If you are an artist who does not own a computer or who does not use a computer, you have the afternoon off.
If you are like me and most of the souls living on this rock and use your computer every day, in every way, stay tuned, it's gonna get ugly.
I have just spent the better part of two days digging at the insides of a computer which should have been working its little heart out, but instead was lying in the Intensive Care Unit. What happened, was it a terrorist attack, plague of locusts or an act of God, said you with lips a quiver? No, it was ignoring the basic rule of engagement, regular maintenance.
Me, I hate doing what I ought to do, diet, exercise, clean living, yuck! But when it comes to the computer I am a regular Boy Scout. This probably explains why I have been online since '95 and have had only four virus attacks. And over the years I have learned to do some of the stuff that the Computer Jedi do so that when the bugs get the better of me I can deal with it myself.
So to save you from a fate worse than death or at least a trip to the Jedi Master, let's set some rules.
First, Windows, no matter which flavor you are running has two utilities you should be familiar with. Disk Cleanup and Defragmenter. They are hidden away in the Start menu under Accessories, System Tools. Take a look.
Disk Cleanup is a nifty little housekeeper which finds and deletes all of those files which get scattered around your computer when you are looking for the correct recipe for Haggis or naked pictures of Regis. Yep, while you are out there doing email, and Twittering or Face Booking or whatever it is you do with your online self files are collecting on your computer. Some of them are good little files and store important things like your Zoosk password or the last ten thousand things you bought at Amazon.dot.com so that when you go back you don't have to try and remember that password or you can get ideas for what you should buy next from the Amazon magic lamp.
Some of them are only annoying like cookies. These are small programs which lurk in your computer until you go back to the same page and then they leap back to whence they came and tell all of your secrets.
Some are downright nasty, like malware and trojans and viruses and worms and you do not want to get infected with any of these 'cause they hid in your email program and infect all of your friend's computers and there you have it, you are spreading a social disease. So if you don't want to be Typhoid Mary, take these simple steps.
Learn where Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter are on your computer. You should run Disk Cleanup after every session online, but I'll settle for having you do it once a week. Disk Defragmenter should be run at least once a month. You'd be surprised a what a defrag can do to speed up your old box and you may find extra space you didn't know you had.
Now to the hard part. I want you to go to Malware Bytes site and download their free malware checker.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
This is an easy piece of software to install and use. It will save you many hours of frustration and weeping. It's what the Computer Jedi do when you bring in your busted box begging for them to drive the Sith out. Why should you give the money you need for frames and canvas to the Jedi. Oh sure they are nice people and in a bind they can be lifesavers, but why should they get the money you desperately need to buy new brushes?
Finally, get, run, install, keep a good Anti-virus program. You can't go wrong with Norton, but it does cost money. I like AVG. (It has a nifty feature which allows you to start a scan and the program will shut the computer of when it finishes. That way, when I am through for the day I run my virus scan and let the program shut the computer down for me.) But don't take my word for it, there are many good anti-virus programs. I just like free. AVG is and Avast! is and there are probably others, but I have used both of these programs and found them to be reliable.
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus
http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?part=dl-85737&subj=dl&tag=button
So instead of waiting until your machine is giving you the raspberry and you are reduced to a slobbering, weeping pile of grape jelly, take heed!
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