New
Year's Resolutions
Tech Tips. Vol. 2004 No. 01
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Happy New Year to all our Tech Tip readers! Start your year
off on a sound technical footing with some worthwhile New Year's
Resolutions!
"I resolve to make my environment safer."
We covered many of these items in Tech Tips last year. If you
didn't take action then, now's a good time:
Assemble all of your important program media, license certificates
and license keys and store them in a safe place. Better yet,
make copies of all of it, and store a set off site!
- Make sure your virus protection is current and keep it
that way.
- Install anti-spyware software and use it regularly. (We
like Lavasoft's AdAware.)
- If you don't have a router or software firewall, get one
today! If your router comes from your Internet Service Provider
(ISP), ask if it provides adequate firewall protection.
If not, get your own to supplement theirs.
- If you can't remember when you did your last back up,
do one right now! If you don't know how, learn how. Resolve
to do them regularly in 2004.
- Get up to date on service packs for your Microsoft products.
- If you are more than two versions behind on any important
software package, now's a good time to consider upgrades.
(For anti-virus software, you should always get the latest
version when it's time to renew.)
- Talk to you kids about Internet, chat room and instant
messaging safety. Protect them from inappropriate messages
with anti-spam tools and pop-up blocking software. Consider
turning on any parental controls your ISP offers.
- Talk to your kids about illicit downloading and file sharing
(music, movies, etc.). Consider signing up for a legitimate
service to feed their need for the latest tunes
"I resolve to become a more skilled user."
During 2003, hardly a week went by when we didn't get at least
one email thanking us profusely for a tech tip. People sent
us comments like, "Bless you for this tip." "Thanks.
This was very helpful." "This was really timely."
To us, this means we addressed an issue that had been bothering
one of our readers for some time.
We love that kind of feedback and would like to earn even
more of it by giving tips our readers really need, and by
expanding our list of recipients. Got something you really
wish you knew how to do? Someone who would benefit from our
Tips? Great! Here's one last resolution:
"I resolve to send at least one question and refer at
least one friend or colleague to Tech Tips!"
Copyright 2003-2005 by Shulman Clark
Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
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