annoying—having to identify yourself, possibly create a new username, password, register, etc.—when all you want to do is open your browser and type in an address. But identification of who is using the network is crucial. Otherwise it’s like opening up the doors and letting anyone in, to do anything they want—hey, isn’t that the same principle behind increased security at malls, schools, airports, and the like? Yes, it is.

Am I seriously comparing school shooting and terrorism tragedies to free WiFi hotspots? Yes. You’ve seen how those events have changed things—tighter security, locked doors that require one to be buzzed in, and citizens urged to report suspicious activity and packages left unattended. Knowing who is using something is important! So expect for some basic information to be asked of you when you log on to a WiFi network outside of your home.

Look for a good TOS (Terms of Service). I’m not going to bore you with the obvious thing that most of us don’t do anyway—reading it—but chances are good that without a TOS, you’re just giving your personal information away to a criminal or at least making it available for one looking for an opportunity.

Make sure your computer’s antivirus software is up-to-date so if anything tries to sneak in on your free ride, your personal protection will catch it. Keep common sense things in mind—if you wouldn’t open something or click on something in the privacy of your own home, certainly do not open it just because you’re in a free WiFi spot and you’re curious. Remember: curiosity killed the kitty!

Finally, when you’re done “enjoying” (i.e. being completely paranoid that you’re going to discover something has managed to sneak in, as soon as you get home and re-establish with your home network) your free WiFi, log off. Let me say it again because, though it’s obvious, it is often overlooked since so many home users with broadband connections don’t ever do it: log off! Terminate your connection with the WiFi and power down, folks. And don’t let ketchup get stuck between the keys! It’s a you-know-what to clean up….

Personal computer firewalls are something that many home users are aware of, but aren’t actually sure if they are installed. Business environments are a bit different when it comes to firewall protection. They want it, they need it, and they pretty much go out of their way to make sure employees know they have it. Since businesses can’t depend on employees to have enough common sense to not download things from people they don’t know (after all, many of us do receive legit work-related emails from names we’ve forgotten or never knew in the first place) or install things they really shouldn’t be installing, firewalls are still necessary.

At home, the story is changing. Many home PC users are now interested in wireless home networks. When you get one of these fine set-ups, you get a wireless router. The wireless router should have options for creating a secure,

password-enabled network so neighbors and kids biking by with their laptops open (ha ha) can’t just log on and steal whatever is exposed, simply because you wanted the convenience of not tripping over wires and cables.

When you properly enable a home router to be secure and inaccessible to those without the secret codes, that router now functions as your personal firewall. Don’t let the fact that your employers don’t trust you convince you that you need to spend yet more money on software that says “firewall”. And when you do get those lovely reminders at work of their firewall, well, grin and bear it. It’s not likely to change anytime soon.

I played with titles for this blog to come up with one that would resemble that of a Japanese horror flick, but this was the best I could do, folks. Kidding aside, protecting your PC from the throes of evil viruses is serious business. But truly, not that scary. Though it seems like it’s been awhile since a computer virus made the nightly news, Americans have been well-indoctrinated into the need to pay big bucks to keep their even-more-expensive computer and gaming systems protected. But what do you really need?

Breaking it down, computer protection and security comes in three rings—the outtie, the middle, the innie (Is it scarier now that I’m using belly button references?). The outer ring consists of your basic firewall and router. The middle ring consists of the typical antivirus software we expect to pay an arm and a leg for (sometimes unnecessarily, but more on that later!). Finally, the inner ring of PC security consists of the software you utilize—including your operating system.

The outer ring is one many home PC users don’t think too much about. Oftentimes the desktop and laptop units they buy come with so much “stuff” already programmed in, they don’t think about checking whether there’s an actual firewall included in that. As for the router, if you’re geeky, you’ve already probably password-enabled the highest level of protection available. You’ve seen the commercials and Dateline specials that show how easy it is to tap into your neighbors’ wireless networks and guess what? You’re not so willing to share that particular cup of sugar, no matter how neighborly you normally are.

The middle ring is the one that seems to get the most commercial and consumer attention—the antivirus programs and software that are available. A PC user need only turn on their system, check the task bar, and see whichever reassuring icon represents their antivirus protection to feel, well… reassured. Many times, this middle ring is the one that comes pre-packaged with a big box system and its highly-visual presence is enough to inspire consumers to look no further at their protection.

The final ring, the inner ring, is the operating system and software you use. Anything that communicates with the internet is both hopefully keeping your system patched and updated and free of incoming viruses, but is also then yet another avenue for the icky bugs to infect your computer. Follow the system prompts when it tells you updates are needed, or regularly check with the manufacturer’s website for updates.

The Rings are nothing to be afraid of or intimidated by. In fact, common sense will take care of the majority of your security problems. So do a quick check to see what you have, be aware but not vigilant, relax, and spend some good quality time watching something truly scary on that monitor of yesteryear—the television set.