Carpentology

Free Tech Support

Work started as a normal day. Then everyone else came in to work. In just one day I was asked to fix seven computers.

Now I am a nice guy, so I said yes, but one at a time because I have a wife and son who also need my attention. But here is my major irritation:

1. UPDATE your ant-virus, and then use it!

   Keeping your definitions and programs up to date will alleviate many of the common computing problems. The first computer I started to work on had Norton 2003 installed, but it had never been run. It is the responsibility of the computer owner to maintain their machine, not only for youself, bot for toerh who may become infected by you.

2. Install an ad-ware remover.

   I highly suggest Ad-Aware SE. I prefer this program because it creates an archive of the removed items in case it deleting something you use. It has never interfered with any of the programs I run, but many people choose to run programs with built in ad-ware, such as KaZaA. This program is free for personal use.

3. Install a spy ware remover.

   For this I use Spybot Search & Destroy.
   I use this program because it creates a system restore point before it removes the spy ware registry entries. I HIGHLY recommend this, as it is also free. (You do have the opportunity to make a donation.)

4. Clean your hard disk.

   This is not hard for Windows users. Go to Start/(All) Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup and let windows so the rest.

5. Defragment your hard disk.

   Again, this is not hard for Windows users. Go to Start/(All) Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter and let windows so the rest.

6. UPDATED: Clean/Repair your registry.

   A registry repair tool is also useful for those stubborn lagging problems. However, most of these are not free, and I do not trust the ones that are free. I use PC Bug Doctor in combination with Registry Mechanic.

It is also important that from time to time you check which programs you have installed, and your running processes. If you do not know what something is, then you probably do not need it.

To good not to pass on

From A Small Victory:

I got a funny story about that. Well it’s not so much funny as it is long.

Read the full article here …

Sexual (Cyber) Harassment

Picture this – I am checking my e-mail before Church on Sunday morning, and I receive a YIM from “creativefemailname.” Sometimes I do receive random YIM, AIM(link), or MSN, especially since I have them all posted on my personal page. I do not mind most of them, however.

This one, I minded. (Is “minded” even a word?) Out of nowhere she tells me she likes my profile, and asks me if I would like to cyber. No where in my Yahoo! profile would you get that I would even remotely consider “cyber”ing.

I understand that many people use instant messaging services for this purpose, and it is completely in their right to do so, but when I receive unsolicited messages it crosses a line. If I frequented adult chat rooms, I would not be irritated. If I said I was looking for a good time in my profile, I would not be irritated. But the bottom line is, I do none of these things, and I am irritated.

And to add insult to injury, it is not just my screen name. My wife and I share the screen name, since the both of us cannot be signed on at the same time.

So, my thought of the day is: “Has anyone ever pressed sexual harassment charges for creating a hostile environment on the internet?”

The Standings

For those of us who have trouble making sense our of charts, here is a graphic representation of the distribution of votes so far in the Presidential Election.

Click on the picture for updated polling information.

Undecided Voter